‘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.
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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.