5ywjdPumpkinPrincess
37794
906
19
Dec 21, 2025 12:49 AM
5ywjdPumpkinPrincess
37794
906
19
TheFastpaws
Enshitification at every level.
CapnCumbut
Who gives a shit... they're $1.29 and my little boy loves them. Also, they can still put holes in the drywall. ;)
RavenBlue
That is not to far off from what the underside of a C7 Corvette looks like.
shappa357
Having an early 1960's one hummed at you by your older brother will really show you the difference in weight!!
TungstenOrbital
There's that word again "heavy", why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the earth's gravitational pull?
sochilln
Shrinkflammation
Targe0
Or their cars are just EV's now, because that's what an EV looks like under it.
DarthGoodguy
The 70’s ones had working gasoline engines
slyvic
Getting hit in the head with the 1997 actually hurt.
dumbledong69
I buy hot wheels for my son on a regular basis. The bottoms change car to car
ShammieGiggles
Fun factoid, the actual average price of a hot wheels car has not changed over the many decades they've been around.
kaijuuGold
still not a matchbox fan
Toqom
The extra details have turned into insane CEO pay that makes everything worse
gobby
Still, they're the only brand my kid can't destroy
SavageDrums
I should track down some of mine from when I was a kid in the early 80s. Those were solid (and probably coated in some nice, healthy lead paint!)
oldguyexlurker
I think the ones I had in the late 60s RAN. Hoods came up, engines were detailed, doors opened...
Xenarion
Enshitification.
MapleSyrupMafia
The old ones where built like a gun bought from Boris! Heavy, reliable and if it doesn't work, you can hit someone with it.
clonedeeznuts
Enshitification is a mere feature of late stage crapitalism
nojustsayitdont
I have no complaints about this years offerings of Hot Wheels. They make the track now so it locks together. I remember when I was but a wee lad, the track would slip apart.
Atomic2
Well 1, they're still sold for like $1.50 in most places, sometimes cheaper. $1.25 at dollar tree. I found a photo online with a price tag of 93cents from walmart, claiming to be from 1982, so that would be about $2.80 today with inflation. And 2, there are still models with details on the bottom! Not sure when they decide to go full detail or not but go to a store and look at the bottoms of several. Some still have it, some don't.
lunky
Especially when you look at transformers, wildly expensive and not very detailed
ruffmalinois
The new hotwheels seem to be easier to customize? The customization videos on YouTube are pretty cool.
ThatOtherGirlYouKnow
Oh I love customizing them for Gaslands
TheBlueMuppet
Youtube Junkyard Joust or Apocalypse Joust. Thank me later, lol.
b00guy
I remember some of them having rubber tires too.
Sticklebrickk
Those are the "Secret Set", released every time a new set comes out, there are a few Hotwheels released with rubber tires and actual car paint, as a secret set.
jsexton
They did them in the 70s too, with Goodyear branded tires even.
Etherealvalentine
Oh I had no idea. I guess my one cool black car was special. Thanks!
TheSkleebler
Quite special. When I worked at Zellers boomers would stalk the toy aisle on delivery day and open any boxes you would leave out looking for Treasure Hunt cars, so you will NEVER find special hot wheels in the wild.
Etherealvalentine
Wow, some people, the types who do that. I got mine from a bunch of hot wheels in a bin, that, I think, someone from a church gave my sister and I. We never really got new toys, so someone, somewhere, gave it to us. I loved that car, and called it Shadow. It was always racing my horses (and sometimes the horses would race on top of the car! How they drove who knows?). :D What a crazy thing to find out! Nice to think of things forgotten.
TheSkleebler
I'm stoked that you're so grateful to that random somebody, because those old dudes staking out toys are taking the experience of finding them from some kid. For what, a stupid collection to show your stupid friends? Selfish.
They were always real pushy too. Sometimes I'd pretend to go "not find them" in the back
ThatPug
Were they not changed previous to 1997? I feel like they were around forever before that
altrdgenetics
not really, there was some differences over their long life span but for the most part they were the same till materials got more expensive and they wanted to keep their $1.25 price tag. What is currently referred to as the $6 premium hot wheels are closer to the old style and what they would all most likely cost today if they kept the old style materials.
ThatPug
Yeah looked it up looks like they were around in the late 60's I wonder if those cars were like actually usable as weapons or something
StopCallingMeIAmNotYourBrother
The ones I had from the early 70's weigh about 5 times as much as the new ones. Put them on the launchers for the new ones and they can do some damage.
ThatPug
They probably desperately wanted to cut you as well, I doubt they were making sure shit was rounded edges back then lol
mksu
As I go to buy gifts for my young niblings, I'm forced to conclude that toys just fucking suck these days.
Selfawerewolf
Enshittification, my friend. It touches everything.
njessup1992
It's a good thing they're so cheap--wait
somnif
Legos are still pretty awesome. Just... pricey.
albaboss
God isn’t that the truth. I don’t by from Amazon but anything anyone gets my son from there breaks within a few months. He’s rough but still, nothing lasts
strawberrycocoa
Amazon isn't really a fair method of assessing toy quality, honestly. It's flooded with bad knockoffs or shoddily made fly-by-night no-name products, including blatant copyright circumvention.
ThingsThatDontJustifyGenocide
10+ different companies selling the exact same thing, just hoping you'll not take the time to find the cheapest
They're all shitty, and overpriced, and most of them ship from China.
Mountons
And don't give Amazon your money if you have any other options
EroticZombiePants
It's probably still an apt assessment though given roughly 99% of companies have fully embraced the "If we make everything shoddy, they will break sooner, and people will have to get a replacement sooner, which will result in more profits" method of production over anything resembling good quality.
Muffyns
i just keep using item warranties and be like well it broke in under a year and you got this warranty here and then the product they send has a new warranty
DYLANLEE79
I remember the best ones had opening doors and hoods and trunks.
SerialSeb
Wait, they don't anymore?
colinstu
that was Matchbox, not Hotwheels.
Whoisthisdoctorwho2000
Mostly Matchbox were the more realistic cars
REOJackwagon
A different brand, Fast111s had license plates and separate keys that would lock the operable doors.
Audasity
not after i got ahold of them they didnt!
Comet260
And changing colors.
sufferinsuccotash
And Tiny steering wheels that moved
CJAW
And a little mouse that would get in the car and drive it around
Level21Magikarp
'97 could put a hole in the drywall.
onlyhalfghost
so can 2016, if you're not a coward.
smegheadenergy
Have you felt the hotwheels heft from the 60’s?
ThatKrellus
To be fair, basically anything could put a hole in drywall
FingerPuppeteer
That's why they were recommended for ages 8 and up, younger kids couldn't lift them!
rspewth
Remember the ones with resettable crash damage?
zigbigidorlu
So could my father. It's why we don't talk anymore.
QueefSlurper6372
Pfft.....I still have some from the early 1970s. You could take out a concrete wall with them.
ChelVanin
All that wartime steel had to be repurposed somewhere.
Bubble181
I still have one from the mid-forties. Little known fact, but little boy and fat man were, in fact, hot wheels cars.
Metallica93
Jokingly threw a Batmobile at my cousin once when I was a kid. Right in the dome. Just... blood everywhere, lol.
unicorncentaur
While not a Batmobile, my mom’s friend had a horrible little brat that clocked me in the head with a metal Tonka truck in the 90s. Shit hurt.
TheCriticsWereConciseItOnlyTookFourLines
They eventually discontinued the blood-filled batmobiles
slinkiisu
Fuck, where do i get my blood from now
tmphillips11
Johnsky
To be fair, so have actual cars. Now they all have splash shields the entire length of the chassis.
n3rdsquared
As big as trucks gotten I bet I dont even need ot look at one to know there is so much more room in the engine bay and added crap to make it look bigger.
TheCastleMan
It’s for aerodynamics and fuel economy Not saying I agree with it but I get it
EricPisch
It’s for aero to reduce drag and improve efficiency and emissions
Somnophobe
I wonder if there’s a market for hot wheels branded splash shields for real cars?
mohavewolfpup
Camaro had a hot wheels edition one of the model years. Forgot if it was 2013?
Omicron416
Speaking as a Minnesotan, snow and road salt make them very much needed.
Rust is bad.
Johnsky
I would agree, but as a Canadian mechanic, I happen to know all it does is concentrate salt slush against the chassis, and hold it there until it melts.
Omicron416
Hm, was not aware of this, thank you.
TheSkleebler
Salt slush being preferred to potash also. That's the "good" outcome
ps238principal
For the first three years or so, sure.
Johnsky
Lol, yeah. The worst are those fabric like shields. They become like a wet blanket and drop off quickly.
CyberHexx
Yep, then you hit a rabbit, the plastic fasteners break and you hear a horrific dragging noise leaving only one thought in your head, "Oh that poor bunny!"
StNickCage
Black Rabbit is a good show. Just reminded me is all.
MenloPart
Plastic engine covers?
Kehy
my prius has them, for a variety of reasons I assume, but I also assume at least a couple of those reasons involve the battery
Johnsky
Yeah, manufacturers like them to hide horrid wiring harnesses and poorly planned fuel lines, all the while adding sound insulation under it to muffle the horrid noises coming from its valve train and high pressure fuel pump.
MenloPart
I have read of manufacturers claiming that a quart of oil lost per 1,000 miles (1L per 1.694km) is normal.
I'm surprised they haven't designed the undertray to drain oil while moving and collect it while stationary.
Johnsky
I have heard the same bullshit. I was also told not to address the parasitic draw on a customers car because "Half an amp draw is still acceptable parasitic draw"
MenloPart
How long would it take to kill a new battery?
Tarmaccian
And that’s how this picture was debunked last time it made the rounds. Somebody went and figured out what the three model cars were, and found pictures of the underside of the real cars, and they’re pretty much the same level of accuracy across the years.
It was also pointed out that the examples are somewhat cherry-picked, because cars from a given year have a range of underside detail, and the image seems to feature only ones that promote the ragebait narrative.
IamNoneOfTheThingsISayIam
Ah…. Old Imgur was a wonderful place
straha242
Top one is a Corvette C7, it's got plenty of underside detail that would look great in plastic relief.
bolobass
Now put the rest of the kit on.
LaikaTheSpaceBitch
Can’t park there mate.
Necrothean
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.corvetteforum.com-vbulletin/1200x900/20200416_202521_110ce7de3035c3baaf62f2d742e6d7c51162d096.jpg
Your picture is with the full composite undertray removed. All of them showing off an unobstructed view that I've find so far are. But this is what that tray load like: a wall of black plastic and a centrally located metal portion. No yellow or red, barely any silver, just a wall-to-wall damage guard.
TheSkleebler
Mine is only a C4, but trust me that car needs all the help it can get. Corvettes are reliable underneath, but somewhat..fragile. It isn't called the "plastic fantastic" for nothing after all.
straha242
Though that's actually a C8, you can tell easily by the blue oil filter being in different locations. Both of them have it on the drivers side, but the C8 has it in the rear, C7 front.
TheSkleebler
You're right, you can see the engine in the back too. I honestly didn't look closely the first time. Speaking of, are they all wheel drive now?