Back when stock car racing meant racing cars that were actually close to stock, the Hudson Hornet had one huge advantage: unibody construction. That meant a significantly lower center of gravity than the sedans from Ford, GM, or Chrysler, and much better handling as a result. Yes, believe it or not, handling was a big factor in going around an oval track. So, like the character in the Pixar's Cars, the Fabulous Hudson Hornet was once a dominant racer. This #92 car was driven by Herb Thomas, who became the first ever two-time NASCAR champion, winning the title in 1951 and 1953. When men were men.

Images copyright: Mark Arnold / Jalopnik.com

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

Cars, Australia [via Autoblog]

Related:
Yes, Virginia, Manohla Dargis May Well be an Idiot [Internal]

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:

"It's a red car approaching the railroad crossing and I thought, 'Oh no, please don't do what I think you're going to do,'" said Wilson, noting that the car Luke was driving also was red."

Railroad safety advocate says 'Cars' is reckless [Chicago Tribune]

Related:
Yes, Virginia, Manohla Dargis May Well be an Idiot [Internal]

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.

Because we love bands like Jawbreaker, Rites of Spring and H sker D , we totally welled up when the Paul Newman-voiced Doc showed up in his "Fabulous Hudson Hornet" livery. In fact, we even spilled over a bit. Sure, the film is sentimental for a bygone era, but so are many of Pixar's films; it's one of the reasons they appeal to adults and children alike. While six-year-olds won't understand the significance of Strip Weathers' #43 Plymouth Superbird, gearhead adults sure as hell will.

Quoth the Manohla: "There, on a derelict lick of asphalt, he meets a pileup of metal and ethnic clich s, including a tow truck with a deep-fried accent (Larry the Cable Guy as Mater) and a lowrider that apparently hopped in from East L.A. (Cheech Marin as Ramone)."

But here's the deal: we drove around Pedro this afternoon with Bumbeck. The bombas and lowriders were out in force. And who drives them? Dudes who talk like Cheech, a man who invented his own loving/acid homage to the vatos locos and pachucos of East LA. What's more, those guys essentially invented custom car culture, at least as it existed after the heyday of rich folks with custom-bodied Delahayes.

But we think that Dargis probably wouldn't understand the cultural heritage there; the role it's played in the history of America — a place where things now are both recycled and slightly recyclable — including NASCAR. But Lasseter combined four periods of the sport's history, illustrating the richness of motorsport heritage, as well as the pleasure of just getting in one's car with no destination in mind and just seeing the world. Dear Manohla should get out of New York more; she's obviously never tried to find pair of 235/75/R15s in Lordsburg, New Mexico during a two-day blast to Austin. And secretly enjoyed every minute of it.

Criticizing Cars for not featuring hybrids is like criticizing Chinatown for not having a primarily-Asian cast. And New Yorkers wonder why even the solipsistic navel-gazers on the Left Coast stereotype them as ridiculously self-centered and self-righteous? We're beginning to think that our brother and sister on the streets of NYC are right: Dargis is fucking crazy.

'Cars' Is a Drive Down a Lonely Highway [New York Times]

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Jamie Kitman Takes on Product Placement [Internal]

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.

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.

Cars in the Movies [Automobile]

Related:
Flip the Bonnet of 'Cars' [Internal]

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.

Exclusive Video Feature: Cars [IGN]

Related:
Time's Richard Corliss on 'Cars' [Internal]

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"?

Get Your Motor Running [Time]

Related:
Jay Ward of Pixar on Cars [Internal]

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.

Related:
Car Shows We Love: Asphalt Invitational '05 [Internal]

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.

While Lightning McQueen and and Mater were frame-up custom jobs, Sally Carrera started life as a '99 911, which Paul proceeded to hack up and stitch together until she fit the proportions of the movie character.

He chopped 7" out of the wheelbase, added three to the roof, added a mouth to the front, updated the trim to make the '99 resemble a 2002 model, angled the windshield forward and added magnetic roving eyeballs. After the cars' promotional duties have been fulfilled, they'll be retired to Pixar's Emeryville facility as decor. Somehow, though, we doubt they'll be appearing at the Asphalt Invitational anytime soon. [Thanks to Rob for the tip.]

Disney's cute Porsche - Sally Carrera [Gizmag]

Related:
'Cars Trailer Drops Today [Internal]

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.

'Cars' Exclusive Trailer [Moviefone]

Related:
Pixar Updates 'Cars' Website [Internal]

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.

Cars [via Jim Hill Media]

Related:
New 'Cars' Teaser Drops [Internal]

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.

My Cars Pitch [Reynel Martinez]

Related:
More Hoons of the Day [internal]

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.

Cars Teaser 4 [Apple]

Related:
More 'Cars' Unveild on New 'Toy Story' DVD [Internal]

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.]

10th anniversary 'Toy Story' DVD offers sneak peek at 'Cars' [Jim Hill Media]

Related:
More 'Cars' News Revealed [Internal]

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.

As "Cars" zooms to completion, Disney and Pixar inch toward a new agreement [Jim Hill Media]

Related:
Analysts Downgrade Pixar After Delay in Cars Release [Internal]