Jalopnik: Pixar

For $1,900, Be Lightning McQueen For A Day

graverobber — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST

The Pixar film Cars is a story of redemption and personal growth about, well cars. Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe 1996 Dodge Avenger has been given new life as a homage to that CGI flick, but is there anything redeemable about its price? More »

How Pixar screwed up cartoon cars for a generation of kids

Jason Torchinsky — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 12:45:00 EST

Normally, I wouldn't want to bring up something of this gravity during the holidays, but I have to take a firm stand on an issue that's been bothering me for a long while. I've sat by long enough and did nothing while wrongs were committed, on greater and greater scales. But no more. Today I make my stand. Here goes: More »

Seven famous movie cars redone as "Cars 2" characters

Ray Wert — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 16:30:00 EDT

"Cars 2" is about to hit theaters, but the folks over at NextMovie were hungry for even more anthropomorphic vehicles — here's seven famous movie cars hilariously redone as Pixar characters. More »

Lewis Hamilton gets his own character in "Cars 2"

Justin Hyde — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 11:45:00 EDT

The latest racer to get his own Pixar tribute in "Cars 2": Lewis Hamilton, whose character gets a McLaren MP4-12C-like body and British Racing Green. There better be some racing against Jeff Gorvette. More »

If Tim Burton Remade Cars

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 18 May 2010 10:00:00 EDT

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Pixar's hit animated film Cars featured anthropomorphous automobiles. Our bet is Tim Burton's version would feature sharp-handled farm machines with dark, tortured anthropomorphous souls like this Russian backhoe. [Funny Or Die, EnglishRussia] More »

The Major Internal Structures of Lightning McQueen

Ray Wert — Thu, 13 May 2010 09:00:00 EDT

Animated or not, "Cars" was one of the best car movies made this past decade. Only oddity? The machine/flesh cars populating Pixar's world. They have engines and tires, but also tongues and eyeballs. Here's how it works. [Agent44 via FuckYeahCarburetors] More »

Cars 2: First Look

Ben Wojdyla — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 10:20:00 EST

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Got little car nerds and looking for ways to further indoctrinate them? Pixar's cooking up Cars 2 and here's the first image showing some inter-series racing going on in the shadow of mount Fuji. [Pixarplanet via GordonAndTheWhale] More »

Why Do Most Car Movies Suck?

Sam Smith — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:40:00 EST

Are cars in movies these days? Yes. Are they fun to watch? Not so much. Cars and movies are roughly the same age, but they've never really gotten along. What's wrong with this (motion) picture? More »

Cars 2 Hick Truck Gets Voice Today

Ray Wert — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 08:30:00 EDT

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Being big fans of the first movie, we got excited when told "Larry the Cable Guy" is in voice studios today recording his part in the "Cars 2" movie for Pixar. Is that weird? [Twitter] More »

The Fabulous Hudson Hornet

Mark Arnold — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 18:20:00 EDT

Yes, it's the one and only Fabulous Hudson Hornet. While many of the classic automobiles on display at the 2008 Orphan Car Show came from far and wide, the journey for this piece of racing history was merely across town. That's because it now resides in the Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum, a facility that was formerly home to Miller Motors, the last Hudson dealership in the world. But what made this Hornet so Fabulous? More »

Pixar Moving Ahead with 'Cars 2'?

Davey G. Johnson — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 16:15:00 EDT

We shamelessly loved last year's Cars, and while it wasn't Pixar's most commercially-successful venture, there was something for practically every gearhead in the flick. According to statements apparently made by Paul Newman at the Indianapolis 500, it sounds as if the Emeryville studio is looking at dropping the new film in 2009, with a Cars short appearing before next year's Wall*E. But if we may make a plea to the Pixars, please, please, please ditch Jack Johnson and give us more Randy Newman. That is all. More »

Lightning McQueen a Holden? Australian 'Cars' Promo

Davey G. Johnson — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 01:00:00 EST

Since every car on the NEXTEL Cup circuit today is based on a four-door sedan anyway, and the Holden HSV E Series GTS actually does look a bit like the Butterscotch Stallion-voiced protagonist of Pixar's Cars, this DVD-release tie-in promo actually makes quite a bit of sense. Contestants can either enter online or via a coupon enclosed in Australian copies of the film's DVD. The GTS is a near piece of kit, but we'd prefer a Hudson Hornet. – Davey G. Johnson More »

Dear Doctor: We're Sorry About Your Tragedy, But Get a Life

Davey G. Johnson — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 00:15:00 EDT

Listen, we feel really bad for Chicagoland doctor Lanny Wilson. He lost his 14-year-old daughter to a Metra train collision while his son was trying to get her to a rehearsal on time and ignored the lights. And now he's campaigning to have the scene in Cars where Lightning McQueen just barely beats a train across the tracks deleted from the DVD release. From the Chicago Tribune: More »

Yes, Virginia, Manohla Dargis May Well be an Idiot

Davey G. Johnson — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 01:51:25 EDT

Although politically we're generally pretty lefty, we're feeling like Brock Yates on potentially lethal cocktail of bad speed and cheap whiskey right now, all due to Manohla Dargis' review of Cars in the NYT. Now, we admit that story-wise Pixar has crafted stronger efforts, but the sheer love of automobilia and the intrinsic understanding of the pleasure of driving is implicit in the film, and because of that, to us, Cars is our favorite of any of Pixar's efforts. Tony Shalhoub as a Fiat Cinquecento tire-dealership owner? What's not to love about that bit of casting brilliance, character execution and detail? More after the jump; slight spoiler alert for those bent on clicking through who haven't seen the film. More »

Vintage Bike Radness Happens in Pedro

Davey G. Johnson — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 23:42:33 EDT

Bumbeck came down from the hills in the Mighty Starlet to catch a showing of Cars today (which totally brought out the softy in us, and may well be our favorite Pixar film yet — disregard the haters and see it). He calls and says, "Hey, I just ran across this awesome bike show," which happened to be at Century Motorcycles (since 1936!), only a few blocks up from us on Pacific. We'd been meaning to check the shop out, and we're kicking ourselves for not going in sooner. Oh man...if your tastes run toward old bikes, we have to say, this show was a killer. Even the Harleys there were well-sorted, although most of the machines were either of British or Japanese origin. This might well be the best motorcycle show we've ever attended, because practically everything there was a runner, and those that weren't, well, they were all rad and weird in their own way. Click through for a grip of photos. More »

Jamie Kitman Takes on Product Placement

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 15:00:00 EDT

Commenting mostly on the John Lasseter/Zuffenhausen lovefest that resulted in Sally, the 911 featured in Cars, Automobile's Jamie Kitman muses on just how much things have changed since Aston intially refused to set Goldfinger's producers up with a DB5 a deal which ultimately contributed massively to the brand's mystique. "However," ponders Kitman, "It might be worth noting that James Bond's DB5 was not a quasi-human girl car, but rather a rolling armory of lethal weapons." And thanks for bringing up that Chrysler Celine Dion debacle, Jamie. We'd almost blocked that excruciating mistake out entirely. Ugh. More »

Flip the Bonnet of 'Cars'

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 31 May 2006 22:59:21 EDT

IGN's got a cool little doc on the making of Cars; how they studied the physics and characteristics of vehicles and attempted to create an entire world out of vehicles come to life. We'll spare you all the stuff. If you're down, go watch it. If not, more posts TK this evening. More »

Time's Richard Corliss on 'Cars'

Davey G. Johnson — Mon, 15 May 2006 22:29:47 EDT

Film critic Richard Corliss has a sit-down with Pixar's John Lasseter, who's now stepped up to become the head of all of Disney's animation shops in the wake of Jobs' digital shop's purchase by the Haus of Maus (apologies to Art Spiegelman). He also offers up a review of Cars, calling it an "instant classic." But really, Richard. Couldn't you have ditched the tired Steppenwolf reference and gone for something a little less hoary? Like say, Crime's "Hotwire My Heart"? More »

Jay Ward of Pixar on Cars

Davey G. Johnson — Mon, 15 May 2006 01:55:26 EDT

We get awfully jealous of Jay Ward at times. He co-founded Billetproof, one of the finest rod and custom shows on earth, went on to found the Asphalt Invitational, another of the finest car shows on earth, has a beautiful, super-friendly wife and works for Pixar. Plus he's a really, really nice guy. He's one of the big reasons that we're not worried that Cars will suck. More »

Eddie Paul Creates Real-Life 'Cars' Cars

Davey G. Johnson — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 15:43:04 EST

The Pixars had an idea they wanted life-size renditions of three of the characters from their upcoming film, Cars. After digging around a bit and conversing with Jay Leno (it always comes back to Leno, doesn't it?) They sent Asphalt Invitational and Billetproof co-founder Jay Ward down to Eddie Paul's El Segundo shop, and with Ward's sign-off, gave Paul the go-ahead to build the cars. More »

'Cars' Trailer Drops Today

Davey G. Johnson — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 14:27:20 EST

The Emeryville whiz kids at Pixar have posted the full trailer for Cars, and while we've probably said all we can say about the film before its release in three months, we think Paul Newman's character, a '49 Hudson, looks totally badass. We haven't been so goofy about seeing a kids' movie since we went to see The Lion King. But that's 'cuz we knew we were gonna get to suck face with a hot French exchange student the whole time. More »

Pixar Updates 'Cars' Website

Davey G. Johnson — Tue, 07 Mar 2006 13:12:58 EST

Like every eight-year-old and his gearhead dad, we're anxiously awaiting the premiere of Pixar's Cars, and as the June 9th release draws closer, Pixar's done some tweaking to the film's site, adding an online showroom that'll showcase the characters as if they were a new vehicle. The Disney obsessives (we're very afraid of adult Disney obsessives, frankly) over at Jim Hill Media have the whole can o' beans if you want the analysis, or you can just head on over to the flick's site and click around yourself. More »

Hoon of the Day: A Pitch to Pixar

Mike Spinelli — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 12:57:33 EST

Reynel Martinez is convinced Pixar's "Cars" will suck. The storyline, he says, is trite and cliche. He's tried to convince the company to go with an alternate narrative in which humans inhabit the fantasy world. He even offers a video pitch, though you'd better pack a lunch — it's about as long as the unedited footage of "Shaggy DA." It may not win him the ear of Pixar, but it's certainly won him Hoon of the Day. More »

New 'Cars' Teaser Drops

Davey G. Johnson — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 16:36:54 EST

Pixar-geeks that we are, we're a tad giddy (but not overly giddy, as that'd blow our newly-purchased LA cool) about the fact that the release of Apple Steve's animation firm's Cars is only six months out. There's a new teaser trailer up over at Apple's site, and the CGI looks ridiculously uh, dare we say incredible? And with the Emeryville-based company's rep for great stories, we can't help but wiggle a bit in anticipation. More »

More 'Cars' Unveiled on New 'Toy Story' DVD

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 06:24:40 EDT

We can't say that we've been closely following the trials and travails of the making of Pixar's new Cars, but we keep our tin in the wind in hopes of any new news. The Disney freaks at Jim Hill Media have posted some new stills from the film, of which an expanded look appears on the brand spankin' new 10th Anniversary Toy Story DVD. The shot above is of Cheech Marin, George Carlin and Paul Dooley's characters. Paul Dooley? We thought it was supposed to be R. Lee Ermey as the Jeep! That's it. Forget it. We're not seeing it now. [Update: we went back and checked the original story that mentioned Ermey was to play the Jeep. The sneaky sneaks at Jim Hill Media went and changed the ID of the Jeep's voice actor to Dooley. But we know we originally read Ermey's name there. And that's all that matters. Poot.] More »

More 'Cars' News Revealed

Davey G. Johnson — Mon, 15 Aug 2005 16:03:49 EDT

Let us go on record right now as being massive fans of Pixar films. While we're generally not huge on CGI, the way the Emeryville-based company (employer of Jay Ward, co-founder of Billetproof and main man behind the Asphalt Invitational) scripts their films, as well as the visual feel of the movies themselves really create a sense of filmic wonder in even the most jaded of aging post-hipsters (i.e., us). We just found some tidbits on Pixar's nearly-year-away feature Cars, and it sounds like it's shaping up to be a doozy. Tom and Ray Magliozzi of Car Talk fame will appear as Clink and Clunk, while R. Lee Ermey (Private Pyle! What is your major malfunction?!), shares a garage with George Carliln as an Army Jeep and a VW Microbus, respectively (and naturally). God, we hate to sound all Jackie Harvey about it, but it sounds like this could really be Pixar's best yet. More »