What do Scooby-Doo and the gang call their van?
Last updated: February 11, 2025
Every Scooby-Doo fan remembers that psychedelic van rolling up to yet another haunted house, spitting out four meddling kids and their talking dog. It's been the gang's sweet ride since 1969, and fans love it so much they're still painting their own vans to match. What do Freddy, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby call their wheels?
What do Scooby-Doo and the gang call their van?
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The answer is: Mystery Machine
The Mystery Machine is the groovy flower-powered van from "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" Apparently Fred Jones bought it from a keyboard player named Flash Flannigan. Flash's band, The Mystery Kids, had broken up, and Fred scored the freshly painted van for what I'm assuming was a steal. I mean, what musician sells their tour van at full price?
The van's trippy paint job came from Scooby-Doo character designer Iwao Takamoto, who wanted to capture that 1960s vibe without making parent groups flip their lids. He nailed it with a perfect mix of flower power and family friendly, creating what became the most recognizable cartoon vehicle this side of the Batmobile.
The actual make and model of the van remains one of animation's greatest mysteries. Fans have spent decades debating whether it's a Bedford CF, a Chevrolet G-Body, or even a Volkswagen Type 2. The truth is the animators based it on different van models throughout the series, making it impossible to pinpoint one specific vehicle.
Scooby fans have transformed everything from ancient VW buses to beat-up Ford Econolines into their own mystery-solving rides. These superfans get together at car shows, probably swapping stories about which paint store has the perfect turquoise and how many times they've been asked to solve actual mysteries (spoiler alert: way more often than you'd think).