David Doe
English 1302
Hale
November 4, 1997
Evaluation

A Look Inside the World of HotWheels

     The heart pounding thunder coming from my Chrysler 422 W‑30 has not stopped since I first got it at the age of eight. The sliding grace of the wheels coasting along my HotWheels world of gas stations and loops of fire still runs smoothly with a comforting sense of nostalgia. HotWheels has been manufacturing toy cars since the mid 1970's, and the company has established itself as the leader in the toy car market. This is what makes my HotWheels world seemingly perfect amidst competition time and time again. It is the company's uncanny eye for manufacturing detail, durability, and the development of accessories that has made HotWheels the best

     I find HotWheels' ability to recreate reality on a small scale is quite remarkable. HotWheels covers a wide variety of manufacturers around the world including exotic and domestic models. With the use of modern technology HotWheels molds their die cast metal into cars ranging from Porsches to Ford Broncos. The company is so convicted to quality, that their cars' details include the correct position of their stick shifts. Matchbox, HotWheels' major competitor, also covers the same models of vehicles that HotWheels does. The two differ in that HotWheels paint jobs are generally consistent with reality, whereas Matchbox tends to paint its products with flashy colors that are inconsistent to manufacturer's protocol. Occasionally, HotWheels tends to paint certain models with a bit of flamboyance, but often times their cars are of one color. Another point of interest is that HotWheels incorporates moving car parts into their products. Their BMW 850i, for example, has doors that fully open and close at the user's discretion. The OshKosh Cement truck is mounted with a rotating mixing barrel, and the '95 Chevrolet Camaro's hood opens to reveal its engine block. Matchbox has not introduced this type of manufacturing yet, and HotWheels holds no patents, which would prevent Matchbox from doing so. The difference is that HotWheels' innovation is slightly more imaginative than Matchbox's at this point.

     HotWheels' innovation in respect to durability is another key component in the company's success. HotWheels' cars can be slammed, hammered, punished, and beaten, but they will keep rolling. The long lasting quality comes from HotWheels' use of die cast metal frames and wheel. axles that can withstand impact and some degrees of heat. This not only insures a lifetime of use but it makes the toys ideal for collecting. On the other end of the market, Matchbox uses a sturdy aluminum alloy, that can endure the same amount of abuse as HotWheels. The problem is that Matchbox uses a flimsy nonalloy aluminum wheel axle, and this causes the wheels to cave in after a short period of active play. While Matchbox has established itself alongside HotWheels in respect to collecting, HotWheels has a longer active play life span making HotWheels the better buy. The ability for a toy car to remain durable is very important to the companion because it secures customer loyalty.

     With the production of accessories HotWheels strengthens its roots at the top of the market. Service stations that have working car lifts and garage doors, fast food restaurants with endorsement logos, three level car washes that create soap suds, and four level parking garages with electronic lifts only name a few of HotWheels' imaginative accessories. These all connect to create what HotWheels calls HotWheels Land, a universe of HotWheels merchandise available with the consumer in mind. While many generic‑brand manufacturers create small‑scale accessories, HotWheels is the only major toy car manufacturer that develops these accessories. In 1995 HotWheels was so committed to the quality of its accessories that they strayed from the conventional carwash and fast food restaraunt and hired a team of engineers to design a unique and highly innovated accessory. The Volcano Mountain was the product of the engineer's labor. The result is that the Volcano takes the toy car and shoots it into the Volcano via a side tunnel. Moments later, the Volcano launches the car out of the top of the Volcano onto an inverted loop. The loop steers the car through its track and shoots the car down to an angled ramp giving the car a split second of free fall without the guidance of a track.

     The company does have its problems that keep it away from complete perfection. The main area of conflict is price. While most of the cars are considerably cheap, the accessories are often costly. In a phone interview with Joanna Johnson, a Mattel customer service operator, she stated that the bulk of the profit comes from the sales of accessories and that the cars are almost given to the consumers. I feel that the Volcano Mountain's price of $49.95 is extreme, and it would make sense for the company to balance their prices out. This would allow for consumers to take advantage of the collecting of the cars, and also buy the accessories that come with the HotWheels package.

     In conclusion, I believe that HotWheels reign as the best goes without saying. The skilled design and mastery of detail is incredible, and the ability of the toys to last over time is extraordinary. Also, the accessories may be the best in the business, but they could use a price reduction to satisfy the many loyal customers of HotWheels.