Comments on: Vroom, Vroom: Boys and their Toys

Vroom, Vroom: Boys and their Toys

kanuck — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 14:58:12 -0800

Mattel's Hot Wheels for Real campaign documents "the existence of a testing facility 'hidden for 43 years,' where all sorts of bad-ass driving happens on huge Hot Wheels tracks." Their first real world stunt: a Guinness world record 332 ft. jump off a giant orange track at this year's Indy 500.

By: yerfatma

yerfatma — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:05:26 -0800

Is it possible for my inner five year old to have a stiffy? That was fantastic. And I love that "Do Not Attempt" is suspiciously absent from the ads.

By: unSane

unSane — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:06:18 -0800

That jump was all kinds of crazy.

By: yerfatma

yerfatma — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:09:42 -0800

Some more videos.

By: unSane

unSane — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:10:14 -0800

And the landing was pretty marginal when you look at the head-on view -- guess they had the suspension tune for it as the car just sucked up the impact... kind of amazing.

By: jedicus

jedicus — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:12:48 -0800

I would have been more impressed if the car had made the jump propelled only by gravity or possibly a large rubber band.

By: le morte de bea arthur

le morte de bea arthur — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:13:49 -0800

...or maybe a giant boy.

By: Think_Long

Think_Long — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:15:32 -0800

Wake me when he dodges a giant plastic shark.

By: spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints

spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:15:54 -0800

NNNNYYYYYYOOOOOOOOWWWWWWNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

By: schoolgirl report

schoolgirl report — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:16:06 -0800

Was it Hot Wheels that had the cars with an airplane strapped to the top by a rubber band which would fly off when it hit some part of the track? Because if so, they really need to do that.

By: mrbill

mrbill — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:17:58 -0800

Never have I more wanted to make that Tim Allen "Satisfied Man Sound". ARR ARR ARR

By: LionIndex

LionIndex — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:20:57 -0800

I would have been more impressed if the car had made the jump propelled only by gravity or possibly a large rubber band. But then they would have had to build a gigantic table to clamp onto, which is an entirely different engineering nightmare.

By: davebush

davebush — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:24:13 -0800

Who remembers the Supercharger? Hands up.

By: chococat

chococat — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:25:45 -0800

That was awesome. I still have my shoebox of cars at my parents place that my son sometimes plays with. At some point in my youth I became aware of things and stopped calling them "dinky toys," which was a weird Canadian thing I guess.

By: mathowie

mathowie — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:26:25 -0800

I hope these hot wheels commercials eventually descend into two MMA dudes fighting each other in an octagonal ring, whipping each other with hot wheels track parts. I still have scars from fighting with those fucking things.

By: Smart Dalek

Smart Dalek — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:32:47 -0800

1993 Acura Integra commercial depicting a more elaborate orange-hued layout.

By: greenhornet

greenhornet — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:33:14 -0800

"I hope these hot wheels commercials eventually descend into two MMA dudes fighting each other in an octagonal ring, whipping each other with hot wheels track parts." Sounds more like a fetish site I came across once. Well... more than once... ok, I used to hang out there a lot!

By: Skeptic

Skeptic — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:37:10 -0800

In related news.

By: ShutterBun

ShutterBun — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:37:24 -0800

Seconding what unSane said about the suspension. Based on the two-wheeled landing, it looked like it was going to be a seriously bumpy (if not flippy-overy-y) landing, but the other two wheels completely stuck to the ramp and he was level in no time. (I never went in for the supercharger, as it required batteries, which kinda seemed like cheating, to me. I had the Thundershift 500)

By: uni verse

uni verse — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 16:00:14 -0800

Thats nothing... try doing it without the automobile!

By: ShutterBun

ShutterBun — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 16:10:43 -0800

I'm sure at least one Mefite has tried that.

By: davebush

davebush — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 16:17:37 -0800

I recall our family cat (Buttons) having a fascination with the Supercharger, leading to numerous paw related wipe-outs. Also, just remembered laying track over stacks of encyclopedias to make hills.

By: aubilenon

aubilenon — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 16:24:38 -0800

In that actual ad with the orange loops, I really wanted them to show a super far away shot with maybe a little smoke or dust but mostly you just see the loops wobbling back and forth a little as the car goes through them.

By: lilkeith07

lilkeith07 — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 16:53:51 -0800

This could get even more dangerous if they do what I did and use the ramps to launch cars at my sleeping dad.

By: klarck

klarck — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 16:55:33 -0800

If the car was true to form, the 4 little springy things the wheels were attached to would have gotten bent to hell: the wheels permanently set in an arthritic camber and pigeon toe-in. And end up being traded to my little brother in a multi-car deal for a lousy Matchbox Studebaker wagon.

By: ROU_Xenophobe

ROU_Xenophobe — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 17:10:49 -0800

They really ought to have had Adam Ferrara and Routledge Wood take some sort of mass transit to get to the end of the ramp.

By: djrock3k

djrock3k — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 17:11:50 -0800

I would have been more impressed if the car had made the jump propelled only by gravity or possibly a large rubber band. But then they would have had to build a gigantic table to clamp onto, which is an entirely different engineering nightmare. Old Spice Man Voice: "Spring Loaded Pusher Plate!" 1. Side by Side Jumping MUST be next. My inner 7 year old will not be denied! 2. I repeat: Detroit. Pick 5 Hot Wheels. Build them. Profit! (I would sell everything for a WhipCreamer. Everything.)

By: bwg

bwg — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 17:12:19 -0800

chococat: "That was awesome. I still have my shoebox of cars at my parents place that my son sometimes plays with. At some point in my youth I became aware of things and stopped calling them "dinky toys," which was a weird Canadian thing I guess." Nope, I called them dinky toys too.

By: gottabefunky

gottabefunky — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 17:19:10 -0800

Why do they keep calling him "Yellow Driver"? And his face is pixellated at first?

By: bwg

bwg — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 17:22:16 -0800

gottabefunky: "Why do they keep calling him "Yellow Driver"? And his face is pixellated at first?" No doubt, that guy was anything but yellow.

By: box

box — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 17:30:24 -0800

I just started singing 'Yellow Driver.' To the tune of 'Holy Diver,' natch.

By: and miles to go before I sleep

and miles to go before I sleep — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 17:45:59 -0800

I got into the stands just in time to see that go down. It was more impressive than I thought it would be. Even my other half, who's kind of an IndyCar purist, thought it was cool. Though he was kind of pissed about having that garish orange track in a lot of his pictures. Actually, as someone who's been indifferent to racing all her life, I was more impressed by the whole shebang than I thought I would be. I guess that's why they call it "the greatest spectacle in racing."

By: mcrandello

mcrandello — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 17:51:57 -0800

When did the orange track become a thing? Me and everyone I knew growing up either had the red, white and blue bicentennial set or some other white track with thin lines on the outside of the lane. I remember there were at least two varieties I had though and even though they would fit together with those plastic shims the track height would be off by just enough to throw the car hundreds of scale-feet away from everything. Glad they didn't have that problem at Indy.

By: pmcp

pmcp — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 18:31:17 -0800

Why did they pixelate the driver's face at the beginning of that video?

By: dejah420

dejah420 — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 19:44:10 -0800

1.) So damn cool! 2.) Can't wait to show Boy in the AM. 3.) WTF Pixelation? 4.) Booth babes, track candy, pit vipers; goddamn I'm tired of all motorsports having these toothy smiling vacuous female-shaped carbon manikins wrapped in sponsor spandex, standing behind everyone who talks on camera. Jesus, that annoys me.

By: eye of newt

eye of newt — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 19:55:09 -0800

Why do they keep calling him "Yellow Driver"? And his face is pixellated at first?-- gottabefunky They are making it all about the brand and not the driver (though that is some fancy driving!). Anyone getting the reputation of Evil Kenevil quickly becomes no longer affordable and the ad campaign comes to a halt. They can even use different drivers for different stunts. Or different colors! Reminds me of a neighbor who used to have an all-yellow leather motorcycle outfit. He'd always come out of his house with his helmet on. My young Power Ranger loving son's jaw would drop when he saw him. The neighbor once noticed this, and thereafter would always do some quick Karate moves before getting on his cycle, further blowing my son's mind.

By: Purposeful Grimace

Purposeful Grimace — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 20:06:30 -0800

When did the orange track become a thing? Orange track predates any of the fancy bicentennial tracks. It's the original, with purple connectors, iirc. And taking a gander for that turned up something I had completely forgotten about, the Snake vs Mongoose drag pack, that had little parachutes lying under the track you had to repack each run. Your car would hit the little tab sticking up from the box and pull the chute out, and it was so glorious it ate my wee mind. ♫ Misty watercolored memorieeeeeesssss ♫ Speaking of, did anyone have a Sizzlers Fat Track, with the little rechargeable ni-cad battery cars? It was Mattel's attempt to update Hot Wheels. #1 speaks of the scars from the orange tracks but a headshot from one of those ginormous Fat Track straightaways was the equivalent of taking a 1x6 to the noggin. And hurling one of the rigid banked curve sections boomerang stylee meant stitches for recipient.

By: ShutterBun

ShutterBun — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 21:57:46 -0800

goddamn I'm tired of all motorsports having these toothy smiling vacuous female-shaped carbon manikins wrapped in sponsor spandex, standing behind everyone who talks on camera. They're just there to shield the camera from the image of actual racing fans.

By: ShutterBun

ShutterBun — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 22:23:45 -0800

Why do they keep calling him "Yellow Driver"? And his face is pixellated at first? Anonymity seems to work pretty well for The Stig.

By: DaddyNewt

DaddyNewt — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 23:06:39 -0800

Still got 'em.

By: palbo

palbo — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 04:24:06 -0800

Oh man, it reminds me of that Brøderbund game i used to love so much.

By: palbo

palbo — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 04:25:53 -0800

Hmm, better video of the stunts game.

By: kcds

kcds — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 04:32:40 -0800

By: benito.strauss

benito.strauss — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 06:16:37 -0800

That shade of orange triggers an automatic "Cool!" deep in my 5 year old brain. And mere talk of the purple connectors is more evocative than Proust's madeline.

By: smackfu

smackfu — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 06:43:52 -0800

And the landing was pretty marginal when you look at the head-on view -- guess they had the suspension tune for it as the car just sucked up the impact... kind of amazing. Yeah, this 269' jump with a rally car would have totally wrecked with that landing.

By: quin

quin — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 07:55:48 -0800

Seeing that Tanner Foust was involved, I thought for sure that this was going to be an effort on the part of the Top Gear America team to finally do something bigger than the original BBC version. I look forward to seeing what they make James May do in response.

By: daHIFI

daHIFI — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 08:43:37 -0800

There was something on TV a few Sunday's ago, maybe the week of or two weeks before the Indy 500. Hot Wheels engineers installed a length of orange track to a sheer cliff face with 'minimal environmental impact' for when the track was removed. Some bad ass then proceeded to drive said track, making full speed hairpin turns hundreds of feet above the forest canopy before coming to a stop on a trap door which then dropped him straight down to another section of track a hundred feet below. "At least we know the trap door works" said the sexy command ops lady.

By: straight

straight — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 14:29:32 -0800

This is the first global brand equity spot in the history of the brand that was designed to work against the core demo Am I the only one creeped out by the fact that it's apparently standard advertising jargon to speak of ads as working "against" the target audience. As if they're saying "we think this ad will defeat the (intelligence? sales resistance?) of our targets." As if referring to potential customers as "targets" isn't bad enough.

By: mrbill

mrbill — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 14:13:16 -0800

There's got to be some sort of connection between being beat by a sibling with Hot Wheels track as a kid and enjoyment of a lil' BDSM later in life..