The Rise and Fall of Matchbox's Toy-Car Empire

> Whereas a Hot Wheels is designed to race down those iconic orange tracks, and often feature wild customizations or complete fantasy builds, a Matchbox is more realistic and accurate.

This is exactly what I've noticed with a little one that loves toy cars. We often end up getting Matchbox because they're cooler and not meant to only rocket down a Hot Wheels track. Hot Wheels are too much fantasy these days, Matchbox is where it's at.

As a kid I also liked them because they were heavier and felt higher quality for that reason.

Have recent experience with both. Hot Wheels makes both replica and fantasy cars. IMO, replica Hot Wheels are better than equivalent Matchbox.

I had Hot Wheels orange tracks with loop-the-loops and stuff.

But also had the glow-in-the-dark fold out Matchbox City in a suitcase.

There were Matchbox tracks too.

My dad kept a lot of his old hot wheels from the late 60s and what is fascinating is those orange tracks even from then still fit with tracks you can buy today. They've modified the design but they still connect.

Makes you think will what you build keep the same interface or at least backwards compatibility 50 years from now? Probably not and most wouldn't blame you. But it brought us a lot of joy to take things we bought in target that day and connect them to those old sets.

TBF Hot Wheels do both, but the realistic ones tend to be significantly more expensive, and hence mainly not bought by/for kids .

What's neat about the tracks is that Mattel had a variety of toy lines compatible with them. They marketed a Hot Wheels variant called Sizzlers that had a tiny motor inside, powered by a small nickel-cadmium battery. You charged it up with a battery-powered charger called the "Juice Machine" (sold separately) and the motor would make the car go. There was also a line of electric trains called "Hotline" that would run on the orange tracks; these were also charged with the Juice Machine.

My nephew ended up getting all my Hot Wheels tracks, and yes, they were forward compatible with new tracks and with all his 1:64 cars. When he was four he would stage elaborate crash scenarios on them, which he called "challenges". I would talk to him in the voice of the Homestar Runner character Stinkoman (an alternate, anime version of Strong Bad), e.g. "That was an exciting challenge! I was excited by the challenge!" Whenever he was playing with his Hot Wheels and I was around, he would exhort me to "do the challenge voice again!"

Hot Wheels has a ton of realistic cars if you want them. It's also legal to use them not on an official track.

My 4th grade teacher used the orange track to swat hands and backsides. The worst offender in class was taken to the book room and disciplined. I swear the both liked it. She also brought a refrigerator card board box in and set over him and his desk.

> Makes you think will what you build keep the same interface or at least backwards compatibility 50 years from now?

SMTP comes to mind.