Bulldog Rides Kid's Jeep Toy Car Through The Neighborhood

Surprisingly, a lot of dogs really enjoy riding around in Power Wheels cars. I did not know that it was a thing, but you would not believe how many times I’ve seen dogs in Power Wheels here at America’s Funniest Home Videos. Still, it never gets old. There is something pleasantly amusing about watching a dog haltingly drive a car around a suburban neighborhood or someone’s backyard. It is almost a zen moment that you can step back from appreciate on a holistic level or something.

But enough about that, lets talk about Power Wheels. Did you know that the Power Wheels brand has been around since 1984? It was originally developed by a San Francisco company called Kransco who acquired Pines of America, a company that made battery-powered cars for kids. Our research indicats that an Italian company called Peg-Perego created Pines of America in the mid 70s and sold rechargeable machines with names like Traffic Patrol and Trail Blazer. When Kransco bought Pines of America they created the Power Wheels brand. By the way, Per-Perego is still around and their biggest seller is a battery-powered John Deere tractor for kids.

Kransco sold Power Wheels cars until 1994 when they were bought by Mattel. For a while Kransco sold three types of Power Wheels a classic convertible, an ATV-esque vehicle and a mini monster truck. The famous Jeep that most people remember was introduced in 1986, since then there have been over 100 different models of Power Wheels. Also, we learned that Kransco owned Wham-O the brand behind Frisbees and Hula Hoops, but most of their money (80%!) came from Power Wheels. Since Mattel bought Kransco Power Wheels have been under the Fisher-Price brand.