Taking a break from the "Cars of the Big Three" series, today's fun thread was suggested to me by friend and Northeast Bloggershoot attendee David from Fighting for Liberty. David asks,
Can you do a top 10 cartoon cars? Mystery Machine, Speed racer's auto, Lightning McQueen, there has to be enough material out there.
Yeah, I can do that... So without further ado, here's the Top Ten list of Cartoon Cars!
1. Mach 5, Speed Racer. The Mach 5 will always occupy the #1 spot on any cartoon car list I assemble, even if Spritle and Chim-chim are stowed away in the trunk. Saws, bulletproof glass, even the ability to operate as a submarine, the Mach 5 could pretty much do it all. Except lock the trunk, of course...
2. Mystery Machine, Scooby Doo. We always wondered what was in those Scooby snacks, and we also wondered what happened in the back of the big technicolor containing four teenaged sleuths and a large and hungry canine.
3. Flintstone mobile, The Flintstones. From falling over on its side from the weight of a rack of brontosaurus ribs to being powered by Fred's feet, the Paleolithic Flintstone mobile has got to be one of the most recognizable cartoon cars not actually based on any real automobile...
4. Lightning McQueen, Cars. Okay, so this one gets a nod for being the most recent of cartoon cars, but Lightning represents Pixar's take on the animated automobile. Combined with the vocal talent of Owen Wilson, Lightning McQueen comes to life as a generic race car of modern lineage.
5. George Jetson's car, The Jetsons. From the unmistakable poot-poot-poot sound it made when traveling to the trap door for Elroy, opening glass for George, or ability to fold into a briefcase (and therefore suspend the laws of physics since George could carry it), the Jetson mobile is definitely the most "far out" car on the list.
6. Wheelie, Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch. This one must have had its trademark protection run out or something, because it seemed like it was on two or three times a day when I was a kid. The VW Bug-inspired Wheelie would be chased by the Chopper Bunch, foil their plans, and ride off into the sunset with his girlfriend Rota Ree.
7. The Homer, The Simpsons. "Powerful like a gorilla, yet soft and yielding, like a Nerf™ ball". It had a horn that played "La Cucharacha" and twin bubble domes. Shag carpeting, a bowler hood ornament, and three horns (because you can never find a horn when you're mad). Inevitably led to the destruction of Powell Motors. "His life was an unbridled success. Until he found out he was a Simpson."
8. The Gadget Mobile, Inspector Gadget. It could change from a sports car to a van, and housed Inspector Gadget, his niece Penny, and Brain the dog in their search for zany adventures while fighting the forces of MAD.
9. Mr. Magoo's jalopy, Mr. Magoo. "Out of the way, road hog" [honk] started every episode of Mr. Magoo. Nothing terribly memorable about the jalopy, except that it served as one of the main ways that Quincy - and his famous myopia - would get him into and out of trouble on a regular basis.
10. Speed Buggy, eponymous. Hmmm. Where have we seen this combination before? A talking car, a gender-specific group of indeterminantly aged yet definitely young and hip kids, and madcap adventures around the world? Nope, doesn't ring any bells... Well, at least the dune buggy aspect was different...
What obvious cartoon cars did I miss?
That is all.
11 comments:
Obscure perhaps(I had to look up the vehicle name) but Armed Force from one of my favorite cartoons when I was growing up: Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors.
And uhm... would Bumblebee from Transformers count? Certainly seems more iconic and mainstream than a few of your picks.
How about the batmobile? It's been cartooned several times...
Mean Machine 00 driven by Dick Dastardly and Muttley in Wacky Races? (Most iconic of the show, they were the bad guys, and thus got the most screen time, since there weren't any particular protagonists in the show)
And how do you feel about anime and cartoons portraying real cars? The AE86 Toyota Sprinter Trueno in Initial-D is super iconic(and all AE86s are real-life iconic drifter cars).
Phooeymobile, from Hong Kong Phooey. Changes from a car to a boat to a plane to a...
What about the world famous Thunderbolt Grease Slapper of Tom Slick?
What about Voltron? The one with the sea, air and land teams.
CG, too? If so, throw in the Incredobile.
You forgot Courageous Cat's CatMobile.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courageous_Cat_and_Minute_Mouse
The Mach 5 must always be #1 :)
Not exactly cartoon, but I happen to have an old friend who is the owner of one of the movie versions of the Flintstonemobile: http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/7650/randyflintstone.png
Brock Sampson's Charger, from 'The Venture Brothers,' with the original Mopar 8-track tape deck.
If you want to see a hilariously wrong(!) look at the later years of the Mystery Machine and its occupants, hunt down the "Venture Brothers" animated show and look for their bleak look into the gang's and Scooby's future.
-P
When it comes down to it, the most popular cartoon car is still Mach 5 because of its cool functions and design. The Flintstones car is a memorable one, and I find it amazing that they don't ever get any blisters from the way they run their car.
How about the Batmobile? Well, Kids are more familiar with the Mystery Machine and Flintstone car. But you have to admire the fact that some of these cars have been made models for some of the modern cars today.
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