Added the beloved day of October 24, 2008

Ah, the days of pre-school -- and pre-cool toys. Remember those peg people who were doomed to drive their clunky block cars around and around the same wooden track, ad infinitum? Little did we know it was an early lesson about the oppressive power of fug. How? Please, if those little peg people had prettier vehicles they would have sped off that track to prettier, slightly older kids' playrooms, where the Barbies have poolside barbecues and My Little Ponies run wild.

Now a new generation of peglike people are free to cruise in style wherever they so please, courtesy of Automoblox. Combining the old-fashioned quality of hand-carved wooden toys with modern style and modularity, Automoblox has created retro-pretty toy cars with parts that kids can mix and match from several models. Accessories and moving parts come in a rainbow of colors, fit for boys or girls. Currently, the chassis only come in beechwood, but we're hoping future options will include painted chassis along with vanity plates. Our tags would be: PRETTYME.

You can register your car's unique Vehicle Identification Number online and join the Automoblox Owners Club, which entitles you to free decals and access to buy limited edition models. Now isn't that clever -- pretty clever.

- Learn more about Automoblox cars.
- Buy Automoblox online.