- "Man, now I got dirt in my rims!"
- —T.J., Cars
T.J. is a green Hummer H1 who often attends Sarge's SUV Boot Camp in Radiator Springs. He was introduced as a minor character in Cars, appearing during the epilogue sequence. He later starred in the book Sarge's Boot Camp, which depicts him arriving in Radiator Springs, and half-heartedly enlisting in Sarge's "car camp" alongside Luigi and Guido.
According to the Car Finder Game and subsequent reference material, T.J. is an aspiring rapper from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and came to Radiator Springs after his father enrolled him in Sarge's SUV boot camp. While he values his appearance and approaches new situations with caution, Sarge's Boot Camp shows him setting aside these fears, as he befriends Luigi, Guido, and Sarge.
History[]
Cars[]
- "About face! Drop and give me 20 miles! Go! Go! Go, go, go, go, go! ...Go!"
"Man, now I got dirt in my rims!" - —Sarge and T.J., Cars
T.J. appears during the end credits sequence of Cars. Now that Lightning McQueen has restored traffic and popularity to Radiator Springs, Sarge begins hosting boot camp training sessions for urban, off-road SUVs. T.J. is joined by Charlie Cargo, Frank Pinkerton, and Murphy while Sarge orders the four nervous attendees to attention. He commands them to practice, and while the others reluctantly descend the rocky hill, T.J. hesitates, and complains to Sarge that he has never been off-road before. When Sarge yells at him, T.J. gently starts moving off-camera, but can be heard complaining about his rims getting dirty.
Storybooks[]
Sarge's Boot Camp[]
In the book Sarge's Boot Camp, which is seemingly set concurrently with his appearance in Cars, T.J. has a starring role. One day, Sheriff asks Lightning why Sarge is chasing Luigi and Guido down Main Street, and the race car explains that since he decided to make Radiator Springs his "racing headquarters," Sarge has been inspired to do the same for his military training. They are interrupted by the arrival of a green 4x4, who introduces himself as T.J. Sarge and his recruits encourage him to join "car camp," and while he politely declines, Sarge's barking orders persuade him to agree.
Sarge leads his three students to a rocky area out of town, where he orders them to navigate over a bumpy, rock-filled road. T.J. complains about dirtying his grille and wearing out his tire treads, and in contrast to Sarge's no-nonsense attitude, Luigi encourages him to persevere. The same occurs during their next trial, as they cross a shallow riverbed toward their "final drill."
Sarge introduces the recruits to their task, which involve driving down a steep slope and across a vast puddle. T.J. begins and starts losing control, so he calls for help, but finds himself at the bottom in no time. After worrying about his appearance and fitness one last time, he laughs and wades into the mud, thanking Luigi and Guido for helping him overcome his hesitation and fears. When Sarge dismisses the group and they drive home, T.J. offers Luigi and Guido a ride on his roof.
A Cars Christmas[]
T.J. makes a cameo in A Cars Christmas, waiting in line behind Lightning McQueen at Fillmore's fuel tent.
Comics[]
In "Never Give Up, Mater!", Mater joins T.J., Murphy, and Frank Pinkerton in taking on Sarge's "survival test" at boot camp. Mater is struggling to keep up and contemplates stopping, but T.J. notices and shows him the trick – if he builds up speed then rushes forward all at once, he can easily accelerate up the steep hill.
At the next trial, the trainees have to cross a massive ditch, using only a small, wooden ramp. T.J. confidently tries to jump it, only to plummet into the mud. Mater creatively uses his tow hook to bridge the gap, and then tows T.J. and the others up to him. Once the course is done, Sarge presents Mater with his honorary "Ribbon of Valor", and the others laugh when he longs for a shower instead.
General information[]
Physical description[]
T.J. is a Hummer H1 Civilian Style that is painted lime green, with debadges and lots of chrome trim(s), even with lower two-tone unlike actual H1s and other Hummers. His license plate reads "TUF GUY". In statistics from his magazine trading card, his top speed is listed as an unrealistic 145 mph (233 km/h), just like Rod Redline from Cars 2. He has 205 hp (153 kW), so it can be assumed that he is the 1994-2004 model with the 6.5-liter Detroit Diesel V8 engine. The 2006 had a 300 hp (220 kW) 6.6-liter Duramax Diesel V8 engine. There was no 2005 model year.
Name origin[]
The green Hummer from Cars' epilogue was first officially named in July 2007 by Mattel, during a San Diego Comic Con exhibition. The company included a placard for T.J. in their toy display, revealing plans to produce a die-cast model for him, to be released later that year as part of a Walmart-exclusive assortment.[1] The reference image of his film model, provided by Pixar, was captioned "Green Hummer aka T.J. Hummer." However, his final die-cast release in September labeled him as simply "T.J". The shortly following Car Finder Game also identified him as such, and this has been kept in all other reference sources as well as nearly all of his appearances. The exception are some issues of the Official Magazine, which identify him as T.J. Hummer, again indicating it may possibly be his surname.
Official profiles and statistics[]
Car Finder Game[]
- "T.J. comes from a long line of military vehicles, but growing up in the gated communities and private schools of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, T.J.'s idea of off-roading was going over potholes on Woodward Avenue. An aspiring rapper, T.J. likes looking tough, without scratching his paint or getting dirt in his rims, but that all changed when his father signed him up at Sarge's Boot Camp for Urban SUV's."
The Official Magazine[]
- Top Speed: 145 MPH
- Engine: 205 HP
- Experience: 1/5
- Driving Skill: 1/5
- Friendliness: 2/5
- Specialty: Insecurity
Pixarpedia[]
Profile | Description |
---|---|
"At Sarge's SUV Bootcamp, T.J., an H1 Civilian Style Hummer, is expected to be very uncivilized and go off-road through the dirt track as he follows Sarge's orders." |
List of appearances by date[]
Title | Year | Notes |
---|---|---|
Cars | 2006 | |
Car Finder Game | 2007 | |
Sarge's Boot Camp | 2008 | |
The Official Magazine #4 (July 2008) | 2008 | |
A Cars Christmas | 2008 | Cameo appearance |
Pixarpedia | 2009 | |
"Never Give Up, Mater!" | 2010 | The Official Magazine #27 |
The Official Magazine #31 (October 2010) | 2010 | Activity set |
Meet the Cars - 2nd Edition | 2011 | |
Meet the Cars - 3rd Edition | 2017 |
Quotes[]
- "Yo, I've never been off-road!" - Cars
- "My tires will get dirty!" - Cars
Gallery[]
Names in other languages[]
Name | Language | Transcription |
---|---|---|
Lithuanian | Tidžėjus | |
Russian | Ти Джей | Ti-Dzhey |
Ти-Джея Хаммер | Ti-Dzheya Khammer | |
Н.Д. Хаммер | N.D. Khammer | |
Ukrainian | Ті Джею Хаммер | Ti Dzheyu Khammer |
Trivia[]
- Although his license plate reads "TUF GUY", the initial production run of his 2007 die-cast model misspelled it as "TUF GUE". This was corrected for later shipments.