What is a Hess Truck?
Since 1964, Hess gas stations have sold toy trucks each year around Christmas time. Each year, the model changes to a new design. Older models are considered collectibles and typically sell for a few hundred or even thousands of dollars. For example, the 1964 truck sells for about $1,400-2,000, depending on condition. Hess periodically has a rare truck such as the 1995 chrome truck with helicopter and the 2002 chrome Mini, which were given away at a stockholder meeting and, more recently, the 2006 truck given to New York Stock Exchange employees to commemorate its name change from Amerada Hess Corporation to Hess Corporation. Since 1998 Hess has produced a mini truck every year as well as the regular toy trucks.
There were four instances in which non-truck vehicles were sold under the Hess Toy Truck banner:
- 1966 tanker ship, based on the Hess Voyager
- 1993 patrol car
- 2001 helicopter
- 2009 race car which bears a strong resemblance to the Maserati MC12.