Power Wheels is a

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

of battery-powered ride-on

toy cars A model car, or toy car, is a miniature representation of an automobile. Other miniature motor vehicles, such as trucks, buses, or even ATVs, etc. are often included in this general category. Because many miniature vehicles were originally aim ...

for kids ages one to seven years old. Power Wheels ride-ons are built with kid-sized, realistic features – in some cases, real working features like FM radios, opening/closing doors and hoods, and both forward and reverse motion.

History

The product itself was created by an Italian company, Peg Perego, which started in 1949. Peg-Perego eventually began using gel cell batteries in their wheeled machines, and the product line was launched. The Power Wheels brand name dates back to 1984, when San Francisco-based toy company Kransco acquired Pines of America, makers of battery-powered vehicles for children. Kransco renamed the line "Power Wheels". In 1994, the Power Wheels Line was bought by

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, ...

, who placed it under their

Fisher-Price Fisher-Price, Inc. is an American company that produces educational toys for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, headquartered in East Aurora, New York, East Aurora, New York (state), New York. It was founded in 1930 during the Great Depression ...

subsidiary. In 1999, Fisher-Price announced the

Harley-Davidson Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression along with i ...

Motorcycle ride-on toy – which contributed to a year of record sales for the entire product line.

Power Wheels vehicles

Power Wheels ride-on cars, trucks, and motorcycles have been sold with more than 100 model names. Some Power Wheels vehicles are small-scale versions of real-world vehicles, including the

Jeep Wrangler The Jeep Wrangler is a series of compact and mid-size four-wheel drive off-road SUVs manufactured by Jeep since 1986, and currently in its fourth generation. The Wrangler JL, the most recent generation, was unveiled in late 2017 and is produced ...

, Jeep Hurricane,

Ford F-150 The Ford F-Series is a series of light-duty trucks marketed and manufactured by Ford Motor Company since model year 1948 as a range of full-sized pickup trucks — positioned between Ford's Ranger and Super Duty pickup trucks. Alongs ...

Ford Mustang The Ford Mustang is a series of American Car, automobiles manufactured by Ford Motor Company, Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its Ford Mustang (seventh ...

, Kawasaki KFX quad,

motorcycle,

Cadillac Escalade EXT The Cadillac Escalade is a full-size luxury SUV manufactured by General Motors and marketed by their luxury division Cadillac. It was the luxury brand's first major entry into the SUV market. The Escalade was introduced for the 1999 model year ...

. Some Power Wheels vehicles are based on children's cartoons such as

Lightning McQueen Lightning McQueen is a fictional anthropomorphic stock car and the protagonist of the Disney/Pixar ''Cars'' franchise. He was developed by John Lasseter and co-director Joe Ranft from a story concept by Jorgen Klubien. Lightning's appearances ...

from

Pixar Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...

’s film ''

Cars A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

'', and a

Thomas the Tank Engine Thomas the Tank Engine is a fictional, anthropomorphised tank locomotive who originated from the British children's books ''The Railway Series'', created and written by Wilbert Awdry with his son Christopher Awdry, Christopher, first publish ...

with a circle of track.

Safety recalls

The first recall in 1991 involved the 18 Volt

Porsche 911 The Porsche 911 model series (pronounced ''Nine Eleven'' or in ) is a family of German two-door, high performance Rear-engine design, rear-engine sports cars, introduced in September 1964 by Porsche, Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. Now in it ...

, in which the contacts in the foot pedal switch could weld together in use. If this were to happen, the motor would remain running and the vehicle would continue moving forward, unable to stop. A new accelerator pedal was fitted that eliminated the possibility of welded contacts. In October 1998,

undertook one of its largest toy recalls, announcing that it would recall and repair up to 10 million Power Wheels 12-volt and Super 6-volt vehicles manufactured since 1986. The recall and repair program was conducted to replace battery fuses and strengthen battery connectors to prevent the units from overheating. In 2000, Fisher-Price recalled about 218,000 battery-powered Power Wheels Harley-Davidson motorcycle ride-on toys for repair. The foot pedals, which activate the toy, could stick in the "on" position. The Barbie Dream Camper (model FRC29), with the grey foot pedal, was recalled in 2019 due to reports that the ride-on toy continued moving after the pedal was released.

References

External links

Official Power Wheels Website
{{Fisher-Price Brands Toy cars and trucks Battery electric vehicles Fisher-Price Products introduced in 1984 Toy recalls Mattel