Referenced By / Cars

Advertising

• A commercial for Energizer batteries that tied in with the original movie has Lightning McQueen run down near a billboard with the Energizer Bunny next to his slogan, "Keep Going" on it. Mater catches up to Lightning and advises him to be in it for the long haul, citing the Energizer Bunny as someone who has the right idea before he tows Lightning away.

Comic Strips

• Off the Mark: Lightning appears in this strip.

Film -- Animation

• Finding Nemo: Luigi makes a very brief cameo during the scene right before the credits, where we see that the Tank Gang has managed to escape the tank.
• The Incredibles: During the battle with the Omnidroid 10, a blue Hudson Hornet resembling Doc Hudson can be seen parked in the background.
• Toy Story 3:
  • A toy resembling Lightning McQueen is seen in the background on the floor of Sunnyside.
  • A toy tractor, like the one seen in Cars, can also be seen in Sunnyside.
  • One little boy is seen wearing a shirt with a #95 and a lightning bolt on it, both of which are what Lightning McQueen has painted on his sides.
  • In the scene where Buzz sees Lotso's minions gambling inside the vending machine, "ReVolting" batteries are one of the things placed on the See N' Say roulette, "ReVolting" being the brand of car battery that Davey Apex beared the sponsor of.

Film -- Live Action

• The Muppets (2011): A billboard for Cars 2 can be seen in the film several times.

Literature

• Miracle Creek: At the Wards' housewarming party, kids run around pretend riding Cars cars.

Music

• Rapper Yung Nugget's Signature Song is titled "Lightning MacQueen." In the lyrics, the rapper compares himself to McQueen and says "ka-chow" several times. The art for the song depicts him escaping a line of police cars by riding Lightning McQueen.

Video Games

• In LEGO The Incredibles, Lightning McQueen appears as an unlockable character, unlocked by building the Florida 500 Speedway in the East Waterfront.

Web Video

• The Nostalgia Critic: In his review of The Swan Princess, Malcolm reveals Cars 2 and Monsters University to be the ingredients used in "Diet Pixar" soda.
• Schaffrillas Productions: A (since unlisted and now somewhat hard to find) video titled "Will They Be in Smash?" discusses how Lightning would work as a fighter in Super Smash Bros.... before deciding that he wouldn't work because, as a racecar, he would have a very limited moveset - and besides, how would he hold items?
• SuperMarioLogan:
  • In "Cody's Revenge!", after breaking a table with Bowser's clown car in a previous episode, "Bowser Junior's Clown Car", Bowser threatens to send Junior to military school. Sergeant Brooklyn T. Guy tells Junior that at military school, he's going to make him watch Big Hero 6. Junior is horrified, claiming that "Big Hero 6 is the worst animated movie since Cars 2".
  • In "Chef Pee Pee's Date!", Chef Pee Pee and Lola watch a preview for Cars 4 in the movie theater. In the preview, a drunk Lightning McQueen crashes into a lamp post.

Western Animation

• Arthur: The episode "The Agent of Change" opens with Francine, Muffy and Binky going to see a Cars-esque movie called Trucks.
• MAD:
  • Mater appears in "TransBOREMores" in Hawaii with a picnic.
  • At the end of "Cloudy With a Chance of Flavor", a blue Lightning McQueen appears on a box of CARShmellows cereal.
  • A sketch from "Snott Pilgrim Vs. the Wonderful World of Disney / Malcolm in the Middle Earth" involves Lightning McQueen getting squished in a car squisher.
  • Lightning and Mater appear in "Thomas the Unstoppable Tank Engine", where they are on a world tour, but get run over by Thomas.
  • Lightning and Mater appear in "Fast Hive" when Dominic Toretto lands in the novelization of Cars.
  • In "TransBOREMores 3: Dark Side of the Blue Moon", Mater makes a cameo appearance on Interstate 40.
  • In "Addition Impossible", Ethan Hunt tries to use Lightning McQueen to catch up to Hendricks.
  • In "Outtagascar", Lightning McQueen is part of the sequel circus, despite his protests that he's only had two movies.
    "The original, and the one where we have to go to Europe because there's a race, but then Mater gets confused for a spy because he sounds like... Yeah, OK. I guess I should be here."
• Robot Chicken: A sketch from "Cheese Puff Mountain" has Michael Knight get inside Lightning McQueen when K.I.T.T. gets carjacked.
• In the The Simpsons episode, "Beware My Cheating Bart", one of the movies advertised at the cinema in the Springfield Mall is "Cars 3: New Merchandise". Five years later, an official third Cars movie was made.
  • The couch gag used in the episode "Puffless", has the family resemble characters from the movie. When they sit on the couch, Maggie appears as a monster truck and crushes the rest of them.