Friday, May 8, 2009

Power Wheels


As kids, there were certain outrageously expensive toys that we just couldn't help salivating over. With a limited understanding of cost-benefit analysis, it was difficult to understand our parents' decision to feed us in lieu of providing us with lavish, overpriced luxury toys. There was always one kid on the block whose parents would buy him every hot new toy that hit the market, and it was the rest of our jobs to whine mercilessly, "But STEVIE has one!"

Perhaps at age six, logic was not our strong suit. While I couldn't tell you offhand what my once-coveted 1993 Fisher Price/Mattel Power Wheels Barbie Jeep cost, a quick trip the current Power Wheels website reveals that a 2009 Barbie Cadillac Escalade Custom Edition (and yes, this exists) costs $374. I'm sorry, maybe you didn't catch that. Three hundred and seventy-four dollars. For those of us who know have some basic grasp of monetary value and/or are faced monthly with important financial choices, we can hopefully all recognize that this is absolutely insane. I don't think my parents made that large of a down payment on my first real car.
The 2009 Barbie Escalade

Power Wheels were remarkable little battery-powered machines that allowed children a level of neighborhood street-roaming autonomy that bordered on potentially negligent. A closer examination of the Power Wheels brand indicates that their vehicles are typically marketed toward children ages 12 months to seven years. I don't know about you, but one year after I pop out an infant, I don't plan on letting him tear recklessly through the cul-de-sac in a miniature Ford Mustang. These children can barely walk, and we're letting them drive? Maybe it's just me, but something about this seems a tad askew.


Regardless of my current staunch anti-insanely-dangerous-toys stance, back in the day I would have killed one of the neighbor kids for one of these babies. Really, I would have. I'm sure there was one bad apple that no one really liked and wouldn't be missed. In this fantasy, the kid's last will and testament would be read publicly near the swings at the local playground and I would receive his now displaced Power Wheels Kawasaki Ninja rider. It was a beautiful dream, but unfortunately none of the kids in my neighborhood were rich enough or had the type of buy-your-affection parents to warrant such a glorious, though ultimately tragic, outcome.

While nowadays parents make a big fuss over gender neutral toys, dress their children in yellow, and encourage boys to play with dolls to theoretically increase future sensitivity, back in the day we had more clear cut lines of gender differentiation. If a boy ordered a Happy Meal, he received a Hot Wheels toy. For a girl, the Happy Meal contained a Barbie figurine. It didn't matter what your preference was, toy marketers chalked it up to basic biology and that was that. This theory was certainly a cornerstone of the Power Wheels marketing campaign, with distinct gender specific targeted ads.

For girls, we had Barbie, our alleged doll role model and favorite cheerleader/soccer player/teacher/fairy princess/dentist we knew. What can I say, she was a pretty accomplished gal. We can only assume that on the merit of all of the aforementioned achievements, she was rewarded with a significant toy car endorsement deal:





For those of you stuck at work or othrewise incapacitated on a watching-videos-without-being-caught-slacking front, let me transcribe the ad song's lyrics for you:

The buggy's all packed, so here we go
Headin' for the beach with my best friend Flo
My Barbie Beach Buggy's really puttin' on a show!

Pow Pow Power Wheels!
Pow Power Wheels!
C'mon Flo, let's really go!

Pow Pow Power Wheels!
Pow Power Wheels!
Power Wheeeeeeeeeeels!
Now I'm drivin' for real!

Power Wheels Barbie Beach Buggy. What a way to go!

...(Adult supervision required).

This really begs the question, how can I get set up with a lucrative children's toy ad campaign writing gig? I can't imagine less work going into, well, anything. I guess they knew how much this product spoke for itself in terms of desirability, allowing them to rhyme the word "go" with itself two additional times. Nonetheless, watching this ad even as an adult, I'm completely sold on it. I could care less what she's singing, just insert me into the Beach Buggy and I'll be on my merry way.

For the more glamorous first graders, Power Wheels had a different Barbie model:




First things first. This thing comes with a car phone? Most of our parents couldn't afford these amenities yet, and we're giving them to six-year olds? It sounds as if this was recorded by the same jingle singer as the first, we can only assume they paid her for a two-fer. This is essentially a remixed version of the first song, only this time, our girl got some lines. The only problem? She's six and an adult woman's voice is coming out of her mouth. I do love the way her mom sort of shakes her head at her daughter as if to say, "Oh, you!" Hey Mom, you bought the damn Lamborghini, don't act so chagrined by her endless gloating. On an aside, the star's Blossom-style hat was a major staple of my wardrobe at the time.

And for those of you out there with a Y chromosome, well, this one's for you:




The gender role stereotyping is a tad over the top here. You're not in a crappy little kid's battery-powered Jeep, you're part of the CHEIF ADVENTURE TEAM! I can see why they'd want children with their ineffective slow vehicles on board for such an important rogue underground organization. For some reason, these ads also feature adult voices emanating from children's bodies. I don't quite get what was going on here. Was this supposed to represent the required adult supervision notably absent from the ad? Could these kids not be trusted with their two-word lines? We may never know. All we know is how bad-ass those kids look with those walkie-talkies. For some reason, they also drive through an oddly assembled configuration of doves. Had they just been released for a wedding? Again, this is a question perhaps best left to professionals. We can only assume that's highly classified top secret CHIEF ADVENTURE TEAM business.

It wasn't all fun and games with these marvelous machines, though. Lucky for us who are still pouting over our parents' inability to magically produce one of these under a Christmas tree or at a birthday party, these things certainly had their dark side. What's a good 90s toy without some form of parent-sponsored reckless endangerment?


In 1991, the 18 Volt Porsche 911 was recalled for defective parts. Before we ask what people are thinking buying their children a miniature version of a car with a six-figure price tag, let's examine what exactly went wrong here. A defect in the foot pedal could force the car to stay running while disabling the braking function. I don't know about you, but there's something decidedly humorous in the image of a five year-old child barreling at top speed (at a maximum rate of two point five miles per hour) with no end in sight. An honorable mention for hilarious visuals is awarded to the once-distracted parents, now chasing their kids down the street and attempting to extract them from the miniature vehicle before it makes a crash landing into a freestanding mailbox.

Power Wheels issued a second recall in 1998 on a different model for potentially faulty battery connections. The most amazing thing about this recall was in the instructions it gave for repairs; they required you to bring the vehicle in to an "authorized Power Wheels Service center" What, are there many garages out there performing black market repairs on kids' toy cars? Is it that difficult to regulate the industry?

As you venture into adulthood, the choice to buy or not to buy a Power Wheels car for your child is yours and yours alone. The real question is, is it worth dipping in to the college fund to allow a 12 month-old infant a shot at driving practice?

27 comments:

Lora said...

I can't watch videos at work because they are blocked, but I have never been so grateful. As soon as I saw the top of this post, my brain starting going "pow pow powerwheels pow pow powerwheels"
gah!

WarriorHeartGypsySoul said...

I'm still waiting for my jeep...

Badass Geek said...

I wanted one of these so bad as a kid, but never got one. My cousin finally got one, and I remember spitting down their driveway at 1.5 MPH thinking, "This is it?"

Never wanted one since.

Jaime @ Fast Times said...

I always wanted a Power Wheels. Did I get one? No. No one I even knew had one. It was probably smart of our parents not to give us anything like that, since my friends and I were accident prone and loved taking things apart to see how they worked.

Lopez said...

Sadly my parents never got the coveted power wheels for my sister and me...

so it was one of the first 'big girl' toys that I bought my daughter...a blue VW Beetle! and she was SO CUTE driving it!

FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com said...

That part about the kids barely surviving just because they didn't own a car you coveted?

Genius.

I never wanted one of those things. I just wanted a Barbie Dream house but my dad balked at the price and made me use a cardboard box instead.

Optimistic Pessimist said...

My son had one of these when he was 3 or 4...not sure it was powerwheels though. He loved it!

Anonymous said...

I wanted one of those SO BAD. My parents weren't biting though. And...$374 for the Escalade? That's crazy! They're just going to wreck it on day 1 anyway...
I remember each of those commercials. What can I say? TV was our babysitter...

Unknown said...

Sadly, my parents could only afford the PowerWheels bikes...no automatic wheels for this girl...:(

LWLH said...

I despised the rich bitches that were able to have them...grr!

Awesome Sara said...

i never got one bc my parents moved a lot. *sigh*

Amber said...

I ALWAYS wanted one of those little cars SO bad, but never got one :-(

Needs Help said...

I wanted one of this soooo bad, esp the Barbie convertable, but never got one :(

Trixie said...

OMG I have a red jeep when I was younger. I remember I would drive it all over the driveway but my grandparent's wouldn't let me go past a certain crack because I would be "too close to the street." Man, wish I still had that thing.

Thomas said...

I sometimes wonder why my 4 year-old niece isn't more logical. Seriously.

Thomas said...

How is my home state of Texas doing?

Children of the 90s said...

Ask me in 5 minutes when we know who won the Mavs/Nuggets game!

Sadako said...

Oh my god, that is unnerving how an adult woman's voice comes out. Creepy!!!

Andhari said...

Oh my god, I did have it. I was suc ha show off too and I told all my girl friends, I was one of the coolest kids in kindergarten because of this hahahahaa lameeee :P

courtney said...

my sister and I are still bitter we never got one

Katie said...

OMG! I had the Barbie Corvette! It was so awesome until I was driving it in the garage and ran it into the wall. It got taken away for awhile after that!

Moments In Motherhood said...

When I was 8 my brother got the Knight Rider talking kid-sized pedal car (1989) for his 4th birthday and I was insanely jealous because I was "too big" to play with it. It was basically the cheaper version of power wheels b/c you had to pedal the think like a bike rather than running on batteries. But it talked.

Maryam said...

I really miss the retro style of this cars. The flashy blue paint and white flares makes it look more Jeep.
Jeep Wrangler

Triphthong said...

While I couldn't tell you offhand what my once-coveted 1993 Fisher Price/Mattel Power Wheels Barbie Jeep cost, a quick trip the current Power ... ipowerwheels.blogspot.com

Best10Top said...

Nice blog post.

power wheels tractor

Unknown said...

It is always lovely to see children playing together and having a lot of fun. Enjoy learning with playing!

Kevoelvo said...

So I have been seeing alot of those 90s kids cars left outside season after season year after year..batteries long ago dead..so too the graveyard they sit..but we all know plastic don't rust..it fades which gave me a idea..I was gonna be the first "Jesse james"of kids electric car restoration. I found a pink 4 wheeler qaud .stripped it down ordered bigger motors with 5 times the torque.yup from a 15,000 rpm too a 80..and re did the wiring and up graded it to lithium ion ..giving it insane amt of power.next I sanded it and airbrushed it with House of Kolor pear and iridescent. Rattle snake paint job followed by 5 coats of clear giving it depth..then I ordered a decal kit filled the hollow plastic wheels with expanding foam .Drexel cut crisp new tread..when I was done it was basically a "show car"..we gave it too are oldest grand kid who is the boss of the entire playground..pulls around a caravan of kids on there wagons sleds whatever

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