Mater wears a hat to every race he attends except the Los Angeles 500, which hints at Lightning's struggle (leading to the iconic crash scene) later on. Butt-Monkey: The King's nephew; Cal Weathers is the butt of many jokes throughout the first half of the movie. It gets bad enough that Tex Dinoco talks about replacing him with Lightning in front of his face after a race. Lightning becomes one with a dose of Dude, Where's My Respect? add in to through out most of the movie post crash. He is relentlessly teased about his age by Cruz (who says she's a fan of his) and Smokey and the racing legends who are ironically several decades older than him. As a retroactive example, look closely and you'll find that most of the next-generation racers resemble muscle cars. In the 2018 NASCAR season, the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 (a well-known pony/muscle car) replaced the Holden Commodore-derived Chevrolet SS saloon. Ford would replace the Fusion saloon with the Mustang GT the following season. Sterling decides to make Lightning a mascot for Rusteze rather than have him race again. Among the merchandise he issues is a "Lightning McGrill", parodying the infamous George Foreman Grill .

Friendly Rivalry: Lightning, Cal Weathers, and Bobby Swift trade barbs and pranks with each other, but it's all in good fun. When the latter two are forced to retire, Lightning is saddened about not being able to race against them anymore. Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Mia and Tia are absent in this film, having been replaced by an unknown child fan. Terse Talker: Dr. Damage doesn’t say anything other than a siren’s imitation “Wee-oo-wee-oo-wee-oo”.Hopeless with Tech: Averted. Lightning has shown to have gotten better with the simulator here, as opposed to the movie when he immediately goes out of control and destroys it the moment it turns on. A picture of the scene itself can be seen at the museum in the Rust-eze Racing Center and on Smokey's bulletin board. Crazy-Prepared: Meta-example. The directors at Pixar recorded almost everything Paul Newman said during the taping of Cars 1, to the point they had over 25 hours of footage of Newman talking, be it takes for the film, random anecdotes or just general chat. 10 years later, and eight years after his death, this footage paid off as they were able to get Newman to posthumously reprise his role through the recorded footage. The text on the three jars of dirt as part of the plaque leading into the racing center were changed from simple typed out text to actual logos of each respective destination. The description next to said jars was also changed to match the region's language.

After Cruz takes over, she has to beat the pace car so she isn't a lap down, like how Lightning did after getting his rapid fire pit stop from Guido. Chekhov's Skill: Cruz Ramirez uses Doc Hudson's acrobatic roll in the finale to win the race, and before that, almost everything else she learned in Thomasville. Proscenium Reveal: The opening scene shows Lightning and Cruz in Thomasville while the former races the old legends, including Doc...then it's revealed to have come from the simulator he's trying out. When we first see Lightning practicing at Willy's Butte, it's a beautiful bright and sunny day, showing he's enjoying himself. When we see him practicing again following Storm's introduction, it's cloudy and quite dark, which represents he's starting to fall behind and unable to keep up with the next-gens. Then, at the end of the film, after his career is saved and he becomes Cruz's teacher, it's a beautiful sunrise showing his return to form. In Thomasville, Cruz uses mostly duct tape to disguise herself as Storm and participate as Lightning's sparring partner in Thomasville.Watch: Lightning McQueen vs The Stig... in Lego!". Top Gear. April 13, 2018. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021 . Retrieved April 13, 2018. Barnes, Mike (March 1, 2019). "Katherine Helmond, the Man-Crazy Mother on 'Who's the Boss?' Dies at 89". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 2, 2019 . Retrieved December 31, 2019.

Early-Bird Cameo: Smokey makes his first appearance in old Doc Hudson racing footage. He isn't seen again until Lightning finds him. The way Cruz is treated as a racer can bring to mind how female athletes may be treated in a predominantly male sport. Her gender isn't explicitly brought up, but the use of automobile euphemisms makes it resemble the real-life stigma.

Brayson, Johnny (June 12, 2017). "Don't Expect 'Cars 3' To End The Franchise". Bustle. Archived from the original on March 7, 2021 . Retrieved November 8, 2021. Nothing Is the Same Anymore: The teaser trailer promised that life won't ever be the same for Lightning after his accident. The film ends with Lightning choosing to act as mentor to Cruz, willingly becoming what Doc was to him to her. Bob Peterson also voices Dr. Damage, a white and orange modified ambulance who partakes in the Crazy 8 demolition derby. Heroic BSoD: McQueen has one for four months after his crash; believing what happened to Doc would happen to him. Cruz goes through one too after Storm tells her that she'll never be accepted as a next-gen racer.

Defeat Means Friendship: Miss Fritter winds up becoming a fan of Lightning and later, Cruz after being defeated at the Crazy 8. Some of the next-gens congratulate Cruz for the big win after the Florida 500. Lightning himself has become one to Doc Hudson and the King, needing to choose between retiring with dignity (give in), being forced into retirement (give up), or trying to Take a Third Option (give it all you've got).Animation Bump: The movie’s animation is much more improved than the past two installments. In addition to Scenery Porn, the characters’ eyes are a bit larger and more Animesque, and their faces are more emotive than before. The detailing on Lightning’s headlights are also more resembling of real-life headlights, having become slightly dulled in appearance, and coated with visible translucent lines. Development on Cars 3 began in late 2011 after the release of Cars 2, [15] and by March 2014, pre-production on the film was underway. [16] In October 2014, Pixar's former chief creative officer John Lasseter revealed at the Tokyo International Film Festival that the film would feature a tribute to Hayao Miyazaki's film The Castle of Cagliostro, in a form of an old Citroën 2CV. [17] Fourth during the Florida 500 when he hears Sterling over the mic demand Cruz to return to the racing center because she's not a racer but a trainer, and he remembers her saying she dreamed of becoming one all her life following the incident at Thunder Hollow, inspiring him to let her race in his place to fulfill her dream. After the tiebreaker race, Doc says to Lightning, "You've got a lot of stuff, kid." Following the Florida 500 after Lightning wins his bet with Sterling and Cruz being surrounded by the paparazzi, he quotes to himself, "Kid's got a lot of stuff...eh, Doc?". Death Glare: Sometimes your car will give one of these, though it's with determination rather than malice.