In Pixar's Cars 2, Miles Axlerod is the former oil tycoon who secretly plans to control the world’s energy supply.
Axlerod presents himself as the organizer of the World Grand Prix and promotes Allinol, an alternative fuel that he claims will demonstrate the future of motoring. His public image is that of an environmentally minded industrialist, but the film gradually reveals a much more dangerous plan.
The scheme uses electromagnetic pulses to make Allinol-powered cars appear to explode. Axlerod intends to discredit the fuel and preserve the dominance of oil. The story places Mater, Lightning McQueen, and British spy Finn McMissile inside a spy-thriller plot rather than the small-town structure of the first film.
Professor Zündapp is another important villain and works with Axlerod, which often causes confusion about the mastermind’s identity. Finn McMissile is not a villain: he is a British intelligence agent. Axlerod’s plan and reveal provide Cars 2 with its central conflict.