Tom Daniel, Larry Wood
Background
Tom Daniel — Tom Daniel is a custom car and model kit designer. He was accepted into the Art Center School of Los Angeles while still in high school, worked at GM in Detroit and at North American Aviation (on projects tied to the Apollo program) and drew custom cars for Rod & Custom magazine. Between 1967 and 1975 he created 75 models for Monogram, such as Beer Wagon and Red Baron. Because Mattel at one point owned Monogram, several of his designs also became Hot Wheels cars, and the Red Baron is among the best sellers. He also created the Munster Koach, for George Barris, and the Bat Cycle from the 1960s Batman series.
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.
