Jaded
And now for something
completely different. We race into the new year with our foot on only the gas pedal. A casting of an obscure car that never made it into the mainstream but won over the hearts of mechanics and drag racers many times over. Lets take a look at some of the possibilities for this obscure package.
The casting “Jaded” is a play on words in reference to the real car it
is cast from. The real car would be a Kaiser Henry J. The Jaded casting also represents a
period of history in drag racing. Primarily used as gasser style race cars in the 60s, the casting takes on the looks of a nostalgia pro stock drag car or maybe even a restomod. The huge wing in back has the hardest mechanical job, trying to keep the compact car somewhat on earth while the modern appearing blown
motor sticking out of the hood would propel Jaded in whatever direction it was
pointed in.
Jaded was released in 2002 and has been featured in the hot
wheels lineup every year since with exception to 2014 [1]. Jaded even made the
treasure hunt line in 2007. The Jaded casting has been featured in a Hot Wheels City
Police livery, Hot Wheels Fire Department livery and several drag racing style
liveries throughout the many releases. The Jaded casting was Designed by Mike
Nuttall [1] and has also been painted with a "Nuttall racing" livery several
times including the orange version shown here.
Jaded has not really
caught on as a collector favorite so they are easy to pick up online or at a
flea market at fair prices. On the track, they are ok but much like the real
car would likely be, the center of gravity and the low ground clearance eliminate them from any
racing other than straight line drag racing which is a perfect segue into
the 'real' car.
Henry J was a car company that
tried to take on the big 3 in the 50s with a gas saving car, the Henry J. It
only lasted for 3 years although there were a few cars scavenged together in
the 54 year with the left-over parts as the company was closing its doors. The
cars were light weight and were considered a compact car for the time. The
Henry J got good gas mileage but the limited amenities like an opening trunk
lid made the car one of the least desirable of the time. The henry J carried a
price tag that was not much less than the big 3 and eventually fell to slumping
sales. [2]
I would have to guess that by the sounds of the lack luster
performance in sales, there were a lot of them on used car lots for little
money and maybe even just sat around until someone had an idea to put a big
engine in one and send it down the dragstrip. In with the gasser Henry Js at
the drag strips in the mid to late 60s. Lots of sedans were being used for
creative gasser style drag cars, and the normal examples like 30s Fords and
Plymouths were bigger and heavier cars. A little compact Henry J with an NHRA sanctioned
motor would be a mega beast to handle and if it got down the track, it would surely be
a contender to deal with.
I always enjoy when Hot Wheels designers look at an
odd car in automotive history and re-imagine it as a cool hot rod. It may not
work out so well in real-life, but the Jaded version of a Henry J is definitely
a cool one to have in any collection
Happy Peg Hunting in 2020!
Thank you,
Collector Quentin......
I personally own all of the actual diecast pictured in
these posts, however, all packaging artwork, Mattel logos, Hot Wheels logos and
the Jaded name in regard to the Hot Wheels versions remain copyrights of the
Mattel toy company.
[1] Casting
information gathered from:
Check out the Hot Wheels fandom page for a bountiful plunder of casting information.
[2] Real world car information gathered from:
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