Review – Hot Wheels Draggin’ Tail

Line: Hot Wheels * Manufacturer: Mattel * Year: 2008 * Ages: 3+

“With an aerodynamic fuselage, twin turbo V8 engine and a pair of wings for downforce, this is one “fly” piece of machinery.”
— from the card back

Are you ready for another blast of insane car design from the geniuses over at Mattel who are responsible for the Hot Wheels die cast car toy series? I know that more and more my poking through the toy aisle at stores includes a little time digging through the pegs of Hot Wheels toy cars . . . and it’s because of stuff like this Draggin’ Tail car that I keep returning to the Hot Wheels cars and not the Matchbox cars. For some reason Matchbox doesn’t seem to have the crazy designs that you can find in Hot Wheels, and for someone who is just looking for wacky that means Matchbox cars may as well not exist.

Obviously inspired by the dragonfly, the Draggin’ Tail has wings, antenna pipes sculpted into the engine, and even a wacky abdomen nestled safely between the wings at the back of the car. Where cars like the Fast Fortress (review here) and Tread Air (review here) blend aircraft and cars into one design, this wicked Draggin’ Tail is a mix of insect and automotive monstrosity that — like many of the more ridiculous Hot Wheels car designs — looks unlike anything you’ll ever find on the road.

Hell, I can’t even figure out where you would get in to drive the damn thing. And forget finding a windshield on this insectamobile.

The car is, as always, a mix of metal and plastic, but this time the metal is a large mass on the bottom of the car which makes it feel heavier than some of the other Hot Wheels designs. I seriously need some Hot Wheels tracks so I can give this thing a cornering test, but I’m betting it hugs those tracks great since all of the weight is in the chassis and engine; the main body and wings are plastic and don’t really affect the car’s weight at all.

For reasons I can’t figure out, though, the Draggin’ Tail doesn’t roll quite as nicely as other Hot Wheels toy cars. Maybe it’s a defect with my specific model, but the wheels seem to stick sometimes and that tends to drastically reduce the car’s speed at the worst possible moments (which is always when talking about a toy car).

Closing Thoughts

With Hot Wheels cars priced so low it’s hard to go wrong when grabbing any car off of the peg. I think the secret to enjoying these cars is to pick up the cars that talk to you; if you’re into real world cars then there’s a huge variety of designs out there waiting for you. If you’re like me, though, and only want the craziest and weirdest of designs, it’s a little tougher finding cars. Not impossible, though, since almost every time I dig through the Hot Wheels aisle I find something unusual.

The more of these cars I grab the more I wonder if reviews are even necessary. Once you’ve seen one of these in the store you instantly know whether or not it’s your thing. I suppose the only real value in my recent Hot Wheels car reviews has to be the photos. And even then you can find other photos online. For example, this page at the Hot Wheels Wiki is dedicated solely to Draggin’ Tail and includes a photo of the car. And unlike action figures, which can be photographed in different poses, Hot Wheels cars basically have only a single pose.

Philip Reed wonders if anyone is enjoying these Hot Wheels reviews or if everyone sighs with disgust when they visit battlegrip.com only to find a toy car review when they wanted a new action figure or designer toy review.