DETROIT, Jan 02, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — “Mr. Hot Wheels” and “Mr. Monster Garage” will infuse a hefty dose of fun into the AutoWeek Design Forum, 8 a.m. – 9 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008, in the Riverview Ballroom of Cobo Conference/Exhibition Center in Detroit, Mich. “Designed for Fun” is the theme of the 15th annual event.
Larry Wood, veteran miniature car designer and leader of Mattel Inc.’s Toy Car Division and Jesse James, television celebrity and owner of West Coast Choppers, are among the leading automotive and consumer designers who will share their insights throughout the daylong event.
Wood has been designing Hot Wheels for nearly all of the collectibles’ 40 years of production. Following a brief stint with Ford Motor Company designing real cars, Wood joined the toymaker in 1969 as a one-man operation. Today, Wood is among more than 30 Hot Wheels designers who have collectively developed as many as 100 unique cars in one year. Mattel produces five million Hot Wheels each week.
Hot Wheels celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2008 with a special series of 1:64-scale model cars designed by six automotive industry manufacturers, including Dodge, Chevrolet, Ford, Honda, Lotus and Mitsubishi (as reported in the Dec. 24, 2007 issue of AutoWeek). Accompanied by Hot Wheel’s own vehicle, the collection is set to hit stores in the spring.
James catapulted to national fame through the Discovery Channel’s “Monster Garage” as the leader of televised teams of experts who built “monster machines.” The hour-long program showcased the groups’ adventures in transforming stock vehicles into other types of vehicles or machinery. Some of the more memorable projects included transformation of the Chrysler PT Cruiser into a wood chipper, a Lincoln Continental into an open road racer and a Ford Model A into a rat rod, just to name a few.
As owner of West Coast Choppers, a Long Beach, California, custom motorcycle fabrication shop he founded in 1992, James developed a following with the special-order motorcycles – ranging in price from $60,000 to $150,000 – he painstakingly tailors for each buyer.
I bet this will be a great and fun hour to spend at the Detroit Show. Worth the trip.