Eric Tscherne, Jun Imai
Background
Eric Tscherne — Eric C. Tscherne was a Hot Wheels designer from 1998 to 2004 and is a 2011 inductee of the Diecast Hall of Fame. He is remembered for bringing import 'tuner'-style cars to the line and for realistic originals such as Muscle Tone, 40 Somethin' and Switchback. He also created the Hot Tunerz line.
After Hot Wheels, he designed cars and toys for Jada Toys (Chub City, Dub City, Import Racer, Big Time Muscle), created the JL Full Throttle line, oversaw the redesign of the Johnny Lightning brand look and was senior director of design at Wicked Cool Toys (Paw Patrol vehicles, among others). Today he is an apparel designer at Ultra Cornhole and runs his own company, ET Design.
Jun Imai — Jun Imai is a Design Manager at Hot Wheels, at Mattel. In a 2016 interview, he described leading a team of six designers and taking part in automotive partnerships and licensing, such as the collaboration with Porsche customizer Magnus Walker. He grew up collecting Hot Wheels and, according to the interviewer, brought a strong JDM (Japanese domestic market) influence to the brand's models. The sources consulted do not state his education or year of entry.
