You can. My three year-old has an entire fleet of construction trucks that are Matchbox- or Hotwheels-sized. Admittedly some aren't made by either company, but I know for a fact that he has a really nice Matchbox dumptruck -- which, come to think of it, I think came with a construction set of some sort. 'Course, he also has an entire fleet of Hotwheels monster trucks. He puts that stuff together with his larger construction trucks, tractors, and a farm or two, and has hours of fun, sometimes with us, sometimes with his younger sister, or even just by himself. And, yes, we actually love to play with our children and they love it, too. And we can't just dump them in front of a TV and leave them be because they actually want to talk about whatever it is they're watching.

All that aside, though, I do think that Hotwheels and Matchbox need to do something to their fleet. So many of their cars these days seem like they don't do anything. When I was growing up (born in `71) I had a ton of cars from those companies that at least did something. Maybe they had a door or hood that opened or a dump bed that lifted up and down. Doesn't sound like much, but for a little boy that's a big deal and can do quite a bit to inspire imagination. And my son's taking after his old man. The cars that have working lights (yes, even some that are Matchbox- or Hotwheels-sized), moving parts, or even pull-back-n-launch or push-to-launch motors are his favorites. The trucks that you can buy at Hess gas stations around Christmastime are awesome trucks, and he loves 'em. The rest are merely obstacles in his monster truck races or fodder for his construction trucks or tractors.

His friends that come over to play who are raised on/by technology all go nuts over his comparatively primitive trucks. They understand trucks. They know they can do whatever they want with trucks. They're not confined by a game maker's rules, and the fun doesn't have to end after a few minutes or when the batteries die or when the power goes out.