Hot Wheels Rolls out New '07 Models

Mattel has unveiled the first wave of its Hot Wheels® new basic car assortment for 2007, ensuring that kids, collectors and car enthusiasts will have no trouble finding something to quench their desire for speed, power and performance. More than 180 different basic cars will join the Hot Wheels® fleet in the 2007 model year with a number of exciting additions to the brand that epitomizes popular car culture.

Leading these new additions is the eagerly anticipated Mystery™ car segment which features 24 different vehicles in specially designed “blind” packaging. Since fans’ view of the car is obscured, they will not know which model they’ve purchased until they open the package, encouraging trading among collectors. Mystery™ cars will be produced in varying quantities, meaning each purchase is another chance to find a very rare model.

“As a kid, I used to love buying baseball cards, never knowing exactly what I was going to get, and trading with my friends for the cards that I needed,” said Geoff Walker, vice president of Wheels Marketing, Mattel Brands. “We’re creating the same kind of experience for kids and Hot Wheels collectors, giving them the thrill-of-the-hunt which is so central to the appeal of collecting.” Walker added that unlike card collecting, the cost of collecting Hot Wheels® cars has remained relatively constant throughout its nearly 40-year history, making it easier for kids to build their collection. “While the price for a pack of baseball cards can easily approach $5, you can collect and trade Hot Wheels Mystery cars for less than a dollar. And, our cars are certainly more fun. After all, you can’t race baseball cards.”

More surprises are in store with Code™ cars, another new segment with special codes etched on the car chassis, similar to a real vehicle’s VIN. Entering the code on the newly relaunched Hot Wheels® Web site (www.hotwheels.com) will reveal information on the car and also unlock special web-exclusive content, such as screen savers and hidden game levels. Each code is unique, even on the same model, making each individual car’s online properties completely distinctive. And, for the first time, hotwheels.com/cars features a site solely dedicated to cars with games, downloads and an interactive tool so that kids can track their collection online.

In addition to the two new segments, there are some modifications for the 2007 Hot Wheels® basic car line. Always popular with collectors, the scarce Treasure Hunt series of cars will be produced in greater numbers, making them easier to find for kids and the casual consumer. Joining the mix will be a new series of “super” Treasure Hunt cars, produced in smaller quantities than the regular Treasure Hunt cars.

“We found that we’d made the series so popular with our collectors that kids rarely had a chance of finding a Treasure Hunt car on the shelf,” explained Walker. “By increasing production on the regular Treasure Hunt models, and introducing the new ‘super’ Treasure Hunt cars, we are serving both audiences.”

Other segments include Track Stars™, which achieve optimum performance on the classic orange Hot Wheels® track; 2007 New Models, 36 models that have never been made before; and 12 “teams” of cars that all share a similar trait – Hummers, Camaros, hot rod taxi cabs and more.

The 2007 line of Hot Wheels® basic cars is on store shelves now for a suggested retail price of $0.99 each, with new models rolling out monthly throughout the year. For more information, visit www.hotwheels.com.