And what did the fashionable 11.5-inch-tall doll drive in ’62? A Corvette, you say? Nah, Babs didn’t own America’s Sports Car until America celebrated its 200th birthday in 1976. An iconic Volkswagen Beetle? Nope, that came later too. Mattel decided the perfect car for a teenage girl living in cold-weather Wisconsin was … wait for it … an Austin-Healey 3000 MKII. Maybe it had snow tires? One thing it didn’t have was a top. Barbie, the leggy doll that Mattel brought to life in 1959, recently celebrated her 60th birthday, and although she can be a bit controversial (hey, she didn’t choose her measurements), she’s much more than just a pretty face. Nobody accumulates Barbie’s car collection without being smart, successful, and handy with a wrench (albeit a plastic one).

Barbie’s 9 greatest cars - Hagerty Media Barbie’s 9 greatest cars - Hagerty Media

Barbie finally scored a classic car in 1988, when Mattel afforded her a ’57 Chevy—in convertible form, of course. Available in pink or turquoise, the Chevy features impressive wheel and chrome detail, as well as seat belts. Seat belts? Certainly not in a ’57 Chevy. It’s all about the kids, right?

According to a series of 1960s novels published by Random House, Barbara Millicent Roberts—yes, that’s Barbie’s full name—grew up in the fictional town of Willows, Wisconsin. She likely didn’t venture far from home in her early years, maybe because she couldn’t. Forced for decades to walk on her tippy toes, Barbie was in desperate need of some wheels. She finally got her first car in 1962.

Beetle - Etsy UK Flower for Vw Beetle - Etsy UK

Four years after getting her first Ferrari, Barbie welcomed her first Porsche. Available in white with hot pink interior or, well, white with hot pink interior, the German sports car has working headlights, so Barbie can see clearly on late-night runs to Taco Bell. (A Boxster came later.)During the 11 years after Barbie scored her first ’Vette, she also received a purple 1978 Donny & Marie Osmond van, a remote-control Corvette, a Volkswagen Golf, an unbranded off-road vehicle, a Jeep 4×4, and more ’Vettes in more colors than we care to count. Then came a bright spot: a 1987 Ferrari 328 GTS. Singer: “Take Malibu Barbie and her suntan friends with their glasses and their towels … Where the road never ends in Barbie’s new Country Camper.”