HW Celebration Racers | Dodge Li'l Red Express Truck

Valentine’s Day is always in the calendar as part of special day for most people, like couples and married people. It’s about love that is observed on the fourteenth of February. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a martyr named Valentine, and through later folk traditions, it has also become a significant cultural, religious, and commercial celebration of romance and love in many regions of the world. In the world of Hot Wheels, it is celebrated yearly along with important dates, culminating with a special car with a Valentine’s Day-themed deco or livery. There was even a mini collection of Valentine’s Day cars in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2014. But the mainline car started appearing in 2017, 2018, 2021, and now, 2024 as part of the Holiday Racers and presently as HW Celebration Racers.

Beginning in 2017, the first Valentine’s Day-themed Hot Wheels car that was part of the mainline was the Rodger Dodger in red, then it was followed by the ’57 Chevy in while. By 2021, a red VW Beetle followed, which is also reintroducing this casting with a chrome-based plastic, instead of the usual metal that’s been part of the car since it was introduced in 1989, designed by Larry Wood.

For 2024, it was the 1978 Dodge Li'l Red Express Truck, which is a fan favourite among Hot Wheels collectors, first introduced in 2012. It had a consistent release almost every year and had several premium versions too.

But by 2019, the mainline version had a retool when they smoothed out the smoke stacks and straightened up the tip. At the same time, the bed was modified with a rivet instead of the assembly being a slide to hold it together.

Li’l Valentine’s Day Truck>K

As part of the retitled “Holiday Racers” mini collection to “HW Celebration Racers” beginning in 2024, the new look theme introduces the Dodge truck with new packaging art with the Valentine’s Day badge in a bold “2024” year, matching the design you will see with the product itself.

The graphic looks great with all the details you can see in the card back art, and the actual product. The part that’s not impressive is the chromed plastic base, as it gets worn out over time. But it is this year’s chosen Hot Wheels vehicle to represent a Valentine’s Day-themed casting. The 2021 version of the Volkswagen Beetle was obviously called the “Love Bug,” and this year is the “Love Truck?”

Dodge Express in Burgundy

This latest iteration of the 1978 Dodge Li'l Red Express Truck has minor similarities with the debut version in red. This one in Burgundy had a darker tone than the VW Bug from three years ago. But the gold pinstripes with the words “WILL U BE MY VALENTINE” were quite a detail that you won’t notice.

The gold rims are also a nice touch, but the gold pinstripes certainly hit home with the wording of “WILL U BE MY VALENTINE” that can be seen on both sides of the truck’s doors. It’s odd that the smoothed out and straightened tip of the smoke stacks looks bland compared to the pre-retooled releases that show the details.

Be My Trukin’ Time

Despite all the changes made to the casting that include the minor retool, the 1978 Dodge Li'l Red Express Truck is still a fan favourite for those who still believe the Dodge brand is still America’s popular truck. It has the classic and modern look of a single-cab utility service vehicle.

For a Valentine’s Day-themed vehicle, it is an addition to all those who have been collecting the 1978 Dodge Li'l Red Express Truck since its debut in 2012. There was no difference until you noticed the smoke stack looked different from the older versions. Even if you come across the premium versions, you will see the difference.

Overall, this year’s Valentine’s Day-themed 1978 Dodge Li'l Red Express Truck is still a fun casting to have in every Hot Wheels collector, not too much into the hype of “investing” in the JDM or other popular licensed cars. Collecting Hot Wheels is all about discovering the small details and having fun opening them, not to hang them on some wall because their value would increase, and for what?

The beauty of this hobby is about exploring the die-cast design, and its real-life history, at the same time appreciating the little things about the vehicle itself for all its thematic colours or graphics, just like this expressive little red truck.