It’s not easy to get time in with a VP, but we managed to nab VP of Hot Wheels® Design Gary Swisher recently for the Chat Room at HotWheelsCollectors.com™. Collectors were treated to lots of answers and some of the philosophy behind the world’s greatest die-cast cars... and some overall insight.

Gary Swisher

Following is the Q&A transcript for those of you who may have missed the session.

swisherg: How are you guys doing? Hot Wheels treating you well?

BismrkBear: Oh, yeah… it has been a good year for Hot Wheels -- especially with the Larry's Garage series!

swisherg: Larry still has it after all these years!

Humvvee: Hot Wheels always treats us well... It's the wife that doesn't treat me well when she sees the bank account summary.

swisherg: I hear that! That is the one thing that is constant for everybody!

BismrkBear: What design for Hot Wheels have you been the most proud of?

swisherg: I love the originals. The Twin Mill was my favorite car as a kid and, to this day, it stands the test of time. Of late, I love the ’55 Panel; it really has it going on.

Humvvee: How long have you been a designer for Hot Wheels, Gary?

swisherg: I started in 1983, worked as a Designer on track and playsets. I just did my first car design for Hot Wheels -- completed the approvals yesterday, in fact. Took me long enough.

BismrkBear: Tell us about your first car??? What is it gonna be?

swisherg: You aren't going to like it... it is a creature car. Kids wanted more of them, so I got involved to add some different perspective. I love it -- it is based on a Tyrannosaurus and has a blown engine.

Humvvee: Do you have the name for the potential casting yet? (By the way, I was born in ’83.)

swisherg: Not finalized yet. We have to search and protect it before we can talk about it. If you remember the G-Force track set... that was my first toy on the market. The Double Barrel set was #2. They both lasted for a long, long time. That was big for me. When I started, Larry Wood was the one and only guy allowed to do Hot Wheels cars. We only did a few each year; it really didn't even keep him busy. Now we have a team of people designing all the vehicles that we do.

Humvvee: That's cool. Will you continue working on tracks and sets or move towards car designs in the future?

swisherg: I am actually not supposed to be designing anything anymore -- I am the VP of the Design team. The car design team is great and asked me to do a car this year. It was loads of fun. I will ask to do another next year, but let’s see how this one goes first.

Humvvee: Speaking of Larry Wood, what was his retirement party gift?

swisherg: For Larry's retirement gift, we got him a great one -- you will see it at the convention in L.A. He invented the original "shaker hood" for Ford back in the mid ‘60s. It was used on the ‘69 Boss Mustang, so we bought him a ‘69 hood, mounted the shaker set up in it, and had it painted his signature orange (half the cars he drives are orange), and had the entire design team sign it. It will be finished in time for the convention... It is very cool and perfect for his garage in Long Beach.

Humvvee: That's an awesome gift! Since you're a VP, you could go ahead and do something nice like that for me, too.

swisherg: You don't want me to stay a VP for long, do you?

BismrkBear: Since you like the originals and have just done your first design, which HW original would you re-do?

swisherg: Somewhere in the Hot 100, I would re-do about 16 of them... I wasn't here during that period; I left Mattel for a few years. The HWs team had a couple of different leaders in that time, and they got a bit off track.

D14D: I have an idea: Since the Classics series is being axed for 2010, merge it into the mainline.

swisherg: Those Classics are expensive to produce, and we wouldn't want to compromise them. Sometimes it is a good idea to let a line rest and look forward. We can always go back when the time is right, or when we find a new technology (paint, deco, etc.).

D14D: A two-tiered segment can be issued -- chassis would have Spectraflame paint, and regulars could have enamel… no rubbers or metal bases.

swisherg: Worth considering.

Humvvee: A lot of the Classics castings are already in the mainline -- some were introduced, and others were just given a metal base. I think the two lines need to be kept separate.

swisherg: We don’t have much choice given the cost factors, but we do have a few chase cars from time to time -- Phil makes sure of that!

D14D: Any chance of seeing the 100% Shelby Series 1 tool again?

swisherg: We love Shelby. There is always a strong chance to see that back in the line. There are a few that we have not done; we will get to them. Cobrafrank will see to that!

BismrkBear: What is your favorite part of the design process? Least favorite?

swisherg: Ideation, brainstorming, and sketching -- the sky is the limit, nobody can hold you back. Least favorite -- the selection process, when you have to cut projects due to cost or play issues. I never like to see a toy held back. What do you guys think of the cars that have a secondary purpose, like the Tee’d Off that was a golf tee, or the Carbonator that opens bottles?

Humvvee: The Carbonator was a huge hit at the Reston convention... it seemed everyone had one to open their beers. As for the Tee'd Off, I had no idea it was a golf tee.

swisherg: Glad to hear it! There are others on the way. We don't really market their secondary purpose, we just let it grow virally. The problem with the Tee’d Off was that you would smack the car, as well as the ball... only a few smacks before the Tee’d Off was the Tee’d Gone.

BismrkBear: The Carbonator has become almost legendary -- especially at the Conventions -- so, yeah, we like them.

swisherg: Cool! Alton Takeyasu designed that car. He is a bit of a legend in our design team. His Design skills are amazing, and the thinking that he does is beyond most others. He has some more ideas coming, as do some of your favorite designers. Wayne Scott has a fun one coming -- I won't spoil it, but it is cool.

Humvvee: I recall the Mega Thrust (which changed names the following year) was a whistle... that was fun.

swisherg: That was cool. The original Whip Creamer spun when you blew into it -- not sure if it was intended to whistle, but the spinning was cool enough for me.

D14D: Is there anything with the 2010 mainline regarding more electric and gas-free cars, a la Honda FCX Clarity and Chevy Volt?

swisherg: We love the alt fuel vehicles, but they have to have Speed, Power and Performance to make our line... We have done some dogs in the past; we try to avoid that now.

D14D: The Volt is an iconic car that an entire industry is banking on.

swisherg: If it is fast enough... we will do it. Alec Tam is our guru of performance. He has stopped a few cars from going forward, and pushed others that have the specs that we like.

Humvvee: Do you happen to know if there is a difference in the design of the Camaro Concept and the 2010 Camaro castings? They seem to be the same to me, and both have been released in the same color.

swisherg: Not sure about that one. There is a slight complication with Camaro, since it is the star of Transformers... but I am not sure how that played out in our line.

D14D: Can we expect to see the 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible?

swisherg: We have not finalized 2011 yet, but the Camaro is part of our DNA, so if we don't do it, I will be surprised.

HabsFan1988: Can you give us any hints about what we can expect to see next on a Dairy after the LG, Redline and Tootsie Roll Pops Dairy have been released?

swisherg: If I knew, I would give you a hint, but I am not privy to that.

D14D: Can we expect to see the 2007-present Cadillac CTS-V, the fastest American sedan?

swisherg: I wasn’t aware that a Caddy had that claim. Is that a car that you would all like to see in our line?

D14D: It was named as Motor Trend's 2008 Car Of The Year in its standard form, and blew the doors off the Charger SRT 8, topping out a 193.

swisherg: How does it look… HOT?

HabsFan1988: Will we see the Red Baron make an appearance again in any line?

swisherg: Sure -- he isn't done!

HabsFan1988: That’s good to hear… love the Baron and Dairy, among others.

swisherg: Me, too.

billshouse84: Will there possibly be a Tundra model?

swisherg: Toyota is getting easier to work with. I love the Tundra myself; it should make an appearance soon.

HabsFan1988: What type of adult lines will continue in 2010 i.e. Dragstrip Demons, etc.? Are we going to see any new series like that?

swisherg: DSD is doing fantastic -- as long as you guys support it, we will keep doing it, and you are doing a great job of supporting it now. We are careful to make sure only the best cars are going in, but we will continue with that.

BismrkBear: If you could put together your own series of 16 cars, what would be in "Gary's Garage?"

swisherg: That would take too long to answer. There would be some old Redlines in it, as well as some of the more clever cars of today. I love the gimmick cars, cars with features, and hidden treasures.

billshouse84: Will they ever again incorporate the Faster Than Ever cars randomly in the cases like they did in ‘05 and ’06? That was easily the most fun in collecting I've had in a while…

swisherg: Sounds like it worked; we should be doing that. Speed is such an important message for us… look to 2010 for something like that.

billshouse84: Would love to see a Spoilers subset of the mainline, too.

HabsFan1988: Is the 2010 mainline set already? And, if so, can you give us any hints as to what we will see?

swisherg: I will let Phil and Alec preview for you… they have a great line-up, but we don't want to expose to early.

D14D: Is there any hope of seeing cars like the 1886 Benz Patent Motorwaggen or cars from the first 50 years of motoring, 1886 - 1936?

swisherg: You sound like you might like the Matchbox line as well as the Hot Wheels line.

D14D: Matchbox fan mainly, but am a supporter of the ideology that Mattel is to run the show.

swisherg: I like your thinking.

billshouse84: I would bet Matchbox is more suited for replica castings than Hot Wheels.

swisherg: Matchbox does a nice job of replicating details.

D14D: The era from 1886 - 1930 has been long ignored in small scale… Can we expect to see more models from this era?

swisherg: A large percentage of our cars need to appeal to kids as well as collectors. We occasionally are able to do a pre-‘30s car, but it is rare.

D14D: Since Fiat recently did a 500 in Barbie pink, what's the likelihood of seeing the Fiat 500 in the mainline?

swisherg: I have heard rumblings...

HabsFan1988: If you could build a 1:1 of a Hot Wheels car, which would it be?

swisherg: Bone Shaker!

HabsFan1988: What plans do you guys have for the Bone Shaker? This year is the hunt; anything special next year for it?

swisherg: There will always be something going on for the Shaker. Not sure what the plan is next year, but you will see it.

billshouse84: Do you have a collection of your own, and what are your favorites?

swisherg: I do have a collection… it is from both my childhood and from my years at Mattel. The Bone Shaker is a recent fave. As I said earlier, the cars with a gimmick are close to my heart.

billshouse84: This question has been haunting me for a while... is it possible HW will re-evalutate the Mystery Car idea and drop it? I've seen so many damaged and opened packages in retail it's not funny, and it's not fun to see.

swisherg: We are evaluating that now... We are always looking for new ways to engage people young and old. This one is a bit controversial, but some do love it.

HabsFan1988: Does Hot Wheels still do Final Run cars as a series, or have you done away with Final Runs of castings?

swisherg: Final Runs wasn't a great success. I was a part of bringing it about back in the ‘90s, but I was told as we moved forward, it wasn't very popular. Bad cars are still bad cars, even if they are no longer available.

Humvvee: Where do you see Hot Wheels in 10 years?

swisherg: I would love to see Hot Wheels at theme parks and in family fun centers, would love to have more father-son experiences that Hot Wheels can help bring together. Dads and boys need more interaction, and Hot Wheels can help cause that.

Humvvee: Thanks, Gary… you provided us with lots of info. Thanks for taking the time to chat with us.

Keep an eye out for more special guest appearances in the Chat Room! Just check in here at HWC™ for updates on who to look for, and when. Until then, see ya in chat!