Larry Wood, Howard Rees
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.
Howard Rees — Howard K. Rees worked at Mattel from 1969 to 1975. Before that, he had accepted a position at Ford of Europe. He left the Hot Wheels design team in 1971 to design the Major Matt Mason action figures, and recommended his friend Larry Wood for the opening. He left Mattel in 1975 and became a painter, which he still is.
