Cartoon Cars You Wished Were Real
Serena Aburahma
· 4 min read
As adults, we have plenty of
car brands
from which to choose, but none will ever have the allure of cartoon cars. Fred Flintstone's Yabba-Dabba-Doo-Mobile, Inspector Gadget's Gadgetmobile, the Jetsons' car, er, spaceship... Have you ever wished you could take a spin in one of your childhood cartoon favorites?
Sure, you can buy some super realistic Hot Wheels, get down on creaky knees, and pretend again. But that's not the same as actually getting in a colorful cartoon panel van and solving exciting mysteries like Scooby-Doo and his friends did in the Mystery Machine.
Or how about leaping out through the retractable roof of the Turtle Van and kicking some villainous booty like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles did every week?
Do you remember all of these cars?
The editors at
Driving
do. They've made a list of nine iconic cartoon cars they wish were real. Of course, you probably have a few of your own childhood favorites you could add to that list!Who hasn't seen the Gadgetmobile transform from a sedate family van into a fully-equipped pursuit vehicle with a simple voice command? And who wouldn't like to zoom off to work in George Jetson's sleek Aerocar with the bubble-top view?
However, some cartoon cars aren't as well known as others. Do you remember the transforming Magic School Bus hauling Ms. Frizzle's fourth-grade class from Walkerville Elementary School around the world and then some? You should, because it was truly... magical!
How about the Paw Patrol pups and their transforming dog houses? It's hard not to love a heroic fireman/EMT pup (dalmatian, of course!) whose doghouse morphs into a ladder truck or ambulance as needed.
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Cartoon cars evolved over time
MORE: You Can Get a Tiny Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa for Your Kid
Like everything else in life, cartoon vehicles have gotten more complicated over the decades since they first appeared.
Fred Flintstone's car was made of stone, wood, and animal pelts and ran on sheer foot power. It was slow but it got Fred where he was going and made sure he got in a little much-needed exercise along the way.
Speed Racer's Mach 5 made its appearance in the '60s and was pretty high-tech for the time. The 'Deflector' button (yes, they were actual analog buttons!) made the Mach 5 impervious to water, crashes, bullets, and sleeping gas. You know, the usual car racing hazards.
Frogger Mode turned the Mach 5, you guessed it, into an underwater speed machine!
No puddle jumping here—this racer was built for full water submersion. Speed Racer had seven of these handy buttons mounted on the steering wheel, each featuring a unique race-related function.
According to
Jalopnik
, Speed Racer's Mach 5 was modeled after the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa and featured ideas that have since become reality. Surface-specific traction control, automatic roll bars, and night vision all first saw the light of day in a cartoon that was way ahead of its time.Cartoon cars vs. real cars
MORE: Lego Replicated a Toyota Supra—And It Drives
Cartoon cars may be more fun to watch with all of their gadgets and hijinks, but real cars are more fun to drive. With all of the choices available, there's surely one that will make anyone stop longing for cartoon cars of the past and start looking toward the high-tech automobile future!
Cartoon characters never had to worry about insuring their vehicles, but you do.
Fortunately,
Jerry
will come to your rescue! This licensed insurance broker is almost as speedy and high-tech as some of the cartoon vehicles on this list. Only Jerry is real and can save you plenty of real money on your car insurance.
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