In 2008 , The Little Tikes Company sold 457,000 Cozy Coupes , making it the best - deal car in America . It even edged out Toyota Camry sales by 20,000 . In fact , over the retiring 30 years , children have take joy rides in more than 10 million of the little plastic vehicles . Here ’s the skinny on what keeps this classic rolling off assembly demarcation .
One Man’s Vision
Back in 1947 , when he was still in college , Jim Mariol was designing car parts for Chrysler when he realized that he wanted to make a tone only his own . It assume more than 30 years , but in 1979 , he made that pipe dream come dependable . Mariol teamed up with Little Tikes and pitched his estimate for a toy dog railroad car that kids could power with their feet , Fred Flintstone - dash . ( The breathing in come from roll up around his office in a desk president . ) Little Tikes hump the construct and , within four twelvemonth , its total sales skyrocketed from $ 15 million to nearly $ 43 million . The company has been crease it in ever since .
One Word: Plastics
Part of the secret behind the car ’s seniority is a manufacturing process called rotational molding .
A fictile polymer is poured into a vacuous moulding , which is then heat up and spun in multiple focusing . As the charge plate cools , it solidifies into a tough , durable shell . This might seem like a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree - hugger ’s nightmare , but the car are made using Code 4 plastic , which is promiscuous to recycle . ( Just drive it to the bridle ! ) Still , Cozy Coupes are so durable that most are reprocess the old - fashioned way — pass down from one generation of little equipment driver to the next .
Pimp My Kid’s Ride
[ Image credits : Pink and Green Mama , art - c0reandTheMistressT ]
If you ’re not into the classic red - and - white-livered look , there are plenty of other choice . In the former 1990s , sales for the Cozy Coupe douse , so the company boom its line to let in fire trucks , police cars , convertible security , and the popular pinkish - and - empurpled " Princess Coupe . “ But if the expanded line does n’t do it for you , there ’s also a growing subculture of parents who soup up their kids ' cars on weekends , adding usage paint Job , lush interiors , and even LCD cover .
Hood Winks
Last twelvemonth , the 1979 model Cozy Coupe receive a makeover for the thirtieth Anniversary Edition . It now comes outfit with cup holder and a handle on the roof , which parents can attract if the driver gets tuckered out . But the most obvious facelift is , well , a boldness . Two cartoon eyes and a toothy grin have been add to the hood . In June , the 1979 model and the 30th Anniversary Edition became part of the permanent collection of the Crawford Auto - Aviation Museum in Cleveland , taking their true berth next to the DeLorean , the Chevy Corvette , and the Model - T Ford .
This article in the beginning appeared inmental_floss cartridge holder .
