FLINTMOBILE OR FLIVVER...?

I may have the answer...

Here's a great little 1:50 scale collectable I received today, a Hotwheels Elite One 'toy' by Mattel.  (Incidentally, anyone else noticed that the Post Office now spell 'collectables' the American way - 'collectibles'?)  Strictly speaking, it's not really a toy, it's too good for that, but kids would be able to play with it I suppose, while adult collectors would simply appreciate it as a thing of aesthetic beauty that reminds them of their childhood.

But why's it called a Flintmobile?  I always understood that its name was a Flivver, which is the way merchandise of the car was described in the '60s.  I might have a plausible explanation.  See the two pics of the box at the foot of this post?  On the front illustration, the car is a single-row seater, whereas on the back, it's morphed into a double row, family-sized seater.  Same thing happened in the TV show.

Now, the most obvious explanation is that this was simply a result of the car being drawn to suit different scenarios.  If it was only Fred, or Fred and Barney, for the sake of expediency it would be drawn as a single-row seater; if it was the full Flintstone family, or a combination of the Flintstones and the Rubbles, it was rendered as a double-row seater to accommodate them.  In short, it was whatever it needed to be to suit the situation.

However, another possible explanation is that the Flintstones have two cars of a similar design - one (the Flintmobile) for Fred or Wilma to gad about in, and another, larger, family model (the Flivver) for when they do their weekly shopping or go to the 'drive-in' along with Pebbles and Dino.  Having said that, my Marx Toys Flinstone Flivver from the '60s only has a single-row seat, but that might purely be down to Marx wanting to save on tin.

Yeah, I know - I'm overthinking things again, ain't I?  Anyway, did you watch The Flintstones TV show when you were a kid, and was it your all-time favourite Hanna-Barbera cartoon?  If not, what was?  Be sure to let all your fellow Crivvies know.  

Posted in: Cartoons