Rust-eze is displayed on Lightning McQueen’s original racing livery in Pixar’s Cars.
Rust-eze is a fictional automotive product brand marketed as a remedy for rusty cars. Its sponsorship places McQueen in the Piston Cup racing series at the start of his career, even though he is eager to replace the sponsor with the more prestigious Dinoco brand.
The sponsor is central to the film’s plot because McQueen’s attitude toward Rust-eze changes as his relationships with its owners, Rusty and Dusty Rust-eze, develop. The brand also remains important in later franchise stories.
Dinoco is a different fictional sponsor associated with The King and later with McQueen. That distinction is a frequent source of confusion: Rust-eze is McQueen’s original sponsor, while Dinoco represents the larger opportunity he initially chases.