16 Things You Didn’t Know About Hot Wheels

Hot Wheels hit the market in 1968 and they were instantly on every young boy’s birthday and Christmas wish lists.  Although I preferred Johnny West, GI Joe and other action figures, for a time I was into Hot Wheels (although not as much as some of my other Hot Wheels-obsessed friends).

Aaron Miller at Supercompressor.com presents 16 Things You Didn’t Know About Hot Wheels.

Here are my three favorite Hot Wheels facts…

9. Today, there are more Hot Wheels models than real cars in the world.

Over 4,000,000,000 (yep, four billion) have been produced since the first was cast in 1968.

4. According to Mattel, Hot Wheels got its name from an offhand compliment.

There are a few versions of the story floating around, but the official Mattel line is that when Elliot Handler (the “el” in Mattel) saw (Hot Wheels’ first designer) Harry Bradley’s El Camino in the parking lot, he said “Those are some hot wheels.”

1. Several of Hot Wheels’ most noteworthy creators are legit car designers.

Larry Wood oversaw the design of most of the cars you grew up playing…but before his career at Mattel, he spent much of the 1960s working for Ford.