DALLAS - Walking down an alley in Hong Kong in January, Don Carroll was amused to see youngsters crowded around a tiny track, racing miniature remote-control cars, which they customized by swapping out engines and tires.

        That night, Mr. Carroll was eating dinner in a restaurant when a couple in their 30s pulled out a pair of the pocket-sized toys and began playing on the tabletop.

        Mr. Carroll and Joel Carter, both executives with RadioShack Corp., became convinced they were on to something. They brought samples of the cars home and held focus groups with American kids.

        The rest, the executives hope, will be holiday retailing history, at $19.99 a pop. RadioShack is pinning its hopes for strong holiday toy sales on the little cars, which they dubbed ZipZaps.

        The electronics retailer plans to unveil the toys Wednesday at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, for 200 kids.

        The cars, made in Asia, sell in basic starter kits that are tiny replicas of the Ford Mustang, Chrysler PT Cruiser and other cars. They must be assembled with a tiny screwdriver. Unlike conventional remote-control cars, they recharge quickly, in 45 seconds.

        The big appeal, RadioShack hopes, will be upgraded engines - the top model is billed at 23,500 revolutions per minute - tires, and gear ratios, which give owners the ability to tune their cars for different speeds and handling precision.

        The accessories sell for $5 to $13. The cars and controllers come in two radio frequencies, so hobbyists would need to own at least one car of each frequency to race against all comers.

        “We took them to four focus groups and kids loved them. They wanted to put them together themselves,” said Mr. Carroll, a senior vice president for strategic business.

        “We really love it because it speaks to a younger demographic,” he said.

        RadioShack thinks the cars will also appeal to young adults, not just kids. Some car-makeover kits, based on Nickelodeon shows The Wild Thornberrys and SpongeBob SquarePants, are designed to broaden the cars' appeal among girls.

        Fort Worth-based RadioShack has struggled to attract younger shoppers and more women. One such effort, a joint venture to open kiosks inside Blockbuster video stores, failed.

        Sales at RadioShack's 7,200 stores stalled in August, forcing the company to cut its third-quarter earnings by 30 percent.

        So the retailer is backing its bet on the ZipZaps with several million dollars in advertising, Mr. Carroll said.

        “We think it's going to drive people to the stores,” Mr. Carroll said. “Given the state of the economy, people are going to be looking for stocking stuffers.”

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