In my experience the Matchbox cars had thicker axles, but they weren't trying to have the least friction. Hot Wheels were, and they had thinner axles. For bette

In my experience the Matchbox cars had thicker axles, but they weren't trying to have the least friction. Hot Wheels were, and they had thinner axles. For better or worse, you could stand on both accidentally without collapsing the body. The incident might warp an axle but they could be bent back if you could get a needle-nose in there. And I had a needle-nose pliers because electronics. Hot Wheels sold track that would allow construction of simple ramps and loops, and low friction was a well-chosen target under the circumstances. I think Matchbox might have put out a line that was similar, but my peers and I did not buy it. What was cool about Hot Wheels was the racing story. What was cool about Matchbox was the exotic car story. Ford Cortina! What lucky people owned those! But seriously, I had a Lotus Europa from Matchbox and when I saw one in the real world I was blown away. It seemed capable of turning through 90 degrees on a dime.