"Cars" - The Movie Trivia Quiz

Answer: On the windshield

The positioning of the eyes in the windshield instead of the headlights was an animation masterstroke. The head of Pixar Animation, John Lasseter explained to a press conference of automotive journalists in 2017 prior to the release of "Cars 3": "The reason we chose to put the eyes in the windshield is really kind of simple. When you create a character out of an inanimate object, the number one thing, to give it personality and emotion and to make it look like a thinking character, you have to define what is the face of the character. That's where all the acting comes from. And the eyes are key to the face.
As humans, we all look at each other in the eyes. That's why we put so much effort in the animation of the eyes first. The lip-sync is second; the lip-sync can be a little off, but you're staring at the eyes. That's why in the history of Pixar and Disney animation, the eyes tend to be a little big: it draws your eyes to them"

He further explained why the eyes were not put in the headlights: "they took the eyes from the headlights and moved them up into the windshield. That fundamentally shifted what the head of the character is. Now you have a head that's the whole car and it's positioned over the four tires that you get a sense [that] it's a four-legged character and you can use those front tires like hands for gesturing." This decision also makes it easier for animators to deal with eyelids, eye color and other characteristics of the eyes that might be difficult within the confines of a car's headlights, especially as newer headlamps take on shapes other than simple round circles"

From a personal viewpoint, I took my young kids to the movie (in 2006) out of parental duty but my scepticism was ill-placed: I was enthralled, not in the least by the very clever animation making cars behave like humans

Answer: Lightning McQueen No. 95

Owen Wilson was the voice behind Lightning McQueen, a bright red car of indeterminate lineage (unlike other characters that were clearly based on particular models).

Bob Pauley, one of the "Cars" production designers explained "We took the best of our favorite things, from GT40s to Chargers, just sketching them out, we came up with what McQueen looks like... the most prominent design choices for McQueen are drawn directly from the Chevrolet Corvette C6".

The choice of surname was very unlikely to be a coincidence - Steve McQueen was very much associated with automobile racing as was Paul Newman who had voiced a "racing" character elsewhere in the movie (see below).

The choice of number, like most Pixar movie elements, was deliberate. McQueen was originally slated to be "57", the year director John Lasseter was born but instead received "95", the year the first Pixar motion picture was released. This was "Toy Story".

Answer: Three-way tie between the three racers

Lightning McQueen is not likeable (at first). He is rude, selfish an obnoxious. He treats his crew with disrespect. He refuted their advice about tyres during the race and hence loses ground, only making it to a tie because he stuck his tongue out at the finish line. He wants a more lucrative sponsor deal as his current one, with a rust prevention product is not glamorous enough.

Strip Weathers was known as "The King" and was an anthropomorphic version of Richard Petty's 1970 Plymouth Superbird. The animated car was the same colour blue and was the same number (43) as Petty's Superbird. Strip was also voiced by Richard Petty. The King had won seven Piston Cups (Petty won seven NASCAR Cup Series championships) and Strip would retire after this race season.
Strip was an avuncular character and advised McQueen to remember the importance of his crew and team, but McQueen paid no attention.

Michael Keaton voiced Chick Hicks who was Lightning McQueen's main rival. He was not any recognizable model but "a generic Pixar design, 'a stock 1980s American car' states Amanda Sorena" a Pixar publicity coordinator. Chick resembled a "GM G-body with features from both the Chevrolet Monte Carlo and the Buick Grand National". General Motors rejected a Pixar proposal to make a Chevrolet stock car the movie's villain. Chick had spent his entire career in the shadow of Strip Weathers, he was bitter about this, reflected in his choice of racing sponsor - Hostile Takeover Bank (A Pixar jab at the banking industry). Hicks' racing number was 86, the year Pixar Animation Studios was founded; 86 itself was also an American slang term for destroying or eliminating something; it was also two times 43, perhaps a veiled reference to his position relative to Strip?.

Answer: Radiator Springs

Lightning is lost and can't find the interstate. He ends up on Route 66 and in the small town of Radiator Springs where he catches the attention of the sheriff (an ex-army jeep) and causes damage to the town particularly the paving of the main street.

He has to go to court where he is told he needs to re-pave the main street. Lightning is resentful and just wants to get to California but because the re-paving takes days, he gets to know the 'people' in in the small town and in the end becomes friends with many of them

Answer: Chick Hicks

McQueen is in front at the final lap but sees Hick's sideswipe Strip to avoid coming behind him in the placings yet again. Strip rolls badly and cannot finish. McQueen then goes back to push Strip across the finish line ahead of him. Chick ostensibly wins the trophy but he is jeered and leaves the arena with a hollow victory. Lightning is cheered for his unselfish gesture.

He retains his unglamorous but loyal sponsor. After the race he returns to Radiator Springs to establish his racing headquarters in town.

This brings back the tourists and the discarded Route 66 is reclassified as Historic Route 66.

Answer: Paul Newman

"Cars" was arguably the first character, rather than action-driven Pixar movie. One of the main reason for the success of the movie can be attributed to the excellent casting. And there was no better casting decision than to cast Paul Newman as Doc.
Doc was a 1951 Hudson Hornet that won three Piston Cups. (In the real world, the Hudson Hornet sent shock waves up the collective spines of the big three auto manufacturers when the Hornet won NASCAR 1951-1953.) Doc suffered a crash in his last race and retired to Radiator Springs where the glory faded but his dignity did not. As the town judge it was Doc's role to ensure there were consequences for No.95's poor behaviour. In time Lightning came to respect Doc a great deal and no-one was more pleased when Doc turned up at the last race to head lightning's pit crew.

Paul Newman, like Doc, was revered by those who knew him and had a successful auto racing career in the past. Paul Newman died soon after Cars was released. He was 83. It seems ironic that in his last movie role, the movie was the biggest grossing one he had appeared in.

Answer: Porsche 911

Sally Carrera is a 2002996-series Porsche 911 Carrera. She is voiced by Bonnie Hunt (b. 1961) who like John Ratzenberger is a Pixar regular. She said (about playing the one beautiful car in the movie):

"It's the nicest body I've ever had on film. I'm telling you, it's a luxury. I really thought they were going to cast me as a Buick."

Sally Carrera owns the Cozy Cone Motel and covers the town lawyer role. She prosecutes Lightning for the damage he cause on arrival in town but they become friends afterwards and become a couple. Her back story included she was a big-time lawyer from LA:

"It's really pretty simple. I was an attorney in LA. livin' life in the fast lane and well, that was my life. And you know what? It never felt happy. So I left California. Just drove and drove and finally broke down right here. Doc fixed me up, Flo took me in. Well, they all did. And I never left."

Jay Ward (Pixar Studios' art director for all things related to the movie "Cars") stated in 2016 that he original thought Sally was a Mustang, because we thought about the song 'Mustang Sally'. The problem with the Mustang is, it has a very thick grille in the front that looks like a mustache on a female car. People say, "Why did you guys use a Porsche for Sally? That's kind of a guy car." A Porsche has a rear engine and no radiator grille in front, perfectly smooth, like you want a female shape to be".

Answer: Mater

Tow Mater or simply Mater is one of the main characters in "Cars" (and its sequels) and is inspired by a 1951 International Harvester tow truck and from a 1956-57 Chevrolet Tom truck.

When Lightning meets Mater:
"My name's Mater!"
"Mater?"
"Yeah, like "tuh-mater", but without the tuh!"

Mater is voiced by Daniel Lawrence Whitney, professionally known as Larry the Cable Guy.

Sheriff, a 1949 Mercury Club Coupe (and a homage to Ford who played a large part in the animation design process) was voiced by Michael Wallis.

Pixar perennial, John Ratzenberger played Mack, a 1985 Mack Super-Liner who acted as a transporter for Lightning McQueen.

Fillmore a hippy 1960 VW bus was portrayed by George Carlin.

Answer: True

Casting was meticulous. Dale Earnhardt, Jr, Mario Andretti, Michael Schumacher all appeared as themselves in small cameo roles (and yet Richard Petty played the role of Strip Weathers in a much bigger role). Jay Leno was host of NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" from 1992-2009 and from 2010-2014.In 2014, Mr Leno hosted "Jay Leno's Garage" where his love of automobiles was apparent.

Answer: Nostalgia, a return to old-time values

The interstate highways depicted in the early part of the movie reflect the fast pace of today's society, and Lightning McQueen himself is selfish and arrogant. (Is it a coincidence that interstate traffic takes the traffic around, rather than through a town? Is this symptomatic of the price of progress an a fast placed society that we only think of ourselves as that is all we have time for? Or is this author reading too much into ostensibly a kid's movie?) The Route 66 town of Radiator Springs represent an older, kinder, small town society where people know each other and help each other.

In time we see the transformation of Lightning from a self-centred person to a caring empathetic young man that seemingly, an old-time town has influenced him in a very positive way.