A recent Fox News article discussed the top-selling American-made car, and that it will take its place among historically significant automobiles at the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum in Cleveland, OH. This car model first came off the assembly line in 1979, and last year alone sold 457,000 units, outselling every other car in the U.S. including the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord. It also has the history of outselling domestic cars like the Ford Taurus.
What is unique about this best-selling automobile is that is has no glass windows, no airbags or seat belts, no engine or transmission, no power steering or CD player. It can be a two-seater, but is best suited for one person. It also comes in one color scheme; red and yellow. The target driver is usually under the age of six.
When I read the article about this car I was quite surprised that it had been around so long and that it still remained a highly popular toy for children, despite all the battery-addicted riding toys on the market. My kids used to own one of these Little Tykes cars. It was several of the Little Tykes outdoor toys that they played with. They were nearly indestructible and provided hours and hours of fun for my children and their friends. When they finally outgrew these toys, I sold them to a couple who were starting up a day care. The only thing that was wrong with any item was a little dirt, despite being handled by my children who sometimes showed a penchant for destruction.
Toys like the Little Tykes cars are classics that never go out of favor. They are in good company along with basic tricycles and bikes, simple blocks, swings, Chutes and Ladders games, Legos, coloring books, boxes of crayons and squishy stuffed animals. Year after year, decade after decade, generations of children have played with and eventually outgrown toys like these. Year after year, parents whose children are reaching a certain age, go brave ToysRUs to find a toy for their kids like one they used to play with as a kid. Despite all the toys with all those great features that require enough batteries to keep the Energizer bunny in drumsticks for a year, these classic, kid-power-only toys are still highly popular purchases, outlasting all the battery-operated toys in popularity and longevity.
Last year for Christmas my husband wanted to find and purchase an old-fashioned style pedal car for our granddaughter. Never mind the fact that the kid was just learning to walk, he thought it would be the perfect gift. Even though we ended up buying her other things for Christmas, I couldn’t help remembering my own little pedal car when I was a little girl. It was a fire engine, with little attached ladders and a working bell. My brother and I would trade back and forth between it and our tricycle as we rode up and down our driveway.
I’m sure that you can think back fondly on a toy that you claimed as favorite growing up. It may have been a special doll, or HotWheels race track set, or a bike that took you places real and imagined. For me one special thing was home-made. It was a swing made of about 30 feet of strong rope tied at one end to a huge oak on our back-yard, the other to a bundle of burlap sacks. With my dad helping, we could reach amazing heights as we swung back and forth. There is an old black and white photo of both my brother and I on that swing, my hair flying behind me with looks on our faces of pure joy. I can look at that photo and almost feel the wind in my face and my stomach leaving me behind as my Dad gave us a great big push.
There are times I watch my granddaughter play and miss those days where I could grab my toys and delve into the world of my own play-making, but then it is a whole lot of fun watching her play from a grown-up perspective. We can assist, being too big now to get on her riding toy, by pushing her around the driveway as fast as our hunched over selves can take her, and we get to thoroughly enjoy her squeals of delight, as we push her on the swing at the park.
We may never get to be a kid again, but we can help our kids and grandkids discover the simple joy of a simple toy just like the one we once played with. We can even play with them if we want. I don’t think there is an age limit on swings is there?
Sylvie Galloway
mom, hairdresser, writer, who is trying to stay one step ahead of marauding dust bunnies.
