Sally Carrera

**Sally Carrera** is a major character from the Cars Franchise.

## Background

### Personality

Sally is kind and pleasant, like many of the townsfolk, while also being witty, charming, and intelligent. Both she and her boyfriend like feeling the wind when they are both driving along. When formerly working as a district attorney in California, Sally felt bored with her life and went to Radiator Springs to have a life that is nicer and quieter.

She can get embarrassed when people notice her pinstriping tattoo, although it does help remind her of her past, and how happy she is with her present. She also gets excited when customers come into Radiator Springs since there were hardly any in the past.

### Physical Appearance

Sally is painted baby blue and has chrome rims and blue eyes. Additionally, she has a black pinstriping tattoo on her back. Sally is modelled after a 2002 Porsche 911 Carrera, and has a license plate that reads "301PCE".

For the "Stanley Days" celebration, she paints herself in a lighter blue and has the outline of her windows and windshield changed from black to chrome. She also has grey trims on her sides, along with using different rims and headlights, and extra pieces of bodywork that hide her rear tires.

## Film Appearances

### Cars

When Sally comes to Radiator Springs, she becomes the town attorney, aiming to try and get the town promoted. One night in the early 21st century, race car Lightning McQueen finds himself in Radiator Springs after being lost on his way to Los Angeles, California for a Piston Cup race in the following week. In the process, McQueen accidentally destroys Radiator Springs' main road when the statue of Stanley attaches to him. The following day, McQueen is taken to court at the courthouse, where Doc Hudson, the town's judge, decides to have McQueen out of the town upon seeing that he is a race car. Sally then comes in as to talk to Doc, and the moment McQueen spots her, he immediately begins to fall in love with her, telling her to do what she has to do. Sally tries to tell Doc that McQueen should fix the road, but with Doc declining, she then explains to everyone that they must care for the travellers when they drive on Route 66, the location, but without a perfect road to drive on, no one can get to anyone's store, and they will go out of business. They all agree that McQueen has to fix the road, and Doc changes his mind, much to McQueen's dismay, as he wants to get out of the town and get to California in time for the race. Additionally, all of his fuel has been taken out, meaning that he cannot go anywhere.

Sally and the townsfolk try to do their usual work, while McQueen is forced to pave the road with a road-paving machine named Bessie. Soon, Van and Minny arrive, being unable to find their way to Interstate 40 while using Van's GPS. Everyone tries to get them to buy something from them, but Van and Minny keep declining. Sally tries to offer them a map from the Cozy Cone Motel along with a free Lincoln Continental breakfast, but Van refuses to buy a map when having his GPS. As Van and Minny leave, Sally tells them to mention the town to their friends, which Van does agree, and Sally tells the townsfolk that it will be good. A few minutes later, McQueen goes much faster while pulling Bessie as to try and hurry, but Sally and the townsfolk are shocked and cross that McQueen has just made the road sloppy and bumpy by going too fast. Doc decides that he and McQueen challenge each other to a race around Willy's Butte so to see who should fix the road, though Sally regrets this, thinking that Doc is not going to win. However, her bets are wrong, as at the final turn, McQueen skids off the track and into a cactus patch, leaving Doc able to win the race, while McQueen has to pave the road all over again at a slower speed.

The next day, everyone finds that McQueen has done a good job at doing part of the road up to the crossroad. Meanwhile, McQueen has been trying to make the turn that he went off in his and Doc's race and gets covered in cactus pieces before he gets back to work. Feeling pleased with McQueen's work, Sally gets Red to clean the cactus pieces off McQueen, as she offers him to stay in one of the cones at the Cozy Cone Motel. It is at this point that McQueen realizes that she is being nice to him, along with when he later sees her tattoo, leaving her embarrassed. That night, when thinking that there are customers, Sally turns on her motel's neon lights, but one of them malfunctions. Luckily for her, it is just Mater and McQueen, who had just got back after playing a game of tractor tipping. A minute later, Sally then overhears Mater when he comments about McQueen's feelings for her. She soon comes to McQueen when he arrives at the Cozy Cone, telling him that she overheard him promising Mater a ride in a helicopter when he makes his race. Before she leaves, McQueen thanks her for letting him stay, admitting it is better than being in the impound.

The next day, Sally decides that she and McQueen should take a drive. Driving out of Radiator Springs, they both challenge to a race that goes through a forest, over a bridge past a waterfall, and finally coming up to an old building known as the Wheel Well Motel. Sally knows it, because, as she explains to McQueen, she used to be a district attorney in Los Angeles, but she never enjoyed it, and drove for miles until breaking down at the motel, where the citizens of Radiator Springs got her fixed up. After that, she stayed in the town, because she became obsessed with the view of Radiator Springs and the rest of Ornament Valley from Wheel Well. McQueen is quick to see the traffic driving along the Interstate in the far distance, to which Sally tells him that people used to drive along Route 66 before the Interstate was even built, but when it got built to bypass Radiator Springs, all of the visitors completely forgot about the town, meaning that the townsfolk hardly had any customers from then on. To this day, they are still trying to find a way to get it back on the map.

When everyone wakes up the next morning, they find that the road has been done, but see no sign of McQueen. Sally assumes that McQueen has left to get to his race, but it is not until she comes to Luigi's Casa Della Tires that she finds McQueen had not actually left, wanting to help everyone in town. That evening, Sally comes again to see that the townsfolk have given McQueen a new look, as well as that all of the neon lights on the buildings have been fixed. To celebrate, the townsfolk go for cruises around the town. McQueen is just about to ask Sally for their cruise, but Lizzie jumps in, taking McQueen instead. Sally, however, manages to get Mater to bring McQueen back to her, and they both bond closer. However, the press soon comes to interview McQueen, having wondered where he had been for the week. Not wanting to leave yet, McQueen does one last talk with Sally, trying to tell her that Radiator Springs is not so bad after all. As Mack, McQueen's transporter, prepares to leave, Sally wishes McQueen good luck in California. Soon, she learns that Doc had called the press, being the reason why they had come to the exact location. Saddened to see McQueen being taken away, the citizens leave Doc and get some sleep, also turning off their neon lights.

Thinking that McQueen cannot handle the race on his own, Doc and most of the townsfolk drive to the Los Angeles International Speedway on race day and become part of McQueen's pit crew. Sally, Red, and Lizzie all stay behind in Radiator Springs, watching the race on a television at Flo's V8 Cafe. They watch all of the race, even to see Doc being recognized by the race fans to be the Fabulous Hudson Hornet (which made Lizzie confused), and McQueen taking the lead on the final lap. Sally wildly cheers for him, but that is just before one of the racers, Chick Hicks, rams The King off the race track. Shocked, McQueen screeches to a halt and comes back to push the King across the finish line so to let him finish his last race. Everyone, including Sally, is incredibly pleased with McQueen for his heroism.

A few days later, McQueen comes back to Radiator Springs, finding Sally at Wheel Well, as he has been missing her. He tells her that the town is back on the map, thanks to that he has set up his racing headquarters in the town. McQueen and Sally have since become a couple, as shown when Mater appears in a helicopter to sing about their love. Sally suggests that she and McQueen have a race to Flo's V8 Cafe with the last one there buying a drink, to which McQueen is unsure, instead suggesting taking a drive. Sally declines, instead taking the race, and McQueen joins as they race back to Radiator Springs, which has since become filled with visitors. Eventually, the Wheel Well Motel gets reopened thanks to Sally and McQueen, and they also spend time with their friends at the drive-in theatre to watch car-themed versions of several Pixar movies.

### Mater and the Ghostlight

Sally becomes a victim of Mater's pranks, as she is frightened when he dresses as a vampire. So she, and the rest of the gang, pranks him back with the "Ghostlight", a lantern hanging on the back of Mater's tow hook.

### Cars 2

Having spent time running the Cozy Cone, Sally and the rest of the townsfolk soon gather together to welcome McQueen back home after he wins the Piston Cup for a fourth time. Mater then comes along to greet McQueen, while towing a broken-down Otis. Later in the day, McQueen thinks that after spending two of Mater's crazy activities, he should have dinner with Sally at the Wheel Well, which has since become a restaurant. Enjoying their date, Sally admits that it is great for them to sit outside the Wheel Well Motel while watching the view of Ornament Valley. Just then, Mater turns up, being dressed as a waiter, having come to ask them what drinks they would like. Sally and McQueen both go with their usual drink, which Mater is unsure which drink they usually take, and rushes into the Wheel Well to ask his friends. Soon, Sally and McQueen begin to notice that the other customers are filling the entire restaurant. Going inside, they both see that on the television is Italian racer Francesco Bernoulli, whom Sally has been a huge fan of, having adored his open wheels.

Next, they hear Mater talking through the telephone to The Mel Dorado Show, which Francesco is being interviewed on. Francesco starts to get annoyed with Mater's comments and begins to make insults about him. Immediately, McQueen takes the phone and deals with Francesco himself, along with making an agreement with oil billionaire Miles Axlerod to take part in the World Grand Prix. Sally is all right about this, telling McQueen that he will have nothing to worry about, as she will still be doing her work at the Cozy Cone. To add to this, she advises McQueen that he should bring Mater, as he had never brought him to any of his races. Accepting her advice, McQueen allows Mater to be his crew chief. As McQueen, Mater, Luigi, Guido, Fillmore, and Sarge prepare to leave for Tokyo, Sally bids farewell to them as their plane leaves. While in Tokyo, Mater carries Sally's support to Francesco, who makes a toast with McQueen to dedicate which one's win to her in the first race.

Before his trip to London for the final race, McQueen calls Radiator Springs to report that Mater is missing, having thought that he had gone back to Radiator Springs, but there is no sign of him. Hearing the news, Sally travels to London with Red, Sheriff, Ramone, and Flo to be part of McQueen's pit crew and join in the search for Mater. However, McQueen is still unsure about if he can keep his worries about Mater out of his mind while he is racing, but with words from Sally and Axlerod to race for Mater and to prove to the world that Axlerod's fuel allinol is not as bad as it seems, he agrees to do it for Mater, and manages to concentrate on the race.

Halfway through the race, Mater comes to the pits, arriving to tell Sally and the rest of McQueen's pit crew that a bomb has been planted in the pits, but that is just when secret agents Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell alert him to say that the bomb has actually been planted on him. Just as Mater realizes, McQueen comes into the pits, glad to see him, but not knowing about the bomb. Sally and her friends all watch as Mater quickly drives away with McQueen following him, then see on the television that Mater is blasting at a fast speed with a pair of rockets while McQueen is holding onto his hook. Thinking that they should help, Sally and her friends rush to McQueen and Mater's location, where they find that McQueen, Mater, Finn and Holley are cornered by a group of thugs known as lemons. Taking the lemons by surprise, the Radiator Springs gang helps their friends battle the lemons, which Sally joins Red to blast water at J. Curby Gremlin and his Gremlin fellows. With the agents and the Radiator Springs gang winning, the lemons are all arrested by Sarge and his army friends. Afterwards everyone tries to figure out how to get rid of the bomb that is still stuck on Mater.

Suddenly, Mater gets an idea and quickly travels back to Buckingham Palace with McQueen, while the others follow. When Sally and her friends arrive, they find the bodyguards of the Queen of England trying to prevent Mater and McQueen from getting any closer, but they all listen as Mater explains that Axlerod is the leader of the lemons along with being responsible for turning on the bomb. As Axlerod gets cornered by Mater, he has no choice but to deactivate the bomb just one second before it can detonate, proving to everyone that he has been leading the lemons.

Sally and her friends then join the thousands of people who stand in the palace's knighting room as Mater gets knighted by the Queen. All of the Radiator Springs townsfolk soon travel back home, where Mater tells them all the story about him helping out Finn and Holley. They also decide to host an unofficial race in the town for McQueen and the World Grand Prix racers to take part in, which is also when Sally is able to meet Francesco, who admits that McQueen is very lucky, and will have to be so that he beats him in the race. Sally soon realizes that Francesco is not as good-looking as she thought, though she agrees with Flo that he still has some fine looks, and she joins the citizens to cheer on for McQueen.

### Cars 3

Sally returns in Cars 3. Parked next to Mater, she watches Lightning McQueen racing against a new generation of high-tech race cars and becomes horrified upon seeing him crashing. Throughout the rest of the film she plays the role as a supportive member to Lightning McQueen. She's presented here as very awkward with her sense of humour yet pleasing enough for Lightning. She's much more involved compared to Cars 2 but not as much as in Cars.

## TV Appearances

### Cars Toons

#### Tales from Radiator Springs

In Hiccups, Sally comes to Flo's V8 Cafe to notice that everyone is trying hard to get rid of McQueen's hiccups, which Mater is hanging him upside down, while Red is shooting water at his mouth. Immediately, Sally gets everyone to stop, and tries to sort the problem out by kissing McQueen on his side, successfully making his hiccups go away.

In The Radiator Springs 500½, Sally customizes herself to be a 1900s look for Radiator Springs' annual "Stanley Days" celebration, where McQueen, dressed up as Stanley, is supposed to take the citizens out on a leisurely tour, but that is soon changed when Sandy Dunes and his pals come into the town to search for McQueen. Hearing them making insults, McQueen challenges them to an off-road race, while Mater takes his place as doing the leisurely tour. Arriving back in Radiator Springs that night, Sally begins to wonder where McQueen, Sandy and the other racers are, as they would have already been back before then. Eventually, the racers all arrive, unaware that they had took a wrong turn at the start of their race.

Sally was scheduled to appear in To Protect and Serve.

## Disney Parks

Sally appears as an animatronic on the Cars Land attraction Radiator Springs Racers located at Disney California Adventure, where she and McQueen greet the guests following their arrival in Radiator Springs.

**Films:** Cars | Cars 2 | Cars 3
**Short Films:** Mater and the Ghostlight | Miss Fritter's Racing Skoool | Unparalleled Parking | Dancing with the Cars
**Television:** Cars Toons | Cars on the Road
**Books:** Disney's Wonderful World of Reading
**Locations:** Radiator Springs