9 of Our Favorite Toy Vehicles
Determining your favorite toy vehicle is no small feat, as there were so many and many were so affordable. But that’s what we tried to do with six of the staffers here at Hagerty Media, and their answers are just as diverse as the genre itself.
These toys came in all shapes and sizes, from Micro Machines made of detailed plastic to die casts set in a massive scale. Between these boundaries are Hot Wheels, dealership promos, plastic models from the likes of Testors, home built pinewood derby racers, and even—dare I say it—NFT collectables on the blockchain. So let’s see which toy was the first to come up in our minds when asked the question, what is your favorite toy vehicle?
To Poach a Pocher
Mine is the 1/8th-scale Pocher Ferrari Testarossa from 1989. Die casts were a much smaller niche than they are today, so back then Pocher was king of kings. I saw one at The Sharper Image in the fanciest mall in Houston back in the day, sometimes resting atop the cheaper 1/18th-scale die cast display they had towards the back of the store. Put another way, the Pocher Testarossa left a mark on me. (The Sharper Image was pretty darn good at selling fancy stuff nobody needs!)
There was no way I could afford one back then, and I wasn’t dumb enough to even ask my parents for it as a Christmas/birthday present. But as a sentimental, middle-aged Gen X-er, I want one pretty badly. It’s fricking huge at 1/8th scale, but it has functional keys, movable seats, pop up headlights, a usable gated shifter, and all the opening doors and spinning wheels we come to expect from die casts. This Pocher is so awesome it even created its own aftermarket of upgraded parts using the latest tech! Yeah, I want it real bad. – Sajeev Mehta
A Stadium Full of Dreams
After a lot of lawn mowing, in sixth grade I finally saved up enough money for an R/C stadium truck. This was the early ’90s, so most of the stuff available came in kit form rather than ready-to-run examples. I decided that the entry-level, durable, and affordable Traxxas Hawk 2 was the one for me.
The build taught 11-year-old me all about shock absorbers, gear sets, servos, and motors. Taking it to the local hobby store track showed me how my decisions in the build performed, and gave me ideas on how to improve it. The project was the perfect blend of education and enjoyment.
The truck is still with me after all these years—I grabbed it off the storage shelf to snap this photo, and now it’s got me thinking that a winter project to get it going again might be in the cards. Thanks for the inspiration, Sajeev! – Eddy Eckart
A Slot Car with Venom
My first slot car was a yellow Viper—decades before the Dodge full-sized version—which looked like a banana. I would beg my parents for a dollar, which bought me an hour of time at the local track. Being seriously ADD, which nobody had ever heard of then, I promptly forsook junior high (failing algebra not once, but twice) for a fledgling career as a slot car racer. I haunted the place, and I got to be very good, and had the trophies to prove it, and I even became the “junior city champion,” for what that was worth (a Mattel Stallion bicycle). True story: I once beat the son of Johnny Cash’s bass player, who was also very fast, and was an actual adult.
And it all began with that Viper. Funny thing about it, as it was made by Classic Industries. But its not the same company many of us are familiar with. – Steven Cole Smith
Pet your Diapet
I sold my Schwinn bike to buy this for 50 bucks at the Doll Hospital and Toy Soldier Shop in Berkeley around 1982. It’s still on my shelf, still in the red box, still has the script of untranslated Japanese parchment in it. I don’t really know why I wanted it so bad except that I saw it in a model car magazine and it was just so weird that I had to have one. – Aaron Robinson
As a huge fan of the 1977-79 Continental Mark V, I saw those when eBay auctions were becoming a thing for automotive collectibles. I now regret not buying one over 20 years ago for $50 or less! – Sajeev Mehta
Remote Controlled Off Roading
Oh, this one is easy. A few years ago, I went to Williston, Florida to explore the world of scale R/C off-roading. The life-like builds were incredible, but what impressed me even more was just how darn fun these things are to wheel.
I was offered a truck for the weekend—a little 1989 Jeep Comanche pickup built by GCM Racing, one of the top chassis builders in the scene. It’s hard to overstate how charming the thing was—standing still, sure, but especially while on the go through the Florida woods. Although I never pulled the trigger when I got home, there is still a large part of me that wants to get ahold of one of these someday to fart around my yard in. – Nathan Petroelje
Last Place At The Pinewood Derby
It only my favorite due to the memories, but there is no toy car as important to me as the pinewood derby car that I made with my father so many years ago. The shape was agreed upon by both of us as a slingshot dragster type vibe, and dad somehow figured out to carve out a hole, bend a small roll hoop, and secure half of a LEGO person as if they were driving.
Add in the cast blower and zoomies that got glued in place (and are still holding on somehow!) plus the water transfer decals and just glancing at this little not-car is a free trip in a time machine to the basement, scuffing the body with a little piece of sandpaper while dad negotiated the terms of how he would make up for the house smelling like spray paint all evening.
It got last place by a mile when we finally put it on the gravity track. No matter, both dad and I were smitten with our little custom car, still ignorant of the lifelong automotive addiction it likely started. – Kyle Smith
The Gamut
Since I was born, my dad has collected diecasts, model kits, and slot cars. He started buying toys for his first-born and eventually started picking them up for himself. Redline Hot Wheels, vintage AFX slot cars, and enough model cars to brick a few basement walls in boxes. I was surrounded by the stuff. I also had no problem convincing the man I needed more toys providing I had saved enough allowance.
What I’m saying is that it’s tough to pick one, let alone a few so I give you three:
AMT modified stocker model cars—I was obsessed with this series of models back in the Aughts. AMT just started to repress the line of kits inspired by short track dirt racers. I was enamored by the steamroller-sized tires, full roll cage, and fat exhaust. A couple winters ago, I built a kit to walk to down memory road and chose this 1965 Fairlane. It took me back to simpler days at the kitchen table with Testors modeling glue stuck to my fingers.
Monster trucks(!). I loved monster trucks growing up. I had numerous Diamond P Production VHS tapes with arena-thumping highlights. Matchbox made a run of tough trucks that looked so badass with giant tires and actual real names like Monster Kong and Big Foot. I had a few but never had the USA-1 truck. A while back, I wrote a story about my childhood passion, and after it published I asked for a USA-1 truck for Christmas, because a man in his 30s should still feel comfortable asking his parents for toys for Christmas.
Racing Champion sprint cars: These might be my favorite diecast cars of all time. If you’re a long time reader of the site, you know I love sprint cars, so these toys will make sense at the top of my list. I had (and still have) close to a hundred. As I kid I would have races on all of the house’s oval-shaped rugs and then meticulously line them up my shelf at a 45-degree angle. – Cameron Neveu
I have many different toy cars. Hot Wheels from the original group to Matchbox etc.
I have picked up some diecast over the years and I like some of the odd and detailed.
My Tommy Ivo 4 engine Buick as well the two engine rail I love the details.
The GMP 1/12 Corvette C5R. I have two of these and the detail is off the charts right down to the brake lines and even a cooler for the cool suit in the passenger side of the car.
Then my Donahue cars. I have a number of Camaro and two 917 30 Exoto that even has wires to the gauges. One is the Sunoco and one is the Cam paint. I also have the L&M 917-10 team, cars too.
My Foyt and Smokey Yunick cars are also favorites as well my Jim Hall Chevys.
Then my stock car University of Racing models. I have 31 of these 1/24 and all but about 4 are signed. All are NASCAR stock cars of the 60’s and early 70’s. The names are Johnson, Yarbrough, Pearson, Petty, Foyt, Gurney, Andretti, Allison’s, Marcus, Baker, Panch and Lorenzen. These were my hero’s and to have their cars and them signed are really cool now that many have passed on.
I have most Earnhardt Diecast but I also built one model for each year in Cup. I have a detailed model of each car detailed to that year. I have one in the case that is white and unbuilt. This is the 2001 car. I just never had the heart to build this one.
Yes I have an very good wife that lets me indulge.
FYI back in the day The Evil Knievel jump bike ruled. I see adults today have jumping contest.
The SST cars and crash demo derby jump set was fun.
you beat me to it….greatest ones ever
SST’s! I forgot about them.
They were SSP’s not SSTs.
Still have an original-issue Corgi BATMOBILE (1966.)
It’s in fair/good condition, and it’s F/S.
Original Batmobiles are hard to find. Because of their popularity, there have been multiple reproductions.
I have a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang flying car.
What year production model is it ? Do you have the original box?l
Hi Ben; it’s a 1966 and no, I don’t have the box.
Description: Has both Batman & Robin figures.
Front “saw” & rear exhaust “flame” work, as do the “mortar missiles”.
Needs two tires; just tires, not wheels.
I loved my Snake and Mongoose Hot Wheels funny cars. I had a Hot Wheels drag strip with pop checkered flags. I still have the cars and take them out of the shoe box every time I go home!
I also loved the Deals Wheels models designed by Dave Deal.
Still have The Snake & mongoose wild wheelie track and cars with the box! Loved that set and still do!!!!
I think a lot of people over the age of 40 (before they started making them out of plastic) had a Tonka Truck as one of their favorite toy vehicles.
My mom kept all my old metal Tonkas and about 15 years ago I started collecting them. Restored several. I had about 75 but lost them in a wildfire. Still have what’s left and plan to restore some again.
I have that yellow end dump now,
Strange what we collect.
Ohhhh Come on now ….the ssp’s or the Evil Knievel motorcycle stunt bike……….
My vote goes to the metal Hubley “Kiddie Toy” MG,1/24 scale, and especially the 18th scale from the 50s.
My dad had a Scalextric set back when I was way too little to be playing with it. I got one of my own when I had kids of my own. My brother and I had an AFX racing set in HO scale as kids, but those little cars couldn’t compete with the 1:32 scale cars.
We’re still racing AFX!
I still have my box of Dinky Toy 1/43 scale cars and trucks from my 1950s childhood–all in their original boxes and in mint condition. I was an obsessive child! The first model I ever built–when I was 8 or 9–was a ’37 Cord 812 Sportsman. Have always had a soft spot for 810/12 Cords ever since.
But my favorite is an AMT kit model I built when I was 12 or 13: a ’36 Ford roadster. I divided the car down the middle, and built the left side as a restored antique, all pristine and pretty. The right side I did as a barn find: dented fenders, missing hubcaps, bald tires, cracked windshield etc and a paint job down to the primer. I drizzled brown paint on appropriate spots and sprinkled tiny rust flakes (scraped from a rusty saw blade) on the wet paint to simulate rust. I even made holes in the seat, and poked dirty cotton balls through the holes. The idea came from a real antique car similarly done at Horn’s Cars of Yesterday (anyone remember that museum?) in Sarasota. Entered the car in a model contest and won first prize. Still have it…the car, not the trophy.
I remember it as Bellm’s Cars and Music of Yesterday down in Sarasota. Cool place.
I have still have many of the toy cars and model cars from my childhood. In die cast and plastic in scales from 1/87 to 1/12th.
I love building cars from kits and my favorites are the Hubley, Gabriel and Ertl metal kits for 1909 -1930s era cars. I add details like wired and plumbed engines and bays along with interior and chassis details as well. Although these kits are long out of production, they can still be found on the internet in various conditions ranging from unbuilt NOS to basket cases.
Toy cars are the perhaps the primary reason I became a professional automotive technician.
I’m now 60 and still have my Pinewood Derby car (in Oakland Raiders silver & black). I ran the same car two years in a row. After being mid-pack the first year, I remember putting fingernail polish on the nails that held the wheels on — I placed third!
Does Oakland Raiders silver & black look anything like Las Vegas Raiders silver & black? Asking for a friend.
My favorite is a wooden MG T series model that is a music box & plays “Rain Drops Keep Falling On My Head”. If you have ever owned a T series MG you know why.
LOL, 54 TF Bought it in 1974, might finish it someday.
One of my fondest memories was when my uncle (who worked for GM parts) would come back to town for Christmas bringing us kids promotional model cars. To this day I still have some. 63 split window vette, 68 427 convertible vette with redlines, 58 El Camino pickup, and a few others I bought as an adult. Sorry to say some of the others died a horrible death with firecrackers and lighter fluid fires.
My slot car was a Ford GT. I took the wide tires off the back and put on the front, and bought wider ones for the rear. Everyone else was running skinny front tires. That car hung on that track like glue and I won many times at the local bowling alley track. I also had a Cobra but it didn’t do as well. I had a Cox controller and lots of parts. Wish I still had it but sadly when I moved out the house my Mom later found my case of cars and parts and thought it was junk and threw it away!
Me too. I’d give a lot of money for my original yellow Viper, but I suspect it met the same mother-cleaning-up fate as my complete set of drag racing baseball cards.
I had a metallic purple VW Beatle that had the wheelie bar attachment for the brushes. It would lock in place so you could race with it on four wheels. Must have been the mid sixties. I remember the smell(aroma) of the slicks to this day. Kind of sweet. I’d lay in bed at night and just take in that smell and plan my next trip to the track.
I was a strange fellow.
Evel Knievel stunt bike #1, hands down and shame for not listing it.
Stompers distant second.
To be fair, a couple of the writers on this list were born in the 1980s and 90s. The original Evel stunt bike was over 20 years old and already a collectable by the time they were old enough to play with one, so maybe shame is the wrong word for not including it…
My Tonka trucks from the late 50’s to early 60’s are my favorites.