Kettler Car / Kettcar

This four-wheel pedal cart was kept at the Eames Office in Venice, California, where it provided entertainment for the Eameses’ grandchildren. It was made by the German manufacturer Kettler that got its start producing outdoor furniture in 1949. In the early 1960s, the company began producing a pedal car for children called the Kettcar and soon after began exporting its pedal cars to the United States, where they were sold alongside bicycles, tricycles, and wagons as toys for active children. Unlike other pedal car makers, which often encased their designs in shells that imitated full-scale motor vehicles, Kettler put their toys’ structure and mechanics on full display. This would have made their products all the more interesting to the Eameses, who did not believe in concealing a designs’ inner workings. This model was made to look especially racetrack-worthy, with its blue metal frame, low-profile, and a sticker depicting racing flags on its seat.