The Cars of the Cars Movie

“Life is a Highway” is Still Stuck in My Head

Back in 2006, Disney and Pixar brought us the wonderful animated Cars movie (and a catchy soundtrack to go with it). It’s a story following Lightning McQueen, a conceited rookie in the Piston Cup racing championship, who takes an accidental detour to the old town of Radiator Springs on Route 66. While he’s stuck there, McQueen meets a cast of memorable characters that help in his rise to be a better racer and a better perso- err… car. The Daily Driver took a look through all the memorable Cars movie characters and matched them with their real-life models (just don’t expect the real ones to talk). Here’s all the different cars that made major appearances in the first Cars movie.

Cars from the Cars Movie

Lightning McQueen

The hot shot rookie race car that the Cars movie follows is voiced by Owen Wilson. McQueen’s design is a combination of NASCAR stock car, Porsche 911, some Ford GT40 curves, and a little bit of classic Corvette; especially when he gets that fancy paint job and white wall tires in Radiator Springs.

Strip Weathers “The King”

The King is voiced by the real-life racing King himself, Richard Petty. There’s no better car to represent Richard Petty in the Cars universe than a bright blue #43 Plymouth Superbird, a car he himself drove during his championship runs. His wife Lynda Petty even received a cameo as Lynda Weathers, a Chrysler Town & Country station wagon from the same 70s era.

Chick Hicks

Chick Hicks is the grizzled vet and the main antagonist of the Cars movie that is voiced by Michael Keaton. “The Runner-Up” resembles a Buick Grand National stock car, but I’m betting he would have won a lot more Piston Cup events if he was a GNX.

Mack

Mack is the semi-truck tasked with hauling Lightning to all of his Piston Cup events, including the cross-country trip for the championship. He is based off a Mack semi-truck, but more specifically a sleeper cab. His cab style is possibly a little foreshadowing, as Mack ended up snoozing on the road which led to Lightning falling out of the trailer and ending up in Radiator Springs.

Sally Carrera

Sally Carrera is Radiator Springs’ town attorney and the love interest of Lightning in the Cars movie. She is voiced by Bonnie Hunt and she’s based off of a Porsche 911 Carrera. Not many Porsches have pin-stripping on their trunk lid though. Read how Porsche and Cars‘ production team created a real-world Sally Carrera for charity.

Tow Mater

The loveable Mater is a rusty tow truck that lives in Radiator Springs and is voiced by Larry the Cable Guy. He quickly becomes Lightnings best friend (at least in his eyes) and is based off of two classic truck designs. Mater’s front takes some inspiration from the early Chevrolet 3800 Task Force pickups, while the rear and side mirrors are based off of an International tow truck.

Luigi

Luigi runs the local tire shop in Radiator Springs and is a huge European racing and Ferrari fan. His small car design is based off of a 60s Fiat 500. If you look closely, you’ll notice that his “hair” is actually the convertible roof of the Fiat model.

Guido

Guido works closely with Luigi at his tire shop and is one of the quickest tire changers the Piston Cup has ever seen. Guido is obviously a forklift, but his design is reminiscent of a BMW Isetta with his three-wheeled setup.

Lizzie

Lizzie is the oldest member of Radiator Springs (and the Cars movies for that matter). She’s a portrayed as being a little senile in her old age. Lizzie is based off of a Ford Model T 2-door and her late husband Stanely appears to be an early Stanely Steamer Model E2.

Ramone

Ramone runs the local paint shop, but he probably uses his service more than any other car. His colors and pin-stripping may change throughout the Cars movie, but his design is based on late 50s Chevrolet Impala low rider. He’s gets so low that you could probably classify him as being slammed.

Flo

Flo runs the V8 Café in Radiator Springs and was a one-of-a-kind show girl back in the day. Her design is based off of an actual one-off concept show car from the 1957 GM Motorama Show. Those prominent tail fins and that bright 50s blue color fit in perfectly alongside the neon lit gas station she resides in.

Red

Red is the gentle giant of the Cars movie, as he is a character of few words and is commonly found taking care of the flowers around Radiator Springs. He also commonly gets upset and brings out the water works. Red is obviously a firetruck, but more specifically he resembles an early Pirsch Cab Forward Pumper.

Sheriff

Sheriff is the typical no-nonsense small-town officer you’d find in rural America. His design is based off of Mercury Police Cruiser, otherwise known as the Mercury Club Coupe for pedestrian use. That car’s grille design worked perfectly as a “mustache” for Radiator Springs’ Sheriff.

Sarge

Sarge runs an army surplus and boot camp outside of town where he hardens some soft SUVs with his military experience. His design is based off of a WWII era Willys Jeep MB. Sarge’s backstory kind of makes you wonder, was there a Cars World War?

Fillmore

Fillmore is a classic portrayal of a “good vibes” hippy. His paint job is very vibrant and whimsical with flowers and peace signs plastered around. His design is based off the classic hippy mobile, the 70s Volkswagen Bus. You commonly find him touting his organic fuel.

Doc Hudson

Last on our list is the Fabulous Hudson Hornet himself, Doc Hudson. The once a famous dirt track racer now resides in Radiator Springs living out his days as the town doctor and judge. He makes quite the impression on Lightning during his stay and goes on to be his crew chief at the Piston Cup Championship. Doc is based off a 50s Hudson Hornet as well as the real Fabulous Hudson Hornet race car. The character was voiced and based on the late, great Paul Newman who was both a famous actor and an avid racer himself.

Cars From the Cars 2 Movie

Miles Axlerod

Miles Axlerod is the mastermind behind the creation of the World Grand Prix, an international racing event that turns out to be a stunt to discredit alternative fuels. The no-good oil tycoon takes his looks from the Land Rover Defender 90.

Finn McMissile

Cars 2 takes Mater on a super spy mission around the world after a case of mistaken identity by Finn McMissile. This silver spy car is an obvious reference to non other than James Bond himself and his car of a choice the Aston Martin DB5. Finn even features numerous spy gadgets that are pretty similar to the 007 car.

Holley Shiftwell

Finn McMissile’s associate is Holley Shiftwell, a sleek purple sports car that takes inspiration from the TVR Tuscan S MK2. The spies then indoctrinate Mater into the spy world to take on the likes of Professor Z and his band of lemon cars.

Rod “Torque” Redline

The American spy that Mater is confused for was Rod “Torque” Redline, an American muscle car that pawned off his tracking device to the rusty tow truck during a fight with some lemon cars. The American spy car is based off of a modern Dodge Challenger R/T.

Professor Zündapp

Professor Zündapp is one of the main bad guys of Cars 2 who acts as the leader of the lemons cars and takes on a classic Bond villain persona. His likeness in real life is actually spelled out in his name. He’s an odd little German car called the Zündapp Janus.

Grem & Acer

AMC kind of got the short end of the stick being remembered as lemons for this movie, but Grem and Acer fill the role of evil henchmen pretty well. If you couldn’t tell from their names, they take after the AMC Gremlin and AMC Pacer.

Francesco Bernoulli

Lightning McQueen’s biggest rival throughout the World Grand Prix is another hot shot from the world of Formula racing. Francesco Bernouli is a Formula One car that carries the same arrogance about American racing that actual F1 drivers have, but he eventually becomes humbled and friendly in the end.

Nigel Gearsley

Nigel Gearsley is a British Grand Tourer that has roots in the Cars universe’s version of the Goodwood hill climb. Nigel never saw a top three finish in World Grand Prix, but the Aston Martin DBR9 GT1 car he’s based on has seen plenty of success including a 24 Hours of Le Mans win.

Raoul ÇaRoule

The World Grand Prix brought racers of every kind together – even dirt. Raoul ÇaRoule is known as one of the greatest rally cars in the world and his likeness has some relations to a real-life rally champion. Raoul shares a similar backstory to rally champion Sebastian Loeb and even carries a resemblance to his Citroen C4 Hymotion4 rally car. along with a bit of influence from the Ford Focus rally car that Colin McRae drove.

Carla Veloso

Carla Veloso is Brazilian “Le Motor” prototype racer that carries resemblance to real-world Le Mans Prototype cars. The Lola-Aston Martin B09/60 LMP1 car holds similar lines to the Cars 2 racer, while her engine relates closer to the Peugeot 908 HDi with the 5.5L turbocharged V12.

Rip Clutchgoneski

The Republic of New Rearendia’s young racer who raced his way into being selected for the World Grand Prix. Rip’s real-life counterpart comes from a couple of places. The majority of his design comes from early 2000s Indycar open wheel race cars. However, those added fenders and headlights draw some similarities to the Lola B10/60 LMP1.

Miguel Camino

The Spanish bulldozer fighter Miguel Camino is another Grand Tourer that joins the World Grand Prix. The Cars 2 character draws inspiration from both the Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR and the Ferrari 458 Italia. His name also has connections to one of the most prolific utes in history, the Chevrolet El Camino, but it’s more on a play on words for both as “camino” means road in Spanish.

Max Schnell

Max Schnell’s background starts as an everyday sedan from Stuttgart, Germany that’s turned into a racer with a record of the most wins at the Motorheimring – the Cars universe’s version of the famous Nürburgring. Stuttgart is the actual real-world location where nearly all of Germany’s auto manufacturing takes place for Audi, BMW, Porsche, Volkswagen, and Mercedes-Benz of which Max relates. He takes after the Mercedes-Benz AMG C-Class DTM racer which is a highly engineered performance version of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan.

Jeff Gorvette

NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon makes an appearance throughout the Cars 2 film as one of the most successful racers from America, Jeff Gorvette. If you couldn’t tell by his name already, Grovette is based off of the racing variant of the Corvette, the Chevrolet Corvette C6.R. Fun fact, NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya actually voices Gorvette in the Latin American releases of the film.

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton didn’t get a punny name like Jeff Gordon, but he also makes an appearance as one of the racers invited to the World Grand Prix. In real life, Hamilton is known for his success in Formula One racing and was under McLaren at the time of the film. So, Hamilton’s Cars universe persona looks nearly identical to a McLaren product, the MP4-12C GT3 race car.

Cars From the Cars 3 Movie

Cruz Ramirez

Cruz Ramirez is originally a trainer for the Rust-eze Racing Center, but eventually is taken under the wing of McQueen to be his successor and take on the likes of Jackson Storm. Cruz’s design holds similar elements to McQueen’s design, but in a more modern form. She gains some NASCAR stock car qualities later in the film, though her base design features influences from the Scion FR-S and C7 Corvette.

Jackson Storm

Jackson Storm is the next generation of the Piston Cup that carries high-tech qualities and performs better than older models like McQueen. The cocky up-and-comer‘s design is similar to the Cadillac ATS-V.R GT3 car as well as the Nissan Vision Gran Turismo concept car. His story also has some parallels to how NASCAR introduces generations of their stock cars. 

Sterling

Sterling is the new owner of Rust-eze and the creator of the Rust-eze Racing Center that trains next-gen race cars. He forces Lightning to retire which leads to the unfolding story of Cars 3. Sterling takes on similar lines to a BMW 2000CS while also holding modern luxury aspects with similar characteristics to a Cadillac.

Smokey

Smokey used to be the Hudson Hornet’s crew chief back in the early days of racing and introduces Lightning and Cruz to some other racing legends. Being related to the Hudson Hornet, Smokey’s real-life counterpart is a classic Hudson Pickup Truck. You can even make out the Hudson emblem at the front. His likeness also comes from NASCAR legend Henry “Smokey” Yunick who was once a part of the Hudson Racing Team that won the NASCAR Championship back in ‘51 and ‘52.

Junior “Midnight” Moon

Junior “Midnight” Moon is one of the old racers that used to race with Doc. He’s a refence to another NASCAR legend in Junior Johnson. Moon’s design is actually based off of Junior Johnsons own 1940 Ford Standard Coupe that he used for bootlegging moonshine – “Midnight Moon”.

River Scott

River Scott is another classic racer that is inspired by Wendell Scott, the first African-American to win a NASCAR Cup Series race. The car design is actually based off the same car that Wendell Scott won in, a modified 1937 Ford Standard Tudor.

Louise “Barnstormer” Nash

Louise “Barnstormer” Nash is known as the “First Lady of Racing” which is a nice nod to Cruz taking the mantle from McQueen, but this racing legend from Cars 3 has real-world roots as well. Louise Smith was one of the first women to race in NASCAR and was known as the “First Lady of Racing” as well. The car design in the movie draws parallels to Smith’s Nash Ambassador she’d raced during her career.

Miss Fritter

Miss Fritter is a demolition derby school bus from the Crazy 8 demolition derby that Cruz and Lightning accidently enter. She’s based off of the old Ford B-Series school buses from back in the day that are commonly seen used in actual figure eight demolition style races.

Cars from Mater’s Tall Tales

Nurse GTO

The first episode of Mater’s Talls Tales , Mater spins a story about how he used to be a fire truck and how he rescued McQueen from a burning building. Aside from an Ambulance and a Crown Vic police cruiser, the only new character we meet is Mater’s “GTO” – a Pontiac GTO nurse.

Ito-San

In Tokyo Mater, we’re given a Cars interpretation of Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift. It all starts with a broken-down Toyota Century named Ito-San that Mater tows all the way back to his home of Tokyo, Japan.

Yokoza

We get a brief introduction to Yokoza, the JDM variant of DJ from the first Cars movie. While DJ was a Scion xB, Yokoza is more likely the Japanese Toyota bB version of the same car.

Komodo

Another doppelganger comes in the form of Komodo who looks an awful lot like Wingo. Komodo is a heavily modified version of the Mitsubishi Eclipse – just like his stateside cousin.

Kabuto

The main antagonist of Tokyo Mater is the Drift King known as Kabuto. This drift car is heavily modified, but we actually get a glimpse of what Kabuto looks like under all that aftermarket cladding. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what Kabuto is, but he’s some sort of amalgamation of a Nissan Silvia S15 and a Honda NSX.

I-Screamer

We’re introduced to a number of different opponents that took on “The Tormentor” in Monster Truck Mater. The first monster truck was an ice cream truck by the name of “I-Screamer”. Its body design was based on the Ford E-350 upfitted by Utilimaster.

Captain Collision

Captain Collision is The Tormentor’s next opponent, and this military monster truck takes on a likeness to a Hummer H1.

Rastacarian

The “dreaded” Rastacarian nearly bested The Tormentor, but that red, yellow and green painted Ford Granada was no match for the likes of Mater.

Dr. Feel Bad

The Tormentor takes down that Ford E-350 Ambulance known as Dr. Feel Bad so bad that he was launched straight to the emergency room.

Dr. Frankenwagon

Frankenwagon’s Monster is one of the scariest things in the Cars universe and it’s hard to decipher what it’s all composed of, but its creator is pretty easy to figure out. The crazed mad scientist known as Dr. Frankenwagon is a slightly lifted Smart Fortwo.

Impala XIII

In Moon Mater, our loveable tow truck is tasked by NASCA (The National Automotive Space Car Association) to retrieve their astronaut. Impala XIII is a 1969 Chevrolet Impala. Both his name and year are a reference to the 1969 Apollo 11 mission where we first took steps on the moon.

Big D

Mater works as a private investigator that’s given a case to find Tia’s missing sister Mia. His investigation takes him to the Carbacabana, a nightclub that’s owned by the notorious Big D. The counterfeit tire crime boss is a 1933 Packard Eight.

Carmen

Carmen is a performer at the Carbacabana nightclub and one of Mater’s leads in the case to find Mia. Her design is based on the same car as Flo, a GM Motorama show car, but she wears fruit on her roof.

Stanley

We finally get to see Lizzie’s other half – Stanley. Mater travels back in time and witnesses the beginnings of Radiator Springs. There he meets the man himself and even helps set him up with the love of his life. The traveling radiator cap salesman and founder of Radiator Springs is based on the Stanley Steamer, an old steam engine powered car.

Cars from Tales from Radiator Springs

Vroomaroundus Bugus – Volkswagen Beetle

Sandy Dunes – Meyers Manx

Shifty Sidewinder – Volkswagen Baja Bug

Idle Threat – Class 1 Dune Buggy

Blue Grit – Trophy Truck

Cars from Cars on the Road

Randy

In the Cars on the Road episode Lights Out, we’re introduced to the creepy owner and receptionist of the Destiny Hotel. Randy is a red 1967 Cadillac Superior Hearse and turns out to be a ghost himself.

Ghosts

There are plenty of ghosts in Lights Out that haunt Lightning McQueen, but only a couple have been given names by Pixar. The first is a 1935 Ford Model 48 Deluxe called Mallory Karhut. The Ford Model T that comes out of a painting is known as Logan Gearsall. And finally, The Shining reference with the two little twin girl cars are named Lisa and Louise. They both look to be first generation Mitsubishi Mirages.

Noriyuki

We’re introduced to Noriyuki and Sarah Coggs in Salt Flats. These two are a part of the Speed Seekers out on the salt flats and help add parts to make some of the fastest vehicles around. Sarah Coggs may just be another forklift, but Noriyuki is a fun kei truck known as the Subaru Sambar.

Barney Cones

Mater and Lightning also encounter Barney Cones, one of the Salt Flat workers that helps push racers to the starting line. This blue classic truck looks a lot like a seventh generation Ford F-150 featuring an added push plate.

Speed Demon

The Speed Demon is a myth around the Salt Flats, but Mater has an out of body experience after he crashes at over 600 mph. The Speed Demon is more like an angel and her body takes the shape of a 1937 Talbot-Lago T150 SS Teardrop Coupe.

Margaret Motorray

Mater and Lightning encounter a trio of cryptid hunters that introduce us to the story of Bigfoot in The Legend. Margaret Motorray is one of these cryptid hunters and is based off of the Land Rover Series II.

Clutch Humboldt

Another member of the cryptid trio is Clutch Humboldt. This giant old school RV is based off the Winnebago F-17.

Griswold

The last cryptid hunter actually has a subtle nod for adult fans out there. The 1975 Ford LTD Country Squire Wagon is named Griswold as a refence to the Griswold’s Queen Family Truckster which was a wood paneled station wagon in National Lampoon’s Family Vacation.

Ivy

We finally get a glimpse of “Bigfoot”, but the cryptid turns out to be a runaway monster truck that’s covered in moss. Ivy takes some inspiration from the real-world monster truck known as Bigfoot with her blue paintjob, lightbar, and a body that’s similar to a tenth generation Ford F-250.

Kay & Mae Pillar-Durev

When Mater and Lighting come across Ivy’s old circus, we’re introduced to two ring leaders known as Kay and Mae Pillar-Durev. Kay looks a lot like Sterling so he’s close to a BMW 2000CS while Mae takes a lot of inspiration from the Alfa Romeo Duetto.

Bella Cadavre

In B-Movie, Lighting McQueen is cast by Bella Cadavre to star in Attack of the Space Zombies from Planet B. The director is clearly based on the Fiat 500.

Doug Crankel

Doug Crankel is an actor in the movie and has been gone through extensive makeup and costuming to look like a giant brained alien. If you drop the giant brain on his roof, Crankel’s car design aligns closely with the seventh generation Dodge Coronet.

Tony Motorfelt

Tony Motorfelt portrays a small town marshall in the movie and his design draws inspiration from Stranger Things. His car design resembles a Chevy K5 Blazer similar to Hopper’s in the Netflix series.

Chieftess

Mater and Lightning McQueen fall into a Mad Max world for the episode Road Rumblers. They’re taken to meet with the Chieftess who sentences our duo to fight in the Thundercone. Her design is based off of a 1949 Mercury Eight.

Cap’n Long Leggy

One of the Road Rumblers is a lifted ice cream van called Cap’n Long Leggy. This pink and white monster ice cream machine is loosely based off of the Chevrolet Advance Design COE.

Squat

Squat is also one of the post apocalyptic cars we meet. He’s a heavily stanced and modified Geo Metro.

Jeremy

Jeremy is the one who explains how the Road Rumblers and their war came to be just before they clash in battle. His design is based off of Volkswagen Rabbit.

Mato & Mateo

Mato is Mater’s wealthy older sister and is due to get married to her fiancé Mateo. Mato has heavy inspiration from the Rolls-Royce Phantom V while Mateo looks like a Fiat 500.

Todd the Pizza Planet Truck

Pixar fans may have caught a glimpse of the Pizza Planet Truck throughout Cars on the Road. This Toyota Hilux named Todd shows up in every episode, so make sure to be on the lookout!

Honorable Cars Movie Mentions

Dusty and Rusty – Dodge A100 Van and Dodge Dart

Junior – NASCAR Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS stock car

Bob Cutlass – Oldsmobile Aurora

Darrell Cartrip – Classic Chevrolet Monte Carlo stock car

Mario Andretti – Ford Fairlane

Tex Dinoco – Cadillac Coupe Deville

Mia and Tia – Mazda MX-5 Miatas

Minny and Van – Ford Windstar and Oldsmobile Silhouette

Boost – Nissan 240SX or 200SX

DJ – Scion xB

Wingo – Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX

Snot Rod – Dodge Challenger R/T

Michael Schumacher – Ferrari F430

Fred – a very rusty Lada Riva

Jay Limo – Lincoln Town Car

Sven – AM General Humvee

Tomber – Reliant Regal

Brent Mustangburger – 1964½ Ford Mustang

David Hobbscap – Jaguar E-Type

Uncle Topolino and Mama Topolino – Fiat 500A and Fiat 500C

Okuni – Smart ForTwo

Pinion Tanaka and Kingpin Nobunaga – Scion xB

Prince Wheeliam – Bentley Continental GT

The Queen – Rolls Royce Phantom IV

Natalie Certain – Tesla Model S

Shannon Spokes – Mazda MX-5 Miata

Bubba Wheelhouse – Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Stock Car

Cal Weathers – Chevrolet Monte Carlo Stock Car

Chase Racelott – Ford Mustang Stock Car

Daniel Swervez – Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Stock Car

Ryan “Inside” Laney – Ford Mustang Stock Car

Arvy – Dodge Titan Motorhome

Dr. Damage – Ford E-350 Ambulance

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in January 2021 and has been completely revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

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