118 Fun Facts About Cars Movie

Who voices Lightning McQueen in the Cars films?

Owen Wilson voices Lightning McQueen in all three films; the hero's surname is a tribute to Glenn McQueen, a Pixar animator who died in 2002, four years before the first film came out.

Why was Lightning McQueen's planned racing number 57 changed to 95?

To mark the year Toy Story was released, 1995, Pixar switched the number to 95; the original 57 would have referred to director John Lasseter's birth year.

In which forgotten town does Lightning get stranded in the first Cars film?

Radiator Springs is the faded town, bypassed when Interstate 40 was built, where Lightning is sentenced to repave the main street he tore up.

Which championship trophy is Lightning chasing throughout the first Cars film?

The Piston Cup is the prize; the season ends in a dead heat between Lightning, Chick Hicks and The King, forcing a tiebreaker race at the Los Angeles International Speedway.

Which legendary actor voiced Doc Hudson in his last non-documentary film role?

Paul Newman, himself a serious racing driver, voiced Doc Hudson; after his death in 2008 Doc was written out of Cars 2, then returned in Cars 3 through unused recordings.

Doc Hudson is a 1951 example of which car?

Hudson Hornet: the real cars, driven by Herb Thomas and Marshall Teague, dominated early-1950s NASCAR because their low 'step-down' chassis handled better than rivals', the history Doc's character borrows.

What does Lightning find in Doc Hudson's garage?

Racing trophies: Lightning finds three of them in Doc's garage, proof he was once a champion, but Doc refuses to talk about his past and dismisses them as 'a bunch of empty cups'.

Who voices Tow Mater in the Cars films?

Larry the Cable Guy voices Mater; the truck takes its name and some of its character from Douglas 'Mater' Keever, a racing fan the Pixar crew met on a research trip.

What was the job of Douglas Keever, the NASCAR fan Mater is named after?

Construction boss Douglas 'Mater' Keever, a site superintendent from North Carolina, introduced himself as 'Mater, like tuh-mater without the tuh', a line that went straight into the film.

In Cars 2, why does Mater refuse to have his dents repaired?

They remind him of Lightning: Mater says he earned each dent alongside his best friend and calls them too valuable to fix; by the end, the agent who offered the repair is keeping a dent of her own.

Sally, the town attorney voiced by Bonnie Hunt, is what kind of car?

A 2002 Porsche 911 Carrera is Sally's model, a big-city lawyer who swapped Los Angeles for small-town life; in 2022 Porsche and Pixar built a real one-off 911 in her honour, the Sally Special.

What does Sally run in the first Cars film?

The Cozy Cone Motel is Sally's business, each room a giant traffic cone; the idea riffs on the teepee-shaped rooms of America's real Wigwam Motels.

Who voices Chick Hicks, Lightning's cheating green rival in the first Cars film?

Michael Keaton voices Chick Hicks, the perennial runner-up whose long-awaited title turns sour: the crowd boos him for the dirty driving that won it.

Which NASCAR legend voices Strip 'The King' Weathers, a 1970 Plymouth Superbird?

Richard Petty voices The King because the car is his own 1970 Superbird on screen, in the same shade of blue and with his racing number, 43; Petty's wife Lynda voices The King's wife.

Which comedian voiced Fillmore, the hippie Volkswagen bus, in the first Cars film?

George Carlin voiced Fillmore, the peace-loving VW bus, in the first film; after Carlin died in 2008, Lloyd Sherr took over the role from Cars 2 onwards.

The tyre shop in the first Cars film is famous for a stack of tyres shaped like which landmark?

The Leaning Tower of Pisa inspired the 'Leaning Tower of Tires' outside Luigi's shop; his forklift helper Guido, who speaks almost only Italian, gets his dream job changing Lightning's tyres in the big race.

Which Pixar regular voices Mack, Lightning's transporter truck?

John Ratzenberger voices Mack, keeping up his run of a part in every Pixar feature up to then; the end credits joke about it, as Mack watches car versions of earlier Pixar films and notices the same voice in each.

Lizzie, the elderly Model T who runs the curio shop, is the widow of which car?

Stanley, the town's founder, was Lizzie's husband; his statue stands in the middle of town, and Lizzie was voiced by Katherine Helmond, who voiced her through Cars 3 before her death in 2019.

Michael Wallis, the highway historian who guided Pixar's research road trips, voices which character in Cars?

Sheriff is voiced by Michael Wallis, whose tours for the Pixar crew paid off on screen: a rusty old tow truck they came across in Galena, Kansas, became the model for Mater.

What was the working title of Cars in 2001, dropped to avoid confusion with a 1960s TV series?

Route 66 was the working title, dropped to avoid confusion with the 1960s TV series of the same name; Jorgen Klubien's earlier pitch, The Yellow Car, had been about an electric car in a gas-guzzling world.

Pixar dedicated its 2006 racing film to co-director Joe Ranft, who died how during production?

In a car crash: Ranft was a passenger when the car left the coastal Highway 1 in August 2005, so he never saw the finished film, in which he voices Red the fire truck.

Where did Cars hold its premiere on May 26, 2006?

Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, hosted the premiere on 26 May 2006, a racetrack screening for NASCAR country; the film opened nationwide on 9 June.

Cars was the last film Pixar made independently before which chairman sold the studio to Disney?

Steve Jobs, Pixar's chairman and biggest shareholder, agreed the $7.4 billion all-stock sale in January 2006; it closed weeks before Cars opened and made him Disney's largest individual shareholder.

Cars lost the Best Animated Feature Oscar to which film?

Happy Feet, George Miller's dancing-penguin musical, took the Best Animated Feature Oscar in February 2007; Cars did win the first Golden Globe ever given for an animated feature.

Which James Taylor ballad from Cars won a Grammy and was nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar?

Our Town, sung by James Taylor over the montage of the town's decline, won the Grammy for best song written for a film and lost the Oscar to 'I Need to Wake Up' from An Inconvenient Truth.

Which country act recorded the version of 'Life Is a Highway' heard in Cars?

Rascal Flatts recorded the cover for the film; Tom Cochrane had finished the 1991 original, a number one in Canada, to find something positive after a harrowing famine-relief trip to Africa.

Cars is often compared to which 1991 Michael J. Fox comedy about a hotshot stranded in a small town?

Doc Hollywood has Fox's young city doctor wreck a judge's fence in a small South Carolina town and get sentenced to community service there, a resemblance several reviewers pointed out.

Which three-race international event does Lightning enter in Cars 2?

The World Grand Prix is staged by a former oil tycoon to show off his new clean fuel, Allinol; Lightning signs up after a rival goads him on a TV talk show.

Which British actor voices the spy Finn McMissile in Cars 2?

Michael Caine voices Finn McMissile, the British agent who opens the film by sneaking onto the villains' oil rig and, once spotted, escaping by faking his own death.

Which city hosts the first of the three international races in Cars 2?

Tokyo hosts the opening race; at the welcome party there an American agent slips a device full of secret intel onto Mater, which is why the British spies take the tow truck for their contact.

Which boastful open-wheel champion taunts Lightning on TV and becomes his chief rival in Cars 2?

Francesco Bernoulli, voiced by John Turturro, is the vain Italian champion whose mockery on a TV talk show goads Lightning into giving up his off-season to race him.

Who is unmasked as the secret mastermind behind the sabotage in Cars 2?

Sir Miles Axlerod, voiced by Eddie Izzard, poses as an oil baron gone green; he built the races around his fuel Allinol only to discredit it, so the world would keep buying oil from his vast untapped reserves.

Professor Zündapp's two 'lemon' henchmen are which 1970s American cars?

AMC Gremlin and AMC Pacer are the models behind Grem and Acer, whose names are the model names cut short; the villains of Cars 2 are all cars written off as 'lemons'.

Which spy-in-training voiced by Emily Mortimer becomes Mater's love interest in Cars 2?

Holley Shiftwell, voiced by Emily Mortimer, is the rookie British agent paired with Finn McMissile; she mistakes Mater for an American spy and ends the film as his girlfriend.

Which Rotten Tomatoes score made Cars 2 the first 'rotten' Pixar film?

About 40 percent was Cars 2's Rotten Tomatoes score, the first 'rotten' rating for a Pixar feature after eleven straight fresh ones; yet it grossed more than $550 million worldwide.

Which film in the Cars franchise, spin-offs included, grossed the most worldwide?

The 2011 sequel, Cars 2, took about $560 million worldwide, the most of any film in the series, even though it was the first Pixar feature rated 'rotten' on Rotten Tomatoes.

How does Cruz pass her rival on the last lap of Cars 3, copying an old Doc move?

She flips over him: rammed against the wall, Cruz pushes off it and barrel-rolls over the leader to win, the same move Doc once pulled on a rookie who kept squeezing him toward the wall.

Which sleek next-generation rookie pushes Lightning toward retirement in Cars 3?

Jackson Storm, voiced by Armie Hammer, heads a wave of high-tech rookies; straining to keep up with him in the season finale, Lightning loses control and suffers the rollover crash that sidelines him.

In Cars 3, why did Cruz Ramirez abandon racing long ago and become a trainer instead?

Nerves before her first race: Cruz, voiced by Cristela Alonzo, tells Lightning the other racers looked bigger, stronger and so confident that she left before it even started.

What does trainer Cruz Ramirez cheekily call Lightning when they first meet in Cars 3?

Her senior project: Cruz grew up watching Lightning on TV, so training him is a thrill, though she can't resist the dig at his age.

Which old pickup truck, once Doc Hudson's crew chief, trains Lightning for his comeback in Cars 3?

Smokey, a 1940s Hudson pickup voiced by Chris Cooper, runs a garage in Thomasville, Doc's home town; he shows Lightning that Doc's happiest years came not as a racer but while coaching him.

Miss Fritter, the demolition-derby terror of Thunder Hollow in Cars 3, is what kind of vehicle?

A school bus: Miss Fritter, voiced by Lea DeLaria, rules the Thunder Hollow derby and goes for Cruz with her swing-out stop-sign saw, until Lightning cuts in and loses a tyre to it.

Which race must Lightning win in Cars 3 to earn the right to decide his own future?

The Florida 500 is the deal: the new owner of Rust-eze agrees that if Lightning wins it, he decides when he retires, and if he loses, he quits racing to sell merchandise.

Which Pixar short about a playground lost-and-found box played before Cars 3 in cinemas?

Lou played before Cars 3; its hero, a creature made of the box's unclaimed odds and ends, sets out to teach a toy-snatching playground bully a lesson.

In Planes (2013), crop duster Dusty Crophopper dreams of racing despite what?

A fear of heights leaves Dusty, voiced by Dane Cook, last on the opening leg because he will not climb; he wins only after braving the high-altitude jet stream on the final stretch.

Cars Land, a walk-through replica of Lightning's adopted hometown, opened in June 2012 at which theme park?

California Adventure in Anaheim, the park beside Disneyland, opened Cars Land on 15 June 2012 as part of a $1.1 billion overhaul, ordered because attendance had lagged ever since the park opened in 2001.

Roughly how much merchandise had the Cars brand sold by the time Cars 2 was released in 2011?

Nearly $10 billion in Cars merchandise had sold by 2011, five years after the first film, dwarfing the roughly $1.4 billion the trilogy took at the box office combined.

Which 2022 streaming series reunites Lightning and Mater for a family wedding?

Cars on the Road, a nine-episode Disney+ series from September 2022, follows the pair on a road trip east to the wedding of Mater's sister.

Which short, made for the first Cars DVD in 2006, sees the town turn the tables on prankster Mater?

Mater and the Ghostlight: after Mater spends the day scaring his neighbours, they hang a glowing lantern on his tow cable, and he flees in terror from the 'ghost' that keeps following him.

Michael Schumacher has a cameo in Cars as which car?

A Ferrari F430 is Schumacher's car-self, who rolls into Luigi's shop at the end to buy tyres and leaves Luigi swooning; Mario Andretti and Dale Earnhardt Jr. also voice versions of themselves.

Which baffling dirt-track tip does Doc Hudson give Lightning in the first Cars film?

Turn right to go left: Lightning sneers that it must be advice from 'Opposite World', then tries it literally, steers right and lands in the cactus patch.

In Cars 3, which business car buys Rust-eze and tries to force Lightning into retirement?

Sterling, a sleek silver business car, buys Rust-eze and sees Lightning as a merchandising brand to be protected rather than a racer to be risked.

What costs Lightning a clear win on the last lap of the opening race in Cars?

His rear tyres blow out because he waved off fresh tyres at his pit stops to keep the lead; he crawls to the line and ends up in a three-way tie.

What is the criss-cross demolition derby that Lightning and Cruz enter in disguise at Thunder Hollow called?

Crazy Eight is the figure-eight demolition derby; Cruz, disguised as 'Frances Beltline', wins it, and Lightning's angry outburst afterwards knocks her trophy to the ground and breaks it.

Where do Lightning and Cruz try to record his top speed in Cars 3?

Fireball Beach is where Cruz sets up the speed run, but her lack of real-world experience shows: she has never raced on sand and keeps bogging down, so Lightning never gets a clean reading.

Which old racing friend of Doc Hudson helps train Lightning in Cars 3?

Louise 'Barnstormer' Nash, modelled on NASCAR pioneer Louise Smith, joins River Scott and Junior 'Midnight' Moon in teaching Lightning old-school tricks, since he can no longer win on speed alone.

Which Cars 3 statistical analyst does Kerry Washington voice?

Natalie Certain, voiced by Kerry Washington, is the numbers-driven analyst on the racing broadcast who gives Lightning almost no chance of winning, a forecast the final race upends.

After her victory, Cruz turns down the new Rust-eze owner to sign with which team?

Dinoco, the blue-liveried team that had courted Lightning in the first film, signs Cruz; its owner Tex then buys Rust-eze as well, and Lightning repaints himself in a livery honouring Doc.

Who composed the score for Cars 3, returning from the first film?

Randy Newman, who scored the first film, was asked back because Cars 3 set out to return to the series' roots; a Disney music executive said the score felt like him coming home.

Which Black Keys frontman wrote and performed the Cars 3 song 'Run That Race'?

Dan Auerbach, the Black Keys' singer and guitarist, wrote and performed 'Run That Race' for the Cars 3 soundtrack, which also included ZZ Ward's 'Ride' with Gary Clark Jr.

Cars 3 was first screened for the NASCAR industry in which North Carolina town?

Kannapolis, North Carolina, Dale Earnhardt's hometown in the heart of NASCAR country, hosted an early screening of Cars 3 for the racing industry ahead of its June 2017 release.

Why is Lightning credited alongside Cruz with her win at the end of Cars 3?

They shared one race number: Lightning started the race as 95 and Cruz finished it as 95, so both are credited with the win, which also wins him his bet with the team's new owner.

Why does Lightning brake just short of the finish line in the first Cars film?

To push a wrecked rival home: The King has been shunted off the track, and Lightning, remembering how Doc's career ended, gives up the win to shove him across the line.

Which superhero film did Cars 3 knock off the top of the US box office in June 2017?

Wonder Woman had topped the chart for two weekends before Cars 3 opened at number one on 16 June 2017; a week later Cars 3 slipped to third behind Transformers: The Last Knight and Wonder Woman.

In the first Cars film, what is the name of the paving machine Lightning must pull as his punishment?

Bessie is hitched to Lightning on Doc's orders; he rushes the job, leaves the road a lumpy mess and has to scrape it all up and start again.

Which comedian voices Ramone, the 1959 Chevrolet Impala lowrider who keeps repainting himself?

Cheech Marin voices Ramone, who owns the body-art shop, treats his own bodywork as a canvas and at last gets to paint Lightning McQueen as well.

In the UK release of Cars, who voices Harv, Lightning McQueen's never-seen agent?

Jeremy Clarkson, then presenting Top Gear, voiced Harv in the UK release, replacing Jeremy Piven's US performance; Harv is heard only over the phone and is never seen.

Roughly how much did Cars gross worldwide, nearly four times its budget?

$462 million worldwide was the first film's take, about $244 million of it in North America, making it the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2006 worldwide.

At a Cars 2 party, Mater embarrasses Lightning McQueen by mistaking what for pistachio ice cream?

Wasabi is what Mater scoops up at the glamorous pre-race party, and he ends up charging onto the stage to cool his mouth in the fountain, embarrassing his friend in front of the racing world.

At the end of Cars 2, which honour does Mater receive from the Queen for exposing the villain?

A knighthood makes him Sir Tow Mater, a title bestowed at Buckingham Palace after he unmasks the mastermind behind the sabotaged races.

Which mischievous hobby does Mater teach Lightning McQueen in a field at night in Cars?

Tractor tipping is Pixar's take on cow tipping: the dozing tractors behave like cattle, and the outing is where the two become friends.

In Cars, Mater proudly claims to be the world's best at which unusual motoring skill?

Driving backwards was borrowed from a real man the film-makers met while researching the story, who could twist his feet around and walk in reverse.

After wrecking a desert town's main street in Cars, Lightning McQueen is sentenced to do what?

Repave the road is his sentence, and his rushed first attempt is so shoddy that he has to start all over again.

In Cars, what drained the desert town where Lightning McQueen is stranded of its passing trade?

An interstate bypassed it, a fate the film-makers had seen in Divided Highways, a documentary about real small towns cut off the same way.

Which family experience in the summer of 2000 gave director John Lasseter the story idea for Cars?

A cross-country road trip with his wife and five sons did it: keeping to slow back roads, he said, taught him that the journey is the reward.

Finn McMissile, the gadget-laden British agent of Cars 2, was modelled on which famous screen spy?

James Bond is the model, and the car's shape borrows from the Aston Martin DB5, with tail fins taken from a rare 1958 British sports car, the Peerless.

After the three-way tie that opens Cars, the tiebreaker race is held in which California city?

Los Angeles hosts the showdown a week later, and the overnight dash there is how the rookie falls out of his trailer and gets lost.

What does Lightning McQueen refuse to take at his last pit stop in the opening race of Cars?

New tyres are what he waves away to keep his lead, and both rear tyres blow out on the last lap, turning a sure win into a three-way tie.

Why does Lightning McQueen fail to win the tiebreaker race at the end of Cars?

He helps a crashed rival, braking just short of the line to push the retiring champion across and handing the title to the car that caused the wreck.

Besides being the local doctor, Doc Hudson holds which other post in his town in Cars?

Judge is his other hat, so the stranded racer's traffic case lands before a car who is prejudiced against racing machines.

Which supposedly clean new fuel must the international racers of Cars 2 run on?

Allinol is a trap: sold as green by its creator, it is really ordinary petrol engineered to ignite when hit by an electromagnetic pulse.

In Cars 2, the weapon that makes racers' engines explode mid-race is disguised as what?

A television camera hides the electromagnetic emitter, which the villains aim from the trackside at cars as they speed past.

At the end of Cars 3, Lightning McQueen is repainted which colour in tribute to Doc Hudson?

Dark blue copies the livery of his late mentor, right down to lettering on his side that dubs him the Fabulous Lightning McQueen.

Which town hosts the second of the three big races in Cars 2, the one Lightning McQueen wins?

Porto Corsa exists only on screen: Pixar invented the Riviera town, pairing a Monaco-style street circuit with the look of real harbours such as Portofino.

Which composer of Up and The Incredibles wrote the score for Cars 2?

Michael Giacchino built the score around surf music to suit a 1960s-style spy, in his only collaboration with director John Lasseter.

Cars won the first-ever animated feature prize handed out by which awards body?

The Golden Globes created the category that season and Cars took it, though the film went on to lose the equivalent Oscar.

Which film beat Cars to finish as the highest-grossing animated release of 2006?

Ice Age: The Meltdown out-earned it worldwide, although Cars still opened at number one in the United States and held the top spot for two weeks.

The Yellow Car, an early script that became Cars, drew on which Hans Christian Andersen tale?

The Ugly Duckling suited its hero, an unloved electric car in a gas-guzzling world, an idea sparked by a three-wheeled Danish car nobody wanted.

Which rendering technique did Pixar adopt for Cars to give its metal cast realistic reflections?

Ray tracing was bolted onto Pixar's existing software for the film, because a cast made of polished metal and glass mirrors everything around it.

Lightning McQueen's voice actor was cast after the Cars director enjoyed which Jackie Chan comedy?

Shanghai Noon won over John Lasseter and his children, and the actor later said that voicing the car earned him street cred with his own two sons.

Which late-night talk-show host voices a Lincoln Town Car version of himself in Cars?

Jay Leno appears as a blue car called Jay Limo, one of several real broadcasters and racing figures who voice four-wheeled versions of themselves.

Which Formula One champion voices himself in Cars 2 and a computerised assistant in Cars 3?

Lewis Hamilton plays a racer bearing his own name in the sequel, then returns as the voice-command helper built into trainer Cruz Ramirez.

Which singer co-wrote Real Gone for Cars and released her version as a single from the soundtrack?

Sheryl Crow wrote it with John Shanks, and the album it leads off became the first Pixar soundtrack to be certified gold in the United States.

Which doo-wop hit of the 1950s plays as the neon lights come back on in the desert town of Cars?

Sh-Boom, first recorded by the Chords, also plays each evening at the Cars Land theme-park area as its neon signs light up at sunset.

How does Doc Hudson speak in Cars 3, years after the death of the actor who voiced him?

Old unused recordings from the first film and its video game were pieced together for the flashbacks rather than recasting the role.

What disguises Lightning McQueen when he enters the demolition derby in Cars 3?

A coat of mud hides his famous red paint, but the cover is blown when his trainer wins the derby and accidentally reveals him to the crowd.

The licence plate on Flo, the café owner of Cars, hints at which earlier career?

Show girl is the plate's hint: she rolled into town with a touring motor show and stayed behind for Ramone, the local body painter.

What kind of vehicle is Guido, who swaps Lightning McQueen's wheels during races in Cars?

A forklift whose front end resembles a BMW Isetta bubble car, Guido is voiced by his namesake, Guido Quaroni.

Luigi, who runs the Casa Della Tires shop in Cars, is which small European city car?

A Fiat 500 in yellow, Luigi shares the workshop with his assistant Guido, and the pair are devoted fans of a famous red racing team.

Sarge, the army veteran who runs a surplus store in Cars, is which wartime vehicle?

A Willys Jeep of 1941, Sarge fought in the Second World War and is forever annoyed by his hippie neighbour's music, though the two are good friends.

Frank, who chases Lightning McQueen and Mater out of a field in Cars, is which farm machine?

A combine harvester written as a bull guarding his herd, Frank never speaks: his snorts were performed by Pixar's Steve Purcell.

Mia and Tia, the twin superfans who cheer for Lightning McQueen in Cars, are which sports car?

Mazda Miatas painted the same red as their hero, the twins defect to his rival while he is away, then switch straight back.

Fillmore's licence plate in Cars, 51237, hides which fact about the comedian who first voiced him?

His date of birth, May 12, 1937, is written on the plate as month, day and year, a quiet tribute from the animators.

Why does Van, the minivan touring with his wife Minny in Cars, end up lost in the desert?

He won't ask directions, trusting his GPS instead, and a scene after the credits finds the pair still wandering the desert.

Along with his towing service, Mater owns which other business in the first Cars film?

A salvage yard goes with the tow rig, though business is so slow that Mater has not seen any real work in years.

Which treat does Lightning McQueen arrange for Mater at the end of Cars, keeping an earlier promise?

A helicopter ride is Mater's dream, and Lightning gets it by cashing in a favour from the sponsor whose lucrative offer he has just turned down.

In Cars, what news is the Japanese TV reporter Chuki briefly seen delivering to her viewers?

A missing race car is her story: she is asking where Lightning McQueen has gone, and the same pink reporter makes a brief cameo in Cars 2.

When Mater introduces himself in Cars, he explains his name by comparing it to which food?

Tomato is the comparison, borrowed from life: the racing fan who inspired the character introduced himself to the director in the same way.

In Cars, Rusty and Dusty borrow the sign-off of which radio show hosted by their voice actors?

Car Talk was hosted by brothers Tom and Ray Magliozzi, who voice the sponsor pair with personalities much like their own on air.

Which teasing nickname does Sally use for Lightning McQueen throughout the Cars films?

Stickers is her joke about his headlights, which are only decals in the first film, and she keeps using the name after he gets real ones.

In Cars, how does Chick Hicks needle Lightning McQueen over his one-word signature catchphrase?

Chick steals it for himself with his own name worked in, hoping both to annoy its owner and to borrow some of his popularity.

In Cars 3, Smokey reveals that Doc Hudson found new happiness late in life doing what?

Training his protégé gave Doc a second happiness after his racing days ended, and Lightning is deeply moved to learn how much it meant.

In the final race of Cars 3, how does Jackson Storm try to rattle Cruz Ramirez?

Storm says she doesn't belong there, then rams her into the wall on the last lap, but she flips over him using an old move of Doc's and wins.

In Cars 2, the bomb bolted to Mater can only be switched off by what?

The villain's own voice is the only key, so when Mater corners him in front of the Queen he has to disarm it and give himself away.

After the final race of Cars 3, Sally pointedly introduces herself to the Rust-eze owner as what?

Lightning's lawyer is how she puts it, as she points out that his shared win lets him keep the right to decide when he stops racing.

Mater's licence plate in Cars reads A113, a Pixar in-joke that refers to what?

A CalArts classroom is the source: character animation students were taught in room A113, and its graduates have hidden the number in their films ever since.

Which racing legend cameos in Cars as a 1967 Ford Fairlane bearing his own name?

Mario Andretti won the 1967 Daytona 500 in a Ford Fairlane, the same model as his animated double.

Which Evil Dead star voices the captured American spy Rod Redline in Cars 2?

Bruce Campbell's muscle-car agent slips his secret device onto Mater before he is caught, which is how the tow truck gets mistaken for a spy.