Cars introduced Mater, the rusty tow truck, before he appeared in later Cars films. He is one of Radiator Springs’ most memorable residents and quickly becomes Lightning McQueen’s closest friend.
Mater is portrayed as enthusiastic, loyal, and often unaware of how others perceive him. His friendship with Lightning helps the race car understand the value of honesty and companionship. Mater’s stories about towing and local adventures also provide much of the original film’s comedy.
Larry the Cable Guy voices Mater. The character’s design draws on familiar American tow-truck shapes, while his language and personality evoke a rural roadside character. Despite his jokes and exaggerations, Mater repeatedly demonstrates courage and emotional intelligence.
Cars 2 expands Mater’s role by making him central to the spy plot, and Cars 3 returns attention to Lightning’s racing career. Those later stories can make it easy to remember Mater from the sequels, but his first feature-film appearance was in the original Cars, released in 2006.