From toy cars to model kits, many lifelong gearhead journeys started with the unwrapping of a present.
So to see what ignited the automotive passion of their fans, the Summit Racing folks posted a really good question on their Facebook and Instagram pages a while back:
What is the greatest car-related kid’s toy of all time?
We grabbed our cocoa and watched the reader contributions pour in.
Some of these suggestions are obvious, and some are a bit more obscure. But they’re all equal parts nostalgic and heartwarming. (They’ll also give you some great gift ideas if you’ve got an aspiring gearhead on your gift shopping list too!)
Take a look at our list and if we’ve overlooked any must-have car or truck toy, let us hear about it in the comments section at the bottom of this article.
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Hot Wheels, Matchbox & Small Diecast Toy Cars
- “Hot Wheels got me addicted to cars.” – Braden A.
- “Gotta be the Hot Wheels!” – Clifton H.
- “Matchbox cars from England.” – Mike L.
- “Hot Wheels. No question.” – Michael S.
- “Matchbox started it for me.” – Steve M.
- “Hot Wheels of course. I still collect them.” – Jim P.
- “Hot Wheels without a doubt.” – R.K. O.
We’ve got an entire history on Hot Wheels (and Lesney) that you can read here: Hot Wheels, The Tiny Toy Cars That Inspired Millions of Gearheads Worldwide
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Slot Cars
- “Slot car tracks got me addicted!” – Corey B.
- “Electric race car tracks, I had one where the cars would change lanes.” – Jim N.
- “An HO scale slot car race track.” – Mark S.
- “Slot car tracks and home track sets.” – Barry C.
- “An HO race track, I had a blast with it.” – Dana M.
- “AMT’s Authentic Model Turnpike, which raced scale cars back in 1962.” – Michael V.
- “Stromberg slot car track.” – Howard W.
Want to dig your old slot car sets out of the attic and get racing? You may enjoy this article: Slot Car Track Maintenance & Troubleshooting Tips
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RC Cars & Trucks
- “RC Cars. You get to build, drive, paint, and tune.” – Nick L.
- “Build it yourself RC car kits.” – Justin H.
- “So many ways to go with the hobby grade RC cars.” – Chad A.
- “RC cars are the best.” – Curtis R.
- “RC Cars.” – A.J. C.
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Go-Karts, Pedal Cars & Ride-Ons
- “A go-cart, closest thing a youngin’ can get to driving.” – Vince P.
- “A Knight Rider big wheel!” – Nick P.
- “Metal pedal cars and cranes.” – William D.
- “Go-carts, by far.” – Terry J.
- “Power Wheels gave you the ability to actually drive as a kid.” – James H.
- “Power Wheels. Now you’re driving for real!” – David J.
- “Pedal Cars!” – Jeffery W.
You may appreciate our Pedal Car Buyer’s Guide.
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Stompers
- “Stompers 4×4 trucks with foam wheels.” – Don G.
- “Stompers were life changing.” – Adam H.
- “Us old school guys loved Stompers.” – Tom C.
- “Stompers.” – Jim P.
- “Stompers.” – Michael I.
- “Stompers.” – Joseph M.
- “Stompers.” – David W.
- “Stompers!” – Duane A.
- “Stompers.” – Steve T.
- “Stompers.” – Brad K.
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Transformers
- “Transformers need to at least be in the conversation.” – Corey B.
- “Transformers or M.A.S.K.” – Adam P.
- “Transformers, besides Hot Wheels.” – Bert L.
- “I was more of an Optimus fan.” – Milton B.
- “Transformers.” – Matthew R.
- “Transformers. There’s a reason they’ve been popular for 50 years.” – Shawn K.
- “Transformers!” – Steve D.
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Big Toy Trucks
- “Tonka Trucks. The big metal ones.” – Bill D.
- “The Tonka off-road truck with the jack, motorcycle, and tires you could change.” – Mark W.
- “A big yellow Tonka to get the fever started.” – Kevin A.
- “Solid steel Tonka dump truck.” – Chris C.
- “The Hess truck! They’re still putting them out.” Jack B.
- “Hess Tanker Trucks.” – Fred A.
- “My grandson plays with Tonka.” – Ricky D.
- “Tonka truck!” – Clint F.
- “Tonka dump truck.” – Matthew H.
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Model Kits
- “Model cars you get to build and paint every little piece exactly how you want it.” – Tyler C.
- “The clear plastic engines that Revell made back in the day.” – Michael B.
- “The Visible V8 model. Hot Wheels were great, but this was the bomb!” – Clint C.
- “Visible V8 and later the visible chassis that it would fit in.” – Donald G.
- “I had Hot Wheels but building model cars was way more influencing.” – Grant P.
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Video Games
- “Atari’s Pole Position, in the arcade. The one you sat in.” – Thomas P.
- “Playstation one with the first Grand Turismo game.” – Phil M.
You may enjoy watching our Top 10 Racing Games here:
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Honorable Mentions
- “Micro Machines were awesome back in the day.” – Noel C.
- “Micro Machines, I loved those damn things.” – Joseph P.
- “Little Tikes ‘Cozy Coupe’.” – Craig W.
- “Red and yellow Coupe car.” – Josh S.
- “Evil Knievel stunt bike.” – Jeremy B.
- “Evel Knievel probably more than any car.” – Froggy B.
- “Lego inspires creativity to build it how you dream it.” – Greg K.
- “The plastic dashboard with plastic keys.” – Scott S.
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Did we miss any of your favorite car toys here? Let us hear about them in the comments below!
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