This guide will help you determine what subseries your Micro Machines are from.

THIS IS A BETA GUIDE - A WORK IN PROGRESS - IT WILL BE REVISED MANY TIMES IN THE FUTURE WITH PICTURES

Micro Machines started production in the mid 1980s and continued for over 10 years. They sold micro scale version of some of the most popular cars of the times, as well as Military, Movie, and Sci-Fi vehicles. This guide will just cover basic vehicles and the subseries and the specialty series of these types of vehicles.

1987: The first Micro Machines were introduced. Although all from the same series, there was distinctly different sets. Some of which have been broken off into their own group by collectors.

• HOT RODS: The Hot Rods were always popular with the kids with their big engines. These vehicles were regular Micro Machines in which Galoob added a huge engine on top of the hood. If you car has two holes in the hood it most likely had one of these engines on top. Many more version of Hot Rods came out until the mid 90s. Some of these were packed in regular packs with other normal cars.
  

1988: This was a big year for Micro Machines as the product line more than doubled. In only the second year of production, Galoob came out with a  couple new subseries and specialty series.

• DELUXE: The deluxe series is one of the most sought after subseries. These had opening doors and hoods for added realism. This series only lasted a few years. Some of the cars and colors are very rare such as the '57 Chevy Nomad and '58 Thunderbird. For the most part, these were only sold together in blisterpacks and were never packed with other normal cars. The Space series had some castings that were used in later packs.
  
• SUPER 4x4: These are normal Micro Machines cars put on monster truck style plastic wheels with wide axles. The tires stuck out a ways from  the car. These were sold in packs of 4 over the next couple years.
• RALLY RACERS: Styled after the European rally cars that were big in the 80s, some of these were very similar to regular version of Micro Machines, only with extra headlights added. One good example is the Mazda RX-7. Other were only sold with the extra headlights, like the Audi Quattro. These cars were often sold in later years packaged with regular cars.

1989: A banner year for Micro Machines, this year saw a lot more new subseries and specialty series 1988.

• TURBO WHEELS: These, like the Super 4x4s, were sold in packs of 4. These were more liked jacked up 4x4 cars then the monster truck look of the Super 4x4s and had gold rims.
  
• SEMIS: The semi line has been one of the most popular lines ever produced. Like the deluxe series of cars, these semis had opening doors, and a flip up cab to reveal the motor. Initially these were sold in packs of 2. Galoob did make a Semi Cab earlier, but it is not able to pull any trailers and doesn't have the "deluxe" features. In later series semis were also included in packs with normal cars.
  
• TRAINS: Another really popular series was the Trains. These were modeled after real life trains from the old west, to modern day freight trains, to the ultra-modern bullet trains. They ran on small track. There was even playsets geared specifically for the trains. The scale on these was close to the N scale used in the model railroading hobby, but these could only run on its own track and were unmotorized.
  
• INSIDERS: These cool cars had bodies that flipped up to reveal an really tiny mini micro. While popular, it seems that they only made this series for one year. The tiny cars, known as "Mini Micros" by collectors, would later be included as free bonus cars on specially marked packages.
  
• SNAP BACKS: Friction cars have been around for decades.. Like the ones of the '50 and '60s these had metal bodies, a first for Micro Machines. But these were small just like regular Micro Machines. You could pull one back, release, and watch it zoom away. The detail paint on these were often poor quality and even unplayed with may show wear. It is also not uncommon to see them without the rubber rear tires which were frequently lost.
  
• SUN COLOR CHANGERS: These cars looked like regular Micro Machines. You really can't tell them apart unless you expose them to UV light from the sun or a black light. They usually had a white portion on the car that turned purple when exposed to UV light. Sometimes it would be the whole body that could change. These were originally released in packs of four and may have only been produced for one year.
  
• HIGHWAY WARRIORS: Micro Machines meets Mad Max in the Highway Warriors line. Each pack contained two cars, and two snap on body armors. The cars were regular issue style cars so "Highway Warriors" is usually used to identify the exoskeletons instead. These were only made for a year or two.
  
• SILVER COLLECTIONS: Micro Machines did a rare promotion in 1989. There were special blistercards that held three sets. Two were normal sets, and the third was a special "silver collection" set. All of the cars in the set were silver chrome plated. These are very very rare today and highly coveted by collectors.
  
• GOLD MAIL-AWAYS: There was at least two special edition mail-order sets with Galoob in 1989. After watching a commercial you had to call in to find out how to get your limited edition set of 5 gold corvettes. All it cost you was a couple bucks and 5 UPCs if I remember right. I can't be certain if the Eurpoean cars came the same way or not.. These were very similar in style to the silver collection cars, but are plated in golden chrome and didn't come on a blistercard. You only get these in individual baggies in a white box.
  
• MICRO LIGHTS: These special casting Micro Machines had a unique feature, headlights and taillights that lit up! All you had to do to turn them on was press down on the car. This series only lasted a couple years.
  
• REMOTE CONTROL: I think these were actually made by a different maker than Micro Machines, but sold under their brand name. These were wired remote control cars. The look similar to the Turbo Wheels series cars, only a little larger. The batteries were in the wired remote.
  

1990: 1990 is a mysterious year for Micro Machines. A lot of the sets are hard to find and not much is known either.. Here is some of the series that I know were introduced that year..

• TRIPLESIDERS: These took the Insiders line from 1989 one step further. In the pack was one mini micro, one insiders, and one larger car that flipped up to hide the insiders car inside. Some of these can be very hard to find.
• SUPER MICRO LIGHTS: These took the Micro Lights line from 1989 one step further. In addition to working headlights and taillights, these also had another working light such as interior lights with images in the windows. rooftop lighted signs, or roof mounted emergency lights.
• PRIVATE EYES: These cool cars had sunroofs that you could look into to see the interior. These are very similar to the Hot Wheels "Scene Machines". The interiors didn't always match the actual car, for example you could have a Mustang with the interior of a Limousine.. but these are still a very cool line that I believe only lasted one year.
• BLAZE N ROAR: Similar to the Micro Lights line, these also had sound effects like sirens on the ambulances. Very similar to the "Sonic Flashers" put out by Majorette. These were sold in single packs, and in single packs with playset.
• POWER SOUND TRAINS: A contiuation of the popular Trains line, but these had one sound car in the train. When you pressed the button you would get a sound effect like an old steam whistle for example.

1991: 1991 was another banner year for new subseries.

• TUFF TRAX: These were the popular rigs from the UHRA Monster Truck shows. These vehicles have rubber tires on plastic rims and all of these vehicles were initially sold in two or three packs. Collectors tend to break the vehicles down into two subgroups. The first one being "MONSTER TRUCKS". These were special castings only found in the Tuff Trax style chassis. Later series would include futuristic based trucks that looked like jets and dunebuggies. The second subgroup of the Tuff Trax series is the "TRACTOR PULLERS". These are based on the fully modified pulling tractors that used to be found at Monster Truck events. One pack even included the pulling sled. Another included three truck-based rigs. Although popular, this subgroup was not found in later series.
• DRIVERS: These were regular issue style cars, but had people in the seats. Initially these were only sold together in packs of four, but later versions were sold in packs with regular issue cars. Also of note, some of the cars found with drivers have been found in the exact same paint scheme with drivers.
• CHROMERS: Like the earlier Silver Series, the Classy Chromers sets had normal issue cars in silver chrome plate, but these had additional paint colors on top of the chrome. There was many different cars in the Chromers series including  Semis, Motorcycles, and  Boats.
  
• XRAYS: With the Xrays series you could see right through the car! These were based on the Deluxe series of cars, but had all clear bodies with painted interiors and engines. Later version did not have opening doors and were even available in different colors of transparent plastic.
• IMPOSTERS: These cars were able to change their shape! With the push of a hidden button you could turn an indy car into a dragster or a pickup into a Monster Truck. I think these were only made for one year and sold in packs of 3.
• 4x4 CRUSHERS: These were larger than regular Micro Machines and similar to Stompers, but only smaller. They took a batter and could drive over whatever obstacles were in their way. These were sold in single packs.
• 4x4 CRANKERS: Similar to the Crushers, but smaller, these had a windup mechanism instead of a battery. They were sold in packs of two.
• STUNT MANIACS: Similar to the Crankers... need to find some more info tho. Sold in packs of two.
• SLOT CARS: If you were a kid in the 80s, you had a slot car set. Galoob tried to take the popularity of HO electric slot cars and scale them down a bit. Just like their bigger cousins, these have a pin and two metal contacts on the underside. Some of the cars today are very rare.
• MACRO MACHINES: Technically not Micro Machines, these were in the same style as Micro Machines but in a larger scale. They had three subsets. Reversibles could be transformed from one car into another by turning it inside out. Turbo Talkers took the Blaze N Roar technology one step further by having voices as well. Smash-Ups made a crashing sound upon impact with another object.

1992: Once again, a lot of new subseries were introduced. Some of these are quite hard to find!

• ROCKIN' WHEELS: This series featured cars and trucks painted in graphics representing some of the hot bands at the time. This series was only available for the one years. Some of the bands listed on the package never saw a full production run and can be worth hundreds of dollars.
• SUPER SPARKLERS: These cars had translucent colored bodies with metal flakes in them.
• SHAKE & SNIFF: These semi trucks had special loads. Shake up the bodies and you can smell what they were carrying! You can identify these by the holes  in the trailers.
• REFLECTORS: These were normal series cars with special 3D style reflective sticker on them. I believe these were sold in packs of four.. they are rarely seen in the blisterpack.
• ULTRA MOVERS: These were normal series cars with special sport-flix style stickers on them. The sticker changed when you looked from a different direction. These are almost never seen in the blisterpack.
• SPRING & STEER: These were a subset of Monster Trucks. They had working shocks that allowed you to push down on the truck to steer it to the left or right. Later on, some of these were found in packs with normal series cars.

1993: No new subseries were introduced...

1994: Not much better then 1993 when it comes to new subseries, but they did have one.

• COLOR CHANGE VEHICLES:  (Also known as Color Changers) These were a step above the earlier Sun Color Changers series. While stile based on regular issue cars, instead of exposing to sunlight, you just had to expose them to a temperature change, like going from room temperature to hot water, to get them to change color. And the whole car would completely change color. The car could be blue, then go to yellow when warm.

1995: Once again not too many new subseries..

• RADICATORS: These cars never really took off as a collected specialty series of Micro Machines. They are slightly larger than regular Micro Machines, and have quite a bit larger wheels. These were sold in packs of 3, with only one car in each pack a recognizable vehicle.

1996: Not too much new stuff..

• TRAINS: 1996 saw the reintroduction of the trains, but this time only the locomotives and they were in packs with other cars. These new trains didn't have hitches to pull other cars.
• EXPLORATION: As a special Bonus, on selected packages, you recieved an Exploration series vehicles. These were larger and a more cartoonish type of vehicle molded in colored plastic. Most of them were boats. In 1997 this series was expanded to its own line, and again in 1998. The boats were advertised as "really floats" and there was a couple floating playsets to go along with them.

1997: 1997 marked the 10th Anniversary of Micro Machines.

• 10th ANNIVERSARY: To mark the anniversary of Micro Machines, Galoob did a special pack for each of the 10 years of production. Each set contained four vehicles, and each of the four vehicles were painted in a shiny chrome color with silver chrome accents.