10. Yabadabadoo! Fred's Stone Age car was ages ahead of its time, being the first guilt-free, zero emissions (other than the aftermath of a dinosaur ribs dinner) automobile. It's the car we all thought of as teenagers with our first clunkers and their flow-though floors, giving the Flintstones' car - and the family - a special place in our hearts.

9. The car that taught an entire generation that the shortest distance between two points was an arc, we made sure that Takumi's "Hachi-Roku" found a home here on the list. The Initial D phenomenon shot out of nowhere a few years ago as the awareness of drift racing rose in America, and Takumi's panda bear Toyota tells a true underdog story along the curving descent of Mt. Akina. But the series has not been without its consequences - there's no telling how many 240SXs over-confident fans damaged by backing into objects at high speeds.

8. Inspector Gadget's Gadgetmobile demonstrates its desirability in the opening credits of every episode - can you imagine how many dads would shell out exorbitant amounts of cash for a vehicle that converts from van to sports car in just seconds? In both forms, the Gadgetmobile's doorstop styling can only be described as eighties fabulous and, like any spy vehicle, it came equipped for any duty - with a front-mounted claw, rear smoke screen, and articulating suspension inspired by the Inspector's Go-Go-Gadget Legs.

7. The Jetsons' flying car serves as a great representation of Eisenhower-era American optimism and imagination. Of course the future holds a world full of robot maids, space-reaching skyscrapers, and flying cars. Why wouldn't it? Hooray, progress! The Jetsons' space car also boasts a minimalist design, an ultra-compact propulsion system, and a cost-cut interior that makes cargo vans look plush.

6. Seldom does a self-referential character work so well that Lightning McQueen, star of the 2006 movie "Cars", is available on everything from toothbrushes to training pants at your local big-box store, while at the same time McQueen the Piston Cup contender is over-marketed in the film for comic relief. Sure, he isn't lovable for most of his screen time, but his transformation from shameless egotist to kindhearted Samaritan by the end of the film - and the message behind it - is a good one. Why don't we all slow down, leave the freeway, and enjoy the scenery. Hey, we might even pick up a Porsche girl along the way.

5. "Can ya name the truck with four-wheel drive that smells like a steak and seats thirty-five?" That'd be the Canyonero, of course. It sits alongside the Homer-named after its designer - as the best vehicle to grace the screen in the world's longest-running cartoon. Big enough to proudly boast of its "sixty-five tons of American pride," yet small enough to wriggle its way into American culture, Canyonero presciently, almost prophetically, skewered SUV culture back in 1999 - when Keith Bradsher was an unknown and the Hummer H2 was still in clay.

4. What's everybody looking at? More overtly Freudian than a Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic, Ace and Gary's superhero machine has forever tainted designs that have a long hood, bubble cockpit, and short, um, deck. When those two aren't holding each other - hey, we don't know anything for sure - they're holding onto the controls of their coxster. Since the duo first appeared on SNL, none of us have looked at a Jaguar E-type or any Aston Martin in quite the same way.

3. Would a paranoid, shaggy-haired hippie who hallucinates ghosts and his muchie-hungry dog really drive anything other than a panel van painted up with psychedelic lettering and flowers? Between them and the curiously absent couple, Fred and Daphne, the Mystery Machine was assumed to be the home of certain "pastimes" of various sorts. No other cartoon car has inspired so much real-life parody.

2. Of the countless Transformers characters worth covering, we were forced to choose just one. Some would pick Optimus Prime for his brute force and others Jazz, simply because Jazz was a Porsche. We think Bumblebee is the natural choice. Small, tough, and loyal, he was our favorite Autobot. He knows how to pick his automotive icons, too, appearing originally as a VW Beetle and most recently - in CGI/live action - as an '09 Chevy Camaro.

1. It is impossible to find a flaw in Speed's Mach 5 racer, giving it the top spot on our list. Like the eighth-ranked Gadgetmobile, the Mach is loaded up with gizmos, including cutters, deflectors, rockets, and auxiliary motors that can send 5000 hp to each wheel over rough terrain. In 1966, it was so far ahead of technology that it actually uses the idea of steering wheel-mounted controls now used in F1 racing - it is surprising that Pops Racer was never hired on by Scuderia Ferrari. Mach's razor-sharp styling looks futuristic today, and makes our eyes twinkle like Trixie's. Go Speed Racer, go.