Once the automobile was invented, it probably only took a day before toy cars were produced. Every boy, and even most girls, own at least one toy car. While there are many brands and varieties, easily the most famous and recognizable name is Hot Wheels by Mattel. And if every little boy has a toy car, that one is a Hot Wheels.

Up until 1967, Matchbox and Corgi had been the dominating die cast metal car toys for sale, but all of that changed when Mattel introduced the Hot Wheels.   Since then they have become highly collectible, with people traveling all over the country in search of them and spending thousands to get them.   One particularly rare car known as the Beach Bomb Back Loader recently went for $70,000 dollars.  Who knew your favorite childhood toy could be worth so much? Check out used vehicles for a deal you will love.

In 1968, the first set of sixteen different cars, often called the “sweet sixteen” hit the stores, it was an instant success. Boys everywhere loved them. The cars looked cool and ran faster than their Matchbox counterparts due to a better wheel and axle assembly.  Not only that, but Hot Wheels were designed to run, powered by gravity, on Hot Wheels tracks.

Entire sets and themes of tracks were released. Loops, jumps, obstacle courses and numerous other accessories were created for kids to use with their Hot Wheels.  Kids would put one end of the track on a table or elevated place, put the cars on the tracks, and gravity would do the rest.  One of the more famous sets is the 1970 Mongoose & Snake Drag Race Set that has sold for $500 in good condition.

One of the reason Hot Wheels is so poplar is the meticulous detail that they give to each model and its production. The original Hot Wheels were all produced by actual car designers who had worked for the auto industry before coming to Mattel.  Not only that, Mattel uses the actual blueprints that the car makers use to build their cars. Mattel has deals with General Motor, Ford, Chrysler, Ferrari, Mazda and even Toyota have all licensed Hot Wheels to make models of their cars. The car makers send their blue prints to Mattel, who study them intensively and create accurate 1:64 scale replicas of the cars. They then ship the blueprints back to the car makers.

Hot Wheels has also created their own unique car designs over the years. Two of the more famous include the Twin Mill and Splittin’ Image, designed by the Hot Wheels legendary designer Ira Gifford. They have also come out with multiple series sets, some of the more notable of which are the Sizzlers, Treasure Hunt, and Pearl Driver series. Whatever the case may be, these little toy cars have become as iconic as the cars they were modeled after and in many cases more so.

For your own Hot Wheels come to used cars.