Autoblog

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Here in the States, the kids lust after Power Wheels. On a recent shopping trip to buy my daughter her first real bike, she pointed at a red Power Wheels Mustang, and asked, "Can we get that?" One pink bicycle with handlebar basket later, the pint-sized 'Stang is but a distant memory (thank goodness). Still, the attraction is understandable -- those ride-ons are pretty cool.

In the UK, a company called Totcars appears to be the heavy hitter in this segment, and it's released its lineup of electric and pedal cars for Christmas 2007. From the looks of things, British moms (or is it "mums") and dads are just as likely to be besieged with pleas from their kids as we are. Since Totcars is on the other side of the pond, there are some models represented that we'd never see here. That Alfa 8C is pretty cool, as are the Ferrari F1 cars and Renault Megane Trophy. Oh, and dig that Caterpillar dump truck -- it has twin 12V motors. We've included pics of everything in the attached gallery, and Totcars' press release is pasted after the jump.

[Source: Totcars]

Congratulations to Alix, whose comment was plucked from obscurity among the 188 left on our last post. Alix will receive a complete set of Automoblox toys that includes seven vehicles, an expansion block set and a t-shirt. But now it's time to focus our efforts on the grand prize of the Autoblog After Christmas Sweepstakes: a Power Wheels Jeep Hurricane! We posted on the Power Wheels Jeep Hurricane a while back because we were in awe over the advancements made in kiddie-sized, battery-powered transportation since we were kids, and a Power Wheels vehicle has long been the one gift that we always wanted under our tree but never got. The Power Wheels Jeep Hurricane features Ultimate Terrain Traction to tackle wet grass with aplomb, a real FM radio, and cup holders! Thanks go out to Fisher Price and Power Wheels for supplying this great prize.

Entering to win the Power Wheels Jeep Hurricane is as easy as the last two sweepstakes in our series. Just leave a comment on this post telling us what's the one gift you always wanted for Christmas but never got. In other words, how has Santa snubbed you? We'll randomly select a comment from the list tomorrow at 3PM and announce the winner. Hopefully one lucky person will have all their childhood issues of neglect repaired in one fell swoop when this Power Wheels Jeep Hurricane arrives at the door. Good luck everyone!

Some quick basic rules:

• You can enter each of the three drawings once, but you can only win one prize
• You must be 18 years old to enter
• Winners must be a resident of the continental U.S. (we're working on broadening our reach for future sweepstakes, giveaways and contests)
• Prizes will be shipped after all drawings are completed.

Check out the official rules here.

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"

We're not sure what comprises the Jeep Hurricane's Ultimate Terrain Traction, though it's probably not a complicated mess of electronic nannies varying power output to each individual wheel based on tire slip. It could be the simple fact that this Power Wheels has rubber tires instead of slippery plastic ones, but we won't tell the kids that.

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]