Hot Wheels History
Hot Wheels
The first custom toy car
In 1963, Mattel's came up with an extraordinary idea: creating a scale car brand.
Harry Bradley, who was a designer for General Motors, was in charge of creating the first sketches of futuristic and fantastic cars; so he drew a car similar to his own car: a Chevrolet 'El Camino' 1964 Custom.
Harry was the first person to introduce the 'custom' style. He designed a Californian, sporty and tough car that characterized almost all Hot Wheels toys. Because it was the 1960s, the boom was decisive: first, the Mustang was at its peak; then General Motors had just released the Camaro, and finally Dodge had the Barracudas and Challenger.
Its name´s origin
The name Hot Wheels turned up after a proposal to name these customized cars "Big wheels". But the idea was to use a name that highlighted the Hot Rod style of the cars too. So, Mattel´s team had two main ideas: They wanted to call the toy car "Hot Rod” or “Big Wheels".
Finally they agreed upon a combination between both names, they decided to name these custom toy cars "Hot Wheels ".
The first Hot Wheels edition was presented in 1968. This collection was made up of 16 models also known as Sweet Sixteen. A Corvette, a Mustang, a Pontiac and many other luxury cars were included in this first batch.
These small cars became an instant success.
Mattel soon realized the commercial possibilities of this idea and organized the production of their cars, first by Series (1968 to 1972), by Themes (1973 to 1989), by Collectors Numbers (1989 to 1994) and later by segments, first editions and Treasure Hunts.
One year later, in 1969, Mattel launched 24 new models. In 1970, 36 models more and so on every year. They released new and customized toy cars year after year. It might seem hard to believe but in 1968 each Hot Wheel car cost only US$1, now its price has tripled.
What is different today?
Over time, improvements were made (for example the printing process was upgraded in order to make the car colors brighter and the graphics even more realistic).
Collections were created to the greater glory of children's favorite characters, the model nicknamed Darth Vader is the best-selling car based on a fictional carácter. Also, parallel Hot Wheels models were launched such as the Hot Ones. Even eye-catching complements were introduced. The well-known orange track was designed to make Hot Wheels cars fly.
When where Hot Wheels Orange track introduced?
An iconic orange track system has always been part of the toy line. The first set of tracks was sold along with the original vehicles, and was designed by Mattel engineer Marjorie Ann M. Smith, also known as 'Margie', in 1967.
Today, this instantly recognizable orange track allows kids come up with new ideas and stimulate imagination, allowing endless opportunities for kids to challenge their favorite vehicles, create different trucks and enjoy playing with family or friends.
The orange track was chosen because, like the cars created by Hot Wheels, kids were drawn to the bright colors. The color has remained the same for the past 50 years.
Even though it seems like everything is changing, its main essence is not.
In case any element was missing to finish defining the aura of this rolling icon that reached its billionth car in 1991, it is essential that people know that a Hot Wheels has been sent into space. Believe it or not, its real.
The person to blame is Elon Musk. Remember the Tesla that launched on the first rocket put into orbit by SpaceX last February? Well, on the dashboard was a replica of the electric vehicle manufactured by the toy company. And as it usually happens with everything Musk mentios, its price skyrocketed, reaching US$100.7 on some Internet platforms.
Nowadays, Hot Wheels produces 10 million toy cars every week and sells one toy car every 16 seconds.
The importance of the brand is such, that according to Mattel data, an American child owns an average of 50 Hot Wheels cars.