Hotwheels were the best racing cars you could get your hands on when I was younger. Or that’s what I thought at the time. I’m sure if I had to asses different die cast cars these days I would find them all pretty much of the same standard. But you’re a lot more prone to advertising as a child, and these cars were ON FIRE!.
You see it was just the idea of “Hot wheels” and the flame-licked logo that made me imagine the car went even faster! I still think that my car would go faster if it had flames painted on it’s side – though I’m quite certain it would go slower if the flames were real.
The other type of car growing up was Matchbox, which were slightly cheaper, and Corgi that were cheaper still and which weren’t as well made and would fall apart. Perhaps that’s another reason I preferred Hotwheels, in the land of the child, exclusivity is king, and if my parents couldn’t afford it, I would want it!
The first Hotwheels cars were made in 1968, and are still made today. In fact Hotwheels totally won the competition with matchbox – taking them over in 1996 (there’s no winning like taking your rival company over)
These days, Hotwheels cars they are quite hot property (see what I did there?) as they are highly collectable. I knew someone who treated his hotwheels with reverence. For me, the week I got it I treated it with kid-gloves. A month later I was trailing it by string through ponds declaring it a new “Aqua Car” saving the newt race from their inevitable destruction at the hand of “Captain Frog”
But they can earn you a pretty penny these days if you weren’t as reckless with them in your youth, and there’s quite a market for them too.
Do You Remember Hot Wheels?
Do You Remember Hot Wheels?