#questions about carsverse

[thatonelightyear]

HI, YOU ARE 'BUILT' THEORY PERSON, YES? SIT. HAVE TEA. i HAVE MANY QUESTION...

Mkay but no seriously, some genuinely curious questions:

-When built, are the vehicles small/-er versions of themselves that grow into adults, or are they grown adults from the getgo?

-Are built vehicles' ages based off of the date they were manufactured? (I ask this in tandem with the above because I'm curious about how they would treat such things as childhood, ageing, and coming *of* age)

-Are there any parts of the built machines that are organic/semi-organic as to do stuff (ie eating/drinking)?

-What causes a vehicle to end up being built? Is it relative to two parents deciding "hey let's get a kid" and then their respective company creating one, or is it a more company, or god forbid government controlled "we make X amount of vehicles and they just go to homes and go out in the world".

-If they are already adults from the date of manufacture, do they just...instantly move into a garage somewhere? What constitutes as family to them, if they have any? Model similarities, company relations? Found family exclusively?

This list could probably be WAY bigger but I don't want to totally overload you any more lol. This is just a really interesting concept and perspective I've almost never dabbled in and I'm genuinely curious how these things might work through the built theory's lens.

I appreciate you reading this text wall btw :')

OMG ive never had such a long ask before aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa tysm :DDDD ahem now down to business

When built, are the vehicles small/-er versions of themselves that grow into adults, or are they grown adults from the getgo?

Ans: I personally headcanon that both versions would exist - that there are smaller versions that grow into adult frames, and that there are adult cars that roll straight off the production line (i hc that lightning is one of these cars, just manufactured then put on the track) but by and large cars manufactured at adult age tend to be a lot fewer than having children?? baby?? cars that grow up

Are built vehicles' ages based off of the date they were manufactured?

Yes I suppose so - but it really depends because from what I've seen in the Carsverse age seems to be a more fluid matter that doesn't nearly have as much impact on their lives? Case in point Lizzie who is literally a hundred years old and still kicking. Coming of age, ageing and childhood really depends from a car to car basis, maybe the families they were raised in, their personal preferences etc - tho obviously those cars who are small would *have* a childhood I'm more inclined to believe that adult cars - from the earlier point - don't nearly get this privillege

Are there any parts of the built machines that are organic/semi-organic as to do stuff

Nope. I believe in this world everything is just like the cars and vehicles in our world, and therefore the stuff they consume would probably depend on what kind of vehicle they are and therefore what fuel they will need. The 'food' is all fuel that has a changed appearance. Race cars don't normally ingest these foods because, well, their prime function is to race and the foods, however much they may be fuel-based, will never be the premium stuff needed to run a high performance engine smoothly

What causes a vehicle to end up being built? Is it relative to two parents deciding "hey let's get a kid" and then their respective company creating one, or is it a more company, or god forbid government controlled "we make X amount of vehicles and they just go to homes and go out in the world".

In Cars 1 Mack has a line that says 'thank the manufacturer you're alive' when he finds Lightning in RS, and so based off this- the Cars world has manufacturers and factories that manufacture the sentient cars, the nitty gritty details aren't known to the general population which is why they never really question it, it's just that they have manufacturers, and the sentient cars roll off the production line and thats that. Of course couples can opt to adopt one of these cars from any manufacturer (this would probably explain the differences in make and model in Carsverse families better imo)

If they are already adults from the date of manufacture, do they just...instantly move into a garage somewhere? What constitutes as family to them, if they have any? Model similarities, company relations? Found family exclusively?

Yep. I'd think that the companies settle them with a place somewhere and then good luck to you way out there!! They'll have no family, sad to say, and the first few years will get preetty lonely. Found family only ftw (might explain Lightning's whole... personality from this headcanon above lol)

Wow thats done :D was fun answering YIPEE feel free to send more anytime!!! (hopefully all my ramblings made sense. uh.) also would like to credit @whipplefilter and @the-kings-tail-fin since its from their stories that I literally got the basis of all this and like yeah :)

[cars-cause-why-not]

Something I’ve been thinking about: so we know that Dale Earnhardt Sr exists in the Carsverse because Dale Jr has a cameo in the first film and also Chick references him in a comic.

So since Chase Elliot exists in the Carsverse (as Chase Racelott), does that mean that his dad, Bill Elliot (or in this case Bill Racelott), exists in the Carsverse as well?

Honestly, I would say yes. (Or at least he does in my human AU)

This also begs the question if other relatives of racers who were also racers exist in the Carsverse as well. Like Darrell Waltrip’s brother Michael, Ryan Blaney’s dad Dave Blaney, etc.

[the-kings-tail-fin]

Just out of curiosity: Could Santa Car and the Easter Buggy exist in the actual Carsverse?

Absolutely! I base this purely upon the fact that somewhere in the depths of a box in my closet, there's a special, Easter themed Ramone. And I've seen the Christmas themed Doc before (though sad to say I do not own that particular diecast).

I headcanon that Doc has played Santa before at some event in Radiator Springs at some point. It's the voice. He's the only one that can pull off the warm old man tone.

[milky-teaway]

Carsverse Etiquette 101

• passing a slow driving elderly car is considered to be rude.

• no idling indoors

• there's nothing wrong with saying "hi" to other cars waiting at the traffic light, makes it less awkward.

• clean your mudflaps!

• revving your engine early in the morning or indoors is not impressing anyone.

• wipe your dirty tires before you drive indoors!

• don't use the kiddie lane to cut through traffic

• don't drive through puddles unless you like having a wet and uncomfortable undercarriage

• taking two parking spaces is odd and rude, park in the lot properly.

• many romantic couples meet during a collision, but this doesn't mean you should drive like a fool!

• kids dragging themselves around lazily on their tires instead of driving creates skid marks that are hard to get out! drive properly!

• hey! don't drive so close! no one likes a tailgater!

• wearing designer rims/tires during bad weather might get you some looks and silly snickering.

• staring at the hot car in the oncoming lane is a distraction.

• driving and chatting with someone in the lane next to you might obstruct the flow of traffic.

• bumping into another car is not a big deal. Apologize and move forward in life.

• take a car wash at least once a week. remember to wash in front of your mirrors!

• Mods and souping may hinder your chances of being hired for a job.

(Feel free to add more of your own!)

[milky-teaway]

I love answering world building questions!!

there was a scraped Cars Toon where Mater was supposed to travel back in time and he would encounter anthropomorphic rounded stone wheels (essentially cave cars) that were early ancestors of modern cars today. Here's the link to the video where Pixar animators discussed the concept: @6:28 in particular you will see the part that talks about prehistoric cars

During the Middle Ages and etc. would cars in the Cars universe just be wooden carts with faces on them? Would they need car horses to pull them? Would that be the first example of “horse”power in the Cars universe ?

[disneyprincessabby]

How do you headcannon Radiator Spring residents and their relationships with Lightning?

*sorry this took so long! I’ve been working on this during my lunch breaks/when I’m not at work, and honestly I struggled to form my thoughts for this one a bit*

I love these kinds of asks!! These questions are super easy but supper difficult because it comes more easily for certain characters (like Doc, Sally, Mater, etc...), and then for some characters it's a little more challenging (like Lizzie, Red, etc..) but anyway, here's what I think everyone's relationship with Lightning is like:

Doc: is Lightning’s dad. Fight me.

Sally: Pretty sure this one goes without saying, but I'm gonna say it anyway. They've been together for the better part of a decade, and I personally like to think they're married (though I really wish Pixar would release a short or something to establish what their relationship status is but anyway), and they are both completely and hopelessly in love with each other. Sally is by far one of the absolute best things (if not the best thing) to ever happen to Lightning, and she feels the same way about him.

Mater: Lightning is like the little brother Mater always wanted as a kid; someone he could go on crazy adventures with (and get into loads of mischief with).

Sheriff: acts like McQueen is an inconvenience to him, but *not so* secretly really cares about the kid. (this is actually pretty much established in all three Cars movies but whatever) I like to think that Sheriff thinks of Lightning as a son to some extent, but they don't really have the same father-son bond that Lightning has with Doc (though that bond got a little stronger shortly after Doc passed...)

Flo: loves him like a son, and isn’t afraid to give him a little ‘though love’ when he needs it. She is definitely as brutally honest/ blunt with him as needed, and while Lightning's never said it out loud, he appreciates that Flo cares enough about him to tell it like it is.

Ramone: Lightning is basically Ramone’s Guinea Pig; Ramone has complete artistic freedom when it comes to paint jobs (in Carsverse)/ coming up with a sick tattoo design (I headcanon that Ramone is a tattoo artist in a human AU) and McQueen trusts him completely.

Luigi: Luigi loves cooking authentic Italian food and Lightning loves eating it. They have heated (jokingly) debates over which racing circuit is better (European or American) that can go on for hours; Sally and Guido have to get them to stop sometimes because otherwise they would go on like that forever.

Guido: Guido doesn’t speak much English (he knows a few words, but not enough to have a full conversation), so Lightning makes an effort to learn some Italian so he can talk to Guido in his native language. Luigi teaches him enough to have a conversation, and he eventually picks up a few more words after listening to Guido and Luigi talk.

Lizzie: She loves to tease (and low-key embarrass) Lightning in anyway she can (kinda like an older aunt/ great-aunt would), and she can get away with it because she's a 'crazy old lady'. However, she's actually super thankful Lightning crashed into town and revived the town she and Stanley built. She's confident her little town will be in good hands when she's gone.

Red: It took some time for Red to warm up to Lightning (considering he killed his poor flowers), but after a couple of months they started to become friends. When Lightning realized that Red was mute, he started looking into basic sign language and other forms of communication to make things easier for Red.

Sarge: Lightning is one of the few residents of Radiator Springs who actually enjoys listening to Sarge's war stories, and while he would never show it or admit it, it makes Sarge so happy. It also helps him with his PTSD/depression/survivor's guilt he sometimes experiences when McQueen just sits there with him for a couple of hours and lets him just talk about it.

Fillmore: they both have similar tastes in music which is how they’ve bonded over the years. They have really deep, philosophical conversations sometimes (sometimes they can talk for hours, sometimes the topic goes over Lightning’s head: there’s no in between). McQueen has definitely smoked with Fillmore at least once (that Doc knows of).

[toasters-and-rockets]

What car do you think is Mato? Since you know about cars, I thought I’d ask your opinion

Hi and thank you for the ask!

So I could have sworn I read somewhere that Mato was supposed to be based on a Rolls-Royce from the 1950s, but now I can't find that on the Pixar wiki, the Cars wiki, or anywhere else. Whether that's canon or not, I can see the resemblance.

Here's Mato:

We know that she is Mater's older sister, and that Mater himself is based on the 1955-1957 Chevrolet Task Force tow truck. It makes sense that Mato would be based on an earlier model than her younger brother. This Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith is from 1952:

Note the similarities to Mato in the overall body shape, fenders, and headlights. I also see a resemblance in the early-1950s Daimlers, like this 1951 DB18:

Daimler built, and Rolls-Royce still builds, expensive luxury cars, so these models also make thematic sense for the character of a wealthy socialite. Of course, Mato being possibly based on a high-end British car while Mater is based on an American work vehicle raises some questions about their family. Are they related to British aristocracy? Is most of the family more like Mato than Mater? How do families work in the carsverse, anyway? Oh, well, those are questions for another post.

I'm curious to hear others' thoughts on this. Do you think Mato is based on a different model?

Thank you again for the ask!

[whipplefilter]

Ayo :D

A question I’ve been thinking about for some time…

Do you think the Piston Cup racers in the earlier-ish years was as open to female racers as they are now? I’m talking like 1970s-1980s ish I guess.. More on the aspect of whether the racers themselves actually accept female racers on the track alongside them back then. Because I did realise sexism kinda was a thing in the Carsverse but perhaps it was different for the competitors themselves when they weren’t defined by society-

Wow this is a rather chunky ask hah- Thanks for taking the time to read this!

That's an interesting question! The 70s and 80s, decades after Louise Barnstormer Nash had to steal a number before they'd let her race, but also decades before Cruz.

I think the answer to this question is probably the biggest barrier to female racers in the Piston Cup--in the 70s or now--isn't any individual sexism on the parts of the other competitors, the sponsors, or even the team owners. It's their historical lack of representation, the lingering structural bogeymen insinuating you do not belong here. (If Cruz will talk to crabs you know for sure she's talked to these ghosts, and knows them well.) You can't undo precedent simply by making all things equal--you need to build the support systems that can actively work to undo those ghosts.

Given how completely baffled the Piston Cup seemed to be by the entrance of the Next-Gens, and how ill-equipped it was to deal with (or even anticipate) the sea change they brought with them, I don't think the Piston Cup of the late 20th/early 21st century... realized this. XDD

But! Maybe Natalie will get tired of being a TV analyst and put her degree in informatics to a different use by developing a metric to quantify these historical erasures! She will be the Piston Cup's first Vice President of Diversity Equity and Inclusion, and her inaugural achievement will be the Piston Cup developmental Drive for Diversity program.

[thatonelightyear]

so here's the thing- WoC is a very, very fine line to tread, especially when we come to sentient metal. I've seen many headcanons of how things work and I think the one (personally, if you don't agree thats fine too haha) that makes most sense is manufacturers

Large factories that just are. Carsverse probably won't want to delve into the nitty gritty details, because the factories have always been there, they have just been and they create various models year after year, releasing them into the world. From 'birth' or creation, the vehicle is already sentient, and I think there's some form of growth, as we can see baby cars in many of the movies.

So the metal just grows with the car, and they don't really question it in a way. Then again, its likely that the factories also produce adult cars (case in point, jackson storm would be a great example). All these tiny slipups are probably just scriptwriting - because they don't nearly spend so much time thinking about all this than we on tumblr do XD

As for Rip's quote, likely what he refers to is how racers are more than often heavily modified, improved 'built' in a way, so they can produce the best results. Yeah, so here's my take on stuff lol-

Idk something random again but do you think that in WoC, there can be vehicles that can like give birth and there are some vehicles that are built.

Also I hate Ripslinger now because i was watching his "meet Ripslinger" short, he says "Legends aren't born, they're built, for speed!"

I'm confused by what exactly he wanted to imply by this

Why is this world so confusing.

[stormy-boy]

First of all, this a totally weird and random question but, what if they made a live action cars movie? Obviously with people, not taking cars because that would give kids nightmares and Disney Pixar would be ruined. Anyway just wondering because I thought about it and I was thinking that everyone would see it because Jackson character is super hot and shit (and in my head he would look like Ross Butler because DAMN HE A SNACK!!!!!) I don’t know, your thoughts?

Well one’s thing for sure—I would DEFINITELY see it if Jackson was in it (I would see it regardless, but you know what I mean). Like, Jackson is hot enough as a car, but as a HUMAN…! Whoever they would cast for him, he would have to be super good-looking. (I’m kind of surprised they didn’t comment on Jackson’s dashing good looks in the movie. Perhaps standards of beauty in the Carsverse are different from our’s? Hmm…) But yeah, Ross Butler (I had to look him up, I don’t know who he is, lol) could DEFINITELY play Jackson. He’s got the looks, deep voice, and charm to play him. I think it’d be interesting to see if some of the voice actors behind the cars could play their respective characters in a live-action movie as well. Other than that though, I haven’t really thought about which actors would play who.

But yeah, a live-action movie for Cars would be cool! The Carsverse is so much like our own that I think it could easily be translated into the human world. It would probably resemble any of those sports or NASCAR movies (Talladega Nights comes to mind, LOL).

On the other hand, I can’t help but feel that making a Cars live-action movie where all the characters are humans sorts of takes away from the uniqueness of the Cars movies to begin with, you know? It would basically be like any other sports movie. It would be cool, regardless, but there’s still that aspect to keep in mind. Pixar could have easily made a movie series about actual humans racing cars, but that’s been done before. The whole concept of the cars themselves having sentience and doing most everything that we can do is what makes the series stand out (as well as confuses and baffles some people).

As for a live-action Cars with talking cars… Yeah, I don’t know if that would work out so well XD Unless the CGI is REALLY good, and there’s no humans, it could work. (I don’t know how a Cars movie with talking cars AND humans would work out). It would basically be like how the movies are now, but with even MORE realistic graphics.

But I would like to see if a live-action, humanized Cars movie could change the minds of some of those people who are so hung up on the idea that the Cars characters are talking cars.

As for if it would be good, I’m not sure. I think it’s an easy enough thing to do, but I can’t help but feel that whichever production company that makes it would mess it up in some way. I don’t really know of any T.V./movies series that have done the same thing (make a humanized adaptation of their universe), but I bet there are some out there.

[britishcelica]

Open Discussion - How are Cars made?

This obviously applies to the Disney films, but I have no idea why else you guys would be following me, as it’s all I post/reblog XD This is a question that a LOT of people have differing opinions on, as it’s a question that’s perhaps never really answered by the creators. I’m well aware that they might not have even thought about the answer themselves, probably because it’s not mean to be answered, and perhaps want us to more focus on the film, but it gets you thinking and I’d really like to hear others opinions on it. 

My personal view? I actually think they’re born, and I’ll share with you what I’m basing it off of. There doesn’t seem to be any real debate that the cars and planes in the Carsverse are part biological, they have tongues, teeth and eyes, and in my opinion, you can’t really make those to the extent that you can make car parts. Perhaps in their world it’s possible to grow them somewhere in some lab, but i’m not so quick to believe this. So with this being said, I believe that they have the cars themselves. In the first movie, there’s a quick look at what a child car would be, showing him/her in the stands of the final race, and there are constant references to being born, in both the Cars and Planes films. Though there are also references to being built, so it makes it harder to pin point what’s going on. 

Some people like the idea that was adopted by the film Robots, where they actually order and build the baby... though I actually personally don’t like this idea, and haven’t really ever entertained it when it comes to my own characters. Then there’s the whole Plane/Car relationship thing, cause for people like me (Who has a plane/car relationship in my own canon), it gets a whole lot harder... and pushes the boundaries of whether they can have the kids naturally or not. Long story short, I think they’re born. What do you guys think?

[obstinaterixatrix]

thalassarche replied to your post: thalassarche replied to your post: ...

also I watched the first movie and I fucking lost any ability to be invested in the story when they were just all calmly “we siphoned your gas while you were out :)” and I was just like. this raises way too many uncomfortable questions about Carsverse bodily autonomy (haha auto-nomy)

what’s really fascinating to me about cars is how it’s supposed to be a fun goofy concept and a fun goofy execution, brainless fluff content for kids, but it’s either written by people who are just so obviously bad at recognizing the implications of their content that all their thoughtless gags, ALL OF THEM, loop around to having horrifying implications, OR, the writers have a johenn vaquez (whatever zim guy’s name is) type of grimdark morbid humor but they SOMEHOW got on this kids franchise and are delighted to inject their own messed up vision into it

(also: nice)

thewrongexecution

i request that your personage become cognizant of the highly-protected state of the modern players of american football as they impact at high velocity

reflect on the truth that they no longer face certain injurious circumstances owing to this state of protection, remember their fore-bearers who faced the same activity with mere strips of animal hide, 

[the-kings-tail-fin]

Do you think Dinoco faced any competition from Allinol during the WGP's run?

Good question!

I really think the simple answer is "no", as far as actual, financially threatening competition goes.

Based on how we learn about Allinol in Cars 2, it seems to be a brand-spanking new product that is getting advertised in anticipation of the WGP. It's more or less a novelty promotional item at that time, that picks up in popularity through the first race of the WGP. While it's not clear the exact timeline the WGP plays out in, it kinda seems like there's one race a week? Maybe slightly more frequently? So the weeks leading up to the WGP, the first week, and then by the time the Italy race is over, it's obvious to the public that Allinol is "bad". So max, it's on the market for a month before it all goes south.

Meanwhile, Dinoco, which has been around for literal decades, seems to have full saturation on most continents: America for sure, we see adverts for it in Japan (I don't remember Italy or England tbh) - and that's all of two data points I'm extrapolating from, but I'm pretty confident that means it's all over Europe and the rest of Asia too. So that would be like some small, start-up bougie health drink company trying to compete with Coca-Cola over the course of the month. It just isn't going to happen.

From Dinoco's perspective, there was no real threat of competition, financially. They were watching it, of course, external business intelligence is always observing the market and keeping with the trends. They're confident they'll find one of the first viable alternative fuels - and that they'll be first in market uptake. If anything, Allinol's failure - both from a chemical and a publicity standpoint - bought them more time.

[the-kings-tail-fin]

This has been on my mind for a while, but do you think the plot point with the next-gens in Cars 3 could also symbolize how real life NASCAR fans feel about the changes in the sport? Cause I’ve heard a lot of people say NASCAR is no longer the same, especially given a lot of the more famous drivers are either retired... or dead. What’s your opinion on that matter?

It depends on how you look at it, I think. One one hand, the Piston Cup doesn't seem to be experiencing any sort of fallout in terms of viewership or sponsor recruitment. All the next gens have primary sponsors, and the series itself is raking in enough money to build race tracks a la Florida International (you can bet in 2006 Piston Cup, that thing did not exist as it does in Cars 3 - that sucker got some major modern upgrades). It's not really implied that the fans are suffering in any way from the turnover of the older racers to the next gens. It's different, sure. But every generation of racer is different. That holds true all the way back to the 50's. So in terms of parallels from the fan's perspective - I don't think that's the case.

The direct correlation here, I do think - and this is talked about in the bonus features for Cars 3 if you've ever watched them - is that it is very spot-on with how the older drivers feel about the spot. At one point they're talking to Jeff Gordon and he's just like "yeah I literally cannot drive on the simulator, it just doesn't click for me" and goes on to talk about how all the youngins are good at it and are training that way. That's the plot that's described in the movie. That's how Lightning feels. He doesn't understand it, and he doesn't fit in with this next generation, he can't use their techniques. And that's the wake up call. Sure, some fans are sad that he won't be racing full time - look at little Maddie. But again - it takes like half a race, and Maddie is instantly a Cruz fan after she takes Lightning's place. So the Cars fans seem to be more resilient to turnover in their favorite racers than we humans do.

[the-kings-tail-fin]

Hello and welcome back! Elite race car drivers are wealthy and some spend lots of money on exotic vehicles (cars, boats, planes). What you think elite race cars would spend money on since they are already vehicles?

Property and experiences!

Property is one thing that could actually benefit you as a car, right? You build your excessively large mansion garage and pool and heck even a little short track of some sort in your backyard! Gotta have a nice crib for MTV to come visit and show the world. Gotta entertain your rich friends.

Experiences is the next thing that comes to mind - there's a big ol' world out there to explore. So many roads to drive. Scenery and road trips and even international trips are highlighted in every Cars/Planes movie, and I like to think that emphasizes their universe's love for exploring the planet.

As a side note, I often think of that scene in Cars 2, Porto Corsa, where there are like rich cars hanging out on the boats in the bay. Like, are the boats hired? Are they friends with the rich cars? Perhaps the boats are rich and the cars are paying to hang out with them. SO MANY POSSIBILITIES. But I am fascinated by the boat/car relationship implied here.

[the-kings-tail-fin]

Does lightning have any tattoos ?

I guess the underlying question here is - what exactly does a tattoo consist of in the Carsverse? Clearly there's a concept, else Lightning wouldn't have made a to-do over seeing Sally's.

It's safe to say that sponsor decals and paint schemes are not considered tattoos, and Lightning's covered in those at any given moment in time. You're just a moving billboard at that point, and those things are removed and changed around all the time. The designs are not personal, and I feel a tattoo is some applied piece of art that is personal. (Can you imagine if they were though LOL - all the racers just be out there looking like Post Malone, zipping around in circles.)

"Is that a little pin-striping tattoo back there?"

Between that comment, knowing that Sally had kept it hidden up until that moment, and the fact that Ramone scarred Minnie and Van for life when he showed them his, apparently in his nether regions - it gives me the vibe that perhaps there's something specific about a hidden pin-stripe design somewhere on a car's body that exists as the concept of "tattoo".

I think that the hidden/partially hidden nature of the thing is important also because look at the hoods Ramone has displayed around his shop. Those things are pieces of art, and they have pin-striping on some of them. It's not scandalous in that form, it's just a nice, sleek design. It's only when a hidden pin-stripe is revealed that's it's suddenly out of the norm.

So to answer your question! No, Lightning doesn't have any. His undercarriage is spotless and orderly (necessary for pre-race inspection!), and his entire body is already plastered with sponsors and contingency decals and lucky stickers and what have you. Ramone's given him pin-stripes before, sure - but always highly visible ones that accentuate a custom paint job along his curves. And honestly, he's not the type to really think about wanting one, or to have a reason to want one. He's more interested in letting Ramone use him as a canvas to come up with new Rusteze schemes.