Hot Wheels went fully in the other direction, prominently displaying not just the vehicle itself encased in its plastic bubble, but going whole-hog in using the HWs logo, bright colors ...

I was one of the lucky dogs who got to tour Mattel’s Hot Wheels design center. Here’s how it went.

You might not remember your first Hot Wheels car (or perhaps your first Matchbox car; the British brand was bought by Hot Wheels owner Mattel in 1997), but from the moment you were old enough to ...