History WesternAnimation / Cars2

* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Mater can recognize any engine and give you all the details about it just by taking one look at it, regardless of how old or obscure it is.

* CutLexLuthorACheck: The villains' plan revolves around discrediting alternative fuels to that they can keep on selling their oil. Except that the only legitimate alternative fuel that had ever been shown on camera is Filmore's organic gasoline, which wasn't being sold outside Radiator Springs. If Axelrod and the lemons had stuck with selling their oil legitimately, they would still have had plenty of time to get crazy rich before any alternative fuel could be produced in sufficient quantities to threaten the oil industry.

* NotJustATournament: The World Grand Prix was actually organized by the Lemons just so they can zap all of the competing racecars with a deadly radiation cannon as an attempt to destroy all alternative energy sources and force everyone back to using gasoline.

* TheCameo: Kabuto, the main villain of [[WesternAnimation/PixarShorts ''Tokyo Mater'']], actually makes several brief appearances during all of the Japan scenes.

* CompanyCrossReferences: A drive-in marquee appears at one point in the film mentioning a film titled ''[[WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles The Incredimobiles]]''.

* MythologyGag: In Paris, [[WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}} Gusteau's]] appears briefly, with a change in spelling that makes it '''Gastow's'''.
** Also there's a drive-in movie theater showing ''[[WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles The Incredimobiles]]''. Curiously enough, the Incredimobile is also the name of Mr. Incredible's car at the very beginning of his film.
** Lightning McQueen uses [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory Lightyear]] brand tires (Goodyear tires are commonly used in Nascar).

* UncannyValley: In-universe, seemingly the reason for Mater's reaction to the car with headlights for eyes.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Who won the race?

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome/{{Pixar}} See here]].

* [[spoiler:EvilBrit]]: [[spoiler:Sir Miles Axlerod]].

* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot: If only the spies listened to Mater when he says hes not a spy.

Unfortunately, when an intelligence exchange goes awry, Mater gets mistaken for a master American spy. When he accidentally screws up Lightning [=McQueen=]'s competition against Formula One racecar Francesco Bernoulli, Mater ends up getting recruited by British espionage agents Finn [=McMissile=] and Holly Shiftwell to help them stop the [[StealthPun machinations]] of international weapons developer Professor Zundapp. Now, while [=McQueen=] struggles against his guilt, Mater must balance his duty to save the world and his efforts to save [=McQueen=], who is quickly being targeted...

* OddballInTheSeries: This is the only movie so far where racing is not the CentralTheme, someone other than Lightning is the main focus, and Music/RandyNewman is not the composer.

''Cars 2'' is the ActionizedSequel to ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'', released in June 2011. Oil Baron-turned-electric-vehicle Sir Miles Axlerod has discovered Allinol, a new clean alternative fuel source. To promote it, he creates and sponsors the first ever World Grand Prix, where the best racers compete to see who's the fastest car in the world. One of the finalists is Piston Cup winner Lightning [=McQueen=], who brings along his friends from Radiator Springs as his pit crew, along with first-time team member Tow Mater.

** A blink-and-you-miss when the leaking occurs. Axelrod flinches and reverses away from the oil, but Mater does not. Also, he sounds nervous as he backs away.

* ANaziByAnyOtherName: Professor Zundapp, the Lemons and their boss, [[spoiler:Sir Miles Axelrod. Just pretend that alternate fuel for cars is to oil what anyone or anything non-Aryan was to Nazism]].

* OhCrap: Tony Trihull utters a small "Uh-oh" just before [[spoiler:being blown up when Finn releases a bunch of timed mines in an attempt to break away from the magnet pulling him in]].
** The look on the two thug cars who get diverted into a pub, and then break the table where the patrons were enjoying their beer. The patrons are not pleased about that...

* BatmanGambit: [[spoiler:Mater's plan to get Miles Axlerod to disarm the bomb: by standing next to him, forcing Miles to blow his cover to save his own life]].

* [[BritishRoyalGuards British Royal Cars]]: Mater tries to get one of these to laugh shortly before his knighting ceremony.
* [[BreatherEpisode Breather Movie]]: This movie serves as one for [[WesternAnimation/Cars3 the threequel]], which came out six years later and showed Lightning’s racing starting to go downhill.

* ThisCannotBe: when Francesco finds himself overtaken by flying spycar Holly and [[spoiler:rocket-enhanced ''Mater'']].

* ForWantOfANail: [[spoiler:If it hadn't been for Axlerod's oil leak, Mater wouldn't have ended up involved with agents to stop his plan, with Mater being the one to expose him as the lemon kingpin. As such, Axlerod's own faulty lemoness ended up being his undoing]].

* BlueIsHeroic: Finn [=McMissile=] is blue and definitely heroic as he is a spy investigating the evil lemon cars.

* RedIsHeroic: Leland Turbo and Lightning are both red. Leland Turbo is a RedShirt, but he is still a good guy as before he was killed, he worked with [[BlueIsHeroic Finn McMissile]]. Lightning is this like in the first film, but it's more noticeable here as he is far less of a {{Jerkass}} than he was in the first film.

* CarsWithoutTiresAreTrains: One of the activities that Mater drags Lightning into in the beginning of the movie is driving on abandoned railroad tracks without tires. Subverted, as RealityEnsues when Lightning and Mater are unable to get traction on the rails.

* RealityEnsues: [[RealityEnsues/{{Pixar}} See here]].

* CostumeCopycat: [[spoiler:Ivan is a tow truck that looks a lot like Mater. Holly helps Mater with a holographic disguise to look like him, after [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Mater tries out several very conspicuous and outrageous modes]]]].

** Serves as a CallBack to the first film when Mater demonstrates his backwards driving skills. When the Lemon Kingpin makes his speech, you can see [[spoiler: Sir Axelrod's]] rear view mirrors on him.