The Dotcom Rodger Dodger

At the end of July 2001, HotWheelsCollectors.com was officially launched. A few weeks after the launch the yellow Rodger Dodger became the first car offered exclusively to the first 5000 members that joined the site. The car began shipping in late September, 2001.

Casting number: 8259

Year of introduction: 1974

Weight: 3.35 ounces (With card)

Cost: $17.94 USD / $22.94 CAN

Designed by Larry Wood, the Rodger Dodger is based on a 1973 Dodge Charger SE body. The fascias are from a 1970 Dodge Challenger, since the base (which includes the grille and taillight panels) is from the Bye Focal/Dixie Challenger/Show Off casting.

Limited Quantity: 5040

The total equals 70 complete cases. The extra 40 cars are for staff, designers, and archives. We offered up 5000 cars to the HWC.com members and we sold 4939 cars. That left 61 from the run, added to the 40 that we had for the staff, for a total of 101 cars left over. We kept cars 1-100 and car number 5040. We gave one to every member of our team, had 24 or 28 returns, a small amount lost in the mail and replaced. We had over 100 cars to use for the HW vending machine at the National Convention. We still have a few left.

The same issue with the Cougars. 5016 were made. One to each member on staff. No replacements that I know of, so about 200 left over.

("Hot Wheels Amy" was Amy Boylan.  She came to Mattel as the Vice-President and General Manager of Mattel Interactive, overseeing the development of all Mattel's software titles. Ultimately, she moved to Boys New Media, developing HotWheelsCollectors.com and PlanetHotWheels.com.)

Since this car was created so "spur of the moment", we (the HWC.com group) created and supplied the graphics, concepts and art direction based on the website's vernacular. The regular HW design group made our concept a reality. John Ludwig had a huge hand in the car style and approval process. The blister card and COA were also designed by the HWC.com group. So, you can see, this inaugural edition was done a bit out of the ordinary since it is the first car ever to be designed exclusively based on a website & for HWC website members only. —Brian

(As a Senior Designer, Brian Fitzgerald was a major contributor to the look of websites and cars alike. Brian went through college on a baseball scholarship, coming to Mattel immediately after graduation.)

John Ludwig handed me a production proof Rodger Dodger. As I understand it, this car is a benchmark that is used to assure the quality of the run. I just stared at it. This was beyond cool. This was incredible. I looked at every feature, I carefully examined every detail. The only person more fixated than I was John himself. He didn't take his eyes off that car for a second, until I returned it to him. Linebackers keying on a quarterback are less intense. Where is the trust? Sadly, I returned the car to John and then went on to look at some of the proposed features of the much anticipated PlanetHotWheels.com. —Al Segundo

(John Ludwig is a native Californian who joined Mattel shortly after graduating from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Initially, John worked in Mattel's Web group "Mattel Online" as a producer on HotWheels.com overseeing the Racing and Collectors sections of the site. In early 2001 that group (Mattel Online) became the "Mattel Boys New Media" group.)