I was non-plussed when I saw this ace TV ad on You Tube.
I was searching for Superfast die-cast cars.
Matchbox Superfast.
I found this 1971 Mattel ad first. Mattel?
Did they market Matchbox Superfast in the States?
and what is that car at the end? I had one of those! I adored it and had forgotten all about it. I need a name, I need a name!
The YouTube upload is simply mislabeled.
ReplyDeleteIn the US Matchbox and Hot Wheels were clearly distinct entities at that time.
They were two separate, unrelated companies.
so the cars shown in the ad are US Matchbox, including the carded one at the end Frank?
DeleteHey Woodsie!!! The foreground car is a "Road Dragster" and I know because my parents saved a plastic camera box full of my Mathbox and Hot Wheels cars when we emigrated from the UK in the early 70's! -And I know because I still have it and it's sitting on my lap as I type this!
ReplyDeleteI can't post a pic here, so I'll email it to you.
P.S. Mattel now owns the Matchbox brand. (and sorry for all the exclaimation marks!)
Thanks for the superb pic Lewis! What a lovely trove of die-cast treasure you have! Well done your parents!
DeleteMorning Woodsy,
ReplyDeletethey're indeed Matchbox Superfast models. The one in the back was called Wildcat, and had stickers on the doors showing a black cat with the name in orange. It was a development of the Ford Mustang (a 1965 GT Fastback), nr 8 in the series, which originally came out in white with steering wheels, then got whizzwheels, then became orange and after that gained the protruding engine an stickers to become the Wildcat.
Best -- Paul
Wildcat! of course! Thanks Paul. That's brought back great mustang memories. I had the white steerable mustang too. I will be looking for a wildcat at next Summer's car boot sales now!
DeleteI never knew Mattel made Matchbox cars! I always assumed they took over the brand in the last decade. Amazing!
ReplyDeleteMattel never made or distributed Matchbox cars, until they acquired the brand. Lesney (founded in 1947 by Leslie and Rodney Smith - not related) introduced the small "Matchbox" Series in 1953. The word "Matchbox" was always in double quotation marks on early boxes. The Matchbox name did not appear on the models themselves until the 1960s, only Lesney. After running into financial problems in the 1970s and 1980s, Lesney went into receivership, and in 1982 were sold to Universal Toys. In 1992 it was sold to US toy company Tyco, who were taken over by another US toy company, Mattel, in 1997. Mattel still own Matchbox, and both names appear on current models. Low-friction Superfast wheels were introduced in 1969 on Matchbox models to counter the American Hot Wheels. Other British brands had their own names for such wheels: Dinky had Speedwheels, and Corgi had Whizzwheels. Matchbox models had Superfast wheels, not Whizzwheels.
ReplyDeleteIn 1968 Mattel launched the Hot Wheels line, which had low-friction wheels, and were very fast. The success of this line forced other toy companies to fit similar wheels to their models to compete. At various times Mattel have owned Corgi (later sold), and Matchbox. Their ownership goes back to 1997.
I had, and still have, the purple car on the track, which is the No.34 Formula 1 Racing Car. A very nice model.