In Pixar’s Cars 2, the internationally feared criminal cars are organized as the Lemons.
The Lemons are a group of old, defective, and disgruntled cars led by Professor Zündapp. They support a conspiracy involving Allinol fuel and the World Grand Prix, using electromagnetic weapons to create chaos and discredit alternative fuel technology.
The group’s name is a pun on “lemon,” a term for a vehicle with serious defects or poor reliability. Cars 2 expands the franchise’s world beyond racing by giving these vehicles an organized criminal identity and a grievance against cars that look down on them.
The Lemons are not the same as the World Grand Prix competitors. The World Grand Prix is a sporting event, while the Lemons operate as the antagonistic network behind the film’s espionage plot. Professor Zündapp is one prominent member, but the organization includes several villainous cars from different countries.