Wild, Crazy, and Cool

Welcome to the wacky world of Mad Wheelz, where anything goes!  A chicken with mag wheels?  A turbo boosted brain?  A burger that goes 0-60 in 6 seconds?  They're wild, they're crazy...  They're cool!  They're Mad Wheelz!

 - From the Mad Wheelz website

I found these guys at Walgreens while on a trip to Florida back in 2004.  I'm not sure what I was doing in a Walgreens on vacation, but I guess it worked out.  These Mini Mad Wheelz have a real Savage Mondo Blitzers vibe to them, so obviously I had to give them a try.  I just wish I grabbed more than the two 3-packs that I got.  There was even an eyeball that I foolishly passed up on.  What was I thinking?  I went for the nose, and noses are harder to find in toy form than eyeballs, so I suppose it's all good.  And I love foodie characters, which make up half of my collection here.  But enough of what I could of got. What did I actually get, and how do they look next to Savage Mondo Blitzers?

Cheesie Rider

A souped up burger looking for fun.   Mag wheels and side pipes on a sesame seed bun!!!

I think this guy is my favorite of the Mad Wheelz I got.  There's just something about a burger with a face that makes a fun toy (and a freaky meal).  He's colorful and has a lot of personality in that little plastic bun-head.

Pizza Shredder

Pepperoni, exhaust pipes and cheese...  A little Nitro, but no anchovies please!!!

Man, I love a good pizza.  No matter how healthy I try to eat, I'll never give up pizza.  I can't do it.  Maybe the Ninja Turtles worked their pizza propaganda too well on me as a kid, because I've been obsessed with it ever since.  And more than other kids are obsessed with it.  But any way, this isn't about pizza, it's about a toy pizza car.  He's actually not nearly as tasty looking as Cheesie Rider, but he does look like a crazy muthuh.  

Greased Lightning

Half potato and half machine.  The fastest pack of fries you've ever seen!!!

This guy almost has the McDonald's "golden arches" for his lips, but they're much creepier golden arches.  The ketchup on the fries is a nice touch, and helps make for another tasty looking toy.  Greased Lightning is part of the "Fast Foods" team along with Cheesie Rider, Pizza Shredder, and Early Bird Special (a chicken coming out of an egg).

Brain Drain

Winning the race is on his mind.  No matter what gears he'll have to grind!!!

Brain Drain is another Mad Wheel that I like a lot.  The details in his wrinkles and the mad stare in his eyes make for a cool looking toy.  The little danglers for his "nose" give him somewhat of a "Zoidberg" quality.

Boogie Burner

Running cold or running hot.  He'll blow your doors in, like it or snot!!!

After eyeballs, I like characters with giant mouths and teeth.  There is a Mad Wheel that's set of jaws, and another one that's an eyeball.  I passed on both of them.  I must have had limited funds that day in Florida.  There has to be a reason why I didn't get them all.  But this nose is just too cool.  I mean look at him.  He's nasty!  I can picture the sound he makes when he's burning... rubber.  And that's disturbing.  I went to an exhibit on the human body at a museum one time knowing there was a giant replica of a nose there.  I brought Boogie Burner (perfect name) with me, and drove him around the inner walls of the giant nose.  That's a unique memory, right there!  Any way, Brain Drain and Boogie Burner are part of the "Spare Parts" team, along with Eye Soar (eyeball) and Motor Mouth (jaws and teeth).

Knight Rider

All suited up and ready to fight.  He'll kick your tailpipe day or night!!!

Compared to all of the other Mad Wheelz I got, Knight Rider is just okay.  He's not terrible.  He just looks like Shrek's served head in a knight's helmet with wheels and a tiny lance strapped to it.  Actually, that's kinda cool.  Knight Rider is part of the "Road Warriors" with Howdy Hauler (a sheriff's head), Jolly Dodger (pirate head), and Tee Pee Cruiser (mohawk indian head).

A few years after getting these 3-packs, I found a larger Greased Lightning.  Like, literally found it.  It was on the ground at work, and it's missing a wheel.  Still, I kept it.  He's got a pull-back action feature, and I'm assuming there must have been more characters in this scale.  Too bad I never saw them.

I don't know how long these guys lasted in stores, but I only ever saw them the one time.  I'll probably always be kicking myself for not completing the set, but I'll always have my Floridians.  And my crippled 3-wheeler.

Here's a link to the Mad Wheelz website, which is surprisingly still up and running.  You can see the other characters from series 1 that I missed out on, as well as a preview of series 2, which may or may not have actually been released.  The site's been saying series 2 is "coming soon" for years now.