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For four-year-old Doug Woods, the tiny 1969 VW Beach Bomb Hot Wheel he plucked out of a yard sale was just a 10-cent toy. He never imagined that 43 years later, he would own 25,000 Hot Wheels cars and parts and be considered among Canada's leading Hot Wheels experts.

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Canadian collects 25,000 Hot Wheels cars, accessories over 40 years

Reuters

<div><span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none">For four-year-old Doug Woods, the tiny 1969 VW Beach Bomb Hot Wheel he plucked out of a yard sale was just a 10-cent toy. He never imagined that 43 years later, he would own 25,000 Hot Wheels cars and parts and be considered among Canada&#x27;s leading Hot Wheels experts.</span></div><p>Woods told Reuters that his collection grew steadily after that first car.</p><p>These days, his vehicles are part of his life. When he married, he used Hot Wheels as wedding favors. His six-year-old daughter is his staunch collecting partner. Twenty-five years ago, he founded the Northern Lights Hot Wheels Club, which meets monthly. In February, he even displayed his rarest vehicles at the Canadian International Auto Show. </p><p>American Mike Zarnock has held the record for the world&#x27;s largest Hot Wheels collection since 2003. He has some 30,000 cars.</p><p>But for Woods, it&#x27;s not about breaking the record. His primary goal right now is to find a place to display his collection. He said he&#x27;s even considered opening a traveling museum.</p><p>Hot Wheels is a Mattel company product line that started in 1968. The last Mattel Annual Report shows that in 2022, market sales for Hot Wheels were $617.9 million in North America, up from $529.5 million in 2021.</p><div><strong></strong><em>(Production: Kyaw Soe Oo, Kevin Fogarty, Kristin Neubaeur)</em></div><div data-qa-component="collapsable-content" id="isPasted" style="--tw-border-spacing-x:0;--tw-border-spacing-y:0;--tw-translate-x:0;--tw-translate-y:0;--tw-rotate:0;--tw-skew-x:0;--tw-skew-y:0;--tw-scale-x:1;--tw-scale-y:1;--tw-scroll-snap-strictness:proximity;--tw-ring-offset-width:0px;--tw-ring-offset-color:#fff;--tw-ring-color:rgba(59,130,246,.5);--tw-ring-offset-shadow:0 0 #0000;--tw-ring-shadow:0 0 #0000;--tw-shadow:0 0 #0000;--tw-shadow-colored:0 0 #0000;box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;line-height:inherit;overflow:hidden;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"><div style="--tw-border-spacing-x:0;--tw-border-spacing-y:0;--tw-translate-x:0;--tw-translate-y:0;--tw-rotate:0;--tw-skew-x:0;--tw-skew-y:0;--tw-scale-x:1;--tw-scale-y:1;--tw-scroll-snap-strictness:proximity;--tw-ring-offset-width:0px;--tw-ring-offset-color:#fff;--tw-ring-color:rgba(59,130,246,.5);--tw-ring-offset-shadow:0 0 #0000;--tw-ring-shadow:0 0 #0000;--tw-shadow:0 0 #0000;--tw-shadow-colored:0 0 #0000;box-sizing:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font:inherit"><div data-qa-component="item-story" data-rc-highlight="story" dir="auto"><em><br/></em></div></div></div>

<p>For four-year-old Doug Woods, the tiny 1969 VW Beach Bomb Hot Wheel he plucked out of a yard sale was just a 10-cent toy. He never imagined that 43 years later, he would own 25,000 Hot Wheels cars and parts and be considered among Canada's leading Hot Wheels experts.</p>