I think that's the attraction with them, nostalgia. The first one I bought as an adult was a red '56 Ford pickup when they had antiques set up for sale in a mall when I was on shopping duty with my wife. I just liked it and it wasn't a whole lot of money. I always liked the 1t pickups. Then I started looking for them and when I'd find one it would bring back the memories. The gum band chains idea sounds cool. I'd get realistic with them like that, too. I got serious collecting when my son was past playing with toys. then came my younger son. So I'd get ones for him to play with and the rest were treated special. He had a monster sandbox.
Here is me one Christmas a few years ago:
Here is my youngest in the sand pile before I built the sandbox:
Here is my grandson @ 2 years old: