1975
1975 was another successful year for Mattel's Hot Wheels brand. The tampo decorated cars continued in '75 with 25 castings for sale.
Among the 25 were 19 new castings (although four of them were the same casting reused twice with different tampo designs) including the first and only motorcycles of the redline era. This year saw a shift to more everyday vehicles popular at the time including vans and pick-ups. Another new vehicle category included military vehicles, and even an electric car. Neither motorcycles or tanks came with redline wheels, a foreshadowing perhaps of the end of the redline era.
This year also marked the end of all diecast construction, with many castings switched to a chrome or black finish plastic base.
Similar to the '73 Shell promotion, this year saw Mattel supply cars for a restaurant chain promotion -- Herfy's. Six castings were chosen for this promotion, and they are easy to spot since they sport the Herfy's logo on the side.
In 1976 and 1977 the last original redline wheels are used in production.
Exteriors
Cars in '75 generally came in one or two tampo printed color schemes, but the rare casting would come in three color schemes. Usually the tampo design was the same, but in some instances it was different (see Super Van).
Casting Names and Part Numbers
Emergency Squad
Gun Slinger
Mustang Stocker
Tough Customer
Mattel got itself more organized this year and casting numbers are, for the most part, new and consecutive.
Herfy's Promotional Cars
Custom Volkswagen