It doesn't help how Holly's character was characterized to second guess her intuition and gut feeling by herself and her co-worker, McMissile.

Cars 1 - Lightning wants to be the first rookie to win a Piston Cup

Cars 3 - Lightning wants to prove to everyone he is a racer who can compete with the new race Cars, especially Storm

…to find something more meaningful and important that completely overtakes the initial self-centered wants:

Cars 1 - Lightning realizes the importance of friendship and community. This led him to give up being the first rookie to win a Piston Cup, so he could help Strip Weathers finish the race.

Cars 3 - Lightning realizes the importance of changing oneself and his role to pass on a legacy that has outgrown him. This led to him giving his racer position (95) to Cruz.

I think it’s a notable choice how both of these movies didn’t accomplish the initial motivation of Lightning Mcqueen. The story follows up on the character development Lightning went through rather than accomplish his selfish desire.

In the end, Lightning learns his lesson and it is reflected by his act of caring for someone else and help the other accomplish their goal. He helped Strip finish his final race. He helped and encouraged Cruz to start her first & second race.

Also, Sally said Lightning doesn't include Mater in his races and travels, yet Lightning gives Mater the responsibility of acting as his pit chief/ live-race commentator?

The issue Lightning Mcqueen has to overcome is he keeps thinking so much about being on the racetrack and getting to his next race in California.

He is always on the go and moving fast to the next destination— to the next race. This reinforces his bad habit of not thinking about others. This distracts him from the fact he doesn’t have much friends, family, or even a community to call for.

Additionally, despite being very self-centered, he can be self-destructive in his pursuit of being on a racetrack. He skips meals and one of the biggest mistake he did in Cars 1 was not take a moment of rest to change his tires.

With all that being said, what stops a car from moving or makes a car change its path and direction? a traffic cone

What is a place people on the go or traveling stop by to rest? a motel

Sally Carrera: she is half-Guatemalan and half-Mexican. She grew up in Los Angeles with her family who are also lawyers.

Lightning McQueen: half-Filipino and half-Irish. He grew up in USA. When he was younger, he and his mom took trips to see his Filipino relatives in the Philippines.

Francesco Bernoulli: 100% Italian, born and raised in Italy.

Cars 3

Cars 1

Cars 2

Here is a list of my favorite characters (in no particular order):

Sally Carrera

Cruz Ramirez

Lightning McQueen

Francesco Bernoulli

Characters I Thought Deserved Better Writing:

Mater

Holley Shiftwell

Prone-To-Malfunctioning Cars or ‘Lemons’