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

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182 points NaOH | 1 comments | 15 Oct 24 20:51 UTC | HN request time: 0.203s | source
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crispyambulance ◴[17 Oct 24 13:31 UTC] No.41869503[source]▶
Matchbox cars were the best!

In particular, they tended to roll much better than Hot Wheels.

The "axles" were some kind of fine spring steel. The matchbox cars had noticeably less drag than other brands and rolled farther and more straight. The plastic on the wheels was more flexible and smooth.

I do think that some thought went into how these things rolled. Or maybe I am mis-remembering my childhood experiences? I guess I will never find out!

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1. dylan604 ◴[17 Oct 24 14:48 UTC] No.41870184[source]▶
The "axles" on Hot Wheels were a joke of a very thin metal wire. I had many Hot Wheels with bent axles, but I don't remember any of the Matchbox cars doing that. Sadly, as an adult spending enough time on the road as a driver, I've seen my fair share of real cars with wheels that eerily reminded me of those Hot Wheels.