List of Cars characters

This is a list of characters from the Pixar franchise Cars:

• the 2006 film Cars
• the 2011 film Cars 2
• the 2017 film Cars 3
• the 2013 film Planes
• the 2014 film Planes: Fire & Rescue

Piston Cup teams

Rust-eze Medicated Bumper Ointment team

Lightning McQueen

Lightning McQueen, often referred to as "McQueen", is the protagonist in the Cars film franchise. He is voiced by Owen Wilson and he is modeled after a Dodge Viper GTS sports car crossed with a NASCAR Stock Car.

Mack

Mack (voiced by John Ratzenberger) is a 1985 Mack Super-Liner bearing license plate "RUSTEZ3". A dedicated member of the Rust-eze Medicated Bumper Ointment Team, having the role of McQueen's transport, Mack pulls Lightning McQueen's trailer to his races. Lightning's one loyal team mate after his entire pit crew resigns in protest at the end of the season decider, he inadvertently sets up the predicament suffered by Lightning McQueen throughout the movie.

McQueen exhorts Mack to drive through the night to his tiebreaker race with Chick Hicks and The King in Los Angeles, despite federal DOT regulations which legally grant Mack ten hours daily of much-needed off-duty rest^[1] alongside "all those sleeping trucks" at the last truck stop on I-40. Lightning hopes to reach the venue first and to hang out with the Dinoco team. As a result, Mack falls asleep and, distracted by the Delinquent Road Hazards (who attempt to push him off the road to the shoulder), loses Lightning. Mack arrives in Radiator Springs after Doc reveals Lightning's location and is both very relieved ("Thank the manufacturer, you're alive!") and apologetic ("I'm so sorry I lost you, boss. I'll make it up to you..."). Lightning, who is glad to see him, forgives him.

Mack acts as Lightning's pit crew for the big race (since he has none) and worriedly asks if he's alright when he spins out, just before Doc and the others show up to help. During the closing credits, Mack views automotive versions of previous Pixar films (such as Toy Car Story and Monster Trucks, Inc.) at a restored 1950s drive-in cinema. Commenting on other characters played by John Ratzenberger (including Hamm the piggy truck and the Abominable Snowplow), he eagerly applauds each of them until he realizes they're all played by the same actor, then demands to know "what kind of cut-rate production is this?!"

"This one is a homage to my father... John Lasseter knew that my father drove a Mack truck and that's why he gave me this character. The truck was one of my first loves because I used to ride around with him in it from time to time."

— John Ratzenberger^[2]

Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski proclaimed April 21, 2006 Friday Mack Trucks-Disney/Pixar "Cars" Day^[3] in Mack's honor during the 41-city "CARS Road Trip '06" promotional tour.^[4]

Mack is seen in the short Mater and the Ghostlight after Lightning established his headquarters on US Route 66. In the Cars 2 sequel he appears in a pair of brief cameo appearances at the start and end, where his two lines are "Oh, his best friend greetings. They get longer every year," and "Oh, those two are perfect for each other."

Chuck and McQueen's pit crew

Lightning McQueen's pit crew are generic forklifts who only appear at the start of the film, never to be acknowledged again. They quit after McQueen said that he is a one-man show. One of them, presumably the acting crew chief is voiced by Mike "No Name" Nelson, not to be confused with Michael J. Nelson. After the official crew chief had decided to quit, he is referred to by McQueen as "Chuck", and retorts angrily afterwards, "And my name is not Chuck!" In the credits, he is referred to as "Not Chuck". They appear in the film (only to leave almost immediately) to show McQueen's selfishness and inability to work with others. McQueen had a crew chief before the film, but was not seen in the film, because McQueen fired him (believing he was a one-man show, which later came back to haunt him for his return). The chief was mentioned several times at the Dinoco 400 race. The crew is later replaced by McQueen's friends from Radiator Springs and Mack for the big race. In Cars 2, McQueen has apparently hired a new pit crew as he mentions having given them all a vacation when asked to attend the World Grand Prix, but his friends from Radiator Springs again offer to become his crew for a race and he accepts.

Harv

Harv is Lightning McQueen's agent. Never seen on-screen, McQueen speaks to Harv via his speaker phone when McQueen and Mack are on route to the tiebreaker race and again when Mack is in Radiator Springs to pick up McQueen. Consequently, very little is known of Harv's character except that he threatened to fire Mack if he doesn't get McQueen into his trailer.

Harv is voiced by former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson. He is also based on the character Ari Gold from the HBO series Entourage. Although he is not seen in the actual film, Jeremy Clarkson believes that he is a 1979 Ford Granada Ghia while the American version, he is thought to be a 1996 Oldsmobile.

Rusty and Dusty Rust-eze

The Rust-eze Brothers, Rusty and Dusty, are the spokescars and owners of Rust-Eze, the team that sponsors Lightning and that gave him his "big break", they are somewhat awkward. Rusty is a 1963 Dodge Dart and Dusty, a 1967 Dodge A100. Rusty and Dusty are voiced by real-life brothers Tom and Ray Magliozzi (respectively) of National Public Radio's Car Talk, using that programme's closing line "...and don't drive like my brother!". Rusty bears an intentional resemblance to Tom Magliozzi's infamous green 1963 Dart, named "The Dartre".^[5]

They appear three times in the film, at the beginning with McQueen looking forward to leaving them, in the middle very briefly being interviewed, and at the end after the race when McQueen realises he is happy with them. In a deleted scene on the DVD, much of their dialogue (heard at the sponsors' tent in the final script) was originally part of a brief stop at the Top Down Truck Stop. On the die-cast cars, Rusty's license plate states "Rust" and Dusty's sports "Eze". Their license plates are from "R Fair City", a term the Car Talk brothers use to describe their home town of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Dinoco team

Strip "The King" Weathers

Strip Weathers, better known as The King, is a "Dinoco-blue" veteran racecar and racing legend voiced by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty. Weathers is an anthropomorphic version of Petty's aerodynamic 1970 Plymouth Superbird; in fact, it has the same shade of blue and it even bears Petty's actual racecar number, which is 43.^[6] He is one of the racecars in the 2006 Piston Cup three-way tie, along with Chick Hicks and Lightning McQueen. His sponsor (Dinoco), like Petty's (STP), is a well-known oil company.

He is Dinoco's "Golden Boy", having won seven Piston Cups (the same number of NASCAR Cup Series championships Petty himself won in his career) and is hoping for another in the tiebreaker race before entering retirement. He tells Lightning McQueen to remember the importance of his team, but the rookie does not pay any attention, being more preoccupied with the thought of taking over the Dinoco sponsorship after Weathers' retirement.

On the final lap of the tie-breaker race, Chick rams into Weathers, sending him into a dangerous rollover. This is reminiscent of Petty's violent crash in the 1988 Daytona 500, although that accident involved Petty and five other cars. When McQueen sees this, he realizes that Weathers' career might end the way Doc Hudson's did. After stopping short of the finish line, allowing Hicks to win, McQueen pushes Weathers across the finish line to let him finish his last race before his retirement, much to the audience's delight. Weathers is last seen visiting the racing museum in Radiator Springs with his wife and another Piston Cup racer, "Junior", stating that Hudson was his inspiration (In NASCAR, "The King" #43 is the second of four generations of racers; his father Lee Petty won his first Cup in 1954, one year after the multiple Fabulous Hudson Hornet victories).

In the Danish edition of the movie, the King is voiced by nine-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen. In the Finnish edition of the movie, The King is voiced by Finnish two-time Formula One World Champion Mika Häkkinen. In the German edition, he is voiced by Austrian three-time Formula One World Champion Niki Lauda.

Strip Weathers also appears in the film's video game as an unlockable character in the Arcade. He is mentioned by Darrell Cartrip in the game's Story Mode.

He also appears in Disney Infinity.

Lynda Weathers/Mrs. The King

Lynda Weathers, better known as "Mrs. The King", (voiced by Richard Petty's wife Lynda Petty) is similar in design to a station wagon that brought the Petty family to "The King"'s races during the 1970s. Like Tex, Lynda follows each race from a Dinoco VIP booth, rooting for the #43 car. Throughout the film, she is constantly shown supporting her husband and she worries deeply when he is flipped by Chick Hicks. After the race, she kisses Lightning on the cheek to thank him for helping out her husband.

During the ending credits of Cars, Mrs. The King can be seen at the Doc Hudson Museum with her husband and Mater as a tour guide throughout the museum. She asks to see and meet Doc Hudson, but Mater is unsure of his whereabouts at the present time – but assumes he is out racing, most likely with McQueen (which turns out to be true).

Tex Dinoco

Tex Dinoco, voiced by Humpy Wheeler of Charlotte Motor Speedway, is the owner of Dinoco. Packaged as "Tex Dinoco with bullhorns" as a diecast car, he is simply called "Tex" in the film's credits. He speaks with a Carolina accent and resembles the gold longhorn Cadillacs at The Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo. He is the King's manager and sponsor. Unlike Lightning's agent (Harv, who doesn't watch the race), Tex is an avid race fan who would never miss a race. As a supportive and long-time friend of both Lynda and "The King", he has been a loyal fan of the #43 car for many years and boasts that The King "has made Dinoco proud".

After Chick Hicks wins by employing an illegal PIT maneuver to sabotage The King in the final lap of the tiebreaker, sending the Dinoco blue #43 car into a dangerous rollover crash, Tex offers the lucrative sponsorship to Lightning with the explanation that "there's a whole lot more to racing than just winning" this is an echo of a line that McQueen used at the end of the race shown at the start of the film but with an entirely different meaning.

Dinoco Transport Helicopter

The Dinoco Transport Helicopter is based on a Bell 430. Without a speaking part, he has no voice actor and is not named in the closing credits. His name is Rotor Turbosky (in apparent reference to helicopter maker Sikorsky) in the die-cast Cars toy collection. He is seen on top of the Dinoco tent during the races. Mater gets a ride over Radiator Springs at the end of the film, a favor which Lightning had promised Mater earlier when dreaming of the big trophy and the big sponsor (Dinoco) with the fancy helicopter.

Hostile Takeover Bank team

Chick Hicks

Chick Hicks (voiced by Michael Keaton) serves as Lightning McQueen's primary rival and the main antagonist of the first film. He is "a generic Pixar design, 'a stock 1980s American car'" according to Pixar publicity coordinator Amanda Sorena,^[7] and strongly resembles a GM G-body with features from both the Chevrolet Monte Carlo and the Buick Grand National. As the real-life General Motors wanted nothing to do with the character by rejecting an initial Pixar proposal to cast a Chevrolet stock car as the movie's villain, Chick is effectively an orphan.^[7] He has spent his entire career trailing Strip "The King" Weathers, and is bitter about this fact. His racing sponsor is Hostile Takeover Bank (HTB for short).

His pit crew are mean to Guido as they underestimate him for being tiny; his skills are later shown to be far superior to their own. Hicks' racing number is 86, a reference to 1986, the year Pixar Animation Studios was founded; 86 itself is also a slang term for destroying or getting rid of something.

Determined to do whatever it takes to win, Hicks will often ram other cars or use the PIT maneuver in an attempt to cause racing incidents for his own benefit. He despises and mocks McQueen, adopting the nickname Thunder which McQueen previously used as a put-down (McQueen: "Because thunder always comes after 'lightning'"). Hicks is also equally antagonistic towards The King, having come 2nd place to The King his entire career. While McQueen is presumed missing, Hicks tries to take away McQueen's fans and increase his fame.

During the final lap of the tie-breaker race, Hicks (who is then determined not to come in behind Strip Weathers again) PITs The King, sending him flying off the race track and into a roll-over wreck on the in-field. He expects a huge ovation after McQueen deliberately gives up the Piston Cup in order to help Weathers and instead finds resistance from everyone who watched what he did to Weathers. An angered crowd and media snub Hicks' victory by branding him as a cheater. He is pelted with discarded tires and booed off the stage with his trophy in humiliation. The immediate backlash is similar to backlash against Rusty Wallace after he spun out Darrell Waltrip in Turn 4 during Segment 3, Lap 9 of the Sprint All-Star Race V at Charlotte Motor Speedway, sending Waltrip spinning into the grass. In the film, a lucrative corporate sponsorship is at stake. Hicks and McQueen both share the dream of being the new face of Dinoco Oil, a firm long represented by retiring champion #43 "The King". They race on the assumption that winning the championship cup will land them the big sponsor, however Dinoco owner Tex offers the sponsorship to McQueen, stating that there's more to racing than winning.

Chick returns in the Cars video game, where he is caught spying on Lightning's practice sessions. He ineffectively taunts Lightning before the first race of the season until Doc warns him off, then falls in with a gang of New York-based greaser cars in Carburetor County to challenge McQueen. The DRH gang jumps Mack on the interstate to steal McQueen's racing gear, but finger Chick as the one who hired them when caught by the Sheriff. In the Cars Race-O-Rama video game, he seeks revenge by attempting to close down McQueen's racing academy to start his own in Radiator Springs, although he gets defeated at the end. His catchphrase is "Ka-Chick-Ah!", a blatant rip-off of McQueen's catchphrase "KA-CHOW!".

Despite the fact he did not appear in Cars 2, he does show up in the film's video game as a downloadable character for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 editions. He also appears in Disney Infinity.

Besides him, there is a similar character named Ripslinger in the 2013 Cars spin-off movie Planes and its 2014 sequel, produced by DisneyToon Studios.

In the Rioplatense Spanish version of Cars, Hicks is voiced by Marcos di Palma, a racecar driver also known for his brash attitude.

Radiator Springs populace

These characters live in Radiator Springs with Lightning McQueen and his hauler, Mack.

Mater

Sir Tow Mater is a rusty tow truck and McQueen's eventual best friend, voiced by comedian Larry the Cable Guy. His design was inspired by a 1951 International Harvester boom truck.

Sally

Sally Carrera is the town's attorney and McQueen's love interest. She is voiced by Bonnie Hunt, and modeled after a 2002 Porsche 996.

Doc

Doc Hudson is the town's medical doctor and a local judge, voiced by late actor Paul Newman in the first film and its video game and Corey Burton in all other related media. He is modeled after a 1951 Hudson Hornet. Six-time Turismo Carretera champion Juan María Traverso voiced the character in the Rioplatense Spanish version. He did not appear in the second film, as he died before it.

He won 1951, 1952 and 1953 Piston Cups (Hudson Hornets were produced in this years).

Sheriff

The Sheriff (voiced by Route 66 historian and author Michael Wallis) is a 1949 Mercury Police Cruiser police car, bearing Carburetor County license plate 001. Sheriff is painted in the classic law enforcement black and white with a single red light dome, two sirens, and curb feelers. Sheriff was the first resident of Radiator Springs to appear in the original film and the first to meet Lightning McQueen during a police chase when McQueen was speeding through the town, attempting to find Mack. Upon catching McQueen, who had become ensnared in wires and fencing, Sheriff paraphrases a line used by actor Joe Higgins, who played a sheriff in early 1970s Dodge commercials, as "Boy, you're in a heap of trouble."^[8]

Sheriff was known to distrust McQueen; at one point when Sally gives McQueen some gasoline, Sheriff notices McQueen smiling at the road as if he is planning to escape. In reply Sheriff with a glare turns on his gumball in case. Lightning chooses to accompany Sally, rather than making an escape attempt, resulting in Sheriff switching off his emergency lighting. This suggests the beginning of trust in Lightning by Sheriff. He later befriends Lightning McQueen, offering him a police escort to California and even giving a few sniffles when he thought Lightning had left after finishing fixing the road (though he denied it, claiming he was glad Lightning was gone), and joins his pit crew for the championship race.

Sheriff reappears in Cars 2, seeing Lightning and his race crew off to the World Grand Prix. When Mater goes missing, Ramone mentions that Sheriff has Scotland Yard scouring London for Mater. During the climax of the film, Sheriff arrives along with the other Radiator Springs residents as new members of McQueen's pit crew in England, and is informed by Mater of the Lemons cars' plot to kill McQueen in order to turn all vehicles in the world against alternate energy and rely on gasoline for profit. Sheriff then has Red the Firetruck squirt water on the Lemon cars during the final battle, arrests most of the defeated ones with help from Sarge. Then the next day Sheriff cheers Mater on when he is knighted for foiling the evil plot led by surprisingly, the race and Allinol inventor Sir Miles Axlerod. Sheriff also partakes in the final melee against the Lemon cars.

Luigi

Luigi (voiced by Tony Shalhoub) is a 1959 Fiat 500. He is a Scuderia Ferrari fan, and has followed racing his entire life. His license plate reads 445-108, which is the latitude and longitude for the main Ferrari factory in Maranello, Italy.^[9] Luigi owns a tire shop, Casa Della Tires, which is known for its "Leaning Tower of Tires," a tower of several tires shaped like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. His assistant is an Italian forklift truck named Guido.

Inside his shop are many framed pictures of World Sportscar Championship endurance racing Ferraris from various points in history. At first, Luigi and Guido do not respect Lightning McQueen when he comes to Radiator Springs (owing to the substantial havoc that he inflicted upon the town when he first arrived), because he is not a Ferrari ("Luigi follow only the Ferraris"), but later on they learn to show courtesy to McQueen, fitting him with whitewall tires, since Luigi is a fan of white tires (having a pair himself). During the final race, Luigi and Guido work as part of Lightning's pit crew, and Guido sets the Piston Cup record in changing tires, taking only 4 seconds to change all the tires, sending the other pit crew into shock. After the race, a group of Italian sports cars – a Ferrari F430 (voiced by Michael Schumacher) and two Maserati Quattroportes – arrive at his shop, explaining that "Lightning McQueen told me this was the best place in the world to get tires" and requesting "three or four sets each". The presence of a celebrity Ferrari in their store causes both Luigi and Guido to faint from shock and happiness.

For the Italian version of the film, Luigi was voiced by comedian Marco Della Noce; one of Della Noce's most popular characters was "Oriano Ferrari", a parody character meant to represent the leader of Ferrari's pit stop crew.^[10]

In Cars 2, Luigi is a part of Lightning's pit crew, in charge of the racer's tires. In Japan, he is naturally overjoyed to see so many Ferraris at a party prior to the first race of the World Grand Prix. He also hesitantly begins to explain to Mater what a rendezvous is, but he and Guido do not believe Mater when he believes he has a date ("Guido don't believe you!" "Guido still don't believe you!") Luigi and Guido are overjoyed to be back in their home of Italy, and rejoin their large group of family and friends. A little more is discussed of Luigi's past with Guido: Luigi's Uncle Topolino mentions that Luigi and Guido often fought when they worked for him (over things like which Ferrari was the best, and which one of them looked more like a Ferrari, etc.) but they always made up after their fights. Luigi joins his friends in a mêlée against Professor Zündapp's Lemons at the film's climax, and finally believes Mater's claims of a girlfriend when Holley Shiftwell confirms the fact in person at Radiator Springs.

He is seen driving at the end of Finding Nemo.

Guido

Guido (voiced by Guido Quaroni) is an early 1950s Isetta forklift, who works at Luigi's Casa Della Tires, and is Luigi's best friend. The only language Guido can speak and understand fluently is Italian, though he appears to understand English, and even speaks a few phrases, including "Pit stop" but pronounced "Peet stop!" His dream is to perform a pit stop for a real racecar. Near the end of the movie, as a member of Lightning's new pit crew, he performs the fastest pit stop in Piston Cup history, speed-changing all four tires in only 4 seconds, shocking Chick Hicks' pit crew who had earlier made fun of him, and causing their moustaches/grills to fall off in the process.

In order to preserve the "language barrier" gags between Guido and the other characters in the Italian dub, his lines (and the other cars' lines in Italian) have been rendered with the Emiliano-Romagnolo accent spoken in the town of Modena, Italy, home of the Ferrari car manufacturer and racing team. Alex Zanardi, an Italian race driver who is a native of Bologna, the largest city in the Emilia-Romagna region (and thus presumably familiar with that dialect), voiced Guido for the Italian version. Coincidentally, or as a pun by the authors, the name "Guido" is a perfect homonym for the Italian inflected verb meaning "I drive".

In Cars 2, Guido serves the same purpose he served in the first film's climax in Lightning's pit crew throughout the film. He also removed all tires from some of the Lemons when the malicious cars surrounded Lightning and Mater, but is unable to remove the bomb from Mater's nose (engine). Guido dryly does not believe Mater when he says he has a date ("Non ci credo"), but has a jaw-dropping moment when he sees that Mater was telling the truth about his new girlfriend Holley Shiftwell (Guido believe you now! - Luigi).

Ramone

Ramone (voiced by Cheech Marin) is a 1959 Chevrolet Impala Lowrider that owns the Ramone's House of Body Art store, where he paints himself and other cars, including Lightning McQueen later in the film. His garage employs the distinctive architecture of the Tower Station (U-Drop Inn) in Shamrock, Texas. His license plate reads "L0WNSL0", which is a reference to his catchphrase, "Low and slow." He is married to Flo, whose restaurant is next door to his store. Ramone is usually depicted as purple with a yellow and orange flame job, but throughout the film, he changes his paint job every morning (green, yellow, red in the first film, blue in Mater and the Ghostlight) to keep his skills sharp, owing to a lack of customers. This situation changes after Radiator Springs becomes vibrant again. He also likes to drive slow and very low on the road, and is overjoyed when the road is asphalted, enjoying the smoothness of the road.

In a deleted scene that told the story of how Ramone and Flo fell in love, the only customer Ramone has refused to paint was his future wife Flo. When she asked him, "Whassamatta, you too good to paint me?" he promptly and smoothly replies, "No baby, you too good for me to paint," and saying that he could not touch a classic like Flo, which made her heart melt. The story took place in Radiator Springs in 1974. This part was shown in the info on Ramone in Cars Mater-National Championship.

Ramone reappears in Cars 2, making a few appearances in the Radiator Springs scenes, though he joins everyone else to help McQueen in England. In the melee scene, Ramone disables one of the lemon cars by spray painting into the car's eyes, blinding him.

In the movie Planes, when Dusty cuts off the radios power when El Chupacabra was singing the song "Love Machine", he says Ramones catchphrase "Low and slow" which causes Chupacabra to sing a romance version of the song.

Flo

Flo (based on Fran Hauser of Adrian's Midpoint Café and voiced by Jenifer Lewis) is the owner of Radiator Springs only gas diner, "Flo's V-8 Café" and is married to Ramone, the town's body artist. Her license plate reads "SHOGRL", the same as the license plates applied to many Motorama show cars and an abbreviation of the term "showgirl". During the cruising scene, "Motorama 1957" appears above her license plate. According to a deleted scene, she is a Motorama showcar who came to Radiator Springs during a national tour (although there wasn't a Motorama show held in 1957). Ramone custom painted her crew all except her. She asks "What's the matter, you too good to paint me?" Ramone said "No baby, you're too good for me to paint." They immediately fell in love. She appears to be inspired by two early- to mid-1950s show cars: the 1951 Buick XP-300 (side trim), and the 1956/57 Chrysler Dart (cockpit, deck lid, and tailfins).^[11]

Flo reappears in Cars 2 to help Lightning and Mater battle the Lemons (who were sent to kill Lightning by Miles Axlerod). Later, she and Sally are seen swooning over Francesco.

In Toy Story 2, Al's car looks a lot like her; she may be a reference to his car.

Fillmore

Fillmore (based on Route 66 artist Bob Waldmire^[12] — not acknowledged in the film's credits — and voiced by George Carlin in Cars, Cars: The Video Game, Mater and the Ghostlight, and Cars Toons (via archives), Brian George in Cars Mater-National Championship, Mark Silverman in Cars Race-O-Rama and Lloyd Sherr in Cars 2 and Cars 2: The Video Game) is a Volkswagen microbus of late 1950s/early 1960s vintage as evidenced by his pointed front turn signals and small rear window. Fillmore's license plate reads "51237", an easter egg which is a reference to May 12, 1937, the birthdate of George Carlin, and is also the ZIP code of George, Iowa.^[13]

He is a vicar and stereotypical hippie, as he has stickers of the peace sign and flowers with his license plate positioned to resemble a soul patch. His name is a reference to the Fillmore East, a venue that was an epicenter for rock performances throughout the 1960s and 1970s (The Allman Brothers, The Grateful Dead, and Jimi Hendrix all made notable live recordings there, to name a few). He owns an organic fuel shop (Fillmore's Organic Fuel) which features several flavors, and believes gasoline companies are lying to the public. He also smokes Marijuana,^[14] as it is indirectly referenced when he speaks of his Organic Fuel use.^[15] In the morning, when next-door neighbor Sarge plays Reveille and raises the Flag of the United States, Fillmore interrupts Sarge's bugle reveille with Jimi Hendrix's rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner." This is much to Sarge's irritation, as he shouts at Fillmore:

Sarge: "Will you turn that disrespectful junk off?!"

Fillmore: "Respect the classics, man! It's Hendrix!"

Despite this, he is friends with Sarge, and the two can be seen chatting throughout the film.

He has a sticker on his rear that says "I brake for Jackalopes". The jackalope is a mythical creature which features in the theatrical short Boundin', shown with The Incredibles. Another sticker says "Save 2D Animation". He has appeared in every Disney Cars game so far. As voiced by George Carlin, Fillmore's voice is similar to "Al Sleet, the hippy-dippy weatherman", a part of Carlin's comedy routine in the 1970s.

Fillmore reappears in Cars 2, joining McQueen's pit crew for the World Grand Prix. He has a smaller role compared to the previous film. He is the only original character that had to be re-cast (due to George Carlin's death), and was replaced by Lloyd Sherr (with a professional hippie voice) in this film. Fillmore initially supports Allinol as it supposedly does not use oil, even convincing McQueen it is safe after several accidents involving other cars using Allinol. However, for the final race, Sarge replaces McQueen's Allinol with Fillmore's organic fuel. This is what prevents Lightning from being killed in the race.

Fillmore was originally going to be named Waldmire, after a Route 66 resident, but Waldmire, a vegan, didn't want his name to be used, because Fillmore toys would be featured in Happy Meals at McDonald's.

Sarge

Sarge (voiced by Paul Dooley) is a 1941 Willys Jeep. A veteran with a military green paint job and a slightly stylized Sergeant Major (E-9) insignia on his sides, he appears to be a World War II era Willys MB. His license plate reads "41WW2", which indicates the date the Willys MB entered the service of the U.S. Army (1941 World War II). He runs a surplus store, named "Sarge's Surplus Hut", next door to Fillmore and acts as part of Lightning's pit crew, gassing him up during the race. Near the end of the film, he operates a boot camp to train SUVs and 4x4s (some of whom had never been off-road) in rugged and dirt terrain. His recruits include T.J. Hummer, Murphy, Frank "Pinky" Pinkerton, and Charlie Cargo.

Sarge reappears in Cars 2, using assistance from the British Army to aid in the melee against the Lemons. Prior to the final leg of the World Grand Prix, he secretly switches McQueen's supply of Allinol (the alternative fuel developed by race founder Sir Miles Axlerod) for Fillmore's organic fuel blend. Like Fillmore he became suspicious of the fuel after the incidents in Japan and Italy. The change saves McQueen from being destroyed as part of Axlerod's plot to discredit alternative fuels.

Lizzie

Lizzie (voiced by Katherine Helmond), a 1923 Ford Model T Coupe, is the widow of Radiator Springs' founder, Stanley, and the elderly owner of a roadside souvenir and accessory shop (Radiator Springs Curios, which uses the "HERE IT IS" slogan and signage of the Jack Rabbit Trading Post on US 66). Her license plate, "MT23", is a reference to her model and year. Her name is derived from Tin Lizzie, one of the Model T's popular nicknames. She appears to have gone somewhat senile, and has a crush on Lightning McQueen. When she is shown teasing Luigi and Guido in the film, stating that "the new road makes your place look like a dump." Luigi angrily says that she is a crazy, devilish old woman but despairs at the truth of her words and sets to work repainting the Casa della Tires garage to its original appearance. She appears extremely motherly.

Lizzie reappears in Cars 2 with a minor role. In the beginning she greets Lightning when he returns, but didn't even know he was gone all this time. She isn't present at the airport but is seen in the end talking to Mack about how crazy Holley Shiftwell is for keeping a dent.

She appears in the Cars Toons: Mater's Tall Tales episode "Time Travel Mater", where her and Stanley's backstories are revealed.

Lizzie was originally going to be named Henry F. Ord, after Henry Ford. She also, at one point, originally resembled a Ford Model T "Center Door" Sedan.

Red

Red (voiced by Joe Ranft) is a AEC Regent II closed-cab pumper bearing Carburetor County license plate "002." He is shy and emotional which explains why he cries and drives away at the same time. He spends most of his time gardening and washing things, such as the statue of Stanley in front of his fire station. It was stated by Mater that Red "hated" Lightning McQueen, because he accidentally killed his flowers. Later, it is clear that Red had forgiven Lightning McQueen and warmed up to him, especially when he burst into tears and fled when he mistakenly thought that Lightning McQueen left without saying goodbye. In the movie, Red never spoke (not counting his sobs and gasps). Joe Ranft died in a car accident in August 2005, 11 months before the movie was released.

Red reappears in Cars 2 as a non-speaking character. He only makes a small appearance at the airport crying as he sees Team McQueen taking off for Tokyo, also in the battle against the Lemons, where he arrives just in time to blast some of the Lemons away with his fire hose.

Red appears in the Tales from Radiator Springs short film: Bugged. He is voiced by Jerome Ranft, who voiced Gamma in Up.

Stanley

Stanley (voiced by John Michael Higgins) is Lizzie's late husband who was the founder of Radiator Springs. Stanley was probably based on and named after a Stanley Steamer, a steam-powered automobile. Lizzie, reminiscing, describes him as having been "an awfully persistent li'l bugger for a two-cylinder". A statue of Stanley stands outside the town hall, and although it was broken off its pedestal and dragged through the streets on a wire by Lightning McQueen, it was fortunately undamaged, and another mishap placed the statue right back where it was. Although dead, Stanley continues to exert an influence on the town, particularly over Lizzie, who often talks to his statue in memory of him. At one point, the statue is sent flying through the air ("Fly away, Stanley. Be free!" - Fillmore) but returns to the pedestal luckily.

Stanley's statue reappears in Cars 2 where he was shown to be less old and broken, possibly renovated.

In the Cars Toon, Time Travel Mater, Stanley appears alive for the first time. In the Cars Land theme park, signage commemorating "The Original Radiator Spring" claims that "On this site in the summer of 1909 Stanley, exploring out west, overheated as his radiator water boiled away. Coasting into the shade, he happened upon a life-saving natural spring. Upon this most fortunate discovery, Stanley founded the first settlement in Ornament Valley, and in honor of the oasis, christened it Radiator Springs."^[16] Stanley's Oasis is listed as the first local business in Radiator Springs, although condensers only appeared on Stanley steam cars beginning in 1915.

Stanley makes a silent cameo in the Pixar short, Boundin'.

Bessie

Bessie is a tarmac laying machine that is used to fix roads in Radiator Springs. She was often used by one of the citizens of Radiator Springs, referenced as "Big Al", before the citizen in question left fifteen years ago. When Lightning McQueen accidentally destroys the road with the statue of Stanley, Radiator Springs traffic court judge Doc Hudson sentences him to fix the road with her.

While Doc insists "this here is Bessie, finest road-paving machine ever built", a construction trade publication's August 2006 editorial describes her as a "tar-spewing hybrid paver/compactor" and "an ecological disaster" as sometimes Bessie boils over and splats tar onto the car(s) pulling her.

"If she doesn’t hit you with a stray spray of hot asphalt burbling in two tanks heated by open flames, the fumes emanating from every orifice would prompt an asthma attack. Aggregate jostles loose in a top hopper, and her black-smoke-extruding exhaust pipes are coated with the remains of decades of paving seasons... In fact, everything is wrong about Bessie except the product she produces when Lightning finally decides to get serious about his civic duty."

— Equipment World^[17]

During the epilogue, the Delinquent Road Hazards have to fix a road with her as punishment for speeding. Bessie is a "non-living" vehicle; she cannot move by herself and she has no voice actor in the film.

Frank and the tractors

Frank (is a generic red combine harvester that resembles a bull, and the guardian of the tractors (which "moo" as cows). After Lightning McQueen's first encounter with Frank during a night of tractor tipping with Mater, Lightning starts dreaming that he, The King, and Chick Hicks (the last of whom does not survive, getting chopped up while The King and McQueen move out of the way) are beaten by Frank in the tie-breaker race. When he wins, big smoke comes out of his horns which makes him look more like a moose while Lightning is surrounded by the tractors who are licking him. He is last seen with the tractors at the drive-in theatre scenes behind the fence far behind Mack, watching the movie as well. He is also seen in the short Mater and the Ghostlight when Mater races past him, waking him up, but does not chase him. Frank seems to be the soothing and kind master of the tractors and the leader of the herd and also hates trespassers who step into his farm and bother the tractors. The tractors also appear in Planes and are shown to be sacred in India.

Former residents

A flashback in the original film devotes a little over a minute to show Radiator Springs in a pre-freeway era when all cross-country traffic would by necessity pass through the town's busy main street. Various old cars appear very briefly in this segment with no names and no dialogue, only to vanish when the town is bypassed.

Miles "Meattruck" Malone was a red-cab delivery truck serving the Ornament Valley region; Dustin Mellows, a yellow delivery truck, bore the logo and initials TS for Trophy Sparkplugs. Local cars included Mildred Bylane (a light-brown car leaving Luigi's), Percy Hanbrakes (a brown car towed to Flo's by Mater), Edwin Kranks (a two-tone apple-green car), Hank "Halloween" Murphy (a two-tone orange "Rumbler" with tail fins, named as a parody of the Nash/AMC Rambler) and Milton Calypeer (a blue car on Route 66 at the town limits).

Bugs

In Radiator Springs and the surrounding desert area of Carburetor County, insects are depicted as small, winged VW Bugs (or beetles). The bugs appear at least three times in the original film, hovering around fluorescent lighting at Flo's V8 Café on Lightning's initial arrival, swarming around the windows and the one missing fuel pump at the Wheel Well Motel before its historic restoration, and in the desert where Minny and Van are still quite clearly lost at the end of the film, after the closing credits. (One bumps on the camera lens, leaving a mark on it, and flies off eventually) One also appears in Mater and the Ghostlight, which Mater had confused for the Ghostlight (despite the yellow headlights). The bugs are alive but do not speak (Vroomaroundus Bugus merely buzz with sped-up sounds of an air-cooled VW engine^[18]) so they are not named individually and they have no voice actors.

Piston Cup announcers

Darrell Cartrip

Darrell Cartrip, a 1977 Chevy Monte Carlo, is a Piston Cup announcer in the first film. A former Piston Cup racer, his character is based on his voice actor, 1989 Daytona 500 winner and NASCAR on Fox commentator Darrell Waltrip. An enthusiastic Cartrip uses Waltrip's catchphrase "Boogity boogity boogity! Let's go racing, boys!" and insists that his oil pressure's running through the roof and he might need to be towed out of the booth after the race.

Cartrip appears in the Cars video game as the sole announcer; he is a playable character in the Piston Cup VS. and Arcade mode. He returns in the second film as the only of three World Grand Prix announcers to believe it was Lightning McQueen's race to lose.

A real-life 1977 Monte Carlo was driven by Waltrip with DiGard Motorsports, finishing a very close second-place finish (11 points behind Richard Petty) for the 1979 championship Cup.^[19] Waltrip raced from midway through the 1975 season until the 1980 season driving for the team. The real-life car's original number (DiGard's #88) and green-and-white Gatorade livery do not appear on the character (the livery's design is now owned by PepsiCo). The film's credits list Darrell Waltrip Motorsports (his licensing arm) as the "#17 Car" (known for his Hendrick Motorsports and own efforts in winning three of NASCAR's four majors); Waltrip's various NASCAR entries have included a #17 (three times—two of those he owned, the other belonging to Hendrick Motorsports) and a #95 (the one he drove in his 1972 debut was at one time the real-life former Mario Andretti #11 from 1967 seen in the Cars franchise, is one such).

The most famous of the real-life 1977 DiGard Monte Carlos was the infamous "Bertha", displayed at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega, known for a weight-reduction scheme (devised by Gary Nelson and Buddy Parrott) where up to 100 pounds (45 kg) of buckshot is dropped on-track on parade laps to lighten the car. A subsequent NASCAR rule change to weigh cars after the race now prevents this type of ruse.

Bob Cutlass

Bob Cutlass is an announcer for the Piston Cup races and friend of Darrell Cartrip. He is voiced by Bob Costas, the NBC sportscaster and journalist and his name, like Darrell Cartrip's, is a play on that of his voice actor. The character's name is a reference to the Oldsmobile Cutlass. Cutlass is actually supposed to resemble a 1999 Oldsmobile Aurora, even though the Aurora was never offered in a 2-door model. He did not return for the video game nor Cars 2.

Racetrack personnel

Various officials and track employees are seen in the original film but not named in the movie's credits, often because they have no named voice actor or no speaking role. Names and descriptions are assigned to these cars and trucks in the "Cars" franchise to allow the characters to be sold as die-cast toys.

Racing officials

Dexter Hoover (a pickup truck atop the flagstand) waves the green flag to start the race, the checkered flag to finish the race and the yellow flag when Piston Cup officials call a caution. Charlie Checker is the official pace car at each race of the Piston Cup Series. Like the Checker taxi cab, he is bright yellow. Race Official Tom, a Piston Cup official, reviews videotape in the replay booth for the photo finish in the first race. Tow is a tow truck who removes injured contestants from the track, dragging a disabled but stubborn Chuck Armstrong away from the Dinoco 400 after a collision.

Security

Marlon "Clutches" McKay, security team leader at the Motor Speedway of the South, is a former armored troop carrier. Richard Clayton Kensington (a large Piston Cup security van voiced by John Cygan) chases paparazzi from the replay booth, yelling "Hey! No cameras! Get out of here!" Marco Axelbender, a Piston Cup security guard at the Los Angeles International Speedway, refuses to admit Fred to Pit Row without a garage pass.

Vendors

Brian (voiced by Bob Scott), a pickup truck briefly spotted selling souvenirs at the Motor Speedway of the South, shouts "Get your antenna balls here!" Todd, a Pizza Planet truck, is seen behind the announcers at the tiebreaker race.

Sideshows

The Alphanumeros are a group of cars in tight formation, driving at the beginning of the tiebreaker race in position to spell "PISTON CUP" with each letter formed from multiple, matching moving vehicles. Barney Stormin, a small propeller-driven skywriting biplane, writes "PISTON CUP" only to have it obliterated by Marco's formation of three twin-engine jet fighters.

The Lightyear Blimp (a parody of the Goodyear blimp voiced by Danny Mann), is named "Al Oft". His only line is "Oh yeah! Whoo!"

Media

Kori Turbowitz

Kori Turbowitz (voiced by DJ Sarah Clark of KLLC's San Francisco Bay Area weekday morning "Sarah and Vinny Show"^[20]) is a 1997 Ford Puma. A news reporter who makes three appearances in Cars, Turbowitz is shown interviewing McQueen on-camera immediately before his original pit crew resigns en masse, is the first to report McQueen missing and later obtains a tip from Doc Hudson revealing Lightning McQueen's location in Radiator Springs.

Chuki

Chuki is a small, light pink hatchback with a Japanese nationality, living in Tokyo. Chuki has a very small appearance in Cars-she is shown as one of the news reporters who appear in the multi-clip footage of various TV news channels reporting McQueen's sudden disappearance while being transported to the Los Angeles International Speedway for his tie-breaker final of the Piston Cup. In Cars Toons: Mater's Tall Tales episode "Tokyo Mater", Chuki is seen presenting a news broadcast on one of the large TVs installed in Tokyo. In Cars 2, she is seen in the neon advertisement glowboards in Tokyo.

Chuki is based on hatchbacks designed according to Japan's Kei car specifications and is voiced by Sonoko Konishi, a senior Pixar animator who was also part of the animation team that won Ratatouille (another Pixar film) an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.^[21] Konishi is credited in the Cars 2 cast for voicing the Japanese toilet assistant that appears in the computerised automated car toilets in Tokyo.

Jay Limo

Jay Limo, like his voice actor Jay Leno, is the talk show host of The Jay Limo Show. He resembles the latest generation of the Lincoln Town Car. He remarks "I don't know what's going to be harder to find; Lightning McQueen or a crew chief who'll work with him!"

News anchors

Chuck Manifold (voiced by Teddy Newton), a blue and somewhat-boxy 1980s-style car, is an anchor for Racing Sports Network (RSN) who appears briefly at the end of the last of multiple media reports of McQueen's disappearance with the one line "They are all asking the same question: Where is McQueen?"

Dan Sclarkenberg (voiced by Bob Bergen), a green car and one of two "braking news" desk anchors on MPH 55 NEWS, is one of the announcers of the "McQueen Missing" segments.

News helicopters

A pair of helicopters with searchlights (as the first of a large group of reporters in Radiator Springs) are not listed in the film's credits but identified elsewhere in the franchise. The red Kathy Copter (voiced by Kathy Coates) has one line, "We have found McQueen! We have found McQueen!" while the white/yellow Ron Hover does not have a speaking part.

Camera and microphone cars

Other press cars (not identified in the film's credits) are Houser Boon (a yellow camera car voiced by Michael Bell exclaiming "Show us the bolt!"), Tim Rimmer (a grey tabloid news photo car booing Chick Hicks #86 when the Piston Cup is awarded), Hooman (a small brown camera car in Radiator Springs voiced by Hooman Khalili), Dash Boardman (a green camera car at the race), Andrea (a magenta-red reporter car voiced by Colette Whitaker holding a microphone) and Skip Ricter (a brown car who appears outside Los Angeles International Speedway as an announcer voiced by Craig Good; a play on former real-life NASCAR executive Les Richter).

Video coverage of the race itself is handled by Racing Sports Network personnel Artie (one of a pair of video control operators and a light-blue car who exclaims "Bob! Darrell! The Hudson Hornet's back!") and Nelson Blindspot (a light-green SUV, one of multiple Piston Cup video camera operators). Both names reference real-life staff who work with Waltrip on NASCAR on FOX broadcasts, Artie Kempner (director) and Nelson Crozier (spotter).

Race fans

Mia and Tia

Mia (voiced by Lindsey Collins) and Tia (voiced by Elissa Knight) are identical twin 1992 Mazda MX-5 ("Miata") sisters who are Lightning McQueen's self-proclaimed biggest fans in the first film. In Lightning McQueen's daydream about the Dinoco Sponsorship, the twins are Dinoco blue, except for the scene in the penthouse, where they are painted gold. After McQueen's disappearance, the twins are devastated that McQueen apparently will not make it to the race. Chick Hicks then swoops in and consoles them, loading them up with his own merchandise and a free Hostile Takeover Bank-sponsored green paint job. Mia and Tia accept the offer, not because they are Chick's fans, but because green complements their eyes. They soon return to being McQueen's fans, turning against Hicks after he deliberately causes Strip "The King" Weathers to wreck in the tie-breaker race.

Mia and Tia eventually move to Radiator Springs and are visible briefly as waitresses at Flo's V8 Café during the end credits. Their characters are based on sisters Mary Lou and Christina Mendez at the Midpoint Café in Adrian, Texas, where the café's (now semi-retired) owner Fran Houser is the basis for "Flo".^[22]

In a deleted scene on the Cars DVD, the twins were fans who distract Lightning during a brief stop at the Top Down Truck Stop, a venue with "all convertible waitresses", causing Mack to inadvertently leave without him. The implicit reference to toplessness is largely removed from the final script, which has Mack driving straight through and separates the characters on I-40. Mia and Tia appear in every episode of Cars Toons: Mater's Tall Tales except Time Travel Mater and make a cameo appearance near the end of Cars 2 as spectators at the new Radiator Springs Grand Prix.

Albert Hinkey

Albert Hinkey (voiced by Douglas Keever^[23]) is an RV who proclaims himself as Lightning's "biggest" fan ("biggest" being a pun because he is such a large vehicle). He is seen in the background of races. His topside is decorated with rows of Lightning/Rust-eze flags. Hinkey also has a loud horn, which he uses while saying "Ka-Chow!" (McQueen's catchphrase) and the loud noise is a nuisance to fellow spectators. The Character is an obvious reference to John Hinckley John Hinckley, the stalker and attempted assassin of President Ronald Reagan who attempted such crimes to profess his love for actress Jodi Foster as her biggest fan.

His friend Slick, voiced by Larry Benton, exclaims "Dip me in axle grease and call me Slick! It's the Hudson Hornet!" when Lightning's Radiator Springs pit team arrives for the tiebreaker race. This is a joke on the old Harold Lloyd punch line, "step right up and call me speedy!," which originated (mostly) in his hit silent film called The Freshman Lloyd also made another film called Speedy, which may or may not have been a reference, as it was made three years after The Freshman.

Fred

Fred (voiced by Andrew Stanton) is a starstruck, very rusty old car resembling a Lada 2107. Everybody knows his name because his license plate holder and license plate read "Hello, my name is" and "FRED", respectively. He is the prop for the recurring gag in the film; when McQueen says his name, he shouts, "He knows my name! He knows my name!" and, in his excitement, his front bumper (which happens to be his lower jaw) falls off. Later, when he is unable to gain access to the tie-breaker race and Mario Andretti (who would be waved through the gate on sight as a celebrity) likewise reads his license plate, Fred says, "Mario Andretti knows my name! You gotta let me in now!" He is seen in Radiator Springs at the end of the film with bumper stickers for the last three towns (Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino) in Route 66 (song); when he stops, his front bumper falls off again. He also shows up in Mater National and Race-O-Rama.

Fred is one of the many rusty old cars at the Rust-Eze sponsor tent for McQueen's personal appearance; others (listed in the "Car Finder" game but not named in the movie's credits) include Jonathan Wrenchworths (the rusted green car in Rust-Eze advertisements) and Donna Pits (a rusted 1970s car standing beside Fred).

Additional fans

A group of five transport lorries watch the race at a truck stop; two are identified in the "Car Finder" game as Gil (a green Peterbilt) and Paul Valdez (an orange transport with a white stripe and 'PV' on his cap).

A group of RV's watching the tiebreaker at the speedway include Barry Diesel (a thirsty RV with a blue Dinoco visor cap, sipping two kegs of Dinoco Light), Bud (a white RV with a jackalope painted on his back), Clayton Gentlebreeze (a white RV with green stripes) and Syd VanDerKamper (a camper van).

The "more than two hundred thousand cars" watching the tiebreaker race include Coriander Widetrack (a small purple car holding a model aeroplane), Marty Brakeburst (a grey runabout wearing a Piston Cup antenna ball), Mathew "True Blue" McCrew (a blue car behind a fence with "the King" flag on his antenna), Milo (a boxy green car beside McCrew), Polly Puddlejumper (a small blue car with a blue "the King" crown on her antenna), Swift Alternetter (a green SUV surrounded by RV's), Timothy Twostroke (a dark-red car displaying the #95 lightning bolt on his visor and antenna) and Wilmar Flattz (a small light-purple car with "lightning" on his antenna and "95" on his visor).

Other racecars

"Junior" #8

"Junior" #8 is a red-colored 1988 Ford Scorpio similar to the Gen 4 cars that the Sprint Cup Series used prior to 2007. As his name suggests, he is voiced by Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and closely resembles the #8 Budweiser Chevrolet that Earnhardt, Jr. drove from his Sprint Cup début in 1999 until his departure to Hendrick Motorsports in 2008. The car's Budweiser stickers are replaced by Dale Earnhardt Inc. stickers. These stickers refer to the same change made in NASCAR games as well as toys to avoid advertising beer. Junior is seen during the first race (Dinoco 400). When McQueen goes missing, Junior tells the Competition Racing Sports Network "I sure hope that Lightning is okay. I would hate to see anything bad happen to him!". At the tie-breaker, Junior wishes The King good luck in his last race, as "you've been an inspiration to me". Junior is last seen at the Radiator Springs racing museum with The King and his wife Lynda, amazed by Doc Hudson's many season winnings during the 1950s. Junior does not appear in the video game.

Mario Andretti #11

Mario Andretti voices his eponymous character, who is a former racecar that believes every day is a great day for racing. He is based on the 1967 Holman Moody Ford Fairlane that Andretti drove to victory lane in the 1967 Daytona 500. In the Spanish edition of the movie, Andretti is voiced by Spanish Formula One champion Fernando Alonso.

A small green car seen beside Andretti at the entrance to pit lane is identified in the "Car Finder" game as Patty, Mario's personal assistant. She does not have a speaking role in the film.

The actual Ford Fairlane that Andretti drove was rebuilt as a Mercury Cyclone by Robert Gee (Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s maternal grandfather), driven in 1971 by German F1 and sportscar driver Rolf Stommelen for his only NASCAR start at Talladega Superspeedway, then sold to Darrell Waltrip for use his five races in 1972 and the first half of the 1973 season. It later became a Sportsman racer for Waltrip, but was crashed in 1975 at the Permatex 300 Sportsman race (now Xfinity Series race). Abandoned by Gee, it stayed there until a few NASCAR mechanics restored the car in its 1972 configuration as a 1971 Mercury Cyclone (brown #95) in the mid-1990s for a celebration of the 25th anniversary of Waltrip's first Cup start. It is displayed at Waltrip's museum in Harrisburg, North Carolina, and part of an Andretti exhibit at the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2013. (A replica of the car as it looked in 1966 was also part of it.)^[24]

Dinoco 400 contestants

The initial race in Cars consists of 43 cars, like the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starting field until 2016,^[25] three of which proceed to the tie-breaker race in California. With the exception of Earnhardt, Jr.'s #8, plus The King, Chick Hicks, and Lightning McQueen, the remaining forty vehicles (and the corresponding teams' pit crews) appear only during the first race (the Dinoco 400 at the "Motor Speedway of the South") and most make only silent cameo appearances. Many of these cars are towed as wreckage after a massive crash deliberately ignited by #86 Chick Hicks during the race.

As automobiles without speaking roles have no voice actors, these briefly visible characters are absent from the film's credits. Names and back stories were assigned to these vehicles (typically one crew chief and one of the forklift mechanics per race car) in the "Car Finder" game and the die-cast "Cars" toy line but these are not named characters in the original film.

Car	Sponsor	Name	Description
#4	Tow Cap Hitch Profectors	Rusty Cornfuel
#28	Nitroade Hi-Energy Drink	Aiken Axler	Finishes the race near the front of the group.
#33	Mood Springs	Chuck Armstrong	A blue car who was sent airborne during the collision and then was seen begging, crying, and sobbing "Don't take me out, I can still race!" while he was taken away by a wrecker.
#34	Trunk Fresh: Smell Ya Later	Dirkson D'Agostino	He has green and black colors.
#35	Shifty Drug	Kevin Racingtire	A racer who hits the #84 Re-Volting car during the multi-car collision.
#36	Tank Coat: Soothes upset tanks	Eugene Carbureski	He did not get involved in the multi-crash until a car spins him into it off-screen.
#39	View Zeen Corrective Windshields	Ryan Shields	A near-sighted vehicle without his View Zeen windscreen the race is merely a blur.
#51	Easy Idle: A Warm Start to a Cold Morning	Ruby "Easy" Oaks	A blue car who was involved in the muti car collision.
#52	Leak Less Adult Dripping Pans	Claude Scruggs	A yellow car who was flipped onto the roof of the red #123 No Stall car during the multi-vehicle collision; McQueen jumps over him. His crew chief is Earl Filter with his forklift is Stacy.
#54	Faux Wheel Drive	Johnny Blamer	He was involved in more collisions than any other car in Piston Cup history (giving him the "Magnet Face" nickname), and he hasn't finished a race in 10 years.
#56	Fiber Fuel	Brush Curber	He has a huge family, the other being the #121 Clutch Aid car.
#58	Octane Gain Turbo Vitamins	Billy Oilchanger	A racer who was is hit side-on by another vehicle in the collision. One of his pit crew, a generic yellow forklift, is given the name "Dudley Spare" in the die-cast toy collection but has no name and no speaking part in the original film.[26]
#61	Vitoline: For Older Active Cars	James Cleanair	Vitoline, a fuel additive vitamin company, provides fuel for older active cars. Cleanair takes these vitamins because he has been racing for over 20 years.
#63	Transberry Juice	Lee Revkins	The first car hit by Chick Hicks (#86).
#64	RPM Nighttime Backfire Suppressant	Winford Bradford Rutherford	The third car hit by Chick Hicks, causing the multi-vehicle collision. McQueen is the second car hit deliberately by Hicks, but recovers control after a brief stop. His crew chief is "Chief RPM" and his forklift is Petrol Pulaski.
#68	N2O Cola	Manny Flywheel	Sponsors N2O Nitro Cola contains nitrous to give you that extra pep in your engine. Unfortunally, Manny himself cannot drink the product and still race legally.
#70	Gasprin Hood-Ache Relief	Floyd Mulvihill	His nickname is "Smoky Floyd".
#73	Carburetor Rev-N-Go Decongestant	Misti Motorkrass	She is the only female racer out of all the 36 cars.
#74	Sidewall Shine	Slider Petrolski	A yellow Capitol Motors/Verve XT which appears only in the first race.
#76	Vinyl Toupée: Vinyl Top In a Can	Crusty Rotor	He is a stodgey suaver EX like Gasprin #70.
#79	Retread Tire Deodorant: Roll On	Haul Ingass	Inngas is said to be European.
#80	Creme-Filled Gask-its: The Racetrack Treat	Sage VanDerSpin	His name is said to come from Africa.
#82	Shiny Wax	Darren Leadfoot	His crew chief is Senior Trax and his forklift is Nebekenzer Schmidt.
#84	Apple, Inc.	Matthew "Mac iCar" Overtaker	A reference to Steve Jobs; his car number is year of introduction of the Apple Macintosh desktop computer line. Initially seen behind Dale Earnhardt Jr; The King overtakes him after the race restarts. He finishes near the back of the pack.
#84	Re-Volting Rebuilt Alternators	Davey Apex	Duplicate car number (as #84 is also the iCar); this car is hit during the multi-vehicle collision.
#90	Bumper $ave	Ponchy Wipeout	His last name probably is a reference that he used to be a stunt double.
#92	Sputter Stop Cold Engine Relief	Murray Clutchburn	He has teal and orange colors just like the Dolphins football team.
#93	Spare Mint	Ernie Gearson	His crew chief is Ernest B. Raykes and his forklift is Piccolo Perry.
#101	Tach-O-Mint	Greg Candyman	Tach-O-Mint branding is gingerbread brown with candy cane text.
#117	Lil' Torquey Pistons	Ralph Carlow	He is colored red, white, and blue.
#121	Clutch Aid	Kevin Shiftright	One of the 2 cars to be the longest running race car in his family. His family is also huge, just like the #56 Fiber Fuel car. His father won 3 piston cups and his grandfather won 2.
#123	No Stall	Todd Marcus	A red race car who hits the yellow #52 Leak Less car during the multi-car collision; #52 lands onto his roof before McQueen must jump over the wreckage.His crew chief is Roman Dunes (a.k.a. Chief No Stall) and his forklift is Shirley Spinout. He also appears in the app "Cars: Fast as Lightning".

Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher is a 2004 Ferrari F430 sports car voiced by Schumacher himself. He is a Ferrari in reference to five of his seven Formula One championships which were achieved with Ferrari F1. He appears at Luigi's shop at the end of the movie after being told by Lightning McQueen that "this is the best place in the world to buy tires", and asks to order a few sets of tires for himself and a pair of Maserati Quattroportes who accompany him. After Luigi faints from the excitement of having "a real Michael Schumacher Ferrari in his store", Schumacher speaks to Guido in Italian, and Guido subsequently faints. The Italian phrase he speaks is, "I hope that your friend recovers, I was told that you are fantastic." Because of licencing issues, in the Cars toyline, his name is called Ferrari F430 instead of his name himself.

Other vehicles

Van and Minny

Van (voiced by Richard Kind) and Minny (voiced by Edie McClurg) are husband and wife. In the first film, they are lost and pass through Radiator Springs while trying to find their way back to Interstate 40. Van refuses to ask directions, claiming not to need them due to having a GPS. Minny mentions that Van did the same when they were heading up to the "Crazy Days" (a parody of Derby Days^[27]) in Shakopee. U.S. Route 66, taken off the map in 1985, is conspicuously absent from stored maps in automotive aftermarket GPS units — an omission also noted by Harv, Lightning's agent, and a minor running joke in the film.

Both are equipped with car alarms, which they arm after their encounter with Lightning McQueen when he begs them to call for help (they dismissed his plea as madness). After the final credits, Van and Minny are shown dirty and lost somewhere in the desert, having never asked for directions, with Van almost driven to insanity. Their names combine as a pun on "minivan". Van is a 2003 Ford Windstar and Minny appears to be a 1996 Dodge Caravan. Minny speaks with a pronounced Minnesota accent.

Van and Minny reappear near the end of the second film. While Minny is mesmerized by Mater's spy story, Van does not believe one word of it until British agent Holley Shiftwell arrives to confirm it, which surprises Van, leaving him mesmerized by her and annoying Minny. In the final scene, when a rocket-propelled Mater rushes past Van, maps that Van was carrying are sent flying.

Delinquent Road Hazards

The Delinquent Road Hazards are a group of four modified tuner cars that intentionally cause trouble on the highway: Boost (Purple Neon/Carbon fibre covered 90's Japanese muscle car influenced heavily on the 1995 Toyota Supra and Mitsubishi GTO), DJ (Blue 2004 Scion xB), Wingo (Green and purple 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse) and Snot Rod (Orange 1970 Plymouth Barracuda). They get their group name from what Sheriff called McQueen when he ordered Mater to tow him to traffic court. They catch Mack nodding off to sleep on the way to California and amuse themselves by nudging him onto the rumble strips along the shoulder. The resulting vibration causes Mack's trailer door to open and a sleeping McQueen to roll out of the trailer. When the chronically sniffly Snot Rod sneezes, Mack is startled awake, and accelerates away, leaving the still-sleeping McQueen behind near Radiator Springs. During the end credits, the Hazards are caught speeding on the outskirts of Radiator Springs by the Sheriff, who places them in the impound lot. They are sentenced to messy roadwork towing Bessie.

In the Italian dub, three of the Hazards are voiced by F1 drivers: Giancarlo Fisichella (Boost), Emanuele Pirro (Wingo) and Jarno Trulli (DJ). Boost, DJ and Wingo make a cameo appearance at the start of Tokyo Mater, drifting along the main road of Radiator Springs before Sheriff gives chase to them. D.J. was voiced by his inspiration and actor, E.J. Holowicki. Wingo was voiced by Adrian Ochoa. Jonas Rivera voiced Boost. Snot Rod was voiced by Pixar actor Lou Romano.

TJ Hummer

TJ Hummer (voiced by Dan Scanlon) is a vain Hummer H1 that Sarge teaches in his boot camp during the end of the movie. Unlike the other SUVs in the boot camp, TJ refuses to go off road, fearing that he will get dirt on his rims, but Sarge forces him to do so. His name may be a play on the action character T.J. Hooker. The other three boot camp recruits (none of which have speaking parts) are Frank "Pinky" Pinkerton (a pink SUV), Murphy (an orange SUV) and Charlie Cargo.

Sven "The Governator"

Sven "The Governator" (voiced by Jess Harnell) is a Hummer. His only line is "Lightning McQueen must be found at all costs!" The name and vehicle is a parody of Arnold Schwarzenegger's then-current position as California governor, the first three Terminator films he starred on, and the fact that he was one of the first Hummer H1 owners.

Jerry Recycled Batteries

Jerry (voiced by Joe Ranft) is a 1979 Peterbilt 352 that Lightning McQueen mistook for Mack. He has the words "Recycled Batteries" on his side. His only line in the movie is a response to McQueen: "Mack?! I ain't no Mack! I'm a Peterbilt for dang sake! Turn on your lights, you moron!"

Interstate 40 vehicles

Various cars and trucks in non-speaking roles are named in the "Car Finder" game but have only silent cameos in the film.

Bertha Butterswagon, a small green runabout, watches Mack admiring his own reflection in a metal tanker truck. Leroy Traffik, a minivan with a mattress on his roof and a temporary spare as his right-rear wheel, passes a tired Mack just before the truck stop. He is seen with new tires from Luigi's during the film's epilogue.

Ben Crankleshaft, Chet Boxkaar and Oliver Lightload are sleeping trucks at the Top Down Truck Stop.

Duff Wrecks is a grey pickup truck briefly seen one lane away from the Delinquent Road Hazard gang on I-40.

Todd the Pizza Planet Truck

Shown in Disney Pixar Cars, Disney Pixar Cars 2 and Disney Pixar Cars 3. At the end of the first movie, he is seen at the last race. At the end of second movie, he is seen in Radiator Springs.

Cars 2

These are characters who have first or only appeared in the film Cars 2 (2011).

Secret agents and spies

Finn McMissile

Finn McMissile (voiced by Michael Caine) is a British secret agent who recruits Mater, whom he mistakes for a cleverly disguised American agent, to help in his mission. Caine depicted his character Finn based on his previous role Harry Palmer from The IPCRESS File and its sequels. He is also similar to James Bond which Michael Caine did not portray.

Originally, Finn was supposed to appear in the first Cars movie. In a sequence that never went beyond the storyboarding stage, Lightning and Sally visited a drive-in theater where a James Bond-type film about a superspy car named Finn McMissile was playing. This scene was deleted.^[28] The design of Finn is inspired by several cars, the roofline and doors of the Volvo P1800 (possibly inspired by Roger Moore's ownership of one while filming The Saint TV espionage series in the early 1960s), the grill and fenders of the BMW 507, and some major elements of the iconic James Bond Aston Martin DB5 (including its sound, as clearly heard in the intro of GoldenEye), he also resembles a 1970s Volkswagen Karmann Ghia. The look of the car has been slightly modified; Finn has a different grill that looks like a suave mustache, but like Bond, he does have plenty of gadgets.^[29] His small tailfins were inspired by a 1958 British sports car called the Peerless—one of the few British cars with fins.^[30] Finn is fluent in many languages, most notably French and Italian. He is outfitted with a plethora of gadgets, including: two (Front) bumperette grappling hooks, a right headlight spy camera, a left headlight missile launcher, side mirror digital read-outs, a deployable glass cutter, wheel hub magnetic explosives launcher; (side) side vent deployable machine guns, (rear) wheel hub deployable surveillance probes, rear bumperette grappling hooks, a rear turn signal oil dispenser, an undercarriage mounted quad harpoon gun, a hydrofoil for oversea travel, a roof-deployed holographic disguise emitter, and a submarine-mode for underwater escapes.^[30] Finn made a cameo in Toy Story 3 on a poster in Andy's room. His license plate is 314 FMCM, which includes a reference to his initials. The number 314 indicates Caine's birthday, March 14, same day as Billy Crystal, another actor for Pixar. His belief about the World Grand Prix turns out to be true, as it was all just a setup by Miles Axlerod to make alternate fuel seem dangerous and make cars run on his own fuel with no choice.

Finn McMissile appears in Kinect Rush: A Disney-Pixar Adventure. It was revealed that Finn was a spy who was on the biggest oil platform in the world before he met Mater. None of them knew that Mater was not a spy. He just answered the question correctly. He can dispense bombs from his wing nuts. Finn is also able to magnetize his wheels in order to climb up some vertical metal surfaces. Other abilities that Finn has include purposely spilling oil onto the road, using grappling hooks to swing between buildings and traverse great heights by using the hook cables as tightropes, and being able to 'breathe' underwater.

2 power discs of him were made for Disney Infinity.

Holley Shiftwell

Holley Shiftwell (voiced by Emily Mortimer) is a British spy-in-training who is Mater's love interest/girlfriend in the film. She is similar to Sally.

Holley's name is a reference to Holley Performance Products, Inc., a manufacturer of high-performance carburetors and fuel systems located in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Her design was made from a Jaguar XJR-15. Her name is possibly also a reference to Bond Girl Holly Goodhead. Her license plate is HS1201, which includes her initials. The number 1201 is Emily Mortimer's birthday in American date order (December 1).

Holley is equipped with gadgets including: (front) projection lamps above headlights that emit a heads-up display, headlight cameras; a (side) right wheel concealed gun and an electro-shock device, a telescoping utility arm, (undercarriage) mounted dual trackball platforms for controlling the heads-up display, and retractable wings for flight.^[30]

Holley Shiftwell appears in Kinect Rush: A Disney-Pixar Adventure. She is a playable character in the Disney Infinity series.

Siddeley

Siddeley (voiced by Jason Isaacs) is a state-of-the-art British twin-engine spy jet. He is 176 feet long with a 157-foot wingspan (53 and 48 meters respectively) and is shown to possess afterburners, though no aspect of his airframe is suited to supersonic flight, In addition, he has VTOL (vertical-takeoff and landing) capabilities. His tail has A113 painted on it, a recurring gag in the Pixar films. Siddeley is also seen in the background in one scene of the Cars spinoff, 'Planes.' ^[31] His name is a reference to the British aerospace company Hawker Siddeley.

Stephenson

Stephenson is a spy train, who first appeared in Cars 2 working with Finn McMissile. Stephenson brings Finn, Holley, and Mater to Porta Corsa, Italy. Stephenson is a state-of-the-art bullet train, who scrambles switchboards, hops international rail lines, and can make it from Dover to Porto Corsa in five hours. He has no dining car and no spare compartment because he's filled with the finest in high-tech, classified spy gear and probably has a few secret agents aboard. One of his carriages contains high-tech equipment that modifies and adds gadgets to cars. His only line in Cars 2 is "Finn, one hour to Porta Corsa". Stephenson is named after the "father of railways", namely George Stephenson.

Leland Turbo

Leland Turbo (voiced by Jason Isaacs) was a British agent who appeared in the film's beginning. He sends a video message to Finn McMissile about what he sees in Professor Zündapp's oil rig. However, he is found by the lemons and was crushed into a cube when Finn McMissle arrives at the oil rig. He appears to be based on a Jaguar E-Type. His name is most likely based on Leyland Motors, a now defunct British vehicle manufacturer.

Rod "Torque" Redline

Rod "Torque" Redline (voiced by Bruce Campbell) was considered by many as America's greatest spy. He is the agent McMissile and Shiftwell were supposed to meet before he ran into Mater, which leads to the mistake of the spy cars thinking Mater is Redline.

In the beginning of the film, he is seen by McMissile (disguised as a lemon) talking to Professor Zündapp about the camera. In the bathroom, Rod takes off his disguise so Finn and Holley can recognize him. Unfortunately, lemons Grem and Acer come into the bathroom and his plan fails when they recognize him before Holley can meet him. Cornered by the villains, he turns his information over to a rusty American tow truck named Mater when no one noticed before being captured. He is later filled with Allinol at the lemons' hideout being tortured and killed by Professor Zündapp's weapon, a magnetic pulse gun disguised as a TV camera (Allinol explodes when it reacts with a magnetic pulse). But the lemons realized that he passed the info to Mater before killing him.

Torque is a visual portmanteau of a Dodge Challenger. His license plate is a Michigan plate (Campbell's home state) and reads "M1911A1", a reference to the handgun used historically by the United States Armed Forces.

Tomber

Tomber (voiced by Michel Michelis) is Finn McMissile's underground informant. Having been saved from a long sentence in a Moroccan impound lot (20 years to life) by McMissile, Tomber has since become an auto-parts dealer. He specializes in rare parts, such as the ones needed to keep a certain Rover V8 going. Mater and Tomber get along from their first meeting, both respecting the other's knowledge of cars and specific parts. Tomber (French for "to tumble") is a Reliant Regal threewheeler, a car notorious for its poor handling and tendency to roll over in even gentle turns. His license plate reads "PCS NO1R". He may be based on Del Boy from Only Fools & Horses

Main antagonists

Sir Miles Axlerod

Sir Miles Axlerod (voiced by Eddie Izzard) is a former oil baron who has sold off his fortune after he supposedly converted himself into an electric vehicle and the main but hidden antagonist. He was the first car to circumnavigate the globe without any GPS which is similar to explorer, Ferdinand Magellan who circulated the globe. Axlerod created the World Grand Prix to promote his new wonder-fuel, Allinol. Axlerod later reveals that he owns the largest untapped oil reserves in the world. His "alternative fuel" is actually ordinary gasoline engineered to ignite if hit with electromagnetic pulses from weapons disguised as television cameras. Axlerod's plans to use oil for world domination are eventually exposed. Axlerod plans to use Professor Zündapp and the Lemon Cars to kill McQueen in the final race, but the EMP weapon fails to finish him off because Sarge switched McQueen's Allinol for Filmore's organic fuel. As a backup, Axlerod has Zündapp and the lemon cars implant a bomb on Mater's air filter which was not seen in the climax. Mater confronts Axlerod about the conspiracy and forces him to deactivate the bomb with a voice command, proving that he was the one who set it. Axlerod's engine turns out to be the Rover V8 in the photo obtained by McMissile and Shiftwell after Mater opened his front hood (described by Mater and Tomber as "the worst engine ever made"), and he is exposed as a fraud and a liar and is arrested by the British police, wondering how Mater figured out Axlerod was behind the whole scheme.

Axlerod is styled after a first generation Range Rover and has a Rover V8 engine (an abandoned Buick design). Mater remarks after seeing the engine on the spy picture that the owner must be very happy since he has all the spare parts. Those spare parts are labelled "British Weyland", which is a parody on British Leyland, with a "W" instead of an "L" in the logo. British Leyland produced both the Rover V-8 engine and the Range Rover models. His last name, a portmanteau of "axle" and "rod", is a reference to Izzard's stand-up routine about the invention of the wheel and axle.

Professor Zündapp

Professor Zündapp (voiced by Thomas Kretschmann), often referred to as "Professor Z" (by his henchmen), is an internationally wanted weapons designer who is modelled after a Zündapp Janus 250 with a broken roof rack that evokes the look of a comb over. Though at first Professor Zündapp appears to be the main villain, he is eventually exposed as a subordinate to Miles Axlerod. According to Lego.com, it is revealed that his full name is Wolfgang Otto Zundapp. Zündapp also appears in Kinect Rush: A Disney-Pixar Adventure.

Professor Zündapp is first seen on the oil rigs near the beginning of the film having a meeting with all the lemons until he and all the lemons notice Finn McMissile and after all the other lemons think Finn is dead they tell him and he is happy about it. Later in Japan he is noticed by Finn McMissile when Holley tells him that an American Agent (Rod Torque Redline) has a device to pass to Finn. After Redline is taken to the Lemons lair by Grem and Acer, Zündapp arrives on an elevator and tells Redline about the Electromagnetic Pulse Camera and then kills him with it. The next day during the Japan race his voice is heard telling Grem and Acer to start hurting the racers with their weapon. Later in Italy he enters a meeting to discuss with the other lemons and after a huge car accident Sir Miles Axlerod decides to not require the race cars to use Allinol for the final race. When Lightning McQueen chooses to continue using the fuel he says McQueen needs to be killed. He and the other lemons soon captures Mater, Finn, and Holley. In London he tries to denotate the bomb and tries to escape on Tony Trihull but Finn is able to catch him using his grabbing hooks. Soon he is captured by Finn he is last seen being Zapped by Holley.

Grem and Acer

Grem (voiced by Joe Mantegna) is a dented, rusty orange AMC Gremlin. Acer (voiced by Peter Jacobson) is a beat-up green AMC Pacer. Both of these "lemon" cars are henchmen for Professor Zündapp, Grem and Acer mistake Mater for an American agent with top-secret information, chasing him around the globe. Even though they don't have all the spy weapons and gadgets they are still tough and will do anything and everything to stop secret agents.

They are first seen on the oil rigs near the beginning of the film when Finn McMissile is noticed by all the lemons and chase Finn until they think he is dead when 4 tires appear on the sea. In Japan when Rod "Torque" Redline enters the bathroom and takes off his lemon disguise to meet Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell, they slowly enter the restroom from behind Redline as seen through the mirror and damage him heavily. During the first race they use Professor Zundapp's weapon and recognize Mater and think he is a spy and go after him with all the other lemons and Finn McMissile has a battle against all of the lemons to keep Mater safe. At the airport they chase Finn McMissile and Mater who escape on Siddley safely. Later in Italy they are using their weapon on the race cars. When Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell spots them using the Electromagnetic Pulse Camera Finn rushes to stop them before more racers crash. As Finn gets to the top of the tower they are using the weapon on, he gets captured by a magnet hanging from a helicopter and they continue to sabotage more race cars until there is a multi-car pile up on the track. When Mater, Finn and Holley are tied up inside Big Bentley in London they use their weapon on Lightning McQueen he does not crash because Sarge replaced Allinol with Fillmore's organic fuel. After Mater, Finn and Holley escape they are going to kill McQueen when Flying Holley forces them to drive into a pub called Ye Left Turn Inn, where they have crashes into the bar into a table causing the patrons' drinks to spill all over. Confronted by the patrons, they are last seen being beaten up by the patrons as the tire of one of them was seen flying out. It's unknown what happened to them afterwards.

Tony Trihull

Tony Trihull (voiced by Lloyd Sherr) is a combat ship (modelled after the USS Independence (LCS-2)) who works for Professor Zündapp. He first appears in the beginning when he notices Crabby and Finn in the oil reserve, ordering Crabby to leave. When Crabby refuses, Tony threatens him with a missile battery (based on the RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile). As a result, Crabby leaves but Finn hitches a ride on the back of Tony without him knowing. He later appears again near the end of the film in London when Professor Z tries to escape from being caught by Finn McMissile, yelling for the Professor to hurry and get aboard him. When Finn McMissile stops the Professor, Tony uses a magnetic device pulling the Professor to him. McMissile uses several mini-bombs out of his wheels on Tony, killing him.

Trihull has heavy metal teeth (evidently inspired by the legendary James Bond villain Jaws). His overall design recalls the sharks from the Jaws movies.

Hugo Family

Victor Hugo

Victor Hugo (voiced by Stanley Townsend) is the head lemon of the Hugo family, being referred to as "the boss" by fellow Hugos. He and his Hugos work with Professor Zündapp. During the film, Victor uses Ivan, a blue tow truck (which Mater masquerades as to infiltrate the lemons' meeting), as his own personal transportation that tows him place to place instead of having to drive on his own. He attends the meeting with the other main heads of the three lemon families (Gremlin, Pacer, Trunkov) in Porto Corsa with Professor Z to discuss their evil plans about discrediting the Allinol by using the radiation disguised camera to crash out the racers in the World Grand Prix that use the gas, and ensure that all cars keep using conventional fuel to secure the profits of their "lemon" organization who managed to secure the largest unexplored oil resources in the world. Near the end of the film, Victor is arrested in London with his fellow lemons.

Victor is modelled after the Yugo car, with some adjustments: the logo V on his front bumper and two separate headlights on each side. He appears to be named after the historical writer Victor Hugo.

Alexander Hugo

Alexander Hugo (voiced by Velibor Topic) is part of the Hugo family that works for Professor Z and Miles Axlerod. He is the only black Hugo in the entire movie to talk, making him and Victor the only Hugo family members that talk. Despite his young age, he does dirty work (like Victor and Ivan) and attends the lemon meeting. He also is one of the lemons attempting to round up Mater so that the bomb would explode, killing both Mater and Lightning. Near the end of the film, Alexander is arrested in London with his fellow lemons.

Ivan

Ivan (voiced by Stanley Townsend) is a blue tow truck who serves as Victor Hugo's mode of transportation, towing him around. He resembles Mater greatly, in fact, Mater disguises as Ivan in order to infiltrate a lemon crime meeting. The real Ivan was previously tazed by Holley. He later awoke and captured Holley and even intercepted Mater before he can warn Lightning McQueen about the truth of Allinol. In the end, he is defeated by Mater and arrested alongside the other lemons. His name is pronounced ee-van instead of eye-van.

Pacer family

Tubbs Pacer

Tubbs Pacer (voiced by Brad Lewis) is the head lemon of the Pacer family. He and his Pacers work with Professor Zündapp. During the film, Tubbs and the other main heads of the three lemon families (Gremlin, Trunkov, Hugo) attend a meeting with Professor Z in Porto Corsa to discuss their evil plans about discrediting the Allinol by using the radiation disguised camera to crash out the racers in the World Grand Prix that use the gas, and ensure that all cars keep using conventional fuel to secure the profits of their "lemon" organization who managed to secure the largest unexplored oil resources in the world. Tubbs is seen smiling at the idea and cannot wait. Tubbs last name, "Pacer" is the model of his car. During the final fight in London, Tubbs tries to fight against McQueen to kill him, only to be stopped by Mater, who then uses his tow cable to swing Tubbs on the other side of the intersection, where Ramone violently throws in his spray paint on Tubbs. Without hesitation, Pacer and some of the lemons are forced to retreat only to be halted and arrested by the British Army (thanks to a tipoff from Sarge).

Petey Pacer

Petey Pacer is a blue AMC Pacer member of the lemon organization. He can be recognized as one of the cars equipped with flamethrowers who attack Finn McMissile on the oil rigs' helipad.

Fred Pacer

Fred Pacer is a light yellow AMC Pacer.

Trunkov family

Vladimir Trunkov

Vladimir Trunkov (voiced by Stanley Townsend) is the head lemon of the Trunkov family. He and his Trunkovs work with Professor Zündapp. During the film, Vladimir and the other main heads of the three lemon families (Gremlin, Pacer, Hugo) attend a meeting with Professor Z in Porto Corsa to discuss their evil plans about discrediting the Allinol by using the radiation-disguised camera to crash out the racers in the World Grand Prix that use the gas, and ensure that all cars keep using conventional fuel to secure the profits of their "lemon" organization who managed to secure the largest unexplored oil resources in the world. Vladimir is seen smiling at the idea. Near the end of the film, Vladimir and the lemons surround Mater, McQueen, and the British agents in an intersection, confirming them of the lemons' intent to kill McQueen, saying that it's nothing personal. He is eventually arrested by Sheriff in London when he placed a parking boot on him.

Vladimir is modeled after a ZAZ-968M Zaporozhets car, but with one adjustment—the T logo on his front bumper, which stands for his last name.

Tolga Trunkov

Tolga is a black Trunkov that helps Vladimir Trunkov by protecting him, but it does not know who he is in the movie because there are several otherblack Trunkovs.

Petrov Trunkov

Petrov Trunkov is a light green Trunkov who is not actually seen in the movie.

Gremlin family

J. Curby Gremlin

J. Curby Gremlin (voiced by John Mainieri) is the head lemon of the Gremlin family. He originates from Detroit, as he states it when he introduces himself to the other lemons. He and his Gremlins work with Professor Zündapp. J. Curby, along with the other main heads of the three lemon families (Pacer, Trunkov, Hugo), attend a meeting with Professor Z in Porto Corsa to discuss their evil plans about discrediting the Allinol by using the radiation disguised camera to crash out the racers in the World Grand Prix that use the gas, and ensure that all cars keep using conventional fuel to secure the profits of their "lemon" organization who managed to secure the largest unexplored oil resources in the world. J. Curby is seen smiling at the idea. Near the end of the film, J. Curby is sprayed by Red from behind, being thrown in the air. He is arrested in London with fellow lemons. J. Curby's last name is the make of his model.

Tyler Gremlin

Tyler Gremlin is a red/dark red AMC Gremlin.

World Grand Prix racers

Car	Sponsor	Name	Description
#1	Raceitalia	Francesco Bernoulli	He is an Italian racer. His pit crew chief's name is Giuseppe Motorosi. (Voiced by John Turturro)
#2	Grenada++	Lewis Hamilton	He is a British/Grenadan racer. His pit crew chief's name is Bruce Boxman. (Voiced by himself)
#3	Selori	Davis Robarton1	He is a Portuguese racer. He is not seen in the movie. His pit crew chief's name is Rodger Calmari.
#4	WTLC	Max Schnell	He is a German racer. His pit crew chief's name is Otto Bonn. (Voiced by James Rankin)
#5	Davariga	Miguel Camino	He is a Spanish racer and comes from Pamplona. His pit crew chief's name is Petro Cartalina.
#6	GRC	Raoul Çaroule	He is a French racer. His pit crew chief's name is Brune Motoreau. (Voiced by Jerome Dalton)
#7	JP7	Shu Todoroki	He is a Japanese racer. His pit crew chief's name is Mach Matsuo. (Voiced by Erik Passoja)
#8	Bala Brasil	Carla Veloso	She is a Brazilian racer. Her pit crew chief's name is Cruz Besouro. She is the third car hit by Mike Cailson in Tokyo, causing the multi-vehicle collision. (Voiced by Jossara Jinaro (mainly) and Claudia Leitte (Brazilian release))
#9	ICT	Nigel Gearsley	He is a British racer. His pit crew chief's name is Austin Littleton. (Voiced by Greg Ellis)
#10	Poleste	Rip Clutchgoneski	He is a Rearendian racer, represents the Republic of New Rearendia. His pit crew chief's name is Brian Gearlooski.
#11	KLG (Russian: КЛГ)	Vitaly Petrov2	He is a Russian racer. He is voiced by himself in the Russian release.
#12	Frost-eze Medicated Bumper Ointment	Mark "Frosty" Winterbottom2	He is an Australian racer. He is voiced by himself in the Australian release.
#13	Freshgas	Darrell Wipeout1	He is a Grenadan racer. His last name probably means that he got wiped out in the multi-car crash. His pit crew chief's name is Alex Fresh.
#15	Sverig3	Jan "Flash" Nilsson2	He is a Swedish racer. He is voiced by himself in the Swedish release.
#14	Reilonanxu	Long Ge2	He is a Chinese racer.
#16	Akeritaba	Memo Rojas2	He is a Mexican racer. He is voiced by himself in the Hispanic American release.
#17	TRS	Fernando Alonso2	Duplicated Spanish racer, same as Miguel. He is voiced by himself in the Spanish release.
#18	Laviro	Hiro Kamaneska1	He is a Turkish racer.
#19	Alidagel	Sebastian "Vettel" Schnell2	Duplicated German racer, same as Max. He is voiced by himself in the German release.
#20	Sandscape	Carl Marikson1	He is a Senegalese racer. His pit crew chief's name is Mitch Radison.
#21	WRC	Sébastien Loeb1	Duplicated French racer, same as Raoule. His pit crew chief's name is Driau Malesqui.
#22	Nairik	Valeti Sanorbek1	He is a Norwegian racer. He doesn't buy Nairik tires due to his nasty driving system. His pit crew chief's name is Heichmar Galyor.
#23	BBC Motors	Rover Carlton1	His pit crew chief's name is Rodar Penisluan.
#24	American Oil	Jeff Gorvette	He is an American racer. His pit crew chief's name is John Lassetire. (Voiced by Jeff Gordon; Pit crew chief voiced by John Lasseter)
#26	Eriel (Greek: Εριελ)	Ran Colinat (Greek: Ραν Κολινατ)1	He did not get involved in the multi-crash until a car spins him into it off-screen.
#28	Ross	Chuck "Swift" Ayers1	First car hit by Mike Cailson (#34) in a race held in Tokyo (fourth time visited).
#31	Professi	Mike Cailson1	The craziest racer in America. He hits several cars, as he did in Tokyo. He later battles with McQueen as they are trying to win the World Grand Prix.
#34	SK8	Ye Jin 1	Second car hit by Mike Cailson in Tokyo.
#36	SuckIn	Jeremy Clarkson1	He has blue, white and red colors similar to Rover Carlton (#23).
#40	Pitcher	Eliko Marantas1	Marantas is said to be a German.
#45	USA Racing	Jeremy Priven1	He comes from Boston.
#46	Glitchman	Han Marian1	On his back, the words say "Afrique du Sud" in French, witch translates to "South Africa".
#47	Norton AntiVirus	Charlie Norton1	His nickname is "Norton Virus Protection". His pit crew chief's name is Randy S. Norton.
#48	Scottland Racing	1	A racer who originally from Scotland.
#49	AVM	Austin Caranero1	A racer who hits Jeremy Clarkson (#36) during the multi-car collision in Tokyo.His crew chief's name is Antonio Salvador.
#51	Rationa	Sergipe Bernoulli1	He is a sedan. He is friends with Francesco.
#53	Green Fuel	Bob Greenwick1	A racer hit by Mike Cailson in Moscow.
#55	Sunflower Beer	Henry Caidan1	Sponsors Sunflower Beer gives you natural sunflower tastes and organics. Unfortunally, Henry himself can not drink the product and still race illegally.
#61	Omano	Ched Ministor1	A racer who was smoked by Mike Cailson in Tokyo.
#62	Loibue	Ark Goireski1	A racer who was is hit side-on by another vehicle in the collision in Tokyo.
#80	UK Racing League	1	A racer who was is hit side-on by another vehicle in the collision in Tokyo.
#84	Apple Inc.	Steven Gordon3	A reference to Steve Jobs; initially seen behind Jan Nilsson (#15); Charlie Norton (#47) overtakes him after the race restarts (race held in Shanghai), now ending up in the back pack. His number is the release date year of System 1.
#87	Taira Trado	Menta Slifain1	A car friends with Lightning McQueen . He crashes Rip Clutchgoneski
#88	HK8	Jian Chen1	A car friends with Long Ge . He hits other cars.

1. Racers who are not seen in the movie.
2. Racers who appear in international versions of Cars 2.
3. Racers who are mentioned by another racer or not seen in the movie.
4. 8 Other Unnamed Cars also appear.

American racer replacement

Jeff Gorvette does not appear in several international versions of Cars 2. In two scenes (one where Lightning meets him at the party in Tokyo, and another when that scene appears in Mater's nightmare), Gorvette is replaced by a completely different character, voiced by a regionally better known racer than Jeff Gordon. Most of them share the body shape with Max Schnell and the least of them share after the body of Miguel Camino:

• Mark "Frosty" Winterbottom as himself (Australian release)^[32][33]
• Fernando Alonso as himself (Spanish release)
• Vitaly Petrov as himself (Russian release)
• Jan "Flash" Nilsson as himself (Swedish release)^[34]
• Unknown as Long Ge (Chinese release)
• Memo Rojas as Memo Rojas, Jr. (Mexican release)
• Sebastian Vettel as Sebastian "Max" Schnell (German release)
• Claudia Leitte as Carla Veloso (Brazilian release)^[35]
• Unknown as Raoul ÇaRoule (French release)

Other cars

Daisu Tsashimi

Daisu Tsashimi, played by Daisuke "Dice" Tsutsumi, is the name of the forklift who serves Mater wasabi, when Mater mistook it for delicious pistachio ice cream. His name could be a play on words of the Japanese auto marque Daihatsu.

Mama Topolino

Mama Topolino (voiced by Vanessa Redgrave) is Luigi's aunt. She resembles a 1950s Renault (or maybe Alfa Romeo) Dauphine.

Uncle Topolino

Uncle Topolino (voiced by Franco Nero) is Luigi's uncle. He is a Fiat 500 "Topolino" from 1948 or earlier ("Topolino", which translates as "Little Mouse", is Mickey Mouse's Italian name). The cover on his top resembles a hair style, similar to Luigi's.

Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II (voiced by Vanessa Redgrave) is a classic Rolls Royce Phantom car watching the race from Buckingham Palace. She knights Mater for his bravery in foiling Axlerod's plot. Her roof racks are made to look like a crown.

Prince Wheeliam

Prince Wheeliam, the grandson of the Queen of the United Kingdom, is based on Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. He is a Bentley Continental GT and a fan of Britain's Lewis Hamilton and Nigel Gearsley.

Signora Bernoulli

Signora Bernoulli is Francesco's mother. She is seen at the Porto Corsa race cheering her son on. She is an 1960s era Ferrari 312 Formula One race car and, as evidenced by her number, his biggest fan other than himself.

Mel Dorado

Mel Dorado (voiced by Patrick Walker) Is the host of the "Mel Dorado Show" where he interviews Miles Axlerod and Francesco Bernoulli. Mater calls the show and eventually gets McQueen into the World Grand Prix. As his name indicates he is a Cadillac Eldorado. As evidenced by his glasses and smile, he is loosely based on Larry King.

The Popemobile

The Popemobile is only seen at the Italian World Grand Prix Race – interestingly, he is seen inside a bulletproof "popemobile" for his personal protection. He is among the many fans in the stands. The Popemobile is referred to earlier in the film when Mater asks, "Is the Popemobile Catholic?" He has no lines in the film. Black-hatted priests can be seen next to the Popemobile while he sits in the stands at Porta Corsa for the second race in the World Grand Prix. Small Isetta forklifts, similar the Guido character, are seen in white cassocks and red hats waving incense into the air.

World Grand Prix announcers

Brent Mustangburger

Brent Mustangburger, a 1965 Ford Mustang in traditional racing blue, is based on ESPN/ABC sportscaster Brent Musburger, who provides the character's voice.^[36] He re-appears in the spin-off film Planes.

David Hobbscap

David Hobbscap, a British racing green 1963 Jaguar Coombs Lightweight E-Type, is a former champion from 24 Heures du Mans turned television sportscaster.^[37] His character is based on the real life former British racing driver and current NBC Sports commentator David Hobbs, who provides the character's voice. Jacques Villeneuve voices the character in the French and Quebec versions of Cars 2. He joins Mustangburger and Darrell Cartrip.

Crabby the Boat

Crabby the Boat (voiced by Sig Hansen) is a fishing vessel that is based on the F/V Northwestern, a boat captained by Hansen and featured in the American reality TV series Deadliest Catch. Crabby is painted and designed like the Northwestern. He is seen in the beginning of the film with Finn McMissile aboard him. Finn has paid Crabby to bring him to a certain location in the ocean so he can look for a car, a request that greatly puzzles Crabby. Once they reach the spot, Tony Trihull (see below) intercepts Crabby and threatens him with a missile launcher, forcing him to turn back. Crabby apologizes to Finn as he heads home, not knowing that Finn has already slipped off board and hitched onto Tony to continue his mission.

Removed characters

Cars (2006)

Chad

"Chad" was a retired steamroller which was scrapped from the storyline around 2002. In the original story, Lightning McQueen was originally invited to race in the first ever Radiator Springs Grand Prix. He refused, choosing instead, standard community service. His V8 alcohol motor was taken out of his body and stolen by Mater and put inside of Chad. Lightning's voice was inside of Chad's steamroller body and he fixed the road. Mater, meanwhile borrows McQueen's body and goes to the next Piston Cup race.

Mr. Windshield

Mr. Windshield was a character which was scrapped from the storyline around 2003. Based on concept art, he was going to be a yellow Packard Clipper, although a 2000 concept sketch by Dave Deal shows him as a Packard Super Eight rather than a Clipper. As his name implies, he was going to be an optometrist/windshield salesman, and while the character was scrapped, his shop still made it into the final film. The design was reused for Ramone's House of Body Art.

Cars 2 (2011)

Zil

Zil was originally going to be the main antagonist in Cars 2, but was ultimately dropped in favour of Professor Z and Miles Axlerod. His design was based on the 1958 ZIL-111, but with one adjustment: the ZIL logo is on his front bumper.

Giulia

Giulia was an original character in the beginnings of Cars 2. She was to be a double agent that met up with Mater. But Giulia was left out of the completed movie, and replaced by Holley Shiftwell. She is modelled as an Alfa Romeo, resembling an Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider.

Planes

• Dane Cook as Dusty Crophopper.^[38][39] He was inspired by the Air Tractor AT-502, Cessna and the PZL-Mielec M-18 Dromader.^[40]
• Stacy Keach as Skipper Riley, a Chance Vought F4U Corsair and Dusty's mentor. It was rumoured that he shot down 50 planes and threatens Dusty to be no. 51.^[41]
• Danny Mann as Sparky, a forklift
• Priyanka Chopra as Ishani, a Pan-Asian champion from India,^[42] based on the AeroCad AeroCanard^[43]
• Brad Garrett as Chug, a fuel truck^[41]
• Teri Hatcher as Dottie, a forklift^[41]
• Cedric the Entertainer as Leadbottom, a biplane^[41] inspired by the Boeing-Stearman Model 75^[43] with a partial engine cowl.
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Rochelle, a racing plane^[41] inspired by the Bay Super V, a conversion of the V-tail Model 35 Beechcraft Bonanza.^[43] Originally from Quebec,^[41] her flag and paint job is localized in 11 countries.^[44] In Australian and New Zealand, Rochelle is re-contextualized as a former Tasmanian mail delivery plane, and is voiced by Jessica Marais.^[45]
• Roger Craig Smith as Ripslinger, a custom-built carbon-fiber plane and Dusty's rival.^[41][46]
• Gabriel Iglesias as Ned and Zed, Ripslinger's henchmen^[41] inspired by the Zivko Edge 540 and MX Aircraft MXS.^[43]
• John Cleese as Bulldog, a de Havilland DH.88 Comet^[47]
• Carlos Alazraqui as El Chupacabra, a Gee Bee Model R^[40][48]
• Val Kilmer as Bravo, a Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet^[41]
• Anthony Edwards as Echo, a Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet^[41]
• Colin Cowherd as Colin Cowling, a blimp.^[41] In the UK, the blimp character is named Lofty Crofty and is voiced by Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft.^[49]
• Sinbad as Roper, a forklift^[41]
• Oliver Kalkofe as Franz aka Von Fliegenhosen, a German Aerocar^[47]
• Brent Musburger as Brent Mustangburger, a 1964½ Ford Mustang^[47]
• John Ratzenberger as Harland, a jet tug^[40][50]
• Barney Harwood as Sky Cam 1, a red helicopter filming the race over Germany

Planes: Fire & Rescue

• Julie Bowen as Lil' Dipper, a Super Scooper^[51] based on the Grumman G-21 Goose and CL-415 SuperScooper^[52]
• Curtis Armstrong as Maru, a forklift mechanic at the Piston Peak Air Attack base^[53][54]
• Ed Harris as Blade Ranger, a veteran fire-and-rescue helicopter. He used to play a police helicopter in CHoPs with Nick "Loop'n" Lopez but became a firefighter when Nick died.^[54] inspired by the AgustaWestland AW109, AgustaWestland AW139^[55] and Bell 429 GlobalRanger^[52]
• Wes Studi as Windlifter, a Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane heavy-lift helicopter^[52][54][55]
• Dale Dye as Cabbie, a Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar retired from military service^[54][55]
• Regina King as Dynamite, the leader of The Smokejumpers, a team of ground vehicles which parachute into fire sites^[54]
• Corri English as Pinecone, a smokejumper equipped with a rake tool to clear brush and debris^[54]
• Bryan Callen as Avalanche, a bulldozer and a smokejumper^[54]
• Danny Pardo as Blackout, a smokejumper equipped with a circular saw^[54]
• Matt L. Jones as Drip, a smokejumper equipped with a skid-steer claw to clear fallen trees and brush^[54]
• Fred Willard as Secretary of the Interior, a green four-wheel-drive with a roof rack^[54]
• Jerry Stiller as Harvey, an RV and Winnie's husband.^[54]
• Anne Meara as Winnie, an RV and Harvey's wife.^[54]
• Erik Estrada as Nick "Loop'n" Lopez, a helicopter police officer who was the co-star of CHoPs who was killed before Blade became a firefighter^[54]
• John Michael Higgins as Cad Spinner, a luxury sport utility vehicle^[54]
• Barry Corbin as Ol' Jammer, a tour bus^[54]
• Hal Holbrook as Mayday, an old fire and rescue truck from Propwash Junction^[54]
• Kevin Michael Richardson as Ryker, a transportation management safety truck with a roof-mounted watercannon for firefighting^[54]
• Patrick Warburton as Pulaski, a structural firefighting fire truck with a roof-mounted watercannon for firefighting.^[54] Pulaski's namesake,^[52] Ed Pulaski, was known for his heroism in saving most of his crew during the Great Fire of 1910 by sheltering in an abandoned mine.
• Brad Paisley as Bubba, a Pickup truck,^[56] who appears also in Italian comics, as a Mater's rival
• Kari Wahlgren as Patch^[57]
• René Auberjonois as Concierge^[57]
• Steve Schirripa as Steve^[57]
• John Ratzenberger as Brodi^[57]

References

External links

• Disney World of Cars Official Site