List of Cars characters

Cars is a media franchise including the 2006 film Cars, the 2011 film Cars 2, the 2017 film Cars 3, the 2022 series Cars on the Road, the 2013 film Planes, and the 2014 film Planes: Fire & Rescue. This page is a list of characters that have appeared in the franchise.

Lightning McQueen, known as Montgomery "Monty" McQueen before the events of the Cars films, (voiced by Owen Wilson in the films, Cars on the Road, video game adaption, Kinect Rush: A Disney-Pixar Adventure, and Lego The Incredibles, Ben Rausch in Cars 3: Driven to Win, and Keith Ferguson in Cars Toons and most video games), is a 2006 custom-built race car who competes in the Piston Cup Racing Series, with 95 as his racing number. His design is a hybrid of Generation 4 NASCAR vehicles and Le Mans endurance racers. Lightning was initially arrogant and struggled with teamwork until becoming stranded in Radiator Springs on U.S. Route 66, where he learned about the importance of humility from the locals. He has since taken permanent residence there and has made the town the site of his racing headquarters. He is best friends with Mater and is Sally's boyfriend. His signature catchphrases are "ka-chow" and "I am speed", which have become synonymous with the Cars franchise as a whole.

Mack (voiced by John Ratzenberger, whose father drove a Mack truck) is a modified 1985 Mack Super-Liner class 8 truck who serves as Lightning's loyal transporter. After the Dinoco 400, Lightning convinces Mack to drive all night to the tie-breaker race in Los Angeles despite federal DOT regulations which legally grant Mack ten hours of rest. Mack struggles to stay awake as a result, with an ensuing mishap causing Lightning to fall out of Mack's trailer. Mack later arrives in Radiator Springs to retrieve McQueen after his location is revealed and becomes a resident of the town with McQueen in the film's epilogue. He returns as a minor character in Cars 2 and as a supporting character in Cars 3.

Sterling (voiced by Nathan Fillion) is a wealthy business car who briefly becomes the new owner of Rust-eze Bumper Ointment in Cars 3. He resembles a modernized 1968 BMW E9. After meeting Lightning, Sterling assigns Cruz to train him and prepare him for the Florida 500. After watching Lightning's poor performance on the racing simulator, Sterling attempts to force him into retirement. Lightning agrees to retire if he loses the upcoming Florida 500, but otherwise keeps his right to decide. After Lightning and Cruz both win the Florida 500, Cruz declines Sterling's offer to race for him and accepts Tex Dinoco instead, who purchases Rust-eze from Sterling.

Cruz Ramirez (voiced by Cristela Alonzo) is Lightning's trainer and technician at the Rust-eze Racing Center. She is a yellow high-performance sports car that has styling characteristics of a Jaguar F-Type and Chevrolet Corvette (C7). Cruz is known for training some of the best rookie race cars through her unconventional training methods. After Sterling introduces Cruz to Lightning, he assigns her to train Lightning for the Florida 500. At the Florida 500, Sterling orders Cruz back to the racing center to train one of the rookies. Lightning overhears the exchange on his radio and exits the race to allow Cruz to take his place, giving her a chance to become a racer. Using what she learned from Lightning and Smokey, Cruz catches up to Jackson Storm. Storm is furious at the thought of a standard production car beating him in a race and rams Cruz into the wall on the final lap, but she manages to evade him and wins. Cruz later accepts Tex Dinoco's offer to race for his team and chooses 51 as her racing number as a tribute to Doc Hudson. She returns as a playable character in Cars 3: Driven to Win.

Strip "The King" Weathers (voiced by Richard Petty) is a veteran race car and racing legend. Weathers is an anthropomorphic version of Petty's 1970 Plymouth Superbird stock car, sporting the same shade of blue and Petty's racing number, 43, as well as being a fictionalized version of Petty himself. He is one of the racers in the Dinoco 400 three-way tie, along with Chick Hicks and Lightning McQueen. Known as Dinoco's "Golden Boy" having won a total of seven Piston Cups, Weathers is hoping for his eighth win in the tiebreaker race before entering retirement. He returns in Cars 3 as the crew chief of his nephew, Cal Weathers.

Tex Dinoco (voiced by Humpy Wheeler) is a gold 1975 Cadillac Coupe de Ville who owns Dinoco Oil and is the boss of the Dinoco racing team. His most well known racer is Strip "The King" Weathers, who won the Piston Cup a total of seven times before his retirement. In Cars, Tex refused to give Chick Hicks a Dinoco sponsorship after he intentionally caused The King to crash and offered it to McQueen instead, although McQueen respectfully declined due to his newfound respect for Rust-eze. In Cars 3, Tex purchases Rust-eze Bumper Ointment from Sterling, thus allowing Lightning McQueen to race alongside Cruz under the merged Rust-eze/Dinoco brand.

Darrell Cartrip (voiced by Darrell Waltrip in Cars, Cars 2, Cars 3, Cars: The Video Game, and Cars 3: Driven to Win) is a retired Piston Cup racer who serves as an RSN commentator alongside Bob Cutlass for Piston Cup series races, and also briefly for Miles Axlerod's World Grand Prix. Cartrip is known for his comedic and lighthearted style of commentary, contrasting other announcers' more traditional approach. He is based on a 1977 Chevrolet Monte Carlo stock car and is painted metallic silver with a red and yellow flame design on his front end.