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The biggest inspiration for most car enthusiasts growing up was our toys. From Micro Machines to Power Wheels, here’s our list of the top 10 car toys!
Check Out These Fun Car Toys!
Childrens’ interests, future dream jobs, and personalities are inspired by the toys found in their toy boxes. The handy men had their plastic tool sets. Future artists could be found with their coloring books and Playdoh. And no doubt your own lifelong fascination with fast cars and fondness for the classics have their roots with the car toys of your youth. With that in mind, we’ve brought together a list of the Top 10 Car Toys to help bring your car obsession full circle for yourself or your own kids!
10 – Micro Machines
I’m sure you’ll remember the fast-talking commercials for Micro Machines. The excessively tiny miniature vehicles roamed incredibly small cities that usually folded up into a nice little carrying case or larger vehicle. There’s everything from your favorite trucks and cars to planes, boats, tanks, and even spaceships. While they were really fun to collect, the Micro Machines themselves were also easy to misplace.
Micro Machines were discontinued in 2008, came back and left again in 2016, and are once again making their return this year! Currently, the only sets available are the Micro Machines Super Van City and a 20 pack of cars, but let’s hope they expand with some reimagined classics. Just make sure to grab a couple for yourself this time around, because who knows if/when they’ll come back after this year?
9 – Model Car Kits
Model cars are a hobby that follows you through life. It starts with a Pinewood Derby Kit and grows into the full-blown replica models. There are model kits for whatever type of cars we’re interested in. There’s James Bond’s Ashton Martin for movie buffs, the Toyota Supra for JDM fans, and of course plenty of muscle cars to choose from.
The outcome of your model depended on what difficulty rating you had and how adept you were. There was the simple snap together kits for beginners all the way to harder kits that required glue, paint, and a steady hand. However, the great thing about model kits is if you broke something, you just made it a car crash or added some patina for a barn find. I know a lot of my models ended up looking like they could have a for sale sign with “in need of repairs” written across the windshield.
8 – Little Tikes Cozy Coupe
The Little Tikes Cozy Coupe was an instant classic when it hit store shelves back in 1979. The red and yellow toddler sized plastic car, that went only as fast as the driver’s little legs could tread, was a hit. Going into the 1990s it was outselling both the Honda Accord and Ford Taurus, prompting The New York Times to call it the “world’s best-selling car for much of this decade.”
The Cozy Coupe just celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2019. In that time, there have been some alternative designs including a pickup truck, police car, and firetruck. However, the classic base design has remained virtually the same; with the exception of a cartoon face adorning the front. The red and yellow design is so iconic in fact, people have throwback paint jobs to match the Cozy Coupe for their Smart cars.
7 – Transformers
I know you whispered “more than meets the eye” when you read that Transformers was on the list. Spawning from the 80s cartoon show, Transformers was every kids’ dream. Who wouldn’t want a weaponized robot action figure that turned into a vehicle? These toys were awesome! There were Autobots led by Optimus Prime, cleverly disguised as a semi-truck, and others like Wheel Jack who turns into a Lancia Stratos rally car and Bumblebee who turns into a Volkswagen Bug. The Autobots pitted against the Decepticons who are primarily military inspired vehicles and led by the evil Megatron.
The Transformers started to fall by the wayside moving into the 2000s, valiantly trying to keep up with trendy storylines involving alternate universes like the Beast Wars franchise. Then in 2007, Michael Bay took the concept and reimagined Transformers as CGI behemoths living amongst us and befriending Shia LaBeouf. The movies brought Transformers toys back to the forefront with updated models like the Chevrolet Camaro and Hummer H2 added into the mix. We’ve now received seven movies in the Transformers franchise with Rise of the Beasts coming next year. That movie should bring more cars to the franchise along with more car toys to collect. Although, in that time since the first movie’s release, I still haven’t figured out how to refold Starscream back into a jet.
6 – Power Wheels
As a runner up we have the ride-on favorite, Power Wheels. The battery powered drivable vehicles were a huge hit in the 90s and continue to be a major player in the toy industry today. Over 100 different models of Power Wheels have been made in the forms of cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Kids can park their Jeep Wrangler, Ford F-150, or Cadillac Escalade right next their parents’ life-sized version.
While you might think growing older means growing out of the pint-sized Power Wheels, they can actually still be a great base for some fun projects. People have started picking up older Power Wheels and taking them down dirt hills in groups, turning them into off-road downhill derby competitions. Even better than that is the modified karts. People like Grind Hard Plumbing Co on YouTube are taking the plastic Power Wheels bodies and fit them to a tube framed motorized kart. I’d make one myself, but at over 6ft tall I don’t think it’d be a comfortable ride.
5 – LEGO Speed Champions
LEGO has been the name in building toys for decades, but they have gradually made a name for themselves within car circles thanks to their car sets for real-world automobiles. With the expansion of the LEGO Speed Champions sets, they’ve really created a niche for themselves. Partnering with the likes of Ford, Porsche, and Ferrari to make some blocky replicas of real-world cars. The LEGO name has become so prevalent with cars, that they’ve made their way into one of the Forza Horizon racing games as downloadable content.
If you’re wondering which LEGO Speed Champions sets to look for, I’ve got you covered. JDM fans can find LEGO-fied versions of the Toyota GR Supra and Nissan GT-R NISMO. American classic car aficionados can find a 1970 Dodge Challenger and a 1969 Chevrolet Corvette. Movie buffs can find LEGO versions of the Brian’s Nissan Skyline GT-R and Dom’s Dodge Charger R/T from The Fast & the Furious movies. There’s even a set with James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5. As for racing fans, you’ve got plenty to pick from. There’s everything from the 1985 Audi Sport Quattro S1 hill climb car to a Top Fuel Dragster to the Ferrari F1 team’s car and transport truck.
4 – LEGO Technic
LEGO doesn’t just provide cars in blocky portrayals; they’ve also got the complicated LEGO Technic car sets. These Technic sets are full of unique pieces to give off actual body lines and feature moving parts within the build. Technic sets are definitely a lot closer to the actual construction of the vehicles they’re representing. Each build typically features a working suspension, an interior, working steering, working doors, and an engine featuring moving pistons connected to a working transmission. That last bit isn’t found in every Technic set, but there’s no denying the sheer amount of effort put into making these astounding car designs.
Some of my favorite cars featured in the LEGO Technic series include the Porsche 911 GT3 RS, the Land Rover Defender, the McLaren F1 car, and the immaculate Bugatti Chiron set. These LEGO sets don’t stop at real models though, as you can find sets featuring Batman’s Batmobile and the Back to the Future DeLorean too. If you’re up for a challenge, these LEGO Technic car sets will be right for you.
3 – Remote Control Off-Roaders
Coming in at number three on the car toys list are remote controlled (RC) off-roaders. These are a little different from your average RC car as they can take things off the driveway and into the front yard. It starts with the cheaper, lifted RC models like the New Bright RC GMC Hummer EV Truck. Not the highest of quality, but it can roll over some obstacles. After that, things bump up to stuff like the giant Monster Jam RC trucks featuring big names like Grave Digger and El Toro Loco.
Those RC off-roaders are more for the kids, but adults can have some remote-controlled excursions too. For instance, RC rock crawlers have been gaining traction as a fun hobby. These are highly detailed rock crawling replicas featuring near identical elements that look like a real Jeep Cherokee XJ or Toyota Pickup when viewed up close. There are also the faster paced Trophy Truck RC models that speed around shooting off jumps with their high powered electric or gasoline motors.
2 – Remote Control Racers & Drifters
Off-road is fun, but sometimes speeding around an empty garage or around the legs of a dining set can be even more exciting. There are RC car sets out there featuring unique bandwidths so that multiple cars can race around with each other. Jada Toys for instance makes multiple Fast & Furious replica RC cars that can all race together or be used to recreate scenes from the movie. Jada Toys also makes some fun twin packs featuring stuff like the Challenger SRT Hellcat along with a separately controlled Shelby GT500 police cruiser.
If you like getting things sideways, drift RC cars have been trending lately too for the older crowd. These drifters are fully tunable, run on slick tires, and look like real world models. There are groups all around the world dedicated to sliding their drift RC Nissan Silvias, Datsun Fairlady Zs, and whatever else around a set track. These drift RC cars can run as low as $100 up to $3,000, so figure out if this is a hobby you can get into before throwing down too much cash.
1 – Die-cast 1:64 Models
Here it is, the number 1 car toy and it’s shared by Matchbox and Hot Wheels. Matchbox started as a British toy manufacturer selling 1:64 sized die-cast cars back in 1953. They focused mainly on real-world replicas with restrained paint colors and designs. Then in 1968, Mattel created Hot Wheels and joined the die-cast cars market with colorful paint schemes and outlandish concept cars. Matchbox would eventually follow Mattel and focus on realistic job-related vehicles, while Hot Wheels took center stage encompassing realism, racing, fantasy, and concept designs.
Hot Wheels also brought in the iconic bright orange stunt tracks. High banked turns, loops, and jumps made for an action-packed play time. A couple tracks came with the Power Boosters and the cars would just keep on racing until they’d inevitably crash at high speed. There were also the different themed Hot Wheels city and adventure play sets that could turn a whole play room into an automotive fantasy. Make sure to read more about Hot Wheels in our Best Hot Wheels Cars article.
So, do you agree with our rankings? Did your favorite car toy make the list? Let us know!
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in September 2020 and has been completely revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
