‘Cars’ Movie Franchise Debuts New Star at Detroit Auto Show
Animated movie “Cars 3” reveals new rival for star racer Lightning McQueen at North American International Auto Show.
Officials at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit have begun unveiling new cars.
And one of the first cars unveiled is not even a real car.
The animated feature films “Cars,” from moviemakers Pixar and Disney, center around plots where vehicles are the characters.
That includes the brash, hot-rod looking protagonist race car Lightning McQueen.
The franchise unveiled footage from the next installment, “Cars 3,” at the Detroit Auto Show, complete with a life-size version of McQueen.
The film’s creative director, Jay Ward, says he regularly visited the auto show in the past to ensure the automotive details were precise for a McQueen car he says had to look fast and a bit reckless.
“Now for Cars 3 we had that challenge again, to come up with a race car that looked different from the pack. A car that would stand out and be something different. And so we now have ‘Jackson Storm’,” Ward said.
The Jackson Storm car is a sleek, low-slung version of a futuristic NASCAR stock car who tells McQueen it’s time for him to retire.
The movie also includes a new female star car, a yellow coupe called Cruz Ramirez, who trains the now crafty veteran McQueen for a comeback.