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Art & Inspiration Hot Wheels. Getting Kids back into car culture.....slightly OT.

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by CanUFelix, Jun 27, 2012.

  1. CanUFelix
    Joined: Jan 29, 2009
    Posts: 503

    CanUFelix
    Member
    from venice CA

    So over the past few years i've noticed a topic pop up every few months....why dont kids care about car culture any more? well, its a question that i deal with every day at work. If Kids dont care about cars they aint gonna be buying Hotwheels much longer right? well the fact of it is that there's been no place for cars in popular culture for the past twenty years and so most kids just don't see cars as aspirational and cool any more. Well for the past couple of years my coleagues and I have been working to address this issue...and its gonna take time. we started last year with the logest ever jump by a four wheeled vehicle at the 100th anniversary of the Indy 500 and this Saturday we bring to life the most Iconic of all Hot Wheels elements, the orange loop, on a scale no one can believe until they see it. The cars are unapologetically OT, mainly because the G's involved mean that the cars need to be ultra tough and ultra light and I know most of you will hate that, BUT the ethos of this event should give any one who loves the internal combustion engine, and the california car culture that spawned this wild little brand, a great big grin. its gonna be broadcast round the globe on ESPN so i hope some of you will get a kick out of it. I hope this doesnt come over as a shameless plug. I genuinley want to excite those of you in our community that haven't forgotten the thrill of being one of those daydreaming kids. and yes, my mother used to whip me with Hot Wheels track too.......

    hope some of you get a kick out of it.
    All the best,
    Felix
     
  2. CanUFelix
    Joined: Jan 29, 2009
    Posts: 503

    CanUFelix
    Member
    from venice CA

    Had to upload an image from my phone... Hope it works.
    Felix
     

    Attached Files:

  3. deto
    Joined: Jun 26, 2010
    Posts: 2,620

    deto
    Member

  4. deto
    Joined: Jun 26, 2010
    Posts: 2,620

    deto
    Member

    Holy shit balls... That's rad
     

  5. Xtrom
    Joined: Mar 23, 2010
    Posts: 1,029

    Xtrom
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Forman, ND

  6. Just need a Sizzler charging station and your ready to go. Loved my Hotwheels. Wish I still had them.
     
  7. Gromit
    Joined: Oct 13, 2011
    Posts: 726

    Gromit
    Member

    Why OT cars? my 40 Ford Hotwheel made the loop :p

    That's seriously cool. and a good use for cars I don't give a hoot about :)
     
  8. frankenfords
    Joined: Dec 3, 2009
    Posts: 278

    frankenfords
    Member
    from SoCal

    Where/when is this going to happen???
     
  9. AZbent
    Joined: Nov 26, 2011
    Posts: 279

    AZbent
    Member

    There is a guy here that has organized a car show/hot wheel race event every Friday night. He is a real D*** and not many cars show up. But at least he is trying to get children involved in cars. My youngest son (15) won't go over there with me because of him and there are only a few cars that show up. (My truck is still tore apart). The kids that do show up and buy a car from him can race them down a track.
    Mark
     
  10. Tim
    Joined: Mar 2, 2001
    Posts: 17,097

    Tim
    Member
    from KCMO

    whoa! this is amazing haha
     
  11. henry29
    Joined: Sep 5, 2007
    Posts: 2,873

    henry29
    Member

    O/T or not, any pics of the cars?
     
  12. tjmercury
    Joined: Oct 22, 2010
    Posts: 589

    tjmercury
    Member

    That looks dangerous, childish, wild, and somewhat foolish........on that note......do they take ride-a-longs? CAUSE I WANNA RIDE SHOTGUN!!!!
     
  13. Mike51Merc
    Joined: Dec 5, 2008
    Posts: 3,856

    Mike51Merc
    Member

    It's amazing to me the stunts that we see today. When I was a kid, Evel Knievel's jumps were about as radical as things got. We all wanted to do wheelies as well as he did and tried to jump our bicycles over trash cans. I remember when Motocross was a new sport and we all wanted a YZ80 or RM80.

    Today's extreme stunts put us to shame, and they also set a super high bar for the average kid to follow without killing himself in the process.
     
  14. cederholm
    Joined: May 6, 2006
    Posts: 1,748

    cederholm
    Member

    INSANE!!!!!!

    What, no car wash with big foam wheels? :D
     
  15. fbama73
    Joined: Jul 12, 2008
    Posts: 989

    fbama73
    Member

    Hot Wheels always have been, and always will be cool.

    Funny how the enjoyment reversed for me, though. When I was a kid,m I enjoyed getting them in good shape and wearing them out. Nowadays, I love taking one of these

    [​IMG]

    And turning into this

    [​IMG]

    And, in case anyone gets their panties in a knot- I never tell anyone that my restorations are anything other than a restoration. In addition, I refuse to use the reproduction "rivets." I use screws to put them back together, so anyone with half a brain can tell they're not original as soon as they turn the car over.
     
  16. That's really nice work! How much would you charge if I sent you some of my favorites? PM me....I won't send all 10k,haha. Maybe just a few hundred....

    BTW-Have Hotwheel races for $100 every year at my BBQ/Birthday Party.
     
  17. damagedduck
    Joined: Jun 16, 2011
    Posts: 2,341

    damagedduck
    Member
    from Greeley Co


    P/M me with prices too!or if ya want post it here :rolleyes:
     
  18. burninfatties
    Joined: Apr 25, 2011
    Posts: 65

    burninfatties
    Member
    from Ocala, FL

    Great work with the kids "canufelix". Im now glued to ESPN! Damn "fbama73" that looks like perfect restoration. How do U restore the wheels if they are all scratched up? Do you replace them?
     
  19. Pinstriper40
    Joined: Sep 24, 2007
    Posts: 3,602

    Pinstriper40
    Member

    Is it just me crossing my fingers or does it look like you crazy sunsabitches are going to loop and jump two cars at the same time? When is this going to happen? I smell X Games and Travis Pastrana...
     
  20. landseaandair
    Joined: Feb 23, 2009
    Posts: 4,485

    landseaandair
    Member
    from phoenix

    Any chance this will be streaming live on the web somewhere?
     
  21. I've often thought of the same topic. How can we interest more kids in cars?

    Last year I took it upon myself to hand out Hot Wheels from our car club's lead car in the local parade last year. You should have seen all the wide eyes. We will be doing the same again this year.

    Another idea I had, was for parts houses and custom shops to have a rack of Hot Wheels next to the checkout counters. Then when dad brings a child along there will be more than just car parts to see.

    I hope you post the video of your stunt cause up here in the Great White North we don't get ESPN directly.

    Go get'em.

    Doug.
     
  22. Gator
    Joined: Dec 29, 2005
    Posts: 4,016

    Gator
    Member

  23. CanUFelix
    Joined: Jan 29, 2009
    Posts: 503

    CanUFelix
    Member
    from venice CA

    It's going down at 11 am PST on Saturday as part of X games. Yep, two cars " drag racing" into one loop and then a death defying leap.....we built the thing just off Figueroa Blvd in down town LA.....it's a public event so you don't need X games Tickets. Tanner Foust and Greg Tracy will be the lunatics at the wheel...I'll be sure to post links on this thread once the feat is accomplished.....

    felix
     
  24. jcmarz
    Joined: Jan 10, 2010
    Posts: 4,631

    jcmarz
    Member
    from Chino, Ca

    There are a few kids out there who still dig cars and my 4 year old grandson is one of them. He's crazy over hot wheels and every time I see him, I buy him a hotwheel. Unfortunately, it's not the 50s and 60s anymore. Those were the heydays of Car Culture and cars meant something then. I grew up in the 60s and 70s and I always into hot wheels (My aunt worked at Mattel back in the late 60s and 70s in SoCal, so I always had the newest hot wheels and superchargers) I was also into Cox gas cars, model cars, slot cars, etc....but today is a computer age. It's all video games, ipods, facebook and tweeter. I hope that as my grandson grows, he will have a continued interest in cars. See what happens.
     
    Last edited: Jun 28, 2012
  25. fbama73
    Joined: Jul 12, 2008
    Posts: 989

    fbama73
    Member

    If the wheels are real bad, like the Sugar Caddy in the pics- yeah, I just replace them.

    And Bad Bob and Damaged Duck- I just do not have the time right now to even restore any of my own rather large "project box." But- it's really not that difficult to do. I can link you to sources for parts, if you're interested
     
  26. 07travis
    Joined: Sep 15, 2011
    Posts: 38

    07travis
    Member

    Can I get one of those mom? Can I?!?! Can I!?!?! PLEASE!!!!
     
  27. outlaw256
    Joined: Jun 26, 2008
    Posts: 2,022

    outlaw256
    Member

    MAN IM GOTTA SEE THIS!!! gonna be a really cool or really bad ending. either way it takes balls to do this. which i aint got! atleast not for this...ive got a 5 yr old grandson that loves old cars and he has more hotwheels than any klid i ever seen..i mean boxes and boxes.and he know which ones are the cool ones. like papaws!!
     
  28. Zombie Hot Rod
    Joined: Oct 22, 2006
    Posts: 2,452

    Zombie Hot Rod
    Member
    from New York

    Kids don't like doo-wop, DA's and poodle skirts. Kids don't like know it all guys telling everyone "what's what" with a bad attitude.

    Teenagers go to a car show and see a bunch of guys like their dad running around. . . and let's face it, no matter how cool you think you are, no teenager wants to be like their dad.

    John Milner is the complete opposite of what a 16 year old in this day and age on the verge of getting his driver's license thinks is cool.

    If you want the next generation to keep hot rods alive you need to appeal to their likes and interests. . . not what you liked in 1959.

    I make hot rod documentaries and I try to appeal to everyone. . . One thing I notice is that when I use "punk rock" music anyone over the age of 30 tells me that they hate the music. No matter how much work goes into the entire movie, and how informative and amazing the movie is, the one thing older people can't get past is the music.

    Now on the the other hand, everyone under the age of 30 tells me how awesome the music was and how it got them excited about cars. . . and that they never knew that guys like me were into this stuff too.

    So when you see me with the brim of my hat flipped up listening to "that terrible, loud, music" that you hate so much. . . I'm helping the younger generation see that people like themselves are also into hot rods.

    It's a give and take. . . kids like the cars, they just don't want to hang around a bunch of grumpy old guys telling them what to do. They get enough of that at home and at school.
     
  29. flatheadpete
    Joined: Oct 29, 2003
    Posts: 10,479

    flatheadpete
    Member
    from Burton, MI

    Holy crap. Do ya need a driver?
     
  30. oh my god.

    gonna set the DVR!
     

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