Toys of Christmas Past - Part 12 - Hot Wheels

Hot Wheels - Mattel - 1968 to Present

I am really only going to be covering the 1968 to 1975 era of the toy

Why ? Because that is the era that I am most familiar with, and as we all know, it's all about me (NOT).

Hot Wheels has been around for over 40 years and today it might seem mundane, but back when it was first introduced in 1968 it was quite revolutionary.

In the late 60's you had 3 options for model cars. First you could build from a kit, but those didn't move. Second you could have a "slot car" racing set. But those had a pin sticking out of the bottom and would not work on the regular floor. Last you had Matchbox cars. They looked real enough, but they did not roll well (a few inches with a push) and there was no track. Then 1968 hit and everything changed.

Pre 1968 choices:  Matchbox car, Model Kit, or Slot Car

Hot Wheels had cool cars with a spring suspension, and rolled, and rolled fast ! If they were full scale the cars would be traveling at over 300 mph !

The first sets were simple, the distinctive orange track with the red connectors, a jump, a loop-de-loop and a plastic C-Clamp to attach to a chair or window sill. My first set from 1968 or 69 is shown above along with 2 of my favorite cars from that era. The middle picture is the "Splitting Image" and the bottom is the "Chaparrel" both from the 1969 collection. When you purchase cars back then, they also came with a metal button that had the picture of the car.

Later sets had 180 and 90 degree turns, more track and a "super charger" which were 2 rotating wheels to shoot the car out of to give it more speed and momentum. If you had several super chargers you could set up a track flat on the floor where the cars could continually go around the track with no intervention.

And Now a word from our sponsor.  Mattel's Hot Wheels.

My first set was the Stunt Action Set

Super-Charger Sprint Set Commercial

Second Super-Charger Commercial.  This one looks to have "Peter" from The Brady Bunch

I still have most of my original track, cars and super chargers boxed away.  They came out for a period of time a number of years ago when I let my son use them when he was of "Hot Wheels Age".  They have been boxed up again patiently awaiting the next generation of Hot Wheels users.  :-D

In a future post I hope to examine the "Sizzlers" battery rechargeable race cars from Hot Wheels.