LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Hot Wheels
built 179 days ago
What happened in the 1980s for Hot Wheels sent them in the path of what they are today. In 1981, Hot Ones wheels were introduced, which had gold-painted hubs and thinner axles for speed. Ultra Hots wheels, which looked like the wheels found on a Renault Fuego or a Mazda 626, were introduced in 1984 and had other speed improvements. Hot Wheels started offering models based off of 80's sports and economy cars, like the Pontiac Fiero or Dodge Omni 024. In 1983, A new style of wheel called Real Riders were introduced, which had real rubber tires. Despite the fact that they were very popular, the Real Riders line was short-lived, because of high production costs.
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The first release of Hot Wheels cars was in the year 1968. A total of sixteen cars were released fifteen of which were designed by Harry Bentley Bradley. The only exception was the Custom Volkswagen, which was designed by Ira Gilford. All the cars had working suspensions, Delrin bearings, and Redline wheels. They were colored with Spectraflame paint. The Delrin bearings were placed between the axel and wheel; this resulted in the cars touching a top speed of 200mph at 1:64 scales on the plastic tracks.
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In 2005, Hot Wheels continued with new "extreme" castings for the 2nd year, debuting 40 distorted cars, in addition to 20 "Realistix" models. The rest of the line included the standard 12 Treasure Hunts, 10 Track Aces, 50 Segment Series Cars, and 50 Open Stock Models. Four Volkswagen "Mystery Cars" were offered as a special mail-in promo. Each Mystery Car came with a special voucher. Upon collection of all 4 vouchers, one was able to send away for a special 13th Treasure Hunt, a VW Drag Bus. Photos: [[1]]
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Hot Wheels® 5-Car Gift Packs deliver five of the coolest 1:64 scale die-cast vehicles with unifying themes in one package. Each pack is an instant collection with 12 new themes for 2005! Some vehicles not for use with some Hot Wheels® sets. Window box. Ages 3 and over.
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Hot Wheels cars from Mattel were first introduced in 1968, Mattel releasing their first line of sixteen models of fantasy custom cars with names like Python, Custom Cougar, and Hot Heap. The lowered front ends and raised rear wheels was "California Custom", and in the case of the 1969 Corvette, this was the first real look for the public for the real McCoy. Sales were excellent. By 1969, with sales 10 times higher than anticipated, Mattel expanded its model line to 40. The next year, 1970, saw 33 new cars, and 35 in 1971. This was ... the last year that Hot Wheels were made in U.S.A., and the first year that Mattel used the Hot Wheels name as promotions at drag strips.
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As exciting as auto racing can be in the real world, the excitement gets even more amped up in the world of toys, particularly when Hot Wheels is involved. This action-packed set features sixteen feet of track that you can use to create a variety of racecourse configurations, especially in conjunction with other Hot Wheels sets. But the star attraction here is a giant cylinder, or "Cyclone Chamber" as they call it, where the cars spin around in tight circles either narrowly avoiding or completely colliding with one another. There’s a charger to power up the included cars before they charge into action but the two AA batteries required must be purchased separately.
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Hot Wheels