Hot Wheels Takes on Lego with a New Series of Impressive Car Builds

With Hot Wheels in tow, Mattel has launched a new collection of classic car-inspired construction sets, appearing to take aim at a particular world-famous Danish building brick brand. However, this isn’t just a carbon (or plastic) copy; Mattel uses genuine die-cast metal parts in its sets to help set them apart. The inaugural collection includes this Mercedes-Benz Gullwing, a ’90s Acura NSX, a Maserati and a Corvette.

Zippo revisits its year 2000 “Keeper of the Flame” collectible with an updated look that showcases the Bradford, Pennsylvania-based brand’s impressive attention to decorative detail. The skin of this USA-made lighter is a deep silver dubbed “Armor Black Ice” while the three-color epoxy inlay represents fire, peace and nature. The all-metal construction is 1.5 times thicker than a standard Zippo, the windproof design works anywhere, and each unit is individually numbered (out of 4,000).

Celebrating 160 years since John B. Stetson founded America’s most iconic hat company, the JBS Edition 10X is handmade in Texas and comes perfectly molded and ready to wear. The vent pattern is inspired by the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, where the company began. A saddle leather hat band is accented with a gold-tone JBS branding iron hat pin. The crown measures 4.125 inches and the brim measures 4.25 inches.

The Backbone Pro is the brand’s highest-end mobile controller to date. It looks similar to its popular One, but is designed to be significantly more versatile and not tied to a single type of smartphone or gaming console. Unlike the One, it supports Bluetooth, allowing it to instantly connect to a USB-C device (like an iPhone or Android) via a wired connection, or wirelessly pair with a Mac, iPad, Apple TV or even Vision Pro. It also has a built-in battery that can last up to 40 hours on a charge.

For 2025, Microsoft has introduced a smaller 13-inch Surface Laptop that joins its existing 13.8- or 15-inch models. The smaller model is mostly similar, but comes with a few tradeoffs — compared to the 13.8-inch Surface Laptop, the new 13-inch model’s display isn’t as high-resolution (178 ppi instead of 201 ppi) and runs at 60Hz instead of 120Hz. The other obvious difference is that it swaps out Microsoft’s proprietary Surface Connect charging port in favor of two USB-C charging ports. It starts at $899, $100 cheaper than the 13.8-inch model.

Microsoft’s Surface Pro 12 is a smaller version of its existing Surface Pro tablet — as its name suggests, it has a 12-inch display instead of 13 inches — but it also comes with some key differences. It has a fanless design and trades in the company’s magnetic Surface Connect charging port for USB-C. Additionally, the keyboard accessory ($150, sold separately) has been redesigned with a new magnetic connector and matte finish.