Top 6 Cars Characters That Aren't McQueen or Mater

As I said in the past I love Cars and it has a lot of great characters in this world.  Today, I'll be counting down my Top 6 Cars Characters That Aren't McQueen or Mater.  Now seeing as there the movies and the shorts,  my list will consist of characters from both of these.  However, you will not see any new characters from the sequel on this list for the simple fact that it wasn't that good.  Now in many ways, this is a follow up to an older Top 6 I did with the Toy Story characters.   With that out of the way, let's begin.

6.  Big D 

Coming in at # 6 is the only character from the world of Cars created specifically for a short. His one and only appearance was in Mater Private Eye.  Some set up is needed first, in this short, Mater is presented as a detective trying to take down someone behind a ring of counterfeit tires.   That person   car happens to be Big D.   While he don't spend much time in the short, when he do it is clear that he is a threat and not a car to be messed with. Within this world that Mater describes, it's clear that this character has a grasp on what is happening and not someone to mess around with.  He is evil, I mean he tries to kill Mater by hanging him over the ocean.  In my opinion, he is the best villain to appear in the world of Cars as he comes across as a serious threat unlike the films' villains.   

5.  Guido  

It's strange, if you had asked me in 2006, after seeing the first film, who my three favorite characters were?  I would've probably said Mater as # 1,  McQueen # 2 and Guido at # 3.  I don't know why he's fallen to two spaces.  Because I still love Guido and think he is one of the funniest characters.  I could've paired him with Luigi as they're both great characters but I like Guido more and I think part of it just comes how he shows himself off to Chick's pit crew.  Yes, he does inherit the cliche of a being a little guy with a tough personality but it's really only in that one scene. Other than that he is a just a fun and likable character that is fun to be around.  

4. Fillmore 

Okay,  let me make this clear. This entry is only for the Fillmore voiced by George Carlin.  Not the Fillmore that appeared in Cars 2 because that didn't feel like the same character. I guess part of what I like about Fillmore is his whole hippie lifestyle and how he plays off of Sarge very well in being polar opposites.  I think that Fillmore has one of the funniest looks on his face of just whoa, where am I?   Though  to me the biggest thing that makes the real  Fillmore work is his voice actor, George Carlin.  I say this because Fillmore as a character seems so different than the footage I've seen of Carlin's stand up but y'know what, he pulled off the role well and gave a solid performance.   He was funny as heck as Fillmore and I love the scene where he is talking to McQueen about the government not wanting the public to know about organic gasoline because that seriously feels like something a hippie would do and the delivery in that scene was just priceless.  

Lightning McQueen: Wow, this organic fuel is great! Why haven't I heard about it before? 
Fillmore: It's a conspiracy, man! The oil companies got a grip on the government. They're feeding us a bunch of lies, man! 

3. Sally 

The top 3 for this list probably had the most shuffling as at one point, I had Sally at # 2 but as you'll see when we get there, there is another character that I feel deserved it more.   Now don't get me wrong, Sally is a highly important character and as I said in my review of the first film, she helps McQueen open up and show him that are more things in life other than himself.  She understands McQueen as she used to live the big city lifestyle.  Sally is a character that comes across as being friendly and caring about the town of Radiator Springs as it took to a simpler time.  While she came across as friendly, she didn't put up with McQueen's antics and saw through his to be blunt.. BS.   I do like that though even though she did fall for McQueen, she was a strong character  on her own that to rephrase the popular saying, she could stand on her 4wheels no problem.

2.  The King

When coming up with this list, I knew that I wanted The King on here as we see in the beginning of the film, he is what McQueen aspires to be but what The King has that McQueen doesn't in the beginning is that he is loyal, kind and caring.  He understands that racing is all there is.  It's not hard to see why he is so beloved in the racing community. He takes racing seriously but at the same time, he knows that there are other things in life. 

1.  Doc Hudson  

When I first came up with the idea for this list, I knew that Doc Hudson had to be # 1.   Now the biggest reason, I've placed him so high is because he comes across as a big mentor in McQueen's life and he was someone that McQueen needed in his life to show him how to be a better car and a better driver.  It was clear from the get go that he took a dislike to McQueen in the beginning of his racing past and he thought that all race car drivers were the same but that wasn't the case and this all came to a halt in one of my favorite moments when Doc Hudson explains how the racing world turned their back on him after his big crash. 

Doc Hudson: We are not the same! Understand? Now, get out.

Lightning McQueen: How could a car like you quit at the top of your game?
Doc Hudson: You think I quit?
[Turns a light on a framed newspaper headline: "CRASH! Hudson Hornet out for season"]

Lightning McQueen: Oh, right. Your big wreck in '54.

Doc Hudson: They quit on me. When I finally got put together, I went back expecting a big welcome. You know what they said? "You're history." Moved on to the next rookie standing in line. There was a lot left in me. I never got a chance to show 'em. I keep that to remind me never to go back. I just never expected that that world would... would find me here.

This right here shows Doc as a character with a tragic past and I like how it is tied in and wrapped up in the end with Doc returning to the racing world.  I have to say that I'm so glad that Lasster didn't replace Paul Newman as Doc as at one point intended for the sequel and at the same time, it helps me understand why they might've chosen to shift focus from McQueen to Mater.  Now this is just speculation but to me the more I watch the first film,  the more that I realized that in order for a McQueen story to work you need Doc because he is integral to McQueen and in my opinion, at that point, Pixar should've halted the sequel because without Doc, the second movie was missing something that made me rank Cars as my second favorite Pixar film.  I don't know if it was heart but without Doc, something just felt amiss. Going back to Cars 2 as it stands that one right now is ranked in my bottom three of Pixar films with one obvious one, The Incredibles and another one I'm not going to mention because of the backlash I might receive.   If you want to know which one it is, ask me in the comments.    Getting back on topic,  Doc is one of the most important characters and easily one of the most likable in my opinion. Sure, he may be rough around the edges but as his past is revealed, you as the viewer come to understand why. 

There you have it my Top 6 Cars characters that aren't McQueen or Mater. Now I'll admit there are a few characters that came close to making the list but I dropped them for one reason or another, I just dropped.  The big one that I dropped was Stanley. For those of you who may not know McQueen & Mater actually do interact with Stanley as a character in the newest Mater short but the more I thought about it, I couldn't reason putting him on here because as much as I liked him, he didn't leave as much of a presence.  So, who are some characters that you would've put on your list. Tell me in the comments. Peace!