History Main / DudeWheresOurCar

* One of Creator/CartoonNetwork's early promotional shorts had SpaceGhost offer [[WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones Fred Flintstone]] his parking space, then wonder where the heck he parked his car, then remembering that he flew into work. Silly him.

->''"Remember, we're parked in the Itchy lot."''

-->''"Remember, we're parked in the Itchy lot."''

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]

* One of Creator/CartoonNetwork's early promotional shorts had SpaceGhost offer [[WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones Fred Flintstone]] his parking space, then wonder where the heck he parked his car, then remembered that he Flew into Work. Silly him.

* This exact line happens in ''Film/HaroldAndKumarGoToWhiteCastle,'' when the titular duo's car is stolen by NeilPatrickHarris.

* In ''TheRealThing'' by Catherine Alliot, the protagonist cannot find her car and panics that it has been stolen. She calls the police to report the theft, only to remember five minutes later where she had parked it.

* The ''{{Seinfeld}}'' episode "The Parking Garage". They spend the entire episode searching for the car and when they finally found it at the very last minute of the episode, it wouldn't start. The car-not-starting bit was also a case of ThrowItIn; the original ending called for them to drive away but be unable to find the exit.

* A RunningGag in ''{{Jekyll}}'' involves Tom Jackman waking up somewhere and discovering that he has no idea where his [[JekyllAndHyde other personality]] parked the car.
* Happens to Hawkeye and Radar on ''Series/{{Mash}}'' with a jeep. They steal another one, which turns out to belong to a general.

** ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Itchy And Scratchy Land" has the family parking their car and saying "OK, we're parked in the Itchy lot," only to zoom out and reveal that the car park only has two, absolutely massive lots: Itchy and Scratchy. (This is of course a parody of {{Disney}}land's character-named lots.)
* This was a BrickJoke in a ''GarfieldAndFriends'' episode. Jon refuses to write down a parking location (the lot is coded by numbers and colors) and says he'll memorize it only to get more and more confused as everyone around him keeps mentioning colors and numbers. Eventually Garfield and Odie get home themselves, while at the end of the episode, Jon is still hunting in the gigantic parking lot.
* On ''RockosModernLife'', [[CreditCardPlot "Who Gives A Buck?"]] features a parking lot so large, some people have been wandering it for years looking for their cars. One of them is a grown man dressed like a little boy and still looking for "mommy's car," and a few scenes later Rocko and Heffer pass a senile old woman going "Son? Have you found the car yet?"
* In ''InvaderZim'', Dib once found himself in a parking lot inhabited by a group of people who got lost looking for their car and have become convinced they are "rat people." ([[{{Bone}} Not]] ''[[{{Bone}} those]]'' [[{{Bone}} rat people.]])
* A running gag in the "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy" episodes of ''SpongeBobSquarePants'' is the heroic duo's nearly impossible-to-find "Invisible Boatmobile."
* One of Creator/CartoonNetwork's early promotional shorts had SpaceGhost offer [[TheFlintstones Fred Flintstone]] his parking space, then wonder where the heck he parked his car, then remembered that he Flew into Work. Silly him.
* Zig-zagged in the ''DangerMouse'' episode "What A Three-Point Turn-Up For The Book." DM and Penfold are rushing to an awards ceremony when their car, the Mk. III jets off without them.

* One of Creator/CartoonNetwork's early promotional shorts had SpaceGhost offer [[TheFlintstones Fred Flintstone]] his parking space, then wonder where the heck he parked his car, then remembered that he Flew into Work. Silly Him.

May also overlap with MyCarHatesMe if the tracker refuses to work or the car doesn't when they do find it.

* TropeNamer: ''Film/DudeWheresMyCar''

* This was the plot to a ''GarfieldAndFriends'' episode. Jon refuses to write down a parking location (the lot is coded by numbers and colors) and says he'll memorize it only to get more and more confused as everyone around him keeps mentioning colors and numbers. Eventually Garfield and Odie abandon him, still hunting in the gigantic parking lot.

* Advice: If your car has a remote alarm, use it. That way you find your car in no time and you get a use for those things. Many such devices will make a fairly polite tweet or similar noise and flash the lights to aid the user in locating the car without annoying others in the area.

* It also helps to have a tall (and hopefully unique) car. When I had a CR-X I'd lose it in a lot once a week. [=SUVs=] are a lot harder to lose, unless there's nothing else in the lot.
** Unless you live in the Pacific Northwest (Idaho, Washington, Oregon) of the United States. In which case, you'll have an easier time finding a normal car than an SUV or truck. Naturally enough.
*** Or you ''would'', if it weren't for all those [=SUVs=] and trucks hiding your car.

* A ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'' episode where Sabrina and her friend buy a car together. HilarityEnsues. Best shown with this quote, "How does it feel to the car three times in the same parking lot on the same day?!"

* A ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'' episode where Sabrina and her friend buy a car together. HilarityEnsues. I can't recall the exact quote, but it was along the lines of "[[strike:Loosing]] Losing the car three times on the same parking lot"

* It also helps to have a tall (and hopefully unique) car. When I had a CR-X I'd lose it in a lot once a week. SUVs are a lot harder to lose, unless there's nothing else in the lot.

* TropeNamer: ''DudeWheresMyCar''

* There's a ''{{PVP}}'' strip that has Brent walking through the rain trying to find his car, not remembering that they had actually taken Jade's car.

* Happens to Hawkeye and Radar on ''[[{{MASH}} M*A*S*H]]'' with a jeep. They steal another one, which turns out to belong to a general.

[[folder:LiveActionTV]]

* A ''Series/{{Sabrina the Teenage Witch}}'' episode where Sabrina and her friend buy a car together. HilarityEnsues. I can't recall the exact quote, but it was along the lines of "[[strike:Loosing]] Losing the car three times on the same parking lot"
* A {{running gag}} in ''{{Jekyll}}'' involves Tom Jackman waking up somewhere and discovering that he has no idea where his [[JekyllAndHyde other personality]] parked the car.

* In the pilot episode of ''Series/{{Star Trek Enterprise}}'', the landing party gets in a scuffle with Suliban and consequently end up coming out of the building they were in in an unfamiliar area. They are confused as to where their shuttlecraft is.

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]

* This was the plot to a ''{{Garfield and Friends}}'' episode. Jon refuses to write down a parking location (the lot is coded by numbers and colors) and says he'll memorize it only to get more and more confused as everyone around him keeps mentioning colors and numbers. Eventually Garfield and Odie abandon him, still hunting in the gigantic parking lot.

* One of {{Cartoon Network}}'s early promotional shorts had {{Space Ghost}} offer [[TheFlintstones Fred Flintstone]] his parking space, then wonder where the heck he parked his car, then remembered that he Flew into Work. Silly Him.

[[folder:RealLife]]

* This exact line happens in ''HaroldAndKumar go to White Castle,'' when the titular duo's car is stolen by NeilPatrickHarris.

* This [[http://www.frontgate.com/jump.jsp?itemID=31667&itemType=PRODUCT&path=1,2,2890,2891,&iProductID=31667&K=ZZ51120 Keychain GPS Tracker]] is specifically designed for people who habitually forget whey they parked. Just press a button as you're leaving the car to have the device remember the location, and the handy compass will point your way when you need it. If you're in an underground garage with no signal and multiple levels, you're out of luck.

** Similarly, [[InvaderZim Dib]] finds himself in a parking lot inhabited by a group of people who got lost looking for their car and have become convinced they are "rat people." ([[{{Bone}} Not]] ''[[{{Bone}} those]]'' [[{{Bone}} rat people.]])

* Advice: If your car has a remote alarm, use it. That way you find your car in no time and you get a use for those things.
** And everyone else in the area will loathe you.

* Parodied in ''StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome'' with the cloaked Klingon ship. "Everyone remember where we parked!"

* In the pilot episode of {{Star Trek Enterprise}}, the landing party gets in a scuffle with Suliban and consequently end up coming out of the building they were in in an unfamiliar area. They are confused as to where their shuttlecraft is.

[[folder:WebComics]]

* This is actually parodied as a RunningGag in ''ElGoonishShive''. Whenever the cast leaves the mall, they inevitably ask 'Dude, where's my car?', only to find that they left by the wrong entrance, or one of the others will point out that it's 'right there'.

** Actually it's much older, it's originally from ''TheBigLebowski''.
*** Lebowski is actually NOT an example of the trope (though the phrase is heard, bonus points as the character asked is named "Dude"), but here they come out (knowing where it was parked) and see an empty space, quickly realized it's been stolen.

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