| Wheely Hot Toys
They are the dream of every boy, big and small. Sleek, gleaming bodies...intricately manufactured thingamabobs on the wheels, and an interior that just invites you to open the door and sit down. If you're under an inch tall. They're Hot Wheels, the most popular cars in the world, outranking any an all of the big (in every sense of the word) automakers.
A reflection of the California craze for "hot wheels" in the 60s, in 1968 the toy company Mattel came out with 16 custom designed fantasy cars in miniature, with names to appeal to the young and hip, like Cougar, Python, and of course, the Corvette, which remains their most popular car to date.
Within a year, sales had risen to ten times their forecasted total, and the company introduced another 24 cars in 1969, 33 more in 1970, then 35 new models in 1971, which would be the last year they were actually U.S. made.
In 1971, the company also began advertising through sponsorship at real life drag strips, and while that campaign remained popular, sales stalled and only 7 cars were introduced in 1972. With the manufacturing move, came a drop in the quality of some of the models, a few of which were only produced in 1973, and then discontinued. Those cars, such as the Mongoose, are the hardest to find now, and highly prized amongst collectors.
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