Starting in the 1960s, Mattel introduced a toy that would soon have parents all over America stepping over orange plastic tracks and trying not to crush their kid’s favorite die-cast hot rod.
Hot Wheels were a cultural phenomenon, featuring detailed 2 to 3 inch replicas of popular cars, with rolling wheels designed to carom down an orange track, through curves and loops that Evel Knievel would envy, and sometimes moveable doors and hoods. And yes, Mattel is still making them.
“Many automobile manufacturers have since licensed Hot Wheels to make scale models of their cars, allowing the use of original design blueprints and detailing,” Wikipedia notes. “Although Hot Wheels were originally intended to be children’s toys, they have become popular with adult collectors, for whom limited edition models are now made available.”…