Automoblox Toy Cars Go Modular

» That's it; it's official. Toys were not this cool when we were little. Industrial designer Patrick calello recently aimed his pen at creating a simple, elegant, and fun toy for car–freak kids. The result, dubbed Automoblox, marries no–nonsense design with techie touches like a Lexan roof/window and Teflon–embedded plastic axles. Interchangeable front–middle, rear, and roof sections allow today's lucky kids to mix and match these building blocks with wheels.

Automoblox teaches kids about fine possessions, giving them an appreciation for great design, while at the same time teaching them to think creatively. Essentially, Calello created Automoblox to inspire the next generation of automotive designers, engineers, and car-crazy boys and girls. The Automoblox Mini has already won the Oppenheim Platinum award.

» The toy consists of three primary components — a main body block, a rear block and a front block — made from maple wood. Multicolored parts, such as wheels and cockpits, are made from injection–molded plastic.

The body parts are held together with a snap–on joining mechanism. "All you need to do is simply pull on the wood parts and the car will come apart," says Calello. "To change body parts between cars, you need to swap the geometric–keyed connector that corresponds with the part that you are changing."

The wooden cars have a sort of retro–futuristic look, and by combining a variety of cognitive challenges, kids playing with the toys are actually learning while having fun.