LEGO Cars

I've been buying cars made from LEGO pieces. I don't get to build all of them, as my kids have now the understanding and motor skills to do that. LEGO releases new cars all the time, and it is amazing what my kids and I learned from them.

As my son turns the knobs and discovers all the moving gears and parts, he has a lot of questions about the LEGO cars in front of him. The red-and-white one is Grand Prix Racer (42000), and the green-and-white one is 24 Hours Race Car (42039). My son had just recently read Car Science written by Richard Hammond and still remembers some of the things from that awesome book, many of the technical pieces now reproduced with LEGO bricks.

Both cars have steerable wheels, working suspensions, panels that open up mechanically to reveal engines. The 42000 is modeled after a F1 car, and 42039 a LMP1 car. The features and details are well represented with LEGO parts, easily recognizable and communicates immediately the kind of absurd speed and amazing technology they represent; they are pinnacles of modern driving science.

Outside of the Technic kits, there are fun and faithful recreations of iconic cars such as Caterham Seven (21307), VW Beetle (10252), and Ferrari F40 (10248). Bricks obviously can only approximate the appearance of these cars, but they do a good job of capturing the essence of lines and designs that made these cars special.

Last but not least, LEGO isn't trying very hard to hide the fact that those LEGO movies are really just 90-minutes worth of commericials. And there are cars. The LEGO Movie has 4 sets with wheels. By the time LEGO Batman Movie was released it has 10 sets of cars. Not including planes. If LEGO isn't the most successful car company out there, then according to Wikipedia, LEGO is at least the largest tire manufacturer in the world. You can find markings on many of these miniature tires that convey the same information as a regular tire has on its side wall.

There is always something to learn while building and playing with LEGO cars, so I find myself buying these new kits regularly just to be pleasantly surprised by a new technique, or something that reminds me how car culture is very much a big part of me. I just wish LEGO charges a little less and we can all play more.