car physiology

…what i’d REALLY REALLY like to know, is, how “car physiology”

works. pixars cars seem to be no machines after all, they seem to come very close to something like living

beings. which leaves us (especially me) with lots of questions…!!! feel free to spank me, if this has been

asked before and i did not notice…

so, here we go:

(1) how can cars move without their engine?

very often in the movie they do that, turning on their engines later (after moving). or am i wrong?

(2)

how can a car know how fast it is going at the moment? since the eyes are located in the windshield, they very

probably cannot have a quick look on the dashboard… and how can a car use a navigation system or know its oil

pressure?

(3) obviously, cars can eat and drink. but what, besides oil, do they eat/drink? at least there

seem to be two separete systems: one for gas processing (via the filler pipe), leading straight to the engine,

and one for food processing (via the “mouth”), leading to… well, where exactly…?

(4) which

rooms make up an automobile home? i.e. do cars sleep in their garages, or do they have sleeping rooms? do they

have a kitchen, somewhat like a living room (and, of course, toilets, as we have learnt from the movie),

etc.?

(5) do cars feel pain if they get into chrashes?

(6) do they have something like "public

transport" in car world?

(7) how can cars sign contracts? by tire imprint?

(8.) where do the

car “kids” come from…?

if you have any ideas about that, please let me know!

Some of these questions have been

asked before, but not all of them, so this will definitely make an interesting topic of conversation.

1. I didn’t realise that they moved without their engines turned on- if so, then I don’t know how this

works, really.

2. I guess a car wouldn’t know how fast it would be going, as as I’m assuming that there

are speed limits on roads as there are in this world, then this could pose a problem. But, since they are cars

themselves, maybe they just subconsiously know? I guess the same applies to the navigation systems and oil

pressure.

3. It’s possible that all cars do eat and drink is oil- nothing else seems to be necessary. As

for the mouth thing, we can only assume that either the cars are filled up like our cars are, or that if they

really do use their mouths, they have evolved in a way that connects their mouths to their engines and such like.

Since, as you said, they are almost like living beings, there’s a possibility that they are able to

evolve.

4. It doesn’t seem necessary for cars to have particularly extensive houses, but I guess it

depends on each cars’ personal situation. Poorer cars will only need a single room to sleep and live in, but

richer cars might have more extensive houses. The problem is, they wouldn’t be able to utilize furniture in the

same way that we do, so they’ll have to make it all ‘car friendly’.

5. I’d assume so, yes. After all,

they are practically human beings, and if they didn’t feel any pain when they get involved into something like a

crash, then some cars would continue to risk hurting themselves as there would be no consequence for them, as

pain is nature’s way to tell us that something is going wrong. If they didn’t suffer pain, they’d never be

able to cure anything.

6. Good question! I don’t think public transport would be necessary, since they

are the transport so to speak, but if a car actually needs help getting around, I’m sure they’ll be aided by

things such as tow trucks. Concerning travelling over seas, there are probably cruise ships that are able to

carry lots of cars.

7. Tyre imprint sounds like a good idea!

8. We’ve discussed this in-depth

in a previous thread. I’m sure you could find it somewhere in the Cars section.

first of all , to get this out

of the way , nice icon stickers ! very funny i might add .

about number 8 , we talked about that once ,

but i love how people react when others ask the question . dont worry , that topic’s gone now , but i dont mind

saying my reason over again

when a mommy car and a daddy car love each other very much …
they go to

the dealership !

No , I’m kidding , i’m kidding . The truth is it’s probably close to the same

as us . It’s either that or they split in two like certain bacteria and protists.

I’m guessing some big

garages , such as the one we see in lightning’s daydreams , have bathrooms . Other small towns , such as

Radiator Springs , might go to the old method of … sharing an outhouse . cringes of disgust and of course ,

instead of bathtubs and showers , im guessing they have a “carwash” , like we do for our cars . I mean

, it’s not like their “naked” of some sort , i doubt they would mind sharing a bathtub . Also , a

vehicle with a hose , such as Red , might give the cars an occasional quick “shower” of some sort

.

all i say is that its a movie, its not

real. The creaters intentions arent to make you think all that, its to enjoy a great story!! Just relax and enjoy

it, dont clutter your mind with “why dont they have poseable thumbs?” and stuff like that!

Hahahah!

Back on topic: these are pretty good

questions and I have thought of many of these at one point or another. But I also wonder, what happens when Cars

sleep? Does sleep recharge their batteries? The problem with this is that you need your engine on when you do

this and that’s obviously not the case.

It seems to me these Cars are almost human in a car body. So no I

don’t think they can check there speed. However, there was one point in the movie when the police officer dude

(I forget his name) says “I been feelin a quart low” refering to his oil. So obviously they can

“feel” that.

Dunno on the other Q’s.

Yeah i

made a topic about #8 too bad it’s gone though
very intersting questions though

Hmmm. Public

transport like planes, subways, trains, helicopters, (well we already know about those )and taxis what do the

cars do can inside them?

HoboDan : Well , if John Lasseter , Andrew Santon ,

and everybody else at Pixar didn’t think like that , there would be no cars , toy story , nemo , anything ! Well

, maybe the Incredibles … Anyway , the point is , its great to find out what happens in these

“Pixarian” worlds , and some stuff we need to think of on our own . Besides , it’s really fun !!

yea, your right, but i just love to enjoy the

movie…althought, the only question that bugs me is the one i said on my earlier post…poseable thumbs…they

cant hold or grab everything…just push?? and do they have bladders?

I

think they have bladders . Hee Hee , thats a funny word . “bladder” . I would guess after the tanks

been full for a while … they’ll have to … you know … “go” .

If you look closely in the

movie , you notice Ramone is holding the airbrush somehow , so i’m giessing they can hold things , just

differently than us , and it would probably break the laws of science.

I would also think they would have

only the main garage room , once again , except for big houses .

Another question … what would a

typical car “date” be . I mean , i dont think they have resturaunts , quick stops , yes , but it would

be something like that open season scene with the beavers asking what they have for lunch . Not too many choices

… unless you go to Filmore’s . So , what do they do ?

As much as we

all like this movie these are still points worth talking about. Of course it is still a movie and will require

some imagination. so here we go?

1. From what I understand about this movie there are no humans, cars are

the humans. They can move without their engines but not fast, but if they use their engine they can go much

faster. Kind of like if you were on a bike, you can sit on the seat and walk your bike with your feet or you can

start pedaling and you will go much faster.

2. Since there was no mention of speed in the movie they

never really do know how fast they were going. They probably just use relativity, for example Sheriff knew

lightening was speeding as well as the delinquents at the end of the movie (notice he didn’t use a radar

device). When you are sprint on your feet full speed do you know how fast you are going? Or if you are on a bike

with no speedometer do you know how fast you are going? If they did have instruments to messure speed, navigation

or oil pressure, they are probably built into their brain or system. A good example is when Doc told the Sheriff

to go get a quart of oil at flod and the sheriff said he ?felt? like a quart low. Or at the of the movie where

was Lighening McQueen’s radio to talk to Doc on the race track? Probably built in somewhere.

3. I would

assume a car would eat and drink everything a car would intake, mainly gas and oil, but I also put brake fluid,

coolant, steering fluid and windshield washer in my car so I can assume those are snacks for them. Also there?s

Fillmore?s ?Organic Fuel?

4. I assume Garages for the most part, the Cozy Cone seemed like a typical

hotel you can get a pretty good idea of what a car?s room would look like.

5. I would say “yes”

since Lightening McQueen seemed to experience pain when he crashed into the cactus.

6. I am guessing

“no” since it would just be easier for them to transport themselves.

7. Sure, they probably need

a tire with their signature on it to stamp their autograph

Please see the dealership comment above,

I?d also like to know if a car can ?test drive? another car at the dealership HA!

Remember the scene with the long line outside the

women’s restroom during the opening sequence?

~~=oP

these are pretty good ideas - i’m amazed…

nevertheless, to be honest, i do not like the idea of a dealership. [b]it’s so

un-romantic!!![/b]

some notes:

• yeah, they need to feel something - when L gets his

massage in his trailer, he seems to enjoy it very much! so, the hull must be sensible to tactile sensations. the

opposite (i.e. pain) is true for the cactuses.

• @gottalovepixar: in the

beginning, L wants to invite S to a restaurant but cancels the invitation as soon as she turns him in for

“punishment”… so eating and drinking definitely must be a car habit! also for dating

tire imprints will not be fraud-proof since tire makers always use the same pattern for LOTS of tires of the same

series! and custom-made tires with a personal “signature” - well, i don’t think so… which still

leaves the question - how will they be able to disticnt?

so, i gotta sneak out for work, it’s work time

in good ol’germany.
CU later…

[size=92]Not only that, but also when

Lightning says “He won 3 Piston Cups!” and Mater exclaims, “He did WHAT in his cup?!”,

obviously having misheard. [/size]

This is a very interesting topic, I think a lot about stuff like this!

1:

In this world the cars are living creatures. They can move without turning on their engine, but they can’t go

very fast and maybe they also quickly get tired. When they turn on their engine they can go much faster and keep

going for much longer.

2: I don’t think the cars can know exactly how fast they are going, but I think

they instinctively know their approximate speed. I also think they instinctively have a feeling of what their oil

pressure is, just like the example with Sheriff as already mentioned. About the navigation system I think it is

built in in their system in a way that they just know. I don’t really know how to explain it, but because they

are living cars those things are natural for them and may seem incomprehensible to us as humans. I think the cars

have a better feeling of what is going on in their body than humans have of what is going on in theirs.

3:

I think the things cars intake with their mouth are everything they need but gas, like oil, brake fluid etc. I

think the mouth lead to those specific need areas in their body and that they instinctively will get the oil and

other fluids to their right places, like when we eat we don’t get our food into our lungs. I also think the cars

can taste with their gas tank ? McQueen said to Fillmore that his organic fuel was great.

4: I think that

a car house mainly consists of a sleeping room like in the Cozy Cones. Maybe some cars have some kind of living

room for when they have company over. I don’t think they have a toilet. I have never understood that thing in

the movie with the long line to the ladies room!? I just can’t imagine cars having to use the toilet, I think

that maybe they are doing something else in there, but I have no clue as to what!

5: Yes, I think so, but

I’m not sure if they feel pain to the same extent as we do, because then I think the cars involved in the big

crash in the race in the opening scene would have winced a lot more, the same with the King in his big

crash.

6: Well, at first I wanted to say no, but I think they could have public transportation for getting

across the ocean to other continents. That would probably be in the shape of ships or air planes.

7: This

one I don’t know. Maybe I’ll figure it out at some point. But tire imprints are meaningful; think of McQueen’s

daydream of also being a famous movie star and making tire imprints in a tile in Hollywood .

8: I think

baby cars are built at a factory; think of what Mack said when he found McQueen in Radiator Springs ? "I

thank the manufacturer that you’re alive". I

think that getting a baby car is a mutual and maybe romantic decision the mommy and daddy car make. They then go

to a manufacturer and either adopt an already made baby car or maybe they built one together, I haven’t figured

this out completely yet, and I also haven’t figured out yet how the baby car comes alive, but there is a way and

I’m sure it’s romantic without being yucky.

About what happens when cars sleep, I think it’s pretty

much the same as when we sleep, they recharge their “mental batteries”.

As to what a car date

would be like I think it could be something like going for a drive; think of what Lizzie told about Stanley

asking her out for a drive, I think that he was kind of asking her out on a date. Maybe it could also be going to

a place like Flo’s V8 Caf? or the drive in theatre just the two of them.

[quote="stickers
(1) how can cars move without their engine?

very often in the movie they do that, turning on their engines later (after moving). or am i

wrong?[/quote]

I have said this before as a post some where on this site, but I think the car’s engine is

like their heart and brain. And it has a rest mode and an amped up mode. Once they rev their engines up, that is

when they go into overdrive.

hm… interesting…
yeah, mack said that. but i think we shouldn’t take

this literally. we humans also say “thanks god” in the same way - so the “manufatcturer”

seems to be a somewhat god-like being, something like a higher level of authority they refer to (just like when

they said “for the love of chrysler” or so, or was it also “holy chrysler”?). and this can

be, but nevertheless needs not, be connected with the question how baby cars come into life…!
well, my own

personal theory is that since these cars are so incredibly human, THIS happens also the HUMAN way
i also

didn’t figure it out in detail, i think it just happens. i guess it’s just another of pixar’s big

secrets.

I know where the Car

babies come from. Way up in the autoshop in the sky. Then, the taxi-storks drive down and deliver the car baby

right to your garage.

yup. that’s it!

I LIKE THAT…!

To answer question number 5, I will say

yes. Did you see the expression on the King’s face after his little crash? And all of the cars at the race. Some

of them were moaning in pain. And as aZnCdn said, Lightning said “ow” right when he smaked into the

cactus.

another weird thing (at least for me) are the car lifespans. in germany, the average

car park (which means cars still in use) is about 7 - 8 years old. when their owners dispose them, german cars

are 10 - 15 years old (average). first i thought that “car years” would be just like "dog

years", with 1 human year equalling 7 dog or car years, but this doesn’t seem to be true. in RS, most of

the cars are much older but still very alive and kicking!

sometimes, i’ve got the feeling that sally is a

little bit older than lightning. she seems to be more mature than he is, but then again, “being mature”

is something easier found with women than with men… (when comparing people of the same age) another little

“problem” which we cannot solve, because of sally we know her make and model year, but of lightning…

well, it’s guesswork.