Pedal Cars have been around for a very long time. After the rise of the automobile, it didn’t take long for kids to take to the sidewalks in cars of their own. The first pedal cars were built in the 1890’s from scraps found around the barn. By the turn of the century, cars were only owned by the rich, so was the same with pedal cars. They became an exquisite, commercially built toy. By the 1920’s pedal car makers adopted the assembly line methods of productions just like the automobile industry. The popularity and quality increased as prices dropped. Pedal cars were produced in many different models and colors mimicking the popular cars of that time. Pedal cars featured working lights and horns, moveable windshields and ragtops, chrome detailing and hood ornaments, and white wall tires and custom paint jobs. Eventually pedal cars became recognized as certain marques, like Buick, Pierce-Arrow, and Winton. General Motor’s top designer, Harley Earl, also designed the Kidillacs.
Pedal car production reached its peak in the 1950’s due to the postwar prosperity, which brought a brand-new automobile to every driveway. Automobile production exploded, modern car culture was born, and the baby boom produced an enormous generation of children requiring toys.
In the 1960s, a fascination with space and air travel and the advent of plastics brought and end to widespread metal pedal car production. The introduction of Rubbermaid’s incredibly durable, all plastic Little Tikes Cozy Coupe in 1979 sealed the fate of the all-metal, old-style pedal car. Pedal cars have started to make their way back into popular culture today. Pedal cars are back in reproduction and very simple and affordable to purchase an all metal pedal car just like the antiques. Many enthusiasts love collecting the timely, antique, all metal pedal cars which brings back memories of childhoods years ago.