For decades, brands like Hot Wheels and Matchbox have allowed car enthusiasts of all ages to own perfect tiny versions of their favorite cars. But what about the broken car you have in your driveway right now, or perhaps your first car? There isn’t a Hot Wheels for your shitbox sitting on blocks in your driveway. Well, not until now. Starting tomorrow, you can buy the Hot Wheels x MSCHF Not Wheels, perhaps the crappiest car to ever be put into a bubble pack. We have to look at the details of this thing because they’re great.
While this car seems to be completely random, it makes much more sense when you realize it’s a part of Mattel Creations. What is Mattel Creations? Well, Mattel calls it an “elevated collector platform” for creators to collaborate with Mattel to craft limited-edition toys for today’s collectors.
In other words, Mattel noticed that a lot of today’s adults love collecting Hot Wheels, Barbie, and other toys, but has also noticed that adults love pop-culture brands like Supreme and Daniel Arsham. Some might see these collabs as shameless cash grabs, and the high prices for these toys (relative to their regular examples, anyway) doesn’t help. At the very least, the toys that come out of the other end look really cool.
The name Mattel Creations is also supposed to be a nod to Mattel’s origins. In 1945, Businessman Harold “Matt” Matson joined forces with Elliot and Ruth Handler to open Mattel Creations out of a garage in Los Angeles. Like so many companies, Mattel is just two names mashed together, in this case Matson and Elliot. The company’s first products were picture frames and dollhouse furniture crafted out of the scraps from those frames. Eventually, the Handlers would gain full control of the company and over time, Mattel would grow into the toy giant that it is today.
The modern incarnation of Mattel Creations has cranked out some really artsy toys from a hot 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 to a customizable Toyota Tacoma. You can even buy a reimagining of the famous Hot Wheels Deora II, so long as you’re willing to spend $70 on a small diecast car, anyway.
This time around, Mattel and Hot Wheels is collaborating with MSCHF, the designers of intentionally absurd shoes, boots, and handbags. MSCHF’s whole thing is to be sort of annoying on purpose, as seen by its products and mission statement that it’s “an art and media company known for creating viral and controversial products that generate media attention and public debate.” MSCHF’s website has that low-fi ’90s Internet vibe that you get from other companies like Pit Viper and it’s almost certainly nostalgia bait for ’90s kids like me. Honestly, I’m a bit stunned that you can really buy double-ended flip-flop-style high heels for $450 from this company. Are people actually doing that?
The Diecast
Well, I guess all of this marketing has worked on me because I adore this little Hot Wheels x MSCHF Not Wheels shitbox.
The description of this one gets right to the point:
In an homage to the beat-up but reliable car that many drivers start off with, we partnered with art and media company MSCHF to create a “Not Wheels” vehicle. Inspired by early 1990s Japanese imports, it has three different wheels (two Real Riders classic tires, one yellow spare tire, and a rusted wheel hub) but tons of personality. Thoroughly dented, rusted, and amateurly repaired, our Not Wheels car proudly shows off both how hard it’s been driven and how much it’s been loved.
Like a car from Grand Theft Auto, it’s supposed to look generically like a ’90s Japanese beater, which makes sense. I’m not sure Honda would license a beater Civic. The front end gives me late ’80s Toyota Camry feels while the rear seems like it’s Lexus-inspired, but I cannot put my finger on exactly which model.
Anyway, the intricate details here are incredible. The car is peppered in rust, mismatched panels, dents, scrapes, stickers, spray foam body repairs, and even zip ties. I love how the windows are cracked and dirty and even some parking tickets are making an appearance. Of course, this is supposed to be a replica of a first car, so the requisite fart-can exhaust and terrible wing are there, too.
Heck, the detail is so fine here that the headlights are yellowed out, a taillight is smashed, the driver mirror is taped on, and one wheel is a donut spare while another is just straight-up missing. Finally, you get the calling card of every worn out car: a seatbelt that no longer retracts, hanging forlornly over the door sill.
Even the packaging is humorous with “Used For 2024” and spins on Mattel’s usual boilerplate. There’s “NO WARRANTY” in place of the usual Limited Lifetime Warranty details, and instead of pointing out the car may not be suitable for some tracks as per Mattel standard, the card explains the shitbox is not suitable for people with country club memberships.
It’s all good fun and MSCHF certainly nailed down the true shitbox feel. Some of you probably know how it feels to blow a tire when your car is already wearing its donut spare on another tire that blew.
Right, so now I have the bad news. This car goes on sale tomorrow at 1 p.m. Central time and only a limited number will be sold. Mattel won’t even say how many will be made and the company wants you to chuck out $30 for this. Just typing that made me feel icky. I can almost guarantee scalpers will be picking these things up and putting them on eBay for five times their cost in no time flat, and now I want to vomit.
So, if you’re willing to spend $30 on a shitbox Hot Wheels car, you better buy as soon as they come out or you might miss the boat. I hate saying that as much as you hate reading it.
Still, I’m thoroughly entertained by this little 1:64 diecast. Finally, Hot Wheels is making a car that looks like every poor enthusiast’s first car or the beater of someone who might participate in the Gambler 500. I’d love to see this happen again, but maybe as a regular series vehicle.
(Update: August 30 – The car sold out in mere minutes. I had a timer set for the drop time and I was just a few minutes late, yet I still couldn’t get one. Either this was super limited production or you’re about to see scalpers with these all over the Internet. To say this is a bummer is an understatement. I’ve reached out to Mattel to see if I can deliver some good news.)
And that’s a wrap! These things sold out in minutes. No word on if there will be a second batch, but if you weren’t there exactly at the drop time today you missed out. Ouch.
Bummer you couldn’t get one. I too had an alarm set and managed to snag one. I added it to cart within 2 seconds of it going on sale and then got put into a queue to check out that took like 4 minutes, I was so paranoid I wasn’t going to get it. I should’ve grabbed the 3 they allowed to share with Autopians but I didn’t think about that until I was in line and I wasn’t about to go risk losing the one by going back.
Awesome to hear a first hand account of at least one not going to ebay scalpers.
Oh wow. $80 for a hot wheels car. That’s crazy!
I’ve been an RLC member for a few years now (not that these are RLC), and have never heard of a second drop. Is that something that happens? It would annihilate the second hand market for the first drop for a while.
For way less money you can buy a 1:24 scale model and build it into a hooptie. As kids my friend and i would heat and melt body panels to create “accidents”. Of course playing with fire was also fun, so some ended up as charred hulks.
I had a woodburning kit as a kid that was never used for its intended purpose—Wolverine sustained some pretty gruesome injuries that his healing factor was never able to heal. My Hot Wheels (actually, more like Yat Mings, which I maintain were better anyway) didn’t get that treatment, having metal bodies and all that, but they did get really crappy paint jobs.
What a crock of shit! I hope the ebay scalpers rot in used motor oil!
The body lines remind me of the Mazda 323. Agree on taillights looking Lexus-like and headlights honestly could be anything econobox from that era
I noticed it is made in China so the first thing I did was take a screen shot and scan it in Taobao. I found one seller who is charging 999RMB for it, and apparently already sold three! Well, there goes my dreams of buying a bunch of cheap toy cars, selling them to you all and getting rich quick. Back to the drawing board.
…aaand they’re all on ebay now.
$80, what a crock
$80 at best, and I saw only a couple that cheap. Lots of people trying to flip these for over $100 when you factor in shipping. Also, everyone’s charging $20+ for shipping, which is a rip-off in itself. Fuck these people, I hope no one buys these off of ebay.
Check “Completed Listings” and then sort by “Ended recently” and you’ll see a downward slope of prices since Friday morning. I am hoping they drop to about even (~$40) before I buy. Might never get there.
The price should go down as Ebay’s saturated with them. Even at a lower price I’m not biting. Kinda thought the original $30 + shipping & taxes was a little steep.
Wow, just Wow. Shit box showdown has made it to Mattel. As a life long collector of both Hot wheels and Match boxes, I’m not impressed at all and a bit scared. BTW Hot wheels cars front ends face the right in their packages, and the front ends on Match boxes face the left of the package. I’m sure Mattel will follow up with 1/64ish scale cinder blocks and an engine cherry picker to make your total poor white trash miniature display complete. Mattel’s Following release after that will be an old trailer house with plywood covered windows and a blue tarp over half the roof.
Anyone remember Hot Wheels’ “Crack-Ups”?
https://youtu.be/qKjXqNSAut0?si=_kNcFJkyD47bqaQ8
I had some as a kid. You can pick up one or two of these for cheap on eBay.
I don’t have any interest in this in the slightest, but I can’t stand artificially “limited“ products like this. People who really want one, if they are unlucky enough to not get one in time they are ultimately disappointed or have to pay eBay scalpers and that’s not fun for anyone but the scalpers. The only thing that’s worse are blind bag collectibles.
Yeah I try not to yuck others’ yum but I’m trying to figure out when people get sick of this saturation of beanie babies limited edition BUY NOW HOLY SHIT COLLECTIBLE –
I get falling for Pokemon cards when you’re 6 or 13 (guilty as charged) but like, you’re supposed to get wise to the fact it’s only bragging rights instead of dropping $30 on a single toy car.
The FOMO and “I have to have the latest and greatest (before receiving it, cherishing it for 2 minutes, and then setting sights on the next one)” is MASSIVE with the Hot Wheels community. If you have patience, you’ll be able to get a lot more of the castings you like for cheap.