Am I the only one?

madmoparmick said
It's funny you should mention about Hot Wheels(couldn't understand what the whole big stupid wheels thing was all about!), but I believe that kids that grew up during that period, exposed to that image, thought it looked cool. I can see putting on a wheel big enough to fit over some kind of giant brakes, or a road race car that needs added stability of short sidewalls, but give me a break!! Those big wheels look STUPID! Especially with stock, rusty brakes. They don't realize big diameter reduces braking and acceleration. I blame Hot Wheels.

I remember when the first Hot Wheels were made. Until then Matchbox cars were about the best things out there. But Matchbox cars were stock in appearance. So I modified all of my Matchbox cars. - And Matchbox made a lot of 4 door sedans and trucks and station wagons. They didn't make the cool cars.

Suddenly Mattel was making cars with MAG WHEELS, RED LINE TIRES (and they had BIG tires), CANDY COLOR PAINT, and they made THE cool cars! Mustangs, Camaros, Cudas, Chargers, Firebirds, Cougars, Corvettes, and even some custom created hotrods. It was nirvana for wannabe future gearheads.

They (of course) even made a drag strip for them. You could race your non-Hot Wheels on the track but they didn't stand a chance against the Hot Wheel cars because the axle design created less drag.

As other companies began to copy the 'hotrodded' trend Mattel started making more detailed versions but eventually went to goofier designs. It's as if non-car guys became involved. It seems as if someone in charge thought that weird outlandish fantasy was what made their cars cool. You're right madmoparmick. When those weird 'big wheels' came out it was an indication that the company had strayed from it's early roots. It very well could be why so many kids were led astray. BRAINWASHED BY MATTEL!!!

This was cool!

View attachment CustomBarracuda_RLC_Purple.jpg View attachment orig16hws.jpg

This??

View attachment autito-hot-wheels-mexico-80s-camaro-z28-15926-MLC20112129325_062014-F.jpg View attachment hw_blowncamaro_1996a.jpg