A rare look behind-the-scenes at Hot Wheels, the popular toy cars

Hot Wheels have delighted children and adults alike for over half a century. First introduced in 1968, millions of the miniature vehicles are wrapped and waiting to be opened Christmas morning. CBS News' Jamie Yuccas is here with a behind-the-scenes look at how the cars are designed.
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[@wrcconstructionllc]

60 years old and still collecting Hot Wheels! The passion doesn't get old!

[@DiecastCool]

Hello from an Italian collector! I'm 54 years old! 😁

[@brandonpeters5829]

Scalers do though..

[@aryanaggarwal6163]

Where your from can i see you collection

[@KadeBronson]

I'm 4 and collect Hot Wheels and love doing videos showing off my collection. I am always happy to meet other car guys.

[@montana4069]

I'm 40 years old and I have over 13k hot wheels from 1969 to 2024 B case cars

[@Clev9thst]

48 and still collecting Hotwheels. So far I have a few thousand. And my favorite part is customizing my own cars.

[@angel-ij4xv]

I'm 39 and collecting as well

[@TheLaymanCollector]

42 here and started getting into it 2 or 3 years ago. The most relaxing hobby I've ever taken up.

[@williamcordier1201]

58 and love customizing

[@RUSerious97]

26 years-old. I gave in and finally listened to that desire for Hot Wheels I've been ignoring for years because of fear of embarrassment, but knowing a lot of people collect them reassures me. I personally like weird Hot Wheels (ex: Fast Foodies), the rare older models (I got my first Deora II today!), or the real life cars. It's weird, I don't like racing in real life, but I like rally cars in Hot Wheels ha.

[@DiecastCool]

Hello from an Italian collector! I'm 54 years old!

[@vikingjerome2438]

A 63 yr HW collector it never gets old

[@Anth230]

One can indeed get burned out on it like anything else ..

[@HardyGirl66]

I'm a female, and I wanted to be into Hot Wheels as a kid. But I only had Matchbox cars my dad would get w/ every few fill-ups at the local gas station. My older brothers had Hot Wheels track that got used so much it was held together w/ electrical tape. I always wanted to play using my Matchbox cars, but I didn't know the base of the cars was bigger and wouldn't fit on the track. But now I have lots of cars, cases and track. I even bought a mini set for my 18 inch boy dolls, using 2 Hallmark Hot Wheels ornaments, (a finish line and loop) to complete the look of the set!

[@TheLaymanCollector]

I give them to my daughter now. She LOVES them.

[@justinclick5754]

I'm the car collector too

[@wrcconstructionllc]

Do you collect as well as race them?

[@justinclick5754]

Uh presently but yes

[@HardyGirl66]

I can't afford to anymore. Though I really would love to have my Holy Grail, The Beach Bomb (Yeah I know WAAAAY expensive!!)@@wrcconstructionllc

[@commonsensehill372]

56 years old and my bedroom walls are covered with diecast vehicles. Hot Wheels were my go to toy as a kid. Now a trip to wal mart or any other store is a hunt for what's new. This is my drug of choice. Hot Wheels, or any other 1/64 scale vehicle that appeals to me. There is no chance for a mid life crisis because keeping your heart child like is a blessing. You can work until you drop, but finding a cool car in the toy isle makes you forget how hard you work and gives you a little spot of joy in the moment. I have too many to count but it's worth it because I will share that piece of joy with my grand children someday. If I had known as a child what my cars would be worth today, I would have had my parents buy extras and stored them away. Back in1972, my parents bought me 5 cars at 2.29 each from a local pharmacy for Christmas. One in particular was the White 68 Camaro with redline tires, and another was a pink Beach Bomb, Red Baron, Tri Baby, and Whip Creamer. They were all met by Mr. Hammer because crashed cars should have body damage... right? WHYYYYY! Oh well, I had fun regardless. I salute all who are my age and still retain the joy of childhood memories brought about by Hot Wheels Vehicles.

[@davidcarlin3850]

I’m 54 and still love hot wheels

[@collegetoycollector]

The way I’m finally able to show people where I work because of this special inside look 🙏🏼 now I just show them this video, and they can finally see! what a great Hot Wheels feature!

[@darylthomas4676]

Im 56 now and still got Hot Wheels for Christmas! I love em!

[@justinleland7461]

35. My first Hot Wheels was a white "Limozeen" from 1991 when I was 3. We found an original 16 Deora under the front porch when my grandpa passed. He used to drive his cars up and down the legs of the table that now sits in our living room. I've found a local club, Michiana Hot Wheelers club, that meets every month. It is freaking awesome to be a part of something. I've never been in club or been very social I spose, but Hot Wheels club is full of a bunch of awesome grown kids like myself, good to have something to look forward to. I've even made hot pepper jams and hot sauces to take to folks to trade! Good times. Hot Wheels 4 life lol.

[@blandrooker6541]

One thing that I've always loved about the track sets, going all the way back to the 70s when I was a kid, is that they taught me a lot about physics. Learning about the connection between the height of the starting gate, gravity and speed, how to overcome friction, the role of lubrication on the speed of the cars when applied to the axles, the role of inertia and mass and the laws of motion when setting up loops and curves, all of it is physics learned through playing some really cool toy cars.

[@josephbennett3482]

I'm a grown adult in my 30's and i still love the tracks that have the loops and the sharp banking turns , the fun thing about it is that you have to try and put the track together right in order to get the car to make it down the track.

[@VladimirBlarp]

I'm 57 yrs old and there is a whole box of these little cars in my fathers basement somewhere. They've been down there for many years. I bet they would still roll on tracks today

[@Ladybug1222]

Mattel recalled almost 1 million in 2007 for the lead paint on them & was given a $2.3 million fine

[@TheLaymanCollector]

​@@Ladybug1222First time I'm hearing this. I'll have to be careful when I find old ones at the flea market.

[@VladimirBlarp]

@@Ladybug1222 you have rocks in your head. Mattel doesn't "recall" 50 yr old toys.

[@magnom3922]

Yours could be worth alot

[@thatfordguy2268]

You are sitting on a gold mine, go dig it up!😎

[@streetwatcher_]

One thing I really wish for is that they’d make more tuner inspired fantasy cars

[@diecastreviewracing]

Real!!!

[@hhaste]

Agreed. They are making more real tuner cars, it seems but their detail usually isn't that great. There's some other higher end brands that have very good detail for the size, though. More expensive, of course. You can't beat Hot Wheels price.. like $1.50 per car vs $20-$30 or more for the higher end ones.

[@rapidfirereece]

They used to. MS-T Suzuka, Sho-Stopper, Flight 03, Tantrum, Synkro, Power Rage... I don't know what happened.

[@streetwatcher_]

@@hhaste but those are in their premium subline which is hard to find I just want new import inspired fantasy cars or ungraded versions of them

[@BRIANBOBCHAPMAN]

I am still collecting Hot Wheels to this day

[@Naztalgic]

Hot wheels is nostalgia in the palm of your hand!!!! people of all ages love these Die-cast cars!!!! im 43 have a collection in display cases I love them!

[@mrrpepsi24]

I would really like to see Hot Wheels get back to building tracks that are more realistic and made for actually racing .

[@Grayson950815]

They’re just so cheap nowadays. You don’t even get battery powered boosters anymore. Mid 2000s was the peak of hot wheels sets

[@streetwatcher_]

@@Grayson950815 probably cuz they sound like power tools

[@Grayson950815]

@@streetwatcher_ yeah but it’s better than having to manually reset launchers every pass

[@streetwatcher_]

@@Grayson950815 next to getting batteries for them

[@wyo_garage20]

@@Grayson950815That was part of it. I had the oval as a kid, and you had to manually boost every lap or it didn’t go. Too soon, car crashed. Too late, minimal boost. Taught hand/eye coordination. What fun is it just turning on a switch?

[@UnderstandingDarkness]

Thank you for a classic and necessary trip down nostalgia lane. When everything seems to be changing you can count on hot wheels to inspire your imagination. 💞🤟🎄🎁🤩🥳 Happy holidays everyone! 🎄🎁

[@lukesaber7t7]

The sad part is the original hot wheels I had in the late 60's. Are under 50 years of landfill.😢

[@babydriverr]

My grandpa has tubs full of hot wheels from that time. The only thing is condition. Most of them aren’t in the packages. They are all original tho.

[@Anth230]

Let's go dig them out .....😀

[@nightshade4502]

@@babydriverr Hey, it still counts for something fun to do! you can get in the hobby of hotwheel car restoration and cusomization.

[@sharonannen8859]

* I had a collection of Matchbox cars. They cost 25c at the store during the 1960s. *

[@TheLaymanCollector]

They're still cheap considering inflation. At 1.18 to 1.25 for the mainline it's a steal!

[@tommymorano7254]

I love those two at the end, cars flew across the room, lol, my dad was a lifelong Hotwheel collector, he would go to Target, Walmart, Toys R Us or whatever store and standing at the front doors of Target at 8 am to run in and be the first to grab his TH, I tell young people all the time, it’s hard to imagine, but from 95’ to 04’ you couldn’t go to a store like Target without 10 or more collectors standing at the front doors everyday at opening to run to the toy isles, it was crazy.

[@valutaatoaofunknownelement197]

So during those years there were scalpers looking for a T Hunt to hoard.

[@tommymorano7254]

@@valutaatoaofunknownelement197 Absolutely true, it was crazy.

[@Anth230]

Adult collectors still do it today. They have just changed their patterns. 😂

[@speedtrap420]

59 and still collecting! There are Barbie Hot Wheels too!

[@tmseh]

I started buying them during the pandemic. Money I would have wasted at the bar. Now I collect my favorites, Team Transports and Premium box sets. Hopefully we'll see a line of Group B rally and Goodwood Festival of Speed castings.

[@darktetsuya]

I grew up on those cars! must have had a hundred of em as a kid, so to see behind the curtain is quite cool!

[@pullzbackcars]

Love Hot Wheels! I do miss the bigger, 1:18 scale models. It would be awesome if they bring those back! 😊

[@RobertManuel-vr9by]

Richly bless this company.

[@jamesschoonover5068]

Thanks for the special on Hot Wheels, been playing with them since they came out in 1968. My favorite was the candy apple red Custom Mustang. I started 'collecting' in about 1989 and have right about 1000 ...it is addicting lol. I'm 67 and still going strong ;)

[@ady-uk7150]

Those Hot Wheels staff came across as big kids in their dream jobs! This is a great quick insight in to Mattel's Hot Wheels. I'm now 61 and I buy Hot Wheels cars. I had a Hot Wheels set for Christmas in 1969.

[@mikethemechanic7395]

As a child of the 80s. I had a matchbox garage. You used aluminum foil to make a car mold. You then could crush it. Loved it….

[@computersandgaming6664]

I am 22, grew up with Hot Wheels, Match Box, and the Japanese Tomy Tomica cars. I still love Hot Wheels even if I may be a little older and I don't have much space for them. Would be nice to have a son or a daughter to make an excuse to buy a bunch of Hot Wheels again, lol. I have huge a huge bucket of hot wheels that I can't even lift the box up, lol.

[@davidhouse1985]

Being a Hot Wheels designer looks like a lot of fun! 🏎️

[@jameshughes3008]

i am 30 years old and starting to go back to collecting hot wheels again. i used to play with them outside when i was little making my own dirt tracks.

[@joesphsteelflex3154]

I`m 40 years old and still love Hot Wheels!

[@StashJunkie]

Glad I stayed until the end! LOL! Dana SENT IT lol!

[@paulbeck6410]

I had, and still have, nine of the original sweet 16. Still collecting to this day.

[@frederickdominguez4829]

I love hotwheels. Me and my children have been collecting and playing with them for ever.

[@ScottGrammer]

I'm 59, and got my first Hot Wheels cars for Christmas of '68. I wish I still had them.

[@anibalbabilonia1867]

I love hot wheels since childhood! Now 60 years old I still have my complete sweet sixteen 1968 collection and others I have collected throughout the years! From 60-70-80s.👌😎👍👉♥️

[@TheLaymanCollector]

He said sometimes they make crazy cars like the donut car lol ... No way! Half of their cars are crazy cars! That's the main difference between Hotwheels and Matchbox. Matchbox is more realistic while Hotwheels really pushes the limit. Hotwheels has something for everyone from space ship "cars" to toilet shaped cars. You don't have to be a car enthusiast to find a Hotwheels you like.

[@FredoNavajas92]

Matchbox be making the worst regular cars tho lol

[@mr-fh2be]

You drive to the store in the "Matchbox" car to get the "Hot Wheels" car.

[@FredoNavajas92]

@@mr-fh2be my car is both 😏

[@dougl.6461]

59 years old and I still have all my original red lines along with 100 more in approximately 2000 more of 1990 on up kept in original packages. Boxes of original orange track. I love it all and it will go with me to my grave. Probably actually beat out my drums and guitars lol

[@norsefalconer]

3:14 Changed over the years? My (older) sister played with my cars in the early 70's. My wife, now 50, talks all the time about playing with Hotwheels and Matchbox cars when she was little. Now we both are in the RC Car hobby. Mattel has been "missing the boat" for a LONG time. Glad they're finally address that shortfall.

[@RobertPhoenix-wq7ho]

42, started collecting about a year ago.. always loved these cars

[@NoName-ik2du]

I remember when I was a little kid I had one Hot Wheels that was absurdly fast compared to all my others. I believe it was the silver "Gleam Team" Corvette Stingray. No idea why it was so fast. Maybe the textured silver body was plastic instead of metal giving it a weight advantage? I'm also now super interested in how they designed the cars in the past before they had CAD software and 3-D printers for quick prototyping. I feel like they would have used clay models just like the real car industry.

[@TropicalThunder21]

Back then they did use models, they usually would sketch it up with draftsmen, then use clay and wood models like the real car industry at the time. Just at a smaller scale

[@BrianX_248]

Hot Wheels Highway 35 World Race and Acceleracers got me into collecting more hot wheels when I was only 5 years old that time 🏁 and I'm 20 and still collect Hot Wheels to this day. And memorable time with Hot Wheels cars 🏁🥺

[@thegamingrailfan7905]

I've been collecting since 2013 and i love every bit of hot wheels as much as i do Thomas the tank engine and friends

[@1313gsilva]

Crazy little cars are so addictive to collect 62 and still collecting not as much but the ones I like I still buy.

[@DC322]

Grew up with Hot Wheels and collecting them years later. My favorite is the low rider Chevy Monte Carlo.

[@DJWOLFLIVE]

I was raised on Hot Wheels from the time they came out in 1968 at the age of 4. My first Hot Wheels was a Ford Thunderbird

[@MgMinisDieCast]

Great interview!

[@Josh-lq8bx]

I wish that there are a Hot Wheels warehouse here in VA. I'm a heavy collector. I hope that they never change the name and I hope that they never stop making the Hot Wheels.

[@dandrake1372]

I’m 61 and buy 3 hot wheels every week. It’s so neat to hold them in your hand and imagine if you could have the real thing in your driveway. It’s cheaper than a McDonald’s happy meal.

[@tymbershade]

Great cars and appealing to everybody, any age, male or female. I have to give a shout out to the card and box art, so beautiful. I can't bring myself to open the package and destroying the whole package. Well played, Hotwheels, well played.

[@svenmartin840]

I played with both Matchbox and Hot Wheels. And my sons played with them. And now my grandsons are now playing with them. And I am collecting more sports cars and rally. Than muscle now. I am waiting for Hot Wheels to come out with the 1971 Safari winning 240z. And 1974 Lancer.

[@redline296]

Great piece! Phenomenal! That’s what do here in America! Create the best things and share them with the world! Happy New Year!!!

[@XtremeTKD100]

My son and I absolutely love Hotwheels!! Especially the new Racerverse line

[@mxpatriate]

“Opposite of the Frost poem…” That was inspired! Well done, sir. And for the record I’m a HUGE Hot Wheels fan.

[@AyBad]

Sadly with any collecting hobby, scalpers ruin Hot Wheels

[@theLovatoFam]

Nah, if you let them ruin that's on you.

[@emantabrizi8218]

I met a reseller (i.e.scalper) recently who told me that he's at Walmart every day at 6:00 am... and again at 10:30 pm. EVERY DAY.

[@slingshotkurt8474]

Right right because a newly stocked wall of product gets all bought up buy one guy and resold at a higher price is our fault. ​Did you miss the whole PS5 situation?@@theLovatoFam

[@mammyrammer4209]

​@@slingshotkurt8474 Nope ,they split the cases that are on the pallet and dig out all the chases at Walmart ,they don't make it to the pegs.

[@Anth230]

​@@emantabrizi8218That's sad. Especially since there really is not that much money to be made ..😂

[@1fourteen]

I've been collecting with my dad for my whole life! Awesome to know they don't plan on slowing down

[@THROTTLEPOWER]

Enjoyed!!!! 👍🏁👍

[@selversterharley7628]

Hotwheels 🔥 for ever !!!!!

[@vanessamonster5038]

Fun fact matchbox cars, were originally designed by a die caster making a small toy car for his daughter, it caught on with the other kids in her class, so he turned it into a business. Girls have always been fans of little toy cars.

[@TheDarkKnightRacist]

everytime i hear hot wheels i always remember my cousin who was a huge hot wheels collectors since his teenager, i used to accompanied him looking for "special hot wheels", he taught me about what to looking for but i simply never gets it, one of the obvious one is the "treasure hunt" and the one with rubber tires, other than that i forgot.

[@user-pe1zs2pn4n]

I remember when hot wheels first came out. I was eight years old at the time and my older brother was 10. We have about half of the original 16. I think our cousin Dexter used to come over and steal one every time he came over. My brother finally gotwise to him and when he would go to his house, he would steal ours back!lol i’ve had three daughters and bought them all hot wheels when they were little and played with them together I remember saving my money as a kid and buying that big figure 8 set for sizzlers. My best friend, Billy Johnson had a fat track, and when I would go to his house, we would play on his track and when he would come to mine, we would play on the big figure 8.

[@Tylerm.944]

So cool to see a Porsche 944 as the new legends car

[@lucasstuart-chilcote7069]

I got a luggage style carrier to organize all my many cars 😅 so fun

[@ludwig77]

My kid is 3 and has just discovered the wonderful world of Hot Wheels. We have 40 cars and "Go Big, Go Hot Wheels" on repeat on iTunes music. LOL

[@willymaykit1482]

I'm 57. I currently have around 4000 in my collection with no plans on stopping.

[@mr-fh2be]

38 years old, still collecting. Love to look for the original fantasy designs. Sharkruiser and the Deora 1 and 2 best.

[@markis369]

I'm 17 with a mother who's now 40 and loves collecting Chevrolet cars I personally prefer to collect JDM cars and euro cars and my little bro collects the fantasy castings I'm not sure how many I have I've been collecting since the age of 11 but I have lost count of just how many I have

[@DrifterD]

So lucky!! A behind the scenes behind the OG toy car brand

[@marcoantoniorodriguez2668]

Very good!! Everything is fun, good clip

[@daveandthehotwheels578]

Don’t forget about the legend cars!! 🎉😊

[@amazingcars1324]

They don't make Ferrari or Maserati anymore sadly.

[@streetwatcher_]

I’m pretty sad I don’t have my Ferrari playsets anymore

[@xraider927]

Cause of that: Licensing

[@xletzyy]

Lol bro they going up too😮😢

[@DiecastCool]

Ciao, I'm a Hot Wheels collector from Italy, greetings to all collectors around the world ! I have almost 10,000 Hot Wheels and Matchboxes, new and vintage!

[@skullgraff6349]

90s and early 2000s was hotwheels peak quality. Now they all looked casted like candlewax

[@FUNKYTUNEZ714]

Beautiful story I used to collect hot wheels cars since I was little kid

[@stockholm1752]

Hot Wheels used to be all metal so they would go fast. Today, most are at least 30% plastic and they don’t have the weight for speed. Play sets used to be about racing. Now, they’re all about crashing. And yet, I still collect them.

[@IAmAnAdowablePanto2190]

It would be cool if we were at the 60s again. Not only no social media, but more time with nostalgia with Hot Wheels!

[@theLovatoFam]

No thanks

[@paxhumana2015]

Blaming social media for the actions of people does not fix society, rather, the problem is ironically the people themselves.

[@Anth230]

Always look forward not backward

[@BostonTech]

" development engineers in Asia ". A.k.a , sweat shop.

[@J-HWheels]

That was cool to see 👍🏻

[@johnbehneman1546]

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

[@Dublain]

I’m 30 years old and Hotwheels addict 😂

[@eddieg6436]

The authentic, closely followed production cars (without stripes, or markings) are mostly wanted.

[@silviahdez2950]

I have 2 ultimate garage s now. Never get old😎

[@raymondannas4496]

I think they should bring back XV Racers. I still have 4 cars and charging bases. My dad got me the nascar style race track when i was 8 and that thing was awesome!

[@AmericanJohnnyBoone]

Hot Wheels (Mattel) was one of the best NASCAR sponsors ever. The cars they helped field for Kyle Petty in the 90's were 🔥.

[@significantstrike-nd8cs]

Lady in red: as a kid i always played with my friends hot wheels! didnt you? Lady in green: No.

[@ToyvideosKh]

Amazing hot wheels 😍

[@Matucks]

I got some Hot Wheels from the 70's and 80's and the quality is 100X superior than the ones they make today, quality sure took a dip. We used to trash these things everywhere in the 80's, run them through every terrian outside and they held up, not so much today

[@paxhumana2015]

Wow, your claims are wrong.

[@archiechoke23]

Nice behind the scenes

[@garrettgarrett9365]

I have never liked the play sets that crash the cars into each other.

[@masterchief9177]

NOT GONNA LIE, I know it's not but sometimes my brain thinks of that one particular anime I grew up with Hot Wheels that comes into mind. *Going fast makes me feel alive. My heart beats in hyper drive. Do you think you can win? Only if I lose. Just let destiny choose. I can hear you breathin'. I can see you comin'. I can feel the wind. It's blowing me around...-* etc. But yeah can't be the only one who thinks that, but aside from that I'm glad I also had Hot Wheels into my childhood life too. Thanks CBS Morning.

[@lannyfloyd6131]

Definitely my dream job!!🤠👍

[@sergiosandoval9531]

I love this ❤❤

[@sagatuppercut2960]

I would love to work in that department! I love Hot Wheels cars. I wish I would've kept the ones I had in the 1970s----they would be worth hundreds of dollars.

[@MikesHobbyPlanet]

I LOVE HOT WHEELS!!!!!!!

[@jamesjennings-yd2bc]

I worked with a woman who collects HW Japanese cars, she is obsessed with them.

[@chloeconniecarlton328]

Model cars were always my fav...

[@anthonyacosta5336]

I'm 63 yrs old I Still Collect my Favorites... My Adult Children Collect.. And Now my Grand Kids Collect. And Yes my Granddaughters ask Hey Grandpa did you get that Barbie Hot wheels for me yet...

[@raymondmartucci2049]

I have been collecting hot wheels since I was 8, still collecting for 50 years. They need to make cars that are on the road that would be cool

[@reddsshaker3477]

57, and I’m STILL a HWs nut. If you’re not already in the Redline Club, GO JOIN!

[@Raiden-yuki]

21 years old and still collecting hot wheels:))