Synopsis of Saturday Morning Show

"Roger-dodger, putt putt"

Add Hanna-Barbera’s Speed Buggy to the loveable-animated-cars-who-talk list. Employing a Love Bug meets Scooby Doo concept, Speed Buggy featured three wacky teenagers whose means of transportation was a remote-controlled, rust-colored dune buggy named Speed Buggy. Speed Buggy had two eyes for headlights, a mouth for a grill, and a heart of chrome.

In giving a voice to Speed Buggy, Mel Blanc took the sputterings he provided for Maxwell (the car on Jack Benny’s radio show) one step further—Speed Buggy, unlike Maxwell, could actually talk. He also had the very useful ability to fly. Tinker, who looked eerily similar to Scooby Doo’s Shaggy, was the mechanic who raced Speed Buggy, while Mark and Debbie were the show’s Freddy and Daphne.

Meddling kids in their own right, Tinker, Mark, and Debbie would cruise around in Speed Buggy, looking for adventure and getting themselves into and out of trouble, all the while solving mysteries.

Apparently, the old Scooby-Doo formula still held up. Speed Buggy was another rating winner for Hanna-Barbera, airing on and off for ten years on each of the three major networks. Speed himself also made guest appearances on Scooby's All-Star Laff-a-Lympics.

Release History

9/8/73 - 8/30/75 CBS
9/6/75 - 9/4/76 ABC
11/27/76 - 9/3/77 NBC
1/28/78 - 9/2/78 CBS
9/18/82 - 1/29/83 CBS

TV Sub Categories

animated
action/adventure

TV Studio

Hanna-Barbera

Television Cast

Speed Buggy Mel Blanc
Tinker Phil Luther, Jr.
Debbie Arlene Golonka
Mark Mike Bell

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