Retro Flashback: HOT WHEELS CRACK-UPS Crash Course

29 Dec 2012
Written by James Zahn
Published in Toys and Games

From the "Stuff I Used to Have" department...

I've been on a real retro-kick lately, and while my wife hasn' been too keen on my thoughts of remodeling my office space into a retro-styled world of fun, I've still been recapturing some feelings of youth as my daughter and I continue rockin' the Hot Wheels. While I've mentioned my daughter's car-obsession regularly, I've really been catching the bug again myself. Case-in-point: I stopped at Dollar Tree today and picked up a pair of Hot Wheels' "The Hot Ones" funny cars that are re-tooled versions of ones I had growing up in the 1980s. From that same era came something that popped into my head tonight that I hadn't thought of in many years... the Hot Wheels Crack-Ups Crash Course!

crackups1 I don't know how I'd forgotten about them, but Hot Wheels Crack-ups were some of my favorite toy cars from the mid-80s, and the pinnacle of their line was the Crash Course playset. Produced by Mattel, each car had a rotating panel that was spring-loaded to make the car appear "damaged" depending on where it was hit. There were side, front, and rear models available, and I distinctly recall having a few of each. My wife says she remembers her brother having some as well. Check out the vintage goodness in all of it's glory below:

While a few of these are currently available on eBay in carious conditions, I'm curious what the original retail for the Crash Course was back in the 80s. Actually, I need to look into the current crop of Hot Wheels playsets since my little one doesn't have any to go with her rapidly-expanding fleet of vehicles. If anyone has some suggestions, feel free to let me know.

Stay tuned to The Rock Father for more Hot Wheels posts to come...

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James Zahn

About James: A work-from-home Dad with a pair of daughters - a newborn and a three-year-old - James Zahn is The Rock Father™.

Recent 2012 projects for James have included direction and editing on music videos, lyric videos, and album trailers for FEAR FACTORY, DIRGE WITHIN, PRODUCT OF HATE, and others.

He's appeared as an actor in feature films and commercials, he's written comic books, performed in bands, and even appeared as a music expert on CNN's AC360 with Anderson Cooper in 2008.

James and/or his work have been featured in/on CNN, NBC, G4, The Chicago Tribune, Blogcritics, Kik Axe Music, Fangoria, Starlog, The River Cities' Reader. Slowfish, Oil, and more.

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