| Lightning McQueen | |
|---|---|
 McQueen as seen in The World of Cars #1 | |
| Vital statistics | |
| Official Name | |
| Aliases | Bulldozer McQueen, McQueen, Stickers |
| Gender | Male |
| Race | Automobile |
| Location | |
| Groups | |
| List of Appearances | Category:Lightning McQueen |
Lightning McQueen, typically referred to by McQueen, and occasionally called "Stickers" by Sally, is the main character of Cars.
He is named after Glenn McQueen, a Pixar Animator who died of melanoma in October 2002.
Description[]
His overall profile was inspired by stock cars and a "more curvaceous Le Mans endurance racer", e.g., Lola and Ford GT40. His number, 95, is a reference to the year Pixar released it's first feature-length movie, Toy Story. In the beginning, Lightning McQueen is a narcissistic, selfish race car, especially towards his pit crew. He hopes to be the first rookie to win the Piston Cup race and gain a lucrative endorsement deal from Dinoco in the final race of the season, but finishes in a three-way tie with perennial runner-up Chick Hicks and veteran Strip "The King" Weathers after losing his huge lead on the final lap (#400) because of two blown tires. He gets lost in Radiator Springs on his way to California and meets new friends who teach him there is more to life than winning car races and gaining deals. It is there he meets Mater and falls in love with the town attorney, Sally Carrera. He changes his look at the end of the movie, while his bad attitude changes during his time in Radiator Springs. He learns these valuable lessons: true friendship; how greed affects others; keeping promises; teamwork; and that life is about the journey, not the destination. These values lead him to rejuvenate Radiator Springs back to its heyday. Therefore, he decides to call the little town his home, and the headquarters of Team Lightning McQueen which gets finished in Cars Mater-National and Mater called it a club house.