"Wait, why is the middle car circled?"

Guys, I think I may be stupid

Well now wait a minute, the Corvette on top may be correct. The car manufacturer puts so many covers on the bottom of cars now the hot wheels might be accurate.

This seems accurate to what modern car underbodies look like, a smooth underbody is very important for aerodynamics and therefore fuel efficiency. For race cars it is often even more important not only for fuel efficiency but for downforce.

Apparently, in order keep the “die cast” label, either the base or the top are die cast.

Some cars are plastic on top and metal on the bottom, and others are metal on top and plastic on the bottom.

As I recall, the wheels are also no longer 4 separate axel pins. They’re just two long pins. One in the front, one in the back.

Amazing to see Hot Wheels change from gas to hybrid to EV over the years.

I had a jeep that changed colours from army green to bright yellow. Also an old school caddy that went from purple to pink. All metal; great toys

Hot wheels from the 70s and 80s were deadly weapons ... you stepped on one it was like stepping on a roller skate, you broke one it turned into knife and if you threw one, you could cause a concussion. Even just opening up one of those damned things when you were kid usually meant you severely cut yourself (I know from experience).

I had one of these that had actual rubber tires on the wheels. Pretty sure they were a choking hazard.

not as much profit in making durable toys

useless red circle

For anyone looking for a fun way to play with your toy cars, I highly recommend the free tabletop game GASLANDS. Glue some guns to them and blow them up with your friends!

That 2012 one looks like I've focused it as a UI component. I need to get out and touch some grass.

Not just that what if these are electric cars and don't need all that stuff in the bottom. Hmmm

Matchbox were always better.

Some hypercars actually have a flat undercarriage to maximize aerodynamics. Also not all HotWheels are depicting real cars, so they might not have realistic underbody. This could be one of those 2 cases.

Cheaper and cheaper as time goes on. My Tonka dump truck was made from steel and it would hurt me more than I could hurt it.

Weak sauce.

Shrinkflation

They can just claim it's an electric car lol