Are Hot Wheels and Matchbox Cars the Same?

They are the same in terms of being die-cast toy cars. Hot Wheels and Matchbox are both owned by the same company Mattel. At first, Matchbox was owned by Lesney Products in 1953, but then the company was bought by Mattel in 1997.

On the contrary, Hot Wheels and Matchbox are NOT the same in several ways. One significant difference is the type of car models that they have in their catalog. Hot Wheels focus on the production of sporty and high-speed car models such as Ferrari and Lamborghini. Hot Wheels also have many fantasy cars, which means they have no counterparts in the real world. On the other hand, Matchbox cars have a more diverse lineup of car designs ranging from a few sports cars to utility and military trucks, which you may see and use in the real world.

How Did Hot Wheels Beat Out Matchbox?

How hot wheels beat Matchbox was made possible by making sure that every detail of the car stood out from the rest of its competitors. First, Hot Wheels cars were painted with brighter colors such as bright pink, bright blue, bright purple, along with other flashy prints. This design allows the Hot Wheels competitors, including Matchbox cars, to look dull and drab. Second, Hot Wheels were created with wheels that are fat and wide, unlike Matchbox cars that have narrow wheels. Another significant feature that Hot Wheels have is its plastic tires, while the Matchbox cars have metal tires. With plastic tires, Hot Wheels were found to create less friction, thus making it more capable of running faster than Matchbox cars. In addition, Matchbox cars also have bulky axles, which only made the car unable to run faster than Hot Wheels that were manufactured with lighter axles. Another factor that led Hot Wheels to beat Matchbox is their production of fantasy cars. Matchbox only produced realistic cars that have real-life counterparts. On the other hand, Hot Wheels produced fantasy and other themed cars that give its collectors more freedom to let their imagination just fly away while collecting and playing with Hot Wheels.