But just what is a PUSH’EM CAR?
I saw this in a small town antique shop years ago. It’s approximately 16″ x 24″ and the artwork is painted onto a masonite-type board. It has eight holes drilled around the edges and displays the Walt Disney Productions trademark, which dates it before 1987.
I didn’t know if it was an advertising board that would have been displayed in a store to sell some kind of pedal car, or if a Push’em Car was something that appeared on the original Mickey Mouse Club television show. The price was a little high, but I was able to get it down a little, but I still feel I paid too much. But it looked cool, so I took a chance.
Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose when you take a chance on something like this, and this time… I lost!
After researching on the Internet, I found that a Push’em Car was a mobile toy chest. It had two of these boards, one on each long side, and two other boards half the length on the ends, creating a rectangle-shaped box on wheels. The boards were screwed onto metal framing. It stood 22″ high at the top of the handles:
This was offered for auction with a starting bid of $25.00 in 2008
Final sale price not known, but estimated value is between $50 – $125.00
So as I only have one of the boards, it is pretty much valueless except for curiosity sake.
Why should I have known better? First, if it were an advertisement for a toy or pedal car, the product would have been pictured on the board. Second, no sign board would be affixed to a wall in a store with eight screws, thus damaging the wall for what would probably be a temporary promotion. I’m a more seasoned collector now, and I can truthfully say that making mistakes like this one has made me a more successful buyer!
That said… I love this board! I have it hanging in my solarium where I can look at it every morning while I drink my coffee. So not a complete fail, I guess.
UPDATE – April, 2021: I recently found an actual, complete, Push’em Car at a local flea market. Unfortunately, it was already sold! But I have also learned that there were other Disney variations of this product. Please check out these images found online:
I think my favorite is still the Mickey Mouse Club version, but the Winnie the Pooh is definitely a close second!
