What is Mater’s full name in Pixar’s Cars movies?

Mater’s full name in Pixar’s Cars movies is Tow Mater.

Mater is a rusty tow truck who lives in Radiator Springs and becomes Lightning McQueen’s closest friend. His name is a pun on “tow mater,” a colloquial pronunciation of “tow matter” and a reference to his job as a tow vehicle. The character is commonly addressed simply as Mater.

Mater is voiced by Larry the Cable Guy, whose Southern-influenced comic delivery helped define the character’s personality. Although he is often presented as absent-minded, Mater is loyal, observant, and remarkably skilled at driving backward.

The name is sometimes treated as though “Mater” were only a nickname, but official Cars material identifies the character as Tow Mater. His role also expanded after the original film: he became the central viewpoint character in Cars 2 and appeared in the short-form series Cars Toons: Mater’s Tall Tales.