A lot of fine salutes and nods in Cars

Rating: 9/10 (25 June 2006)

I'll bet some of the older folk caught some of the references and nods in the movie.. If not, here goes:
Lightning McQueen = Steve McQueen who was a top notch actor and an excellent race car driver. Cocky and crazy as hell to boot.
Hudson Hornet = Ole Blue Eyes himself, Paul Newman. He himself ran Le Mans class cars. He co-owns a racing team and does pretty well on the recreational circuits. I'll bet a month's salary that this was like a homecoming for him when he did this movie. His expressions, his attitude, almost his soul was ingrained into the Hornet's chassis.
The town quite nearly mirrors the communities that sprung up along 66 during it's heyday, save for some stereotyping, but the overall look, save for the scenery, plucked some of my heart strings for I grew up in a small town not too dissimilar to it.
Overall the movie has done a fine job of showing the price of progress. I just hope that the nostalgia that it showed is captured in real life before it disappears altogether..