A few years after the Think-A-Tron toy computer of '67, Hasbro released the Amaze-A-Matics custom computer cars. Available in a various assortment of models, ie: Astrovettes, Chargers, VW's, dune buggies, etc., the Amaze-A-Matics also came with 4 pylons, and an instruction booklet / catalog. The one I found the other day is the Buick Century Cruiser style, and actually most like the real life concept car counterpart in all of it's strikingly futuristic, COMPUTERIZED glory. (CLICK HERE!) The coolest and most unique thing about these customizable toy race cars though (and for the late 60's even), was that the cars came with pre-programmed "computer" cardboard cards that slid into the tail end of the car to make them run a pre-determined course, some based on actual famous tracks like Le Mans and Daytona. It also came with blank cards so you could scissor cut / plot the racing action however you wanted. Watch the classic commercial HERE for a better idea of how these worked, and then afterwards, watch another car with a brain via classic cartoon animation by CLICKING HERE!
kewl, I've only ever see/heard about these from the internet. I think they were pretty rare (not popular)?
ReplyDeleteThat's neat never heard of these -- I like the "computer" portion of it (more than likely a clockwork mechanism where a moving bar steered the tires by falling in and out of the cutouts.)
ReplyDeleteThat's a really clever idea. The commercial shows they went all in with different bodies and such, but the fact that I've never heard of it (which doesn't prove anything but) probably means it didn't do too well in the market.
Definitely that Buick is the raddest model. I like the Ford, too.
ReplyDeleteAdd my name to the people who have never heard of this. I feel like, if this product had made it into the seventies, I would definitely have had one--my extended family was very likely to err on the side of more race car toys when it came to gift-giving occasions. I like 'em too, but I always wanted more Micronauts and Shogun Warriors and Godzilla toys. What I got was Aurora electric racetracks, zip cars, Hot Wheels Sizzlers, etc. These would have been a perfect fit for our Christmas morning routine.