Vehicles are the main inhabitants of the world of Cars and Planes, a world populated entirely by anthropomorphic vehicles instead of humans.
Biology and Characteristics[]
Vehicles serve as the mechanical counterpart to humans in this world. Vehicles come in different manufacturers, models, types, classes, shapes, sizes, years, ages, makes and colors. A vehicles' nationality can usually be identified by the model that is presented. For example, Holley Shiftwell is a 2008 MT-R Mark II, a British car. All of the vehicles have their eyes located on their windshield, as opposed to the way most cartoon vehicles in other franchises (such as Nickelodeon's Blaze and the Monster Machines, Auto B-Good, Roary the Racing Car, Bob the Builder, Tayo the Little Bus, Chevron cars, etc.) have them on their headlights. The only exception to this rule so far is Celine Dephare, who has her eyes on the headlights. The vehicles' windows are all opaque, so no one knows for certain what is inside. It's still worth noting though, that a piece of concept art implies that their anatomy might include organic structures, such as organs, inside of them. Their consumption of food and drinks and usage of bathrooms is a primary indication the cars are living organisms. The bathrooms in this universe are also sex-segregated, implying there is a unidentifiable distinction between male and female cars in this world. In addition, the cars also have heritage that dates all the way back to prehistoric times as a type of car called a cavecar (the equivalent to a caveman). The doors of vehicles never open (the only exceptions being Rotor Turbosky when Mater takes a ride in him, as well as the latter in the episode "Salt Fever" of the 2022 series Cars on the Road). Convertibles always have their roof up, and vehicles that don't have a roof at all in real-life, are given on in this world (such as Francesco Bernoulli or Rip Clutchgoneski, whose roofs are made to resemble drivers with Formula racing helmets). Vehicles with asymmetrical cockpits (such as Topper Deckington III) in real-life have perfectly symmetrical cockpits in this world. Cars typically have built in radios, but their antennas are usually hidden. They primarily use these radios for communication and GPS usage. Whenever a car blushes, their headlights, serving as their cheekbones, unintentionally turn on or start to shine brighter as if they were already on. Cars typically have four wheels, but some vehicles have fewer (such as Tomber having three wheels), or more (such as Mater, who actually has dual-rear wheels (dually to truck enthusiasts), contributing to a total of six wheels). Vehicles usually treat their front wheels as hands, their back wheels as feet, and their tires as shoes. They can use their wheels to move stuff around, to press buttons, and sometimes even to pick up objects. Vehicles don't have stated ages, but it is pretty clearly implied that some are older than others, as some look and act like kid vehicles, some like adult vehicles and some like elderly vehicles. It is also implied that cars raise children in a very similar manner to how humans do. It is known that before Boost met DJ and became a criminal, he worked with the elderly, so retirement homes may exist in this universe for elderly vehicles. Baby Cars might simply learn to drive in their toddler years, in reference to how real world toddlers learn to crawl and walk. Although, despite the cars' usage of restrooms, their process of potty training is unknown. It is known that cars can get sick with human germs, as Mater mentions he has gotten the flu before, which has built up in his engine block. As previously stated, there are both female and male cars. It is unknown what distincts one from the other, other than their voice or possibly body shape. In the Dinoco 400 in the first film, a line is shown outside the women's restroom. Women's restrooms in real life often have lines outside of them due to many reasons. Including, but not limited to menstruation. This indicates that in some way, female cars may menstruate. It is unknown how though.
Vehicles do not wear clothing, but some appear to have headgear (such as semi-trucks having wind deflectors resembling trucker caps), or other accessories (such as glasses for Mel Dorado, a monocle for Professor Z, or sometimes snow clothes, as shown in Mater Saves Christmas), and possibly their paint jobs may act as a kind of clothing. Some characters' names are either references to the model of car they are based on (Sally (Porsche Carrera), Doc Hudson (Hudson Hornet), Cad Spinner (Cadillac Escalade; although more fictionalized), etc.), a car-related pun (Darrell Cartrip, Nigel Gearsley, etc.), an abnormal first name and a normal surname (Lightning McQueen, Bruiser Bukowski, etc.), either a normal first or full name (Roger Wheeler, Chuck Armstrong, Hank "Halloween" Murphy, etc.), or only having one name, whether real (Fillmore, Sarge, Luigi, Guido, etc.) or unusual (Boost, Ripslinger, Mayday, etc.). Vehicles primarily treat fuel as food, although they can sometimes be seen eating actual organic human food like fruits and vegetables as well. It is possible that the oil is used for engine efficiency only and that the human food is their primary survival source. It is shown that some cars have religions ("Chrysler" replacing "Christ", "the manufacturer" replacing God, the presence of an automobile Pope, etc.) like some cultures in real-life. It has been stated that tractors (this franchise's version of cows) are sacred in India, which strongly indicates Hinduism exists in this world. World War II happening in this world also implies some cars are Jewish. Some vehicles are known to actually fall in love (Lightning McQueen and Sally Carrera, Mater and Holley Shiftwell, Dusty Crophopper and Ishani, etc.) and even get married (Ramone and Flo, Uncle and Mama Topolino, Harvey and Winnie, etc.). Even though vehicles can also be children as well as adults, it is unknown of how were they able to reproduce in the first place, although several quotes throughout the Cars series imply that they are manufactured (e.g., a quote/line by Tomber "At least 35,000 cars were made with this engine." and "Beuck! That is the worst motor ever made."; the latter implying that reliability exists in the universe). Vehicles can apparently also die like Doc Hudson, Rod "Torque" Redline, Leland Turbo, etc.), though it is left vague on what happens to them post-death if not destroyed already (the Cars deleted scene "Lost" and The Radiator Springs 500½ of Tales from Radiator Springs depicts dead cars as old, worn and broken down car remains). It is known that not even Pixar themselves know for sure how cars come to life in this franchise. Though Pixar animator Jay Ward believes the process to be a phenomenon in which cars become more impressive with technology. Although information is still discreet on this subject (likely due to the kid-friendly nature of the franchise discouraging it). As already well known, cars use roads to get from place to place. Although, since the cars are human-based and there are no DMVs in this world, it is unknown of how they are granted access to drive on said roads. It is known that cars can be pulled over by police cars for things such as speeding, but it is unknown it they ask for a license or registration during the process. Vehicles mostly live the lives of humans in this world, as they eat, sleep, go to school, live in houses, and work jobs to pay bills. Cars do not sleep in beds due to their physical inability to even lie down. Because of this, they generally simply park and then close their eyes to sleep. Though it is unknown of how they keep warm since they do not cover themselves in blankets. It is possible they simply have built-in heaters or use heat from their engines to keep warm. The process of how they carry money (and what the money looks like) remains to be seen, as they do not have posable wallets and car-ified presidents have not been created yet. As stated by Mater in Cars on the Road and through several other indications throughout the series, cars attend and eventually graduate school. They also learn human-based things such as science, math, history, and language arts. It is known that the cars also wear graduation caps as well. It is possible that they also have recess and play in playgrounds too, as kid cars may slide down slides by driving, and may swing on swings big enough for them. As mentioned by Sarge in Cars: The Video Game, cars generally use muscle for strength, which means they work out (possibly in gyms). They also sometimes have doctor's appointments and occasionally visit hospitals for medical emergencies. They also shop at stores, eat at restaurants, use bank money, and visit many other different human places. Some vehicles have even gone to space. These cars are known as auto-nots (although they're also named astronauts). Vehicles may play sports (besides racing) in some fashion, but is unknown which ones since there are limitations because of car body structure. Since Earth is where the vehicles reside, they live in countries located on continents. Some included countries in this franchise include the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, and Japan. Foreign cars also speak foreign languages too.
Types of vehicles[]
Jackson Storm, the example of an automobile/race car
Ground vehicles are the most abundant type of vehicles in this world. There are at least four types of ground vehicles: automobiles, trucks (including both pickups and semis), buses, and pitties (forklifts). Cars, trucks, and pitties appear to be the main stand-ins for humans, and often tend to do the same things humans do (especially the pitties, as their smaller size and forklifts allow them to easily do things where small size and precision are required, like operating devices and machinery, and performing everyday tasks using their forks as hands). However, it is unknown why vehicles like buses and taxis exist in this world, as cars obviously cannot fit inside of them. Bikes, motorcycles, ATVs, and segways do not exist in this world.
Everett, the example of an airplane
Roger, the example of a space shuttle
Aircraft, spacecraft, trains, boats and ships are typically used as transportation for the cars due to their larger size. Aircraft come in at least three different types: planes, helicopters, and airships. Spacecraft come in many different types, with the most typical ones being: space rockets, and space shuttles. Sometimes aircraft and spacecraft can be seen wearing visors or goggles over their eyes, and helmets on their cockpits (heads). Some aircraft and spacecraft are large enough to carry other smaller vehicles inside of them, but smaller aircraft and spacecraft act more like individual beings with no transport capabilities. Hot air balloons, and hang gliders, however, are not anthropomorphized.
Muir, the example of a steam locomotive
Trains can be categorized in at least three different types based on their power source: steam, diesel, and electric. Locomotives act as living beings, while rolling stocks are not anthropomorphized. Steam locomotives have their eyes located on the place of their cockpits' front windows, rather than on their smokeboxes like the characters in Thomas the Tank Engine. The number of wheels they have tend to vary, with steam locomotives usually having zero, two, or four pilot wheels, a varying number of drive wheels, and zero, two, or four trailing wheels, while diesel and electric locomotives have either eight or twelve wheels (four or six on each side of their bogies). In this world, trains are much larger than in real-life, allowing them to accommodate other smaller vehicles.
Crabby, the example of a boat
Boats and ships are the largest of these vehicles and come in many different types, with two examples being: speedboats, and cargo ships. Some ships have hats on their bridges (heads), that resemble sea captain or sailor hats. Some boats and ships are large enough to accommodate other smaller vehicles on them, with the largest cruisers carrying hundreds, if not thousands, of smaller vehicles at the same time. A submarine was also shown in the end credits of Cars 2, and Skipper Riley mentions in a comic book that there were German U-boats fighting in WW2. Rowboats, surfboards, windsails, canoes, and kayaks are not anthropomorphized.
An I.B Haul Crane, the example of a crane
Only anthropomorphized machines that is not a vehicle, is a crane like Ian Steploadski that appears at the beginning of Finn McMissile's escape from the oil rig in Cars 2.
Animals are also car-ified, either appearing as large machines like tractors (cows and deer), combines (bulls), bulldozers (also bulls), large dump trucks (elephants), fish (submarines), sharks (also submarines) and snowmobiles (also deer), or miniature vehicles like mini cars (insects and rodents), planes (birds), and trains (snakes). A road sign seen in Moon Mater shows a crocodile with tires. Crabby is stated to be a crab boat who fishes for crab on the Bering Sea, and Fireball Beach in Florida is classified as a crab sanctuary, at which Cruz Ramirez made an emergency stop to avoid hitting one. Other than that, no other animals are known to exist in this world, though it's possible that most animals do, with their design being unknown. Because of this, it is unknown if human versions of large machines exist, as there must be a way for crops to be harvested, structures to be built, and a source for the food the vehicles eat. Despite this, some logos and objects appear to represent un-car-ified animals, such as the Dinoco and the Ferrari logos, a picture of the Jackalope from Boundin', plastic flamingos, the birds from For the Birds, as well as the bumblebee from the Cars 2005 Teaser Trailer, and the bear on Sacramento's flag. Plants like trees and bushes are not car-ified like the animals, but flowers resemble tail lights of old cars. This may be due to the vehicles treating plants as if they were a fuel source. There are even remote-controlled toy cars which are used by their tires to move the joystick to control them
Bessie, an example of a non-anthropomorphized vehicle
At least one machine, Bessie, is not anthropomorphized at all.
Notes and references[]
- © Disney/Pixar; rights in underlying vehicles are the property of third parties, as applicable: AMCTM; AndrettiTM; ApeTM; BentleyTM; BMWTM; CadillacTM; ChevroletTM; CorvetteTM; Dodge®; El DoradoTM; FairlaneTM; Ferrari®; FIATTM; GremlinTM; Hudson HornetTM; HummerTM; IVECO®; Jeep®; Kenworth®; Land RoverTM;©TM 2012 LTI LTD; MackTM; MajestaTM; MaseratiTM; Mazda MiataTM; MercuryTM; MINI CooperTM; Model TTM; Ford, MondeoTM; Monte CarloTM; MustangTM; PacerTM; OPEL, VAUXHALL, ASTRA, CORSA, MERIVA and ZAFIRA are registered TM of Opel Eisenach or affiliates; Peterbilt®; PettyTM; PeugeotTM; Plymouth SuperbirdTM; PontiacTM; PorscheTM; Range RoverTM; TatraTM; TopolinoTM; ©Volkswagen AG[1]