Cars 2 Stars Recall Their First Lemon Cars
- Details
- Category: Interviews
- Created: Wednesday, 22 June 2011 10:29
- Published: Wednesday, 22 June 2011 10:29
- Written by Lupe Haas
Lemon cars of the world unite in CARS 2 as villains looking to take down Tow Mater and Lightning McQueen. The CARS 2 stars reveal which of their own cars turned out to be a lemon.
Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Eddie Izzard and Joe Mantegna join Owen Wilson and Larry the Cable Guy in the sequel to Disney Pixar's CARS. In CARS 2, Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater get caught up in a spy adventure overseas while competing at the first-ever World Grand Prix.
Larry the Cable Guy who voices Tow Mater told CineMovie he definitely had experience with a lemon when he bought a "1985 hunter green Dodge truck that had to have the transmission about every 6 months." His co-star Owen Wilson luckily didn't experience a bad car but he did have a Chevy Blazer which he didn't “love” “but it was a functional car."
New cast members Michael Caine and Emily Mortimer play British car agents in CARS 2 and they admitted they don't drive in real-life but they did have their car stories. Michael Caine said during the CARS 2 press day via satellite from London that he didn't buy his first car until his acting took off. He bought a Rolls Royce but the insurance agent forbid him from learning to drive in an expensive car. The Dark Knight Rises and CARS 2 star now rolls with a chauffeur. Sir Caine said it was “cool” playing an Aston Martin DB for his role as Finn McMissile in CARS 2.
Emily told CineMovie her husband forbids her from driving "because I'm very unreliable" but she has experienced problems with a car when she purchased a 1960 SAAB. "My father-in-law needed a tennis jab - it was so full of half-eaten sandwiches, bits of coke cans, and things like that," said Emily who plays Holley Shiftwell in CARS 2.
Eddie Izzard voices Sir Axelrod, a Land Rover SUV in CARS 2 and he knew he was buying a lemon in college when he bought a mini-Cooper that was flooded with water. After a friends gave him a lift in the leaky car, he bought it for "50 quids," according to the British star. "It was a nice piece of junk." It didn’t go so well when he tried to resell it. 
CARS 2 director and head of Disney Pixar John Lasseter told CineMovie they conceived the spy movie set with lemon cars as the “bad guys” because they thought it would be “so much fun.” To come up with a list of “notoriously bad cars” from around the world, they contacted a friend at Autoweek Dutch Mandelin who drew up a list. The AMC Gremlin and Pacer made the list -- two of Lasseter’s two favorite cars, calling them “unique looking.” The Gremlin car and the Pacer became the lead villains voiced by Joe Mantegna and House actor Peter Jacobson. Joe Mantegna defended the Gremlin and agreed with Lasseter that the AMC 70s car is a classic.
CineMovie asked the CARS 2 director why the Ford Pinto wasn’t part of the cast of cars – a lemon car so full of potential for jokes. Lasseter said they were limited with which cars could be included as the villains of CARS 2. "What was interesting is that a lot of car companies didn't want us to use their cars as bad guys, so we were kind of limited.”
CARS 2, however, has plenty of other lemons adults will recognize and remind you of your first lemon – mine the Ford Escort.
CARS 2 is in movie theaters June 24, 2011.