The Hot Wheels Story 

I remember seeing my first hot wheels car in 1968 at age 10. I was wowed at their detail, colors, and the California custom look. The matchbox cars that I had seemed drab in comparison. Interesting fact: the man that invented Hot Wheels for Mattel (most successful toy line for boys), was married to the woman that came up with the idea for Barbie dolls for Mattel, (most successful toy line for girls) about 1959-60. Great historical Vlog, thanks very much!

The good old days & when you had one those you felt like a million dollars!

I dont remember having as much fun with another toy, I had limitless imagination with toy cars. 🚗 🚕 🚙 🚌 🚎 🏎 🚓 🚑 🚒 🚐🚚 🚛🚔

I grew up on these and recall a Saturday morning Hot Wheels cartoon in the late '60s.

I was 8 In 1968 When Hot Wheels appeard. I remember the Matchbox and Corgi cars, and we loved them. But by 1969, Hotwheels had eclipsed them, and all we kids wanted Hotwheels. I got my first bit Yellow Track in 1970 aged 10. Im 63 now. Wish id kept my old Dinkys, Matchbox, Corgis and Hot Wheels. My 4 year old grand son got a Hot Wheel track at Christmas that pushes the cars around at speed round the track. It was great watching him and his brother play for hours in end on Christmas day.

I never knew that much about Hot Wheels when I was a kid. All I knew is that they’re badass toy cars. I’m 26 and I don’t care. I might start ordering some Hot Wheels online as well as some tracks. I saw a video about McLaren P1 cars and those look freaking awesome. Definitely ordering some of those.

I has 7 in 1968 and Hot Wheels quickly became my main toy. I had the ultimate set up in our basement; miles of track, a bunch of banked curves, loops, and two superchargers! I had all of the Sweet Sixteen, Mom got rid of them when I went into the Army. My favorite and fastest car was the Jackrabbit, released in 1969, in conjunction with the "Hot Wheels" cartoon that ran from 1969-1971. In 2018, I saw a story about the HW 50th Anniversary. I went to Target and bought a few HW cars. I now have several hundred. And lots of track. And banked curves. And loops. And a supercharger. I'm 7 again.

I dont know why but when I was small several classmates and i joined the hot wheels club. Stickers, books, certificate and the silver boss hoss mustang. Everyone's arrived but mine was slow coming to me. I finally got it and was excited to get the silver mustang. Instead I got a green barracuda black top hood less with a number on the doors. I was so dissapointed. But the barracuda was pretty. I think it was in 69. I'm 60 now.

Great story. When I was about 9 I got a vinyl carrying case full of pristine old redline Hot Wheels from a neighbor who was cleaning out a house he had just bought. I know there was a Camaro and possibly a Barracuda in that grouping. Being young, I slowly destroyed them all through rough play. Man, I wish I hadn’t of done that!

I remember buying my first Hot Wheels when they came out in 1968, a Blue Camero. I DID have a pretty good Matchbox collection, but the speed and the track of the Hot Wheels WAS what made me decide to switch.

I had A TON of these growing up.. Unfortunately they are all long gone..

Highway 35 sort of continued with the introduction of Acceleracers. Same cast of characters, better designed all around and a story that was left on a cliffhanger after producing 4 movies and a couple of shorts. These were the big thing when I was a kid!

I have a huge box of hotwheels and matchbox 1/64 scale cars from when I was younger. They're all muscle cars though I really liked muscle cars when I was younger I can't remember what age I was when I started liking JDM

Yes! Finally, a Hot Wheels Little Car video! Thank you for another awesome Little Car history video! :)

Ahh, that orange track...

I miss my 1968 cars. I wish my aunt had sent me two of each car telling me to save one. When you're young you have no idea idea these are new toys that just came out.

I love this video Little Car, Hot Wheels were part of my childhood and I remember playing with them with my dad and watching the Acceleracers animated movies.

1970 The Snake & the Mongoose Set was the Last Toys I Got for Christmas as a Kid at 13, Fond Memories. (smile)

I still remember when they first came out and I saw the first pictures of them. I thought they were as big as the corgi cars but when I saw the first one in a store, I was surprised that they were only the size of a matchbox car. And expensive they were...! In the sixties they cost DM 3.75 in Germany, which turned my parents into "conscientious objectors". That was probably more than they cost today. Needless to say it took forever before my parents bought me one. It was the Deora, which even today still has a special place in my heart...

I had hot wheel car when they came out in 1968 with the orange track....played so much with it

There were also the "Hi-Rakers", introduced in 1980, with adjustable height rear axles.

Beatiful diecasts and video.

So glad you are doing these Champ! Of all them I must thank you for the Corgi doco as I am a dyed in the wool Corgi fan then and now!

I have been collecting Hot Wheels since the early 80's.

Oh yeah! Those were the days! I still have mine! 🥰👍🏾😎🤟🏾

I was able to locate the Spoiler Sport Van (which was one of the Hot Wheels I had in my childhood..) In an antique shop a couple of years ago in mint condition at a reasonable price.. Needless to say I couldn't pass it up and now it is in my collection!

I recall shipping my 2014 Aussie FPV (Ford Performance Vehicles) Boss 335 Ford Falcon GT to the MCACN show in Rosemont Illinois and handing out Hot Wheels models of it. Was a crazy thing to send a car from Adelaide South Australia to Rosemont Illinois and return but fun. Well done Andy, another great video.

Still have all my hot wheels today as a 18 year old, I recently started collecting again.

Loved this video. Thanks for sharing 🙏🏼. 👍👍. Good times.

Great video! I still collect to this day with around 7,000 carded & close to 8,000 loose. For me it is a way to own all the cars I have ever wanted.....with the ability to race and display them. I also love the thrill of hunt when going to thrift shops or yard sales hoping to find that lost little treasure.

Love your channel,,,,and love HOT WHEELS ! I am one of those kids from the 60's who still loves his Hot Wheels !

Always love the history of Hot Wheels. Thanks for gathering the information.

I used to own Hot Wheels as a kid. I even remember having this toybox filled with toy cars in there.

I still have a few of these Hot Wheels cars from when I was growing up but I also remember the roadway play sets they used to make in the 1990's like a McDonald's restaurant, lifting bridge, garage and the one I really remember well was the ferry port set with a ferry with smoke generator and a few vehicles from the matchbox takeover one of which was the Ford Cargo truck. If I can remember all of the roadway play sets came with a vehicle.

Excellent video like usual. Great to watch and very informative.

Great presentation, as always. Thank you.

Harry Bentley Bradley is my favorite car artist, in particular his rendering style is gorgeous and second to none.

I have several hundred Hot Wheels still in their packages some special full sets.... some real riders.... tons of fun collecting with my sons as well

Great video ! I collet Hot Wheels since a child. I have many Mukys Grand Prix Regal in excellent condition in my collection since I was a child too. Best wishes from Buenos Aires !

Great video. Brought back so amazing memories. I owned some crack ups and thought they were so cool. I owned the car at 5:14 minute mark but mine was orange with a sorta purple windshield. I also had no idea they made an Avanti, I would love to get my hands on that Treasures Hunts model.

Used to play with my Hot Wheels for hours had the track an there was a version of Car where you could flip the chassis from high to low with a special key , ah great days .

Perfect video. Concise and packed with info. I was curious about how Mattel came to own Matchbox. Now I know thanks to you! I have a nice collection of Hotwheels and Matchbox vehicles. To this day, I find it impossible to walk past a display of cars in a store and not stop to look through them all. Of course, that leads me to buy cars that I already have. Oh heck, well now I have 2 of that model!

This is a great video. Very informative.

My 2 year old loves hot wheels. I never really cared much for them when I was a kid. But now I get excited every time we get a new track. Die cast is dope !

I was born in 1992 but know Hotwheels like the back of my hand. Amazing tour though history we are approaching 100k peices and collected since 1999 with every treasure hunt and every new car and variation to date…plus about 1000 spectraflame redlines. I love your video and if your ever in central Pennsylvania I’d love for you to see my dad and I collection

Enjoyed that very much cheers 👍

I'm really really starting to like your videos, they really take me back, you're the type of person i could sit and talk to all day, sometimes i do, it's just you talking..lol

Great info about the hotwheels and matchbox. This is why I love to collect all the diecast wheels around the world.

Hot Wheels has seen its trials and errors with its many lines released throughout the 2000s, but it's debated that Car Culture is among the best adult line they have released within the past several decades. One major detail I think you should have mentioned was the Redline Club membership offered online which began in the early 2000s, where adults could, and still can, purchase top design cars with top of the line decorations. This has taken off immensely, and some of the most popular and valuable modern releases come from this club today.

Does anyone remember Farbs? Cartoon car people made by Hot Wheels...the one I had was called Myles Ahead. There were also Rumblers , gas station premiums / freebies..about half the size of an ordinary Hot Wheel...

I’ve just watched your videos on Matchbox, Dinky, Corgi, Majorette, and now Hot Wheels. VERY INFORMATIVE!!! Thank you. PS: I am now a subscriber.

Thanks for sharing! Definitely love both Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars. BP

Great documentary.

Very nice presentation history!

I have a bunch of old classic cars myself.all in storage.boxes.but with this viras going on I'm going through old cases just to 👀 what I have .in storage.I don't know how many.but I'm a senior collector.and having fun.that's what it's all about collecting cars.

I was a Matchbox boy , only ever owned a few Hot Wheels. All thru the early 70s up until 1980 me and my brother collected Matchbox, Had a few playsets and whatnot. We still have about 210 vehicles in very good condition. I don't know why I never got into Hot Wheels ? Maybe because my parents didn't buy us any ; they just bought what they always bought for us

Thanks I had been waiting for this for a long time. I saw some cars I used to have, including the green one with the big rocket motor on the top (no idea of the name but I had it. I also collected the Hot Birds (which was essentially Hot Wheels Airplanes). Short lived, but they had some great designs. I hope you venture into the world of model kits soon, such as Airfix. Monogram too, and they had some really wild 1/24 cars that were cool.

When our cat was a kitten, she would go into the room our grandkids sleep in when they visit, and drag out their Hot Wheels cars. I don't remember her playing with any of their other toys like Legos or dinosaurs, just Hot Wheels.

I HAD to be in the Hot Wheels Club and I got the Boss Hoss. I still have most of the Hot Wheels cars I bought through the years including the Red Barron that only came in the Monogram Model of the Red Barron kit. Too bad I played with all my cars so much when I was a kid, They would be worth a lot of money now.

I love hot wheels since I was a kid & still do now! What a coincidence my mom is as old as hot wheels (born in '68)

Very great video 👍

Hot wheels rocked! Til you bent an axle wire. But I didnt race much, just liked rolling them and looking at them. So smooth.

Great historical detail on the legendary car series. As good as some books.

aNOTHER aWESOME vIDEO. I really enjoy your content.

Love it thank you! Darren (:

I used to have loads of matchbox cars but then the "mongoose and snake" thing came out I started getting hot wheels. I had yards of orange track and the starter block with a plastic clamp. The highlight was the mongoose vs snake drag strip with the pull up and release timing lights. I also had and loved the sizzlers. I had the set with the booster pit area and then the slalom curves with the brake pedal you pushed to slow the car down. My favourite one was a trans am but I cant remember if it was a 69 or a 70. I used to just play with it as a regular car.

I quote "Mattel produced Racing track" 🤣

*LOVE YOUR CONTENT, *you definitely deserve more subscribers!! 👌😀❗️👍

A life long addiction for sure!

I had a lot of these early cars as a child. However, sadly I traded them all for a bicycle one day in about 1971? Today at 60 yrs young, I have about 3000 newer models, to include some Matchbox cars, all in the packages still. At one time they were ALL hanging on the walls of my garage, but when I moved two years ago I put them all in large plastic totes for storage. They may never see the light of day again. 😙 Collecting them as an adult was all about the chase 😜

Great Video 👍🏻👍🏻

awesome video

Great video my friend , lots of good info !!!!! Marcus in Victoria BC Thanks

Que alegría ver que se mencionan los Muky! Nice to see you mention Argentina's Muky.

Cool video!

My friends, my brother and I collected Hot Wheels when they first came out! Before long we had all 16 original models. We used to have all the track set ups plus the super chargers when they came out! We added those Hot Wheels cars to our Matchbox, Dinky and Tootsie toy collections. When Johnny Lightening came out we collected those too. Remember Mario Andretti pumping those Johnny Lightening cars?

Awsome stuff 🔥❤🔥

4th grade in '68. Got mine for Christmas!

I succumb to that ‘old man’ thing where I think the only real Hot Wheels are the first ones I saw aged seven, with Spectraflame paint and Redline tires. Wow they were exciting! The Co Op toy department had Hot Wheels on display in a glass cabinet under the counter, and Gunns toy shop in Ilkeston used to have a Christmas toy fair at the Rutland club which was where I first saw Sizzlers which magically worked without gravity. I’ve got about 16 Redlines, half of which are my originals. The first ones I had were always painted green! It’s like no other colour was available! Green Custom Volkswagen, green Hot Heap, green Custom Eldorado and green Custom Fleetside! The first and last of those in my collection are replacements, the others are original. The catalogue showed so many other colours like red, orange and turquoise, but I got green! The original wire axles didn’t protrude through the ‘mag’ wheel. While the model cars seldom ran straight on a hard floor or table top, they had lower friction running than the later models (IMO) with an axle that was peened over through a hole in the wheel. Cheaper to make. I’ve got the Snake drag car bought from around 1971 or ‘72 and Mongoose from a reissue series, with more modern wheels, a kind of metallic paint rather than solid red, tampo printing decals instead of stickers, and a plastic collector button instead of dangerous pressed tin (oh how did I survive the ‘60s?) in repro packaging that was bought from a toy fair around 1992, so Mattel must have done an earlier run of tribute models before 1998. I remember not being as blown away by them at 30-something as I was at seven, because they had the wrong wheels and the wrong colours, but bought Mongoose and kept it in the blister pack as a memento to the earlier style packaging and a partner to my original unpackaged and playworn Snake! In the mid noughties i also replaces my three Sizzlers cars, all bought off eBay from the USA. I’d placed my originals, boxed but no longer working, in an adult grown-up fashion (I thought) in the bin in 1987, about a year before I learned of the existence of toy fairs and swap meets. So years later I replaced them with boxed imports - that don’t work.

I loved all my Matchbox and Hotwheels, but the larger-scale Corgi cars were incredible models.

I am so glad I found this channel!!!!!!!!! this was an excellent video!!! will you also include the customizing movement by fans?

Nice work as always! I will add, that you missed the part about the Hot Wheels Corgi casting conspiracy in the mid-90s though haha

How did Hot Wheels "Final Run" Series come into the Mattel picture? I collected all of these.In 1974,I played with all the Mattel Hot Wheels.Then really started collecting them around 1995.I worked in the retail grocery business & I pretty much bought every Hot Wheel there was at that time thru General Mills & Kellogg's food products that advertised Hot Wheels cars.Even with Brach's fruit snacks promotion.In 1999,I had over 4,500 Hot Wheels from going to flea markets to Hot Wheel conventions to other collectors.I know,this isn't a big collection,I have seen much bigger collections in friend's basements & in warehouses where I bought certain Hot Wheels.I bought the whole series of "Final Run" Hot Wheels from 3 collectors.After collecting Hot Wheels for 24 years,I decided to split my collection up & give my 2 nephews all my Hot Wheels.I can say this much,once you start collecting Hot Wheels,it's hard to stop.Thank you for sharing your video on Hot Wheels.I did collect all the FatBax Series Hot Wheels.Now I just collect the Hot Wheel retro series like Smokey & the Bandit '77 Pontiac Firebird,'75 Kenworth W900,both cars from the movie "Grease" & many others.And just starting on collecting Hot Wheels Car Culture Team Transports.

Love your pronunciation of iOS at 8:17 ! 😂

This is the best video ever

I collect hot wheels in honor of Eliot Handler's memory🏎

Very nice hot wheels, great episode

Highway 35 is on of the best things to happen to hotwheels

I still have a box full of these and Matchbox Superfast 70`s All raced

I know it was inevitable (and a long time ago), but to this day I still friggin hate the move to plastic chassis.

Another very good video. I'm hoping you'll do, a very long, video about the cars made by LEGO. Please take your time for that :D

BTW thanks for keeping the videos flowing through tough times..

Interesting to learn about Silver Series 1.

I always thought Hot Wheels were inferior to Matchbox and most of the other smaller scale toy cars, especially in terms of detail and accuracy. I had no idea there were so many different types. But you didn't really see them in the uk in the 70s and 80s that much.

Nice talks about Hot Wheels! I'd wonder if Maisto will be on your list?

Hot Wheels briefly had a competitor called Johnny Lightning, which I think was made by Topper, They were sold as "Bolidos" in Mexico by the now defunct Lili Ledy.

I remember the Hot Wheels train sets. They were yellow, I believe. The track was black with silver stripes. I had the mighty mover train set. They used the juice machine to recharge them. They were cool. I got my set in 1972 when we went to Pennsylvania to see our dad’s folks. If you were bad don’t leave a piece of track laying around.

Hot wheels movies like accelaracers got me hooked and i even got the black green car

Cool I love it so much

6:48 Crazy Jimmy approves