Repairing childhood trauma with Power Wheels Jeep Hurricane
As a child who was a car geek since he was a knee-high to a back bumper, I coveted a Power Wheels electric vehicle over all the other toys in the JC Penny Christmas Catalogue. Power Wheels were magically self-propelled by something called ewectwicitee and cost hundreds of dollars ($8 bajillion in kid money). I never got one and am emotionally scarred because of it, but am waiting for the day I have my own mini-me and can spoil him on his fifth birthday with his very first car. Power Wheels have come a long way since I was a tike, however. Case in point is the new Jeep Hurricane produced by the Fisher Price division that features Ultimate Terrain Traction. Yeah, you're reading that right. The newest Power Wheels has traction control. The PR language says it all about this "high performance drive system" though skimps on the details:
- "It powers through places where other battery-powered ride-ons need a push"
- "Through lush lawns, wet grass, mud, gravel, rough terrain and more"
- "It's there when you need it – even when you think you don't"
The Jeep Hurricane also fixes some proportion issues of past Power Wheels by riding on a much longer wheelbase than past models. If that's not enough, there's also an on-board cup holder (sippy cup approved) and real working FM radio (what, no iPod jack?). The base MSRP for the Ultiamte Terrain Traction Jeep Hurricane is $400.00. There are no options to inflate the price further, but there's also no financing and certainly no incentives. That's a pretty steep price for a child's toy, but it's so cool we think dipping into junior's college fund for this is perfectly warranted.
[Source: Fisher-Price]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
JD 7:22PM (3/02/2008)
We got my son one of these Jeeps for his birthday last year (3-29-07) and it is just absolutely incredible. Its quick, quite capable, very stable, not dinky-small like Powerwheels of old. Only the best for my boy :)
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JCWhitless 6:50PM (11/10/2006)
First the Compass, now this? We don't need another non-trail rated Jeep.
And I'm sure the winch isn't even powerful enough to yank the Hurricane from the slop!!
DCX needs to really get on the ball and stop exploiting the Jeep brand
/sarcasm off
//Wishes I were a kid again
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Mike 7:21PM (11/10/2006)
I am exactly like you are, I never got my Power Wheels and am scarred for it. We should start a support group!
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Andre 9:26PM (11/10/2006)
That's What we need more lazy/flabby kids... I still have my Big Wheels laying around in the garage somewhere for my future kid, lol! Atleast you get an exercise by pedaling on those big wheels, let's see a Power Wheel do a Power Slide one of my favorite thing to do on a big wheel back in the day..
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Tim 7:40PM (11/10/2006)
Way better than a H2. That is sweet. Power Wheels rule. Anybody see the Power Wheels Cadillac Escalade?
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Talis 7:44PM (11/10/2006)
wow. you people have problems...
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JW 8:02PM (11/10/2006)
I miss my camo Jeep Wrangler Power Wheels, it came with a canteen and a fake CB radio. But back in '93 it was the stuff!
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number40one 8:26PM (11/10/2006)
Ah yes. Back in the (early) '80s, I actually got a po-man's Power Wheels knockoff. I had wanted one for so long, but my 'rents didn't have the flow to get me one of those coveted mamma jammas. But they did get me this brand-unknown dump truck battery powered vehicle. Man, what an awesome three summers I had with that thing.
...three summers because that's as long as the battery would recharge... and about as long as I was able to fit inside the open cabin (I was a quick-growing little thing). Other problem was the plastic tires had absolutely no tread whatsoever, like racing slicks. No traction on anything but dry asphalt or cement. But man oh man, did I love that lever-controlled bed-dumping mechanism.
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Phil L. 9:08PM (11/10/2006)
My kid's Power Wheels Jeep - came from a neighborhood clean-up day dumpster. I had to fix a few items on it, but the motors are remarkbly durable, given the tough life they live.
Of course, the real reason it was in the dumpster was dead batteries (charger was missing, too). Real replacements are surpringly pricey - so I rewired it for a motorcycle battery that seems to do pretty well, even when shared among all three kids. Plus they've learned to take turns based on recharge time - and it forced my kids to learn how to use a real battery charger.
I was pleased to notice my kids quickly figured out how to do three-point turns, in spite of massive slip from the hard plastic wheels. Hopefully, the lessons they learn from this first, basic driver-vehicle interaction will help them in the future...
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Greg 9:36PM (11/10/2006)
I'm waiting for some anal retentive COP to issue a summons to a kid riding one of these things.
No Helmet... engine powered vehicle with no registration, license or insurance...
Mark my words.. we will read about it eventually.
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Bill Maher is an Idiot 11:49PM (11/10/2006)
I was ordered by a court to stop riding my power wheels because of a DUI offense. Too much cough syrup.
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apt34 12:19AM (11/11/2006)
I had a power wheels Corvette... it was awesome, but the battery pretty much quit holding a charge after only a few months
plus, if you drove off the sidewalk and into the grass, you were screwed!
oh childhood memories =(
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james f. 1:07AM (11/11/2006)
Add me to the power wheels dreamer club as well. Ah unfulfilled childhood wishes...
But hey why doesn't DCX have a jeep that looks this cool in production? Sure they have come out with all sorts of awesome concept cars of this ilk. But everything in the lineup is ho-hum or downright "they didn't really try" ugly. Take a nod from power wheels and build a wrangler variant that actually looks like this!
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Chivo 8:27AM (11/11/2006)
I had a Power Wheels, and it was awesome. A two seater Jeep Wrangler, back in the late 80's. Ahhhh, those were the days.
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VW-Guy 9:43AM (11/11/2006)
This thing is AWESOME!!! I was seriously thinking of getting my child one of these in the Jeep Wrangler style but after seeing this, it's gonna be a toss up!
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United Artists 4:06PM (11/11/2006)
Oh man these things were great. I had a early 1990s power wheels big foot that I got at my local kmart. That thing could go offroad as well as on road, if u didnt mind the bumpy ride on concrete thanks to the rigid plastic wheels. It had two speed mode buttons...slow and fast. Sadly it was only a one seater, so my friends had to tag along in the back "bed" of the "truck"
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Michael B. 6:33PM (11/11/2006)
The government should mandate that soccer moms drive these cars instead of Tahoes & Land Cruisers for the sake of safety to other drivers on the road.
I think we'd all agree that I'd rather see one of those soccer moms talking on the phone, eating breakfast, applying makeup, in a power wheels Hurricane on the sidewalk rather than that Big ass Tahoe in back of you.
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Brandon 12:36PM (11/12/2006)
"I miss my camo Jeep Wrangler Power Wheels, it came with a canteen and a fake CB radio. But back in '93 it was the stuff!"
I had that one too! It was cool because it was a 2-speed (it had a low and high speed switch accessible to the childdriver from the cockpit). I really wanted my dad to buy me one of the Power Wheels Barbie Corvettes and paint it black for me, but he said the Corvettes were slower than the Jeeps. The Jeeps' low speed was 2 mph, the high speed was 6 mph, and the Corvette (1-speed only) was only 4 mph. I guess I ended up with the better deal afterall 8-)
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PeteL 1:21PM (11/14/2006)
My son is on his 2nd Power Wheels vehicle. He can parallel park better than most adults and he's 6!
Firt one he got when he was about 4 years old and it was a John Deere Gator, he now has a Fisher Price Rescue Heroes Jeep with working fire hose and flashing lights.
My father-in-law also rigged it up with a trailer hitch and an aftermarket gumball light.
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Bobbi 8:27PM (1/09/2007)
Hi all you PW Gurus (Tim the tool man grunt)
My power wheels is broken . It will only attempt to move in top gear, and even then, only the passenger side wheel will turn. What has happened? Don't know if I should bother with fixing it. Any suggestions?
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