While Hot Wheels is famous for real cars and some really clever made-up designs from toymakers, they also brought a lot of concept cars to life. The Snack Time Series Dodge Sidewinder takes an unproduced 1997 pickup truck and slaps on some graphics courtesy of, I assume, Big Popcorn. It kind of makes sense as there were a lot of generic movies and other whimsical logos on cars of this era, before we started to be able to pick up cars with Sega or other brands on them.
For those who weren't alive in the late 1990s, it was popular for high schoolers to wear big, bold t-shirts with a giant logo on them of a candy or cereal. If you were in high school at this time, you would see kids in a big orange Reese's shirt, and teachers grousing about the kids having paid $16.99 to be a billboard for tooth decay. Today you can get these kinds of branded shirts at Target for under ten bucks, advertising bands and video games and also bands that people don't realize are bands. (I've been told by today's teachers that some teenagers today think Nirvana is a fashion thing, but for all I know, this is Tide Pod Sushi-ing the olds. I probably would've done the same for the lulz.)
This car reminds me so much of those shirts, with a bold mustardy yellow color with an oversized "Tom & Jo's POP CORN Flaming Hot" on the hood, presumably bursting with flavor. The car also exists with a yellower yellow paint job. I kind of wish I could license this as a t-shirt. The logo is repeated on the sides with big flames, packed with the popped kernels. There are also two teeny tiny Hot Wheels logos at the bottom of each door, and it's striking.
The car itself is nice, flat, and kind of awesome. It's sort of an updated, sportier El Camino as it's a truck that's not lifted or excessively large. It's like a sportscar with a truck in the back, being sporty and big on utility. Presumably America had no interest in such things - this was the era of the PT Cruiser, which seemed to do well with people my father's age but less so to anybody who was in their teens or 20s. I look at a car like this in 2024 and say "Oh, I would love something like that." I drive an old station wagon. I would also like a new one of those. They don't make cars for people trying to disappear into suburbia and generally zip in and out of the finer places that sell toys where only occasionally do people in the parking lot creepily follow you, point at you, and make a blood-curdling sound as you pull out of your parking spot. (This is why you're not supposed to go to Walmarts minutes before they close.)
For a toy that's old enough to drink, the packaged sample I picked up in August of 2024 for $1.50 at antique mall feels like an absolute steal. It's sturdy, well-painted, and the wheels roll nicely. Nothing is squeaky or creaky, the silver paint on the wheels looks great, and it zooms around on my desk nicely.
She who is my wife and I sometimes flip through the pegs at an antique mall, and this is one she spotted and we both said "yes." Other cars in the series including a Firebird advertising "BBQ CHEESY POTATO CHIPS," a Monte Carlo concept car selling "ALAN'S FAVORITE DELUXE COOKIES," and a Callaway C7 slinging "CHOWTIME PRETZELS." The latter of which I see frequently, and keep almost buying but not. Maybe next time. I couldn't say no to this goofy popcorn car, and if you see it this cheaply I'd say go buy one. Adjusted for inflation, a $1 car from the year 2000 is $1.82, so it's like I got it on sale.
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