Unlike the boldly coloured Hot Wheels, which were designed primarily with racing and crashing in mind, Polly Wheels' colours include "Splashin' Pink" and "Glittery Peach," and are equipped with a tiny, removable Polly Pocket doll that can buckle up for shopping trips.

And while Polly Wheels might lack the generation-defining punch of Hot Wheels or even Matchbox, it should still be a hot seller, according to Reyne Rice, a toy-trends specialist at the Toy Industry Association.

The tiny cars were on display as the New York International Auto Show kicked off yesterday, where Mattel showed 50 different Polly Wheels models.

The toy cars are the result of two years of market research that found girls were clamouring for their own version of Hot Wheels or Matchbox, said Stephanie Cota, vice-president of girls marketing at Mattel.

"We're really listening to girls all over the world," Ms. Cota said. "One thing we really heard loud and clear from them was that they wanted cars." MAT (NYSE) rose 48 cents to $29.05.

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