Hot Wheels
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Hot Wheels is a popular brand of toy automobile, introduced by U.S. toymaker Mattel in 1968. It was the primary competitor of Matchbox until 1996, when Mattel acquired rights to that brand as well.
Most Hot Wheels cars measure about 2½ inches (6 cm) in length, and are approximately 1:64 scale.
Aside from their popularity as toys, Hot Wheels cars are also popular collectibles. Mattel estimates that 41 million children, mostly boys, grew up playing with the toys, the average collector has over 1,550 cars, and children between the ages of 5 and 15 have an average of 41 cars. A June 2005 episode of Antiques Roadshow valued a late 1960s collection of Hot Wheels cars in their original packaging at roughly $100 each, with some of the more rare models worth $200-$300 each.
The Hot Wheels brand also sold plastic track on which the cars rolled and which could be placed to make interesting jumps and loops. Motive power was by means of gravity, with the starting end of the course placed higher than the end by means of an included C clamp. A dual set of tracks could be set up and using a starting gate a race could be conducted. Later sets had both a plastic starting gate and finishing flag which would be tripped by the first car although a visual ascertainment was usually sufficient.
Other sets included a Supercharger that had an electric motors and foam covered wheels that propelled the car around a loop of track as the cars passed through. Accessories included a lap counter and a speedometer. Sizzlers had a built in motor and a tiny rechargable battery. Fat Track was black (in contrast to the regular track's orange color), about four times as wide as regular track, and was intended for Sizzlers.