If you're an American who had a childhood, you probably have some nostalgia for Hot Wheels. Get your engines revved for this trip down memory lane as we discuss these fun and iconic toys in this classic episode.
AI Summary
# Summary
Josh is feeling nostalgic this week and has dusted off the classic 2015 episode about how Hot Wheels actually work—and it's a deep dive into the tiny die-cast cars that became the world's number one vehicle manufacturer by sheer volume. The episode covers the fascinating history of how Mattel's Elliott Handler created Hot Wheels to crush the competition from Matchbox cars, featuring legendary designer Harry Bradley's original 1968 lineup that supposedly beat GM to the punch with an unreleased Corvette design. Chuck and Josh also explore the wild world of Hot Wheels collecting, where rare vintage cars can sell for over $100,000, the evolution from those high-performance red-line tires to cheaper modern manufacturing, and how McDonald's Happy Meals became a genius marketing move that got kids obsessed with collecting them all.
Ghostbusters
1984
1h 47m
★ 7.5
"like the Ghostbusters Ectomobile, right. Or even more than that, they have a deal with Eminem Mars for 2015. — Providing examples of branded Hot Wheels licensing, specifically mentioning the Ghostbusters Ectomobile."
— Chuck
"Hot Wheels was a Saturday morning cartoon in the vein of, like, Dune Buggy and Scooby Doo. — Discussing the Hot Wheels cartoon series that was released after the toy line became successful."
— Josh
Mad Max: Fury Road
2015
2h 1m
★ 7.6
"that new mad Max looks good, though. Are they remaking Mad Max? Well, there's a new Reboot, I guess, is what they call it these days. — Discussing a diamond-studded Hot Wheels that resembles a Mad Max vehicle, leading to conversation about the Mad Max franchise reboot."
— Josh
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
1969
★ 7.8
"Speed Buggy. Okay. Because there's Wonder Bug too. If you took Shaggy and put some Grace and goggles on them and then turn ScoobyDoo into a Doom Buggy. — Comparing Speed Buggy cartoon to Scooby-Doo as a similar Hanna-Barbera production with similar characters and format."
— Chuck
"Speed Buggy, yeah. Remember Speed Buggy? Yeah. It was like a dune buggy that could talk. — Discussing Saturday morning cartoons similar to Hot Wheels that featured vehicles as main characters."
— Josh
Star Wars
1977
2h 1m
★ 8.2
"It's the same with Star Wars. Like, sometimes the mistake ones are the ones that are super valuable because there was some recall. — Using Star Wars collectible toys as an analogy for how rare or recalled versions of collectibles become valuable."
— Josh
Two-Lane Blacktop
1971
R
1h 42m
★ 6.9
"Two lane blacktop, too. I haven't seen that one. Yeah, that's a good one. That one weirdly. Had James Taylor in it. — Mentioning another classic car-focused film featuring musician James Taylor in a supporting role."
— Josh
Vanishing Point
1971
R
1h 39m
★ 7.1
"Have you ever seen Vanishing Point? I think so. What is that? It was like man, I can't remember the car, but the car was basically the star. — Discussing classic car-focused films as cultural touchstones related to vehicle design and hot rods."
— Chuck
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"Wonder Bug was I think that was live action. Oh, this is a cartoon sydmartycroft. — Mentioning Wonder Bug as another similar vehicle-based show from the 1970s."
— Chuck
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