I’m not really sure what it is about a group of teenagers that spend all of their time exposing strange, low-ish stakes real estate scams that involve a lot of Halloween costumes and high school drama-class shenanigans, but in the 1970s and into the 1980s, America seemingly couldn’t get enough of them. The archetype is, of course, the Scooby-Doo gang, who roamed around the nation, seemingly unsupervised and without any responsibilities to impede their nomadic lives, in a garishly-painted van, unmasking greedy weirdos attempting to wrest ownership of various properties.
There were a shocking number of knockoffs to the formula established by Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and Norville “Shaggy” Rogers, along with their Great Dane Doo, and many of these included notable cars of some kind. Sometimes very notable.
I should mention that I was reminded of all of these knockoffs when I saw this Twitter thread – I actually normally don’t devote all that much time to contemplating Scooby-Doo:
list of Scooby-Doo Clones (THREAD) ???? pic.twitter.com/E39dPYapng
— ????Hanna-Barbera ScreenCaps???? (@HannaBarberaCap) December 4, 2024
…and that’s when I realized I need to do a quick survey of the Scooby Doo knockoff cars. Because it’s important, dammit. Let’s get right into it, starting with the one that effectively combined the roles of the non-human member of the gang (usually an animal of some sort, with the required car: Speed Buggy.
Speed Buggy, of Speed Buggy
Yes, Speed Buggy was that extra member of the gang, in this case a sentient Meyers Manx-style dune buggy. The animation style wasn’t especially detailed, but in that theme song animation there, the beginning bit with the Shaggy-esque character with the goggles working on Mr.Buggy’s engine reveals a surprising amount of detail:
It’s not wildly accurate, but whoever drew that was definitely looking at a picture of a an air-cooled Volkswagen engine, even if they likely didn’t know what they were looking at. But, you can definitely make out coil and carburetor and distributor and cylinder heads, even if it’s not exactly right.
Speed Buggy is notable for being the only sentient automobile of the Scooby-Doo knockoff community, and that’s significant.
The Chan Van of Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan
Today we may look on this Scooby-Doo knockoff with some trepidation, out of fear that it’s all awful racist tropes, but the truth is a good bit more complex. Sure, it plays on some stereotypes, as the character of Charlie Chan always had, but it was also the first time Chan had been played by an actually Asian person, and it was a welcome addition of some cultures other than mainstream whiteness in the Saturday Morning Cartoonscape.
But! We’re here to talk about cars, and the Chan Van is an important one in this genre. It’s an interesting, sleek, wedge-shaped van with pop-up headlights, but it also doesn’t seem to be bound by the accepted rules of reality, as it can instantly change into pretty much any other kind of vehicle with just the push of a button on an odd 20-button keypad.
How the hell does it do this? This feels beyond technology and into magic territory. I kinda feel like the Chan Clan is wasting whatever this power is by having a van that can turn into a street sweeper instantaneously, but what the hell do I know.
Fangface Car , of Fangface
Always with the mummies.
Clue Club is one of these shows I never really knew about, but it seems that here the non-human element is a werewolf of some kind, with one, large, centrally-mounted fang, placed nearly uselessly up front.
The Fangface Crew car is sort of typical of the genre, a strange dune buggy-like hot rod-like car called the Wolf Buggy, with large, open wheels and an interesting front end, with a long tapered snout terminating in a small radiator grille, and headlamps carved into the sides. It feels lupine, which is clearly intentional.
That windshield doesn’t seem to do much aside from keeping your knuckles drug-free.
Clue Club Car of Clue Club
This was essentially Scooby-Doo with two dogs instead of just one, and a car packed with cutting-edge 70s tech. Again, we have a dune buggy/show rod-type car here, with an in-dash CRT and a lot of other communication equipment, presumably helpful in solving very Scooby-Doo-like crimes, including ones with mummies, which seemed to be ever-present in the Dooniverse.
I guess none of these teen groups cared about roofs? The Clue Club car at least has fenders, a wraparound windshield, and pop-up headlamps.
The Isetta-like Microcar from The New Schmoo
In the set of Scooby-Doo knockoffs, The New Schmoo is unique in that its based on a property that precedes Scooby-Doo by a significant amount of time. The Schmoo is a character that was first introduced in 1948, in Al Capp’s comic strip Li’l Abner:
Schmoos are deceptively complex; they’re sort of an allegory for the bounty of nature, and how humans interact with and exploit them is at the root of what they’re all about. It’s too much to go into here, as we have a car to talk about, but I feel like it’s important that you’re aware of the depth going on here.
But onto the car in the show, which I really like:
The car in this show appears to be a sort of microcar, with a front-end door like an Iso/BMW Isetta or a Heinkel Trojan or a Zündapp Janus. It’s a bit more squared-off than an Isetta, and it’s three-wheeled (most Isettas had two close-set wheels at the rear) so it feels like something inspired by a number of microcars as opposed to just one.
I’m not clear on what the “M” badging was about, not having really watched the show, but it looks good? The front end reminds me a bit of a Goggomobil van, but not really. Mostly, I like that the featured car in one of these was a microcar.
I feel like there are more, and if we expand our definition to include watercraft and spacecraft, even more. Maybe we can revisit this and do some others soon? I’m just happy we got a start.
Before There Were Screens In Cars There Was An Amazing Can-Shaped TV For Your Cupholder
The Car Crashes From The ’70s TV Show ‘CHiPS’ Are Dazzling Dances Of Car Chaos
This Swedish Kid’s-Show Has The Most Terrifying Anthropomorphized Vehicles I’ve Ever Seen
Don’t forget Wacky Races! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wacky_Races_(1968_TV_series)
Would that really count as a Scooby-Doo variant though? Also, wow another Yngve. I’ve only ever seen that name once before!
Personally I felt let down when you didn’t include the “Venture Brothers” episode about Scooby Do. A slightly darker take on the group as older adults. I never saw the Chan Clan. What I found fascinating was the car’s changing ability. It was likely inspired by a spoof of the Bond movie done in Italy called “Goldsinger.” In that one Bond’s Aston Martin became a Fiat 500. It had an array of buttons on the dash that could instantly change the color of the Topolino (Italian nickname of the 500). It also changed the outfit that the Bond character was wearing. If you had ever been in 60-80’s era Italy you would know every 2nd car was a 500 or 600 Fiat. So simply changing the color made it instantly invisible to the pursuing villains. “Goldsinger” is hard to find, but if you’re a Bond fan and fan of his cars, well worth the watch. It had instead of a laser burning its way to his crotch, a record cutting machine with the Bond character tied down on the record rotating and cutting its way to Bond.
It’s been said that a real London-based secret agent in the early ’60s more likely would’ve driven a Morris Minor than that highly conspicuous Aston.
Cars of Mask next? Brothers and I had some of those toys. Awesome!
What? No love for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids?!? They had a jet, a car, a helicopter, probably a boat, and a super-computer that’s allergic to dogs!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=Pds3zI7YxaY&t=0s
We need a Torch breakdown and ranking of all the Wacky Racers
THIS!!! This should be Jason’s highest priority! Forget eating, bathing, and shitting, Jason, get on your Commodore VIC 20 and start typing!!!
To the basement! Exit, stage right. Stage LEFT, even!
Heavens to Murgatroyd!
We had a dog named Muttley.
She was a trip.
Sometimes my wife laughs like Muttley.
My gen x childhood was wasted watching tv?
Only Saturday mornings.
Despite being younger than all of these shows, I somehow remember all of them (early Cartoon Network was 80% retro cartoons at it’s inception after all, and a lot of that being Hanna Barbara stuff) except for Fangface, which sounds like something Torch would make up and insert in the middle of a blog to see if anyone notices.
Tremendously formulaic, but I think these shows laid the foundation for Boomers/GenX love of the network procedurals that still bring in big ratings somehow for reasons that are still unclear to me.
“Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan” is about as Asian as you can get.
“La Choy Make Chinese Food Swing American”
I’m old so I should know all of these but I only know Scooby Do and Speed Buggy. All the others might as well have been something you made up.
Same here. Back in the pre-internet dark ages we were subject to the whims of 3 large networks and a few local broadcast stations. There was little chance of finding something new unless your parents moved around a lot.
I only watched the big 3 channels and I definitely remember watching Fangface and Clue Club. The Chan Clan I kinda recognized, but I can’t say I ever watched it. Must have come on opposite one of these other shows.
Most of the mentioned shows aired well after my peak cartoon viewing years, so not familiar with them (excepting Scooby as its cultural reach transcended Saturdays).
Sometimes, I think it’s a shame The Children’s Television Act (along with corporate greed) doomed today’s kids to hours of “educational” shows on Saturdays instead of the fantastical, violent, and often culturally moribund kids’ entertainment of my generation. I blame the rise of autism, sexual confusion, and drug dependency on the castrated and decaffeinated cartoons that followed the legislation. And, yes, I’m kidding. There were, and are, gems and duds in every age of television, so it all balances out.
If my generation had to suffer through “Shazzan” (featuring a stereotypical ‘genie’) to get “Jonny Quest,” so be it. Slog through “King Kong” or “The Archie Show” to get to “Spider-Man” and “The Fantastic Four?” You bet. Endure “Wacky Racers” in anticipation of “The Super Six?” Yes, please. Don’t even get me started on the Japanese contributions to the genre during this time: “Astro Boy,” “Kimba the White Lion,” “Marine Boy,” “Speed Racer.” Then there were Gerry Anderson’s marionette series, “Supercar,” “Fireball XL5,” “Stingray,” “The Thunderbirds,” “Captain Scarlet,” and “Joe 90.” Sprinkle in the usual Warner Brothers all-stars, “Underdog,” “The Herculoids,” “Space Ghost,” and the drug-induced Sid and Marty Krofft creations “The Banana Splits” and “H.R. Pufnstuf,” and damn, we had it good.
Of course only a few of these featured neat cars, notably “Speed Racer,” “Supercar,” “Captain Scarlet,” “The Thunderbirds,” “Wacky Racers,” and the ATVs on “The Banana Splits,” so most of this rant is completely off topic. Sorry about that, Chief.
The good news is you’re never to old to watch cartoons.
My favorite anime of the time was Starblazers, but you never hear about that one anymore. I knew the theme song by heart (and could probably dredge up most of it today if I had to) and would sing it on my long walk to and from school as a latchkey kid.
I was out of college by the time Star Blazers made it to the US, but did manage to see some of this series as “Space Battleship Yamato” in the early 90s. Excellent series with lots of sequels and spin-offs.
The good news is that, starting back in 2012, the entire series was remade as Star Blazers/Space Cruiser Yamato 2199. Since then the entire continuing storyline has and is being systematically updated and re-worked, a current series is in mid-production, and it’s all very good. In the current remake-/reboot- mania that’s been gripping Hollywood and TV for the past decade or more, it’s a textbook-worthy example of how to remake a series for modern times the right way. If you were a fan of the old series, watch it and you’ll understand.
It helps that the entire production and direction crew all grew up as fans of the original. The music composer is the son of the original composer, even. The amount of love for the original and the desire to make something both worthy of and to build on it is amazing, really.
Oh, legendary Neon Genesis Evangelion creator and Shin Godzilla director Hideaki Anno is a longtime Yamato/Star Blazers fan, and is said to be working on a new movie in the series. That ought to be interesting.
Fascinating. I’ll look for this. Thanks.
fire the Wave Motion Gun!
I could never figure out why the enemy ships were always built to resemble an animal of some kind. How do all those legs help it fly!
I love thunderbirds
‘the drug-induced Sid and Marty Krofft creations “The Banana Splits” and “H.R. Pufnstuf,” ‘
Ah yes, “Pufnstuf”. My curiosity as a child in the early 70s were, “Just what were those guys puffing when they made that show?” and “Where can I find some? I want to know what the deal was about.”
It was probably mild compared to the stuff the folks at Mississippi Public Broadcasting were likely smoking when they did Clyde Frog at that time.
Somebody was probably licking Clyde.
I think an article about the car chase at the opening of Lupin III – Castle of Caliostro is long, long overdue…
https://youtu.be/LTOJZiDv1Uk
And now I need to watch that show. Thanks for the lead
My son had me watch that with him. I sort of enjoyed it.
There’s no way around it. You have to. Watch them all.
Hayao Miyazaki has a peculiar fascination for European towns and landscapes, and quirky European cars. Last I knew, He owns and drives a 2CV. In Tokyo.
Left out the vehicles of the live action H.R. Pufnstuf, which was no knockoff of Scooby and the gang, but it’s own acid trip of a show.
As was Lancelot Link, with a number of vehicles for that acid trip of a kids show.
Then the Banana Splits, with Bingo? as the guy in an ape suit driving a six wheeler.
While nearly every kid show in the early with teens had to have a monkey/chimp in the cast, the late ’60s had to have vehicles.
Speed Racer had both, obviously, the Venn Diagram of these was complete with LL, BS and SR for children’s programming.
Then the Singing.
Everything had to have singing, though SR&LL wasn’t during the show, just the open and close- unlike the others above.
+1 for Lancelot Link.
The Wolf Buggy looks like something George Barris or one of his contemporaries would build.
The real takeaway is that Hanna-Barbera never knew when to quit. What a conveyor belt of crap!
And yet, here we are still talking about them in a generally positive manner years after they have shuffled off this mortal coil.
Most of these shows produced a small number of episodes overall. When you have a formula that works, you can rework it again and again over the years.
Clue Club: 16
The Amazing Chan: 16
Fangface: 32 (wow and I’ve never heard of it)
New Shmoo: 16
Speed Buggy: 16
Wait, you never heard of Fangface? For shame!
Fangface was the late-70s remake of Scooby Doo and the first series from the new Ruby-Spears Productions, founded by Scooby Doo creators Joe Ruby and Ken Spears. Admittedly it was much tamer than Scooby Doo, but the similarities were there. You really need to see it!
The omission of the Supernatural Impala from that one animated Scooby Doo crossover episode is an outrage, the kind of which deserves a long Tumblr rant.
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/supernatural/images/c/ca/Scoobynatural_Animated_Impala.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20180525040306
Having someone proofread before publishing is a very good idea. That way you would avoid stuff like “along with their Great Dane Doo” and “warewolf”.
Other than that, what a great trip down the lane of ’70’s Saturday morning cartoons.
Only the genuine Scooby Doo had staying power. Speed Buggy comes in at a very distant second place.
What? Wernt warewolfs just werewolves that sell wares?
Warewolves is what they should’ve called the toy and cereal advertisers of these shows.
What? No Funky Phantom with their their Manxish buggy called the “Loony Duney”?
Here for any and all Daws Butler references (see above) … and that’s right, the Phantom DID have a buggy! Dune buggies were great for H-B because they allowed the entire cast to be easily seen as they headed to some caper or other.
I’m just glad someone else remembers the show. People usually look at me like I’m insane when I mention it. Of course, 45 years later I can still sing the theme song (“that cat and that Funky Phantom ghost”), so maybe I am a little crazy.
There’s a great episode of Mystery Incorporated where all the teenagers disappear during the Mystery Solvers Club State Finals, and it’s up to Scooby, Jabberjaw, Speed Buggy, and the Funky Phantom to solve the mystery.
I’m going to have to search that out.
What no speed racer? How about Capt caveman and the pussycats
You mean Josie & the Pussycats? The first cartoon where I actually noticed the sexual innuendo for what it was?
Nope there was one with Captain Caveman and 3 women I believe were the pussycats.
Maybe a crossover episode?
Captain Caveman And His Amazing Angels. For some reason they were in space as well.
It’s Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels.
No mention of Grape Ape, boiling the formula down to it’s essence of a giant purple ape and his canine friend riding around in their van, solving mysteries. Once again the giant purple simian demographic is overlooked.
Indeed. And the rumor was, that vehicle ran like a violated primate!
The one thing missing is the Jabberjaw “floatmobile.” It was essentially a Ford Allegro II with a giant 1950 Bubbletop. The weirdest part is that despite it always being the same… Car? Submarine? Amphibious submersible? That it varied between having wheels or having a jet. The “floatmobile” wasn’t part of the show’s core iconography the way the Ghostbusters (not that one) Ghost Buggy or the Mystery Machine were to their respective cartoons.
It also makes you wonder about the mechanics and feasibility of everyone living in giant domes underwater and how weird traveling on the highway must be when the highway’s on the ocean floor. Does every gas station just have an airlock?
Jabberjaw was the only show I noticed missing from this list. Considering Torch’s obsession with amphibious vehicles I would have assumed it would have been included.
And I’d have gotten away with these knockoffs if it weren’t for you meddling Autopians!
Wonderbug is another example if we’re willing to count a live-action show. It fits the formula pretty well.
Something something, David Hasselhoff, something something K.I.T.T.
Somewhat similar formula, but with a chief technician and a babe-of-the-week instead of Daphne and Velma.
Wonderbug and Speed Buggy were hand in hand. Both shows, as were Scooby Doo, Josie and the Pussycats, Funky Phantom, Goober and the Ghost Chasers, Clue Club, Captain Caveman, and Fangface, were all created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears
And you can add to that list Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm (the Cave Buggy, a prehistoric Meyers Manx), Rickety Rocket, and Turbo Teen (let’s not discuss those two trainwrecks, thank you)
And there was a Catanooga Cats installment called the Micro Adventures, where a professor and his two kids explored the back yard in a cart that shrinks to micro-size. Look closely-the car is a generic VW Country Buggy.
And with all Ruby-Spears creations, it’s all about the drugs.
I feel like there’s a secondary intersection of the Chan Clan with Hong Kong Phooey, whose “Phooeymobile” also had the ability to somehow magically transform into whatever situationally appropriate vehicle was needed. https://starcars.fandom.com/wiki/The_Phooeymobile
I am surprised (and kinda disappointed) that The Autopian doesn’t have its own Cartoon or Carmic strip.
If you count live action, I always thought of The Ghost Busters as a sort of Scooby Doo knockoff, in that it was capitalizing on kids’ apparent interest in paranormal mysteries, had an intelligent animal sidekick, and an iconic car – in that case, a 1928 Whippet 96A touring car.
Although, they generally dealt with apparently real spirits as opposed to crooked real estate developers with rubber masks and special effects.
Also space ghost and the wonder twins with some space chimp
Redundancy alarm: Crooked Real Estate Developers. “Crooked” is unnecessary here as the term is implicit in “Real Estate Developer”.
Maybe I was more influenced by Scooby than I think…
There was a book series back then called The Three Investigators that was basically an all-male Scooby Doo without the dog. Kids running around SoCal solving paranormal mysteries that always ended up being some crook putting on a ghost show to facilitate some crime.
Looking back, I actually really appreciate that series because it was one of the few kids books of the day that taught skepticism.
Sounds like an Encyclopedia Brown/Hardy Boys ripoff.
Closer to Hardy Boys – Encyclopedia Brown damn near beat you over the head with clues to the point that you felt like a real moron if you didn’t solve it.
And Alfred Hitchcock wasn’t involved with EB or the Hardy Boys. 😉