Larry Wood, Bob Rosas
Background
Larry Wood — Larry Wood, known as 'Mr. Hot Wheels', studied at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. He was recruited by Ford in 1965 and joined Hot Wheels in 1969, building a career of about 50 years with the brand: he was full-time chief designer until 2009, then a consultant and ambassador, and officially retired in 2019. His projects include Bone Shaker, Rodger Dodger, Tri-Baby and Purple Passion.
He has received the Hot Wheels Hall of Fame (2003), the Model Car Hall of Fame (2009 and 2014), the West Coast Kustoms Hall of Fame (2019), the Pop Culture Hall of Fame (2021) and the Automotive Hall of Fame (2023). Today he works as a freelancer, at Larry Wood Design LLC.
Bob Rosas — Robert Raymond Rosas was a Mattel designer and engineer from 1969 to 1989. He worked alongside Larry Wood in the design department and rose to director of the Hot Wheels engineering group, leaving the company in 1989. Lines such as X-V Racers, Steering Rigs, Crack-Ups and Flip Outs are attributed to his work. According to his own account reproduced on the wiki, he started as a contract tooling engineer (designing molds for Hot Wheels cars) before joining Mattel, where he worked on Barbie accessories, track accessories and Major Matt Mason.
He is retired and attends brand conventions.
