45 Facts About Hot Wheels

1.

Hot Wheels is an American brand of scale model cars introduced by American toymaker Mattel in 1968.

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2.

Many automobile manufacturers have since licensed Hot Wheels to make scale models of their cars, allowing the use of original design blueprints and detailing.

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3.

Hot Wheels began producing the cars with assistance from fellow engineer Jack Ryan.

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4.

Hot Wheels' use of wide, hard-plastic tires created much less friction and tracked more smoothly than the narrow metal or plastic wheels used on contemporary Matchboxes; Hot Wheels cars were designed to roll easily and at high speeds, which was a great innovation at the time.

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5.

Success of the 1968 line was solidified and consolidated with the 1969 releases, with which Hot Wheels effectively established itself as the hottest brand of small toy car models in the USA.

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6.

The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles had a pink RLBB in its Hot Wheels exhibit, displayed alone on a rotating platform under glass.

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7.

Hot Wheels wanted to work on the Major Matt Mason action figure toy line-up.

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8.

In 1974, Hot Wheels introduced its 'Flying Colors' line, and added flashy decals and "tampo-printed" paint designs which helped revitalize sales.

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9.

Ultra Hot Wheels were introduced in 1984, and looked something like the cast alloy wheels found on a 1980s-era high-trim Renault Fuego or a Mazda 626, with three parallel dark lines cutting diagonally across the flat chrome face of the wheel, all three broken in the center to form six individual shorter lines.

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10.

Hot Wheels started offering models based on 1980s-era sports and economy cars, like the Pontiac Fiero or Dodge Omni 024, in addition to their typical 'hot rod' and muscle car style offerings.

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11.

Hot Wheels celebrated its 35th anniversary with a full-length computer-animated film called Hot Wheels Highway 35 World Race.

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12.

In 2005, Hot Wheels continued with new "extreme" castings for the 2nd year, debuting the Torpedoes line and Drop Tops, in addition to 20 "Realistix" models.

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13.

Hot Wheels unveiled its new "Faster than Ever" line of cars, which had special nickel-plated axles, along with bronze-colored Open-Hole 5 Spoke wheels.

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14.

Also, a continuation of the movie Highway 35 called Hot Wheels AcceleRacers was created, taking place two years after the events of Highway 35.

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15.

Hot Wheels released a series called Modifighters, which are similar to Transformers except for the fact that they were originally cars and were modified into robots.

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16.

Mattel released its first-ever 3D CGI animated episodic television series called Hot Wheels Battle Force 5, which was a co-production between Canadian animation giants Nelvana and WildBrain.

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17.

General Motors released a special Chevrolet Camaro Hot Wheels Edition, which was a blue convertible that offered various Hot-Wheels-themed decorations throughout the car.

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18.

Hot Wheels launched several collector-focused lines for that year, including Favorites, which was a series that consisted of 11 highly-detailed vehicles, all with metal bodies and rubber tires.

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19.

On October 4,2018, Hot Wheels filed a new trademark for the motto it's not the same without the flame.

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20.

Hot Wheels are looking for vehicles that embody the fun and creative spirit of Hot Wheels, which is their main selling point.

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21.

Mike Strauss has been called the father of Hot Wheels collecting; he has organized two collectors' events each year in some form since 1986.

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22.

The highest price paid for a Hot Wheels car was close to $70,000 in 2000 for a pre-production version of a Volkswagen Rear Loader Beach Bomb.

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23.

Date on the base of a Hot Wheels car is the copyright date for the casting of the car, not a production date or release year.

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24.

Since the year 2008, Hot Wheels cars have had a code stamped or printed on the base.

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25.

Hot Wheels Classics line was an immediate hit with enthusiasts everywhere.

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26.

For its 40th anniversary in 2008, Hot Wheels celebrated the making of its four billionth car with the production of a diamond-studded model worth US$140,000.

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27.

Hot Wheels has released slightly larger, more detailed models, such as the original Gran Toros from 1970, and the Dropstars line.

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28.

In 2016, Hot Wheels released a special collection for the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' 1966 song “Yellow Submarine.

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29.

In some cases, Hot Wheels dies have been sold or acquired by other companies once Mattel has finished using them.

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30.

The Elite Hot Wheels are 1:18,1:43 and 1:50 highly detailed diecast; the majority of them being based on Ferraris.

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31.

In 2016, Hot Wheels started a new line of Collector's models, in a line called Car Culture.

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32.

Car Culture cars are typically based on real automobiles; however in 2018, Hot Wheels introduced a set called "Team Transport", which included some fantasy truck castings.

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33.

Many Hot Wheels collectors have noticed in recent times that the US Basic mixes are more likely to have a Super Treasure Hunt in them compared to International Mixes.

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34.

Generally, Hot Wheels has targeted both kids and adults with the T-Hunt series, focusing more on the adult collecting market with Supers.

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35.

Hot Wheels appeared in the 2016 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

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36.

In 1970, Hot Wheels sponsored Trans-Am Series driver Dan Gurney and his All American Racers car.

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37.

In 1992, Hot Wheels sponsored the Trans-Am car of Jack Baldwin as he went on to win that year's championship.

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38.

Hot Wheels signed a sponsorship deal in 1997 with NASCAR driver Kyle Petty and the No 44 PE2 Motorsports car and thus began making replicas of NASCAR stock cars.

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39.

Three years later, Hot Wheels joined the Craftsman Truck Series team of Carlos Contreras and the No 12 truck.

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40.

In 2004, Hot Wheels sponsored the No 99 car of Jeff Burton for one race at Darlington Raceway.

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41.

Hot Wheels made another one-off sponsorship in 2021 for NASCAR driver Jade Buford's No 48 Big Machine Racing Team car at Darlington Raceway; Buford's paint scheme for the race was modeled after Gurney's Trans-Am car.

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42.

In 1999, Hot Wheels partnered with five Formula One teams to manufacture scale model Formula One cars.

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43.

In 2016, Hot Wheels opened the Race to Win exhibit at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis to promote the 100th Indianapolis 500.

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44.

From 1999 to 2018, Hot Wheels had a Monster Jam license to release monster truck diecasts and field a Hot Wheels-themed truck in the real-life shows.

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45.

Hot Wheels is a partner and sponsor of the Australian stunt rider Matt Mingay's Stuntz Inc team, and sponsors him in the Stadium Super Trucks.

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