Redondo’s “Mr. Hot Wheels” to be inducted into Automotive Hall of Fame
by Garth Meyer One day in 1956, the football coach at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., confiscated a “Hot Rod” magazine from a player who wasn’t paying attention. He went home and threw it on the kitchen counter. His 14-year-old son picked it up. The boy had never before seen the publication. He would not be the same again. Larry Wood, now of Redondo Beach, grew up to design Hot Wheels for Mattel for 50 years, and later this month, will be inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn, Mich. Induction is reserved for select individuals whose work has helped shape the automobile market. “This year’s class continues to recognize the breadth of contributions to this industry,” said Sarah Cook, president of the Automotive Hall of Fame. “The group includes trailblazing innovators and leaders who have left an impact globally on the automotive industry.” Wood started on “Hot Wheels” in the second year of the toy line, when Mattel was housed in a six-story building in Hawthorne. “That was a real shock” he said of the news that he would join the Hall of Fame. “Who would’ve thought that a toy designer would get inducted to this? These are famous car designers. They were my…
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