I hope that pixar reads this as I do hope they re-consider not having Doc Hudson back in it. As we all know Paul Newman died in 2008. Now its obvious that Pixar can’t use his voice, but there is another actor who I actually thought Doc was when I first saw cars. I thought he was voiced by Burt Reynolds.
It also doesn’t make any sense to have Mater as the new crew Chief as he has no clue about racing.
Thoughts?
You bring up an interesting point…while I’m not sure where my debate would stand in relation to Doc Hudson, I would have to agree with you on Mater, despite the fact that he is my favorite cars character, him as a crew chief? I personally don’t see how that is possibly but like I said, that is just my opinion…
I’m kinda guessing that Lightning decided to make Mater a crew chief because he wanted to trust him for the job as his friend, but maybe at the same time the decision backfires on him.
I’m also hoping that they find a way to keep Doc Hudson in the film. They did for Slinky Dog, and that was quite a relief for me.
That’s also another good point Flick-E, that may be how Mater is given the job, due to the friendship that Lightning has with him then that would explain it but sometimes, just because someone is your friend doesn’t necesarily mean that they are qualified for certain things sadly…it’s hard to do what’s best for the team when it comes to friendships…if Pixar were to find a way to keep Doc in the sequel then it would mean finding a voice actor that could impersonate the character’s voice pretty well…
Flick-E: O_O How’d I not think of that! Lightning allows Mater to be his crew chief out of trust and friendship! I guess my mind was blocked with how insane it sounded. No offense, but when you think of Mater, you get someone who’s not so bright. I could see him screwing something up. But that may be a challenge for Lightning, trying to win with Mater as the crew chief. That’d be one struggle!
As for the way of Doc Hudson . . . this is one opinion that I’ve changed upon. Earlier in the development, I wanted Doc in the movie soooo badly. But now . . . I’m not sure where I stand! I mean, Doc is still my favorite Pixar character, and it wouldn’t be Cars without him, but to replace Paul Newman? Okay, that’s unthinkable! At least to me! I would love to see Doc back, but it’d be bittersweet for it just wouldn’t sound right. I mean, I can tell you that Paul put himself into the character. Having someone else do Doc, well, it could sound right, be a similar voice, but will he ever play the part the same way? No. I wouldn’t be satisfied with any replacement they find. So I guess you could say I’m against Doc’s return (gasp!), but I will have to say, if he doesn’t return, I’ll miss him.
I don’t see how Mater is crew cheif…it just doesn’t sound like the right thing to do…gunna have to sleep on that one.
Yeah that’s kinda tough to say. I agree that Mater really isnt qualified to be a crew chief, friend or not. I felt that Lightning & Doc had a special kind of friendship starting too, which was sealed for me when Doc decided to be Lightning’s crew chief. So on one hand, I thought Doc was kinda crucial to the Cars story. Plus i’ll miss him. On the other, I feel like replacing Paul Newman would be hard. To me he had kind of a unique sound to his voice that would be difficult to imitate correctly.
I just hope that Cars can revive a little interesting in, well, cars in general. The US auto industry is in such tatters, it would be nice to see people take an interest in classic cars, or anything auto-related. We used to love our cars, and now…they’re appliances, not very interesting until you spend big dollars.
I think Paul Newman was one of the greatest actors of all time, plus he loved racing. But I also think he defined the character so well, it would be a shame not to use Doc in some way, even with another voice actor.
Well, I guess it was officially announced today on Upcoming Pixar that Doc Hudson would not be coming back in the sequel, and that probably explains the whole thing of why they made Mater the new crew chief. It really is quite a disappointment since Doc was such a strong part of the first film and I could never imagine how they could still be doing it without him.
I’m interested in how they’ll explain Doc’s absence from the movie (if he’s going to make any appearance at all), especially to the casual fans who may not be aware that Mr Newman is the voice of the Hornet. Probably he would’ve returned to racing in another circuit, or he moved out of R.S. or something… we’ll see how this plays out.
But yes, I’m disappointed in a way, but also thankful that they’ve respected Mr Newman not to get another replacement, in that sense. 
I’m sorry to hear that, Flik-E. I’d have liked Doc to have made an appearence, albeit a brief one, in the movie and it’s making me question why a Cars 2 is being made in the first place all the more. But I guess it’s up to Pixar to choose what films they want to make, and it’s up to them if they want to go ahead nonetheless. Still a shame, though. On the other hand, I am glad they didn’t try and get another voice actor in to replace Paul Newman- it just wouldn’t have been quite right.
I cried when I read the news, even though I was bracing myself for whenever the news came. Doc’s just one of those characters that, I really feel upset about that they got rid of him. He’s my favorite Pixar character (then again, do I need to explain that one?) and he was such an important role in the movie. Cars 2 won’t be the same without him. I just hope Pixar can fill in the void of him being gone. 
So Doc won’t be coming back then…well, at least they did choose to respect Mr. Newman, that was a really nice thing for them to do but I am curious now about how they will explain Doc’s absence from the film myself…
Maybe we might see a wrecked Doc near Willies Butte were him and Lightning raced.
I think if they did that, Star_Wars_Rules, I’d cry.
Oh that would be awful. And disturbing. I dont know anymore. It’s definitely going to leave a void for me since I liked him the most. Not to mention he was crucial to the story of the first one. I’m still not sold on Mater being crew chief. I’d kinda rather they made a new character to be Lightning’s new crew chief, because you want someone with actual racing experience, something Mater doesnt have, no matter how many of Lightning’s races he’s been to. Its just not the same thing. I’m trying to keep an open mind about this whole thing though.
Well the other thing they could do, would be to have Strip Weathers as his crew chief instead. After all at the end of cars 1 his manager does ask lightning to drive for dinoco as it was Strip’s last race. It would also be a thank you of sorts from Strip to lightning as lightning did push Strip at the end of the race.
That would work for me.
Exactly! Strip would be a much better crew chief than Mater! But hey, we’ll just have to see what happens.
There are also other cars but I doubt they would use them as they were only in small scenes.
One was Mario Andretti who appears just before the big race at the end in Cali and Fred is trying to get in.
The other one would be the Ferrari that was voiced by the great Michael Schumaker. Of course for that to work he would need to be either be the F1 car or an indycar. If they choose Schui then he should be voiced as himself to really give it some punch. Arnie was the hummer that said “Lightning Mcqueen must be found at all costs” and you could tell it was him. It could work as Mcqueen does go and race in the european circuit as per the plot outline.
Okay, that would be way disturbing. Makes me wonder though, how do cars dispose of their dead? Do they bury them Cadillac Ranch style, or do they have junkyards (at the end of the Art of Cars book, there was an unfinished nightmare sequence in which Lightning goes through the equivalent of a car graveyard).
But morbid postulations aside, I like your suggestions, Star_Wars_Rules (Welcome to the boards!). Personally, I fancy the idea of Strip being the new crew chief. Sorry to any Mater fans, but he has little to no idea of the motorsports world, which does not exactly make him the best candidate…