[trebleshot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crazy Jetty

Not voting. This is going to be a case of where brand name wins, for no other reason than it's a brand name.
Beyond that, the two are pretty interchangable. They were the same scale, constructed pretty much the same way, worked in the same sets.

I don't really know what the difference is, other than the fact that Hotwheels had some cool fantasy cars, and I don't remember Matchbox doing the same.

When they were separate companies, Hot Wheels was known for doing mostly fantasy cars (but some realistic stuff too). Matchbox was known for strictly real-world cars (even if some were prototypes). Once Mattel bought Matchbox, the brands eventually became interchangeable. Even after Mattel assured MB fans that they would keep it as a real-cars-only brand and leave the fantasy stuff in the Hot Wheel brand.