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Is it just me or are most cars you see on the road these days starting to look the same? In between white or black SUVs and dual-cab utes, most drivers are showing their personalities through numerous car accessories such as cheeky stickers or funky air fresheners.
However, one Reddit user recently spotted what could arguably be the cutest (and cuddliest?) set of wheels on Australian roads.
Taking to the Cars Australia Reddit thread, the user posted a photo of a teddy bear wheel on a red hatchback alongside the caption: “Hands down the best rims I’ve seen so far. Bear with me on this one”.
The post attracted a range of commenters from people baffled at the sight of the unique set of rims.
One commenter cheekily said, “Needs googly eyes for maximum effect” while another remarked: “There a labubu hanging from the roof inside?”
But other eagle-eyed enthusiasts realised these weren’t just a normal set of wheels, but a blast from the past courtesy of Ronal wheels.
“Ohhh the ol Ronal teddys! I’ve never seen a set in person,” a different Reddit user chimed in. Another commenter added, “Rare as all hell too”.
It's unclear if these photographed wheels are genuine – given the identification features such as the Ronal stamp and specific sizing aren't clear – but some enthusiasts on the thread aren't convinced.
“Got to be replicas, they only came in 4x100s I think", one Reddit commenter remarked.
For those alive in the '90s, you might be familiar with seeing a set of Ronal performance wheels on European sports cars.
But sometime in the 1990s, rumour has it the Ronal URS ‘Teddy’ wheels were inspired by a company board member internally referred to as “Bear Mother”, with her earrings serving as inspiration for the alloy wheels.
In a brochure, the company leaned into the family friendly nature of their design, stating “URS only likes certain cars” which would end up being numerous small hatchbacks such as a Fiat Panda, Ford Fiesta, Honda Civic, Mazda 121, and Volkswagen Polo.
It appeared Ronal’s design paid off, with the company producing URS Teddy wheels for approximately 26 years before they stopped producing them in 2017.
The funky and left-field design led to numerous competitors introducing their own novelty wheel versions, with the likes of Intra launching Koala wheels.
Nearly a decade since stopping production, Ronal teddy wheels have skyrocketed in value, with general secondary market prices starting from approximately $1000.
Whether it’s worth it is up to you, but in a world where various novelty collectables such as Labubus are rising in value faster than some houses, who knows?
Ethan Cardinal graduated with a Journalism degree in 2020 from La Trobe University and has been working in the fashion industry as a freelance writer prior to joining Drive in 2023. Ethan greatly enjoys investigating and reporting on the cross sections between automotive, lifestyle and culture. Ethan relishes the opportunity to explore how deep cars are intertwined within different industries and how they could affect both casual readers and car enthusiasts.
