Cars

Cars is a 2006 animated film by Disney/Pixar. The film takes place in a world populated by cars, planes, trains and other forms of transportation. It revolves around a hotshot rookie racecar, Lightning McQueen, and him getting lost in the small town of Radiator Springs on his way to his big race in Los Angeles. There, he makes friends with the townsfolk, including Mater, Sally, Doc Hudson, and learns that life is the journey, not the finish line.

Cars was later followed by a sequel in 2011, Cars 2. In the sequel, Lightning gets invited to a racing competition called the World Grand Prix, which takes him and Mater on a trip around the world. However, while in Tokyo, secret agents Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell mistake Mater for an American spy and get him involved in trying to figure out who is behind all the engine blowouts occurring in the race.

A second sequel, Cars 3, has been released on June 16, 2017. However, it is being promoted by Subway instead of McDonald's. It follows Lightning McQueen, now a veteran racer, as a new generation of rookies, Jackson Storm being the most notable one, take over the sport and threaten to force him into retirement. Lightning decides to seeks help Cruz Ramirez, an eager young race technician and a life-long fan of McQueen.

In 2006, Cars toys were featured as toys in McDonald's Happy Meals, some of which come in different variants. This included Lightning McQueen (in clean and dirty forms), Mater, Sally Carrera, Doc Hudson, Ramone (in purple, green and yellow paint jobs), Flo, Luigi and Fillmore.

The character Fillmore was originally going to be named Waldmire, named after Route 66 resident Robert "Bob" Waldmire whom the film's crew befriended during a trip on Route 66. However, Waldmire was a vegan and since Cars toys were going to be featured at McDonald's, he refused to let them use his name.