Legendary Hot Wheels and Americana Pro Partner Up with Quality Car Care Products

Can you remember the first time you played with a Hot Wheels car? Running your fingers over the bumpy metal. Spinning the tiny wheels with your thumb. Basking in the sheer thrill of watching a teeny tiny Camaro rip across a plastic track as it decimates the double loop, only to run out of road and go flying across the room like the little daredevil it is…

Epic.

Whether you’re a toddler on Christmas morning or a middle-aged adult standing in the toy aisle, the lure of Hot Wheels never dies. They are, quite literally, fun for all ages, eliciting billions of smiles and high fives over the last half-century of their production.

“Those are some Hot Wheels.”

Brainchild of Elliot Handler—the “el” in Mattel—Hot Wheels were an instant success when they landed in 1968. Launching with 16 toy cars, now dubbed the “Sweet 16,” they featured custom hot rod designs, a bright metallic finish, signature red striping around the tires, and a unique construction that allowed them to race around a plastic track very, very fast. The art was compliments of real car designers like Harry Bentley Brady, Ira Gilford, Howard Rees, and Larry Wood, while the architecture was owed to an aerospace engineer named Jack Ryan. (Yea, he built U.S. defense missiles and his name was really Jack Ryan.)

Originally sold for 59 cents apiece, some of these OG models now sell for hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars among collectors, proving they’re still in high demand. In fact, a 1969 Volkswagen Beach Bomb in pink (the rarest and therefore most desirable of colors) sold for a whopping $72,000 back in the late ‘90s. The seller planned to use the money on a 2000 Dodge Viper (a real one, that is.)

Amazingly enough, despite currency inflation and global politics, you can still pick up a brand-new Hot Wheels car for about one American dollar. Further astonishing, is that even with passing trends and a widespread shortened human attention span, special releases and limited editions still sell out in record time, every time.

More Than Just a Toy

For 50+ years, Hot Wheels have delighted audiences of all kinds. As car culture itself has grown and changed, so too has Mattel’s renowned line of little automotives. From toys to video games, apparel to film, down to actual full-sized vehicles, the Hot Wheels brand has evolved into a global powerhouse franchise, making more than 6 billion cars in its lifetime—that’s roughly 16.5 per second—to become the world’s #1 best-selling toy.

So, why has an industry titan who regularly partners with major auto manufacturers and world-class entertainment franchises teamed up with a four-year-old automotive appearance company from a small town in upstate New York? To answer that, we have to introduce you to Dan Pikarsky, creator and visionary of Americana Pro and Hot Wheels Car Care Products.

The Making of the Man

Dan Pikarsky—marketing guru and business development extraordinaire—has spent decades in the motorsports industry, bolstering some of the biggest and best teams in the country to championship pedigree. From NHRA to NASCAR, Pikarsky was responsible for building relationships with partners, securing sponsorships, launching new products, and engaging with fans across all strata of racing and car culture. In only five years, he was part of two world championship teams.

Later, he worked for Richard Petty Garage, launching a performance tour and growing brand awareness. He led business development for LFR, working with Scott Speed and the team’s No. 95 car in the Sprint Cup Series. And throughout his impressive career, Pikarsky has also held marketing positions at major corporations like Viacom and Galaxy Communications, served as spokesperson for the Jimi Hendrix Foundation, and even acted as tour manager for rock band, RATT.

He is, in essence, the man behind the curtain. Many curtains to be exact. The most recent of which, is the Hot Wheels Americana Series. Like many enthusiasts, Pikarsky was underwhelmed by the results of big box stores’ car care products. And throughout his unique career, he became friends with not only automotive industry professionals, but also a few chemists along the way. (We told you, he’s rubbed elbows with some interesting people.)

Before long, an idea began to take shape—Why not develop a line of products that actually addresses what enthusiasts are looking for? What if we were to fill that void in the market? What would it look like?

But good business ideas live and die every day, sometimes in the time it takes to explain them. What would make this one successful? Nay, what would make it so successful that a name like Mattel, arguably the largest toy company on Earth, would want to take part?

A keen strategy, a winning product, and a whole lotta grit. Three things Pikarsky regularly keeps in stock.

The Start of Something Great

Drawing upon his own love for all things automotive—including the times he spent sneaking down to the historic New York State Fairgrounds’ Syracuse Moody Mile for a face full of dirt as a youngster, wrenching on cars with his grandfather, sanding trucks in a body repair shop during college, cutting his teeth in racing—Pikarsky dug deep into car culture, all aspects of it.

From muscle cars to exotics, new to used, he and his team unearthed what exactly it was car owners were looking for. He developed some samples and handed them out at Cars and Coffee meets and local shows. He talked with fellow enthusiasts, gathered feedback, tweaked, and improved. “The next thing you know, we’re being invited to car shows,” says Pikarsky. “It got to the point where I thought, ‘Okay, this is going to be all-in or my next ‘round of golf’ in the industry.”

He went all in.

With a winning formula and killer marketing intuition, Americana Pro steadily gained traction in the Central New York area, expanding through the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. But a product this good deserves to be shared, and Pikarsky knew that in an industry as competitive as the automotive aftermarket, you need to stand out if you want to go global. And when you need to stand out, you develop brand cachet—you get a name in your corner. And when it comes to the roots of car culture, that name is Hot Wheels.

Meeting of the Minds

When you have as many contacts as Pikarsky, it doesn’t necessarily take a miracle to get a meeting with Mattel, but it does take plenty of phone calls, messages, follow-up emails, face-to-face meetings, and unwavering faith in the quality of your product. Something the founders of Mattel—visionaries who faced their own struggles on the path to success—would no doubt have understood.

Knowing a good thing when it sees it, Mattel got on board, and Hot Wheels™ Americana Series™ Car Care Products was born.

Designed for the ultimate enthusiast, the Americana Series™ features five high-quality cleaning and detailing products that are manufactured in the United States, using only professional-grade ingredients and formulas.

Wash & Wax uses deep cleaning pH-balanced detergents to tackle dirt and road grime, blended with true Brazilian carnauba wax to ensure exterior protection and a healthy shine. Because it is combined at a molecular level, the product is ideally shelf stable and will not separate in the bottle.

Epic Shine™ is a synthetic polymer-based, nano hydrophobic – anti static spray-on detailer that gives deep, high-gloss hand shine in mere minutes. It’s appropriate for all clear-coated and chrome surfaces, leaving an “Epic Shine™, anytime.”

All Wheel Cleaner is a foam-activated, non-acidic spray that dissolves brake dust, grease, dirt and road grime. It’s safe for all coated wheels and rims, and can be used on painted, chrome, stainless and aluminum finishes. The company suggests using it as part of a three-step process, starting with the All Wheel Cleaner, coating with the Epic Shine™ and then ending with the Pro Tire Finish for a true showroom appearance.

Pro Tire Cleaner uses a bleach-free formula to “break down the brown” and return tires to a clean, like-new rubber surface. Targeting brake dust, road grime, and old tire dressings, it “makes black walls black and white letters white,” according to Hot Wheels Car Care.

Pro Tire Finish is a water-based silicone tire detail spray that gives tires a rich, grease-free finish. Depending on the number of layers applied, consumers can “dial in” their shine, achieving a look anywhere from a natural satin sheen to a blazing glossy finish.

Unlike Other Car Care Products

An exciting feature of the Hot Wheels Car Care products is the way in which they react to their environment. Vehicle owners in the Northeast face much different challenges than those in the Southwest. Luckily, “the line features synthetic polymer nanotechnology,” says Pikarsky. For example, the Epic Shine™ product, which is free of carnauba and silicone, “is super hydrophobic, so once the product is applied as directed, it leaves a super slick coating with a deep show-car shine that lasts,” explains Pikarsky. “And with its anti-static properties, expect the dust and pollen to lift right off the finish, for a perfectly clean look, time and time again.”

Ideal for paint-coated surfaces and chrome or coated wheels, the product is gentle and effective. “And since it’s a proprietary polymer-base, there’s nothing like it on the market. Not even the latest greatest ceramic spray coatings,” adds Pikarsky.

Making a splash at their 2017 SEMA debut, the revolutionary Epic Shine™ and its related products have continued to show incredible growth. In Fall 2017, the Hot Wheels Americana Series became the official car care products of championship-winning John Force Racing, with its branding featured on all four team vehicles. And by the next year, the company had become the presenting sponsor of the Syracuse Nationals Car Show while focusing on the Hot Wheels Legends National Tour. Hot Wheels Americana Series Car Care Products has also inked a master sales & distribution partnership with Keystone Automotive, the leading distributor and marketer of aftermarket automotive products and services.

“I’m an independent business owner who understands the needs of the independent store and shop owner,” says Pikarsky. And like them, “my roots run deep in car culture. That’s why we teamed up with Keystone.” Thanks to the distributor’s massive reach in the aftermarket, with retail outlets stretched across the United States and Canada, Pikarsky’s young company with the big name is going to be popping up on a lot more shelves in the coming months.

New Opportunities 

Most recently, Pikarsky and his brand showed up to the Keystone BIG Show with its stellar line of exterior products plus a new introductory line of interior cleaners. Oh yea—and the company also had three custom Hot Wheels vehicles in tow, including a bright gold 1967 Camaro, sporting black stripes, chrome side pipes and—of course—an epic shine.

Speaking on the new line, Pikarsky says, “Enthusiasts are tired of using products on their interior that are oily and greasy. Plus, when the sun comes through, a car heats up, so just imagine what that’s doing—magnifying leftover residue, leaving cracks on the dash. Our products leave a satin dry finish on the surface because we know nobody likes a greasy, slimy dash pad or console; a shiny glare coming off the dash is a safety hazard. And the car culture I’m dealing with understands that, too. They know that shine doesn’t mean clean—shine is a finish.”

Pikarsky and the Hot Wheels Americana Series of products aim to fill a void in the aftermarket. And not just any void—a particularly demanding one. Delivering high-quality solutions to experienced car lovers who have a hawk’s eye for substandard products is no small undertaking.

Fitting then, that Hot Wheels’ newest 2018 marketing campaign is titled, “Challenge Accepted.”