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Disney is celebrating their 100th anniversary, so we figured we’d take a trip down memory lane and find the best Disney cars of all time!
Celebrating 100 Years of Disney Cars
It’s finally the centennial celebration for Disney who have left an everlasting mark on the world through their iconic characters, memorable movies, and exceptional amusement parks. It’s an incredible undertaking for a company to last 100 years, but to have such a significant impact on the lives of millions makes this feat even more remarkable. And to think, it all was started by one man after selling his car to invest in a fun little mouse character.
Walt Disney owned a 1926 Moon roadster prior to the success of Disney as a brand. He loved that car but felt that his animated cartoon character, Mickey, was on the verge of being something big. He put everything he had into the creation of Mickey’s first cartoons, but eventually needed to part ways with his beloved car in order to pay employees and get his third cartoon out with a soundtrack. Walt’s Moon roadster was said to be sold for $475, just enough to make ends meet and get perhaps the most memorable early Mickey Mouse cartoon out to the public, Steamboat Willie.
From there, Disney ramped up to be the groundbreaking success story we know today, but its association with cars continued throughout. Walt became a front man for DeSoto in the 1930s helping promote their cars after becoming wildly successful. Disney’s next automotive marketing association was alongside AMC‘s Hudson and Nash products. Mickey and Donald could be seen in animated commercials supporting vehicles like the Hudson Hornet and Nash Ambassador.
Once Disney had ventured into the amusement park scene with Disneyland and Disney World, the need to cross promote and encourage long distance travel came about. This led to Disney lending their characters to help in marketing with the likes of Gulf Oil, National Car Rental, Ford, and General Motors.
The parks themselves have even been influenced by the automotive world. The Ford Magic Skyway was introduced at the 1964 World’s Fair in which attendees would travel through the Ford Motor Company assembly line and then through time. This short-lived attraction helped in the creation of the PeopleMover at Disneyland and World of Motion at Disney World. General Motors also joined as the sponsor of Test Track, a high-speed amusement ride that simulated the extensive testing that their vehicles underwent. Now known as Test Track Powered by Chevrolet, riders get to design their own “Sim-Car” to see how it will do through the different automotive tests as they speed through the ride.
Today, Disney still continues its cross-promotion with automotive brands excessively. The Chevrolet Volt was used in a commercial promoting the Tomorrowland movie while the Bolt EV and Bolt EUV were showcased as an ideal family road trip vehicles to take to Disney World. There are the numerous Marvel movie cars from Audi, Hyundai, Lexus, and Volkswagen seen driven by our favorite superheroes on screen and in commercials. Porsche brought Sally Carrera from the Cars movies to life as a one-off Porsche 911 Sally Special. And most recently, Hyundai has been chosen as the Disney 100th anniversary partner through commercials and branding. Hyundai is celebrating the event with an exciting 2024 IONIQ 5 Disney100 Platinum Edition that’s sure to be the ultimate Disney fan collector item.
While all of these real-world cars in association with Disney are nice, it’s the films that have made this 100-year brand so successful. So, we went and looked through the extensive Disney vault of movies and shows to bring together ten of the best Disney cars of all time. These cars have made lasting impacts on Disney fans young and old, making them significant pieces to Disney’s entertainment history. Here’s our Disney car picks, plus a handful of honorable mentions too.
Best Disney Cars of All Time
Donald Duck’s 313
Donald Duck is perhaps the most successful Disney character just behind Mickey Mouse. His early cartoons and comics saw the duck behind the wheel of a car known as the “313”, since that’s its license plate. This red roadster was first introduced in a 1938 newspaper comic as the 1934 Belchfire Runabout, a kit car crafted from spare parts that Donald had put together. While the 313 looks like it’s just a typical two-seater roadster, its trunk actually opens up to be a rumble seat for his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie. The 313 is a common pain point for the hot-headed duck as it commonly breaks down.
Donald’s association with the vehicle has been associated with the character ever since, although it has been seen used by Mickey and Minnie in other Disney properties. Some sources suggest that the car is modeled after an American Bantam, although I feel it bears some resemblance to the Moon Roadster that Walt Disney sold to keep this company afloat.
Mr.Toad’s Motorcar
While The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad may not be well remembered by modern audiences, but the animated retelling of two classic stories was a hit back in 1949. The movie consisted of two short films based around The Legend of Sleepy Hollow following Ichabod Crane and The Wind in the Willows following Mr. Toad and his obsession with motorcars. Disney went on to take this animated short to create Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride at Disney parks, a dark ride that seats riders at the wheel of Mr. Toad’s motorcar as it speeds through the countryside. The Wind in the Willows was revisited as a live action adaptation in 1996 in which the motorcar from the film was a 1910 Hotchkiss 20/30 Roi-de-Belges.
Susie, the Little Blue Coupe
Susie, the Little Blue Coupe may be a somewhat obscure Disney animated short from 1952. Susie a brand-new coupe for sale at a dealership that’s bought and loved by a well-off owner until one day she runs into mechanical problems. The little car is traded in for a new model and sold off for cheap to a new owner who neglects the poor car, leaving her outside to be stolen and eventually crashed. Poor Susie ends up at the junkyard ready to meet her demise before being bought by a new owner and thankfully fixed up as a hot-rodded project car. It’s a nice little story about the life of a car and her living car design acts as a predecessor to the wildly successful Cars franchise.
Guinevere
Guinevere is a relative newcomer to the Disney universe, but the classic mural painted van is an import piece of the Onward adventure. Its owner is Barley who’s fixed up the old van to run, but it has its quirks like any lovable beater car. Barley and his brother Ian take the van on a road trip to find the Phoenix Gem in order to resurrect their father for a short visitation with the boys. Guinevere is unfortunately sacrificed so that they can avoid being arrested, but Guinevere 2 is revealed at the end of the film. The parking ticket stuffed Onward van and its successor are both based off of the ’70s Chevrolet G10 and GMC Vandura.
Benny the Cab
Who Framed Roger Rabbit brought together all of our favorite cartoon characters from Disney, Warner Brothers, Felix the Cat, Universal Pictures, and more to tell a unique story about an animated world living amongst our real world. From this film we were given Benny the Cab, a living Checker Cab that acts as a getaway diver in high-speed car chases with the Toon Patrol. Benny ends up crashing into a pole but is only injured. Roger comes to pick up the cab, but Benny decides to take the wheel giving us the odd visualization of a car driving a car.
Cruella de Vil’s Panther De Ville
Disney villains are almost as iconic as the heroes they fight against, but only one has a car worthy of this list of the best Disney cars. Cruella de Vil is known as the evil fashion designer from the 101 Dalmatians animated movie. After the dogs manage to escape from her clutches, Cruella and her lackeys hunt them down in her lavish ride that bares similarity to her name, the Panther De Ville. She ends up in a car chase after the dogs that sends her Panther off into a snowy roadside ditch which she speeds out of damaging the classic car and revealing the fire-breathing V12 from beneath the bonnet. The Panther De Ville has since been seen as Cruella’s car in both the 101 Dalmatians live action movie and her own Cruella movie.
Pizza Planet Truck
The Pizza Planet Truck from Toy Story may have played a small part in the Pixar film, but there is no denying how often this truck is recreated by fans thanks to its simplicity. Woody and Buzz hitch a ride in the pizza delivery truck in order to get to get home, but arrive at the Pizza Planet arcade instead. Woody is tossed around in the back of the truck and crushed by a toolbox while Buzz is comfortably and safely secured in the front seat. Since its first on-screen appearance, the truck has been a recurring staple vehicle in not only Toy Story films but other Pixar properties. The truck is retconned as the Gyoza Mark VII Lite Hauler, but that “YO” on the tailgate originally pointed to it being a Toyota Pickup.
Herbie the Love Bug
This list wouldn’t be complete without THE Disney car, Herbie the Love Bug. The racing Volkswagen Beetle with its own personality has become one of the most recognizable movie cars of all time. From its classic racing stripe design to its ridiculous stunts, Herbie has etched itself into automotive lore forever since first debuting in 1969. Wanting to read more about this Disney car? You can find more fun facts about Herbie here on Carsforsale.com!
Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater
It was hard to just pick just Lightning McQueen as the sole champion of the Cars films, so I decided to have him share this spot with his buddy Tow Mater. The Cars franchise exploded onto the scene with the first film and has since turned into a trilogy and a number of different short stories. While Lightning McQueen is the pivotal star of this racing movie, the loveable Tow Mater steals the show with his comedic quips and interesting side plots. Both are equally the best Disney cars of all time. Be sure to check out The Cars of the Cars Movie to see what every character’s real-world counterpart is!
Disney Car Honorable Mentions
Agent’s of Shield Lola – C1 Corvette
The Gnome-Mobile – Rolls-Royce Phantom II
Toy Story RC
Vanellope’s Candy Kart
Right On Track Dragster
