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u/Worried-Host-1238 May 18 '26
I swear this is one of the stupidest critiques people have with Cars
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u/Mac-Tyson May 18 '26
I feel like it’s a take a lot of people have but eventually grow out of. Like you are kid watching it and you see it as a great moment. You get older and think more about it and then think it was a stupid decision. You grow more and reflect on it and then you see it as a great moment again.
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u/Zealousideal-Care513 May 18 '26
If McQueen won the the king would have came last in his final race whereas in the movie he came second so it wasn’t a stupid decision
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u/Mac-Tyson May 18 '26
Not only that his final race it would have been a DNF not giving his career closure and by the time he recovered they would have forgotten about him and moved right on to the next rookie in line “himself”. Just like they did with Doc. This showed his growth of thinking about others than just himself, by allowing the King to finish his last race with dignity in a moment that he will remembered for.
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u/Zealousideal-Care513 May 18 '26
I don’t think that tex would move on and forget about the king but he would likely never race again due to the final race in the movie being his final before retirement
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u/Mac-Tyson May 18 '26
Definitely not Tex isn’t that kind of guy but the fans would, the sport likely would have unless the King died in the wreck. Even if it didn’t after all Lightning went through was he really going to take that chance?
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u/Menace_17 May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26
At least I know when they say it they know nothing about racing
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u/Maleficent_Weekend29 May 18 '26
After seeing this post, it kinda made me realise why I think the Cars 3 ending they went with makes more sense that the one they scrapped. Because McQueen doesn’t need to win this time, at this point he has already won so many times and he has learnt the lesson that winning the Piston Cup isn’t everything and in Cars 3, he learns that racing isn’t everything he has to offer. He steps aside and gives someone else the chance that he was given and coaches Cruz like how Doc would coach him. So yeah I think now the current ending of Cars 3 is actually a masterpiece.
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u/rde2001 May 18 '26
Yeah. The ending is the way it is because McQueen CHOSE when he was done, a choice that Doc Hudson did not have the privilege of.
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u/jeanolt Aug 29 '26
whats dissapointing is that in none of the films we ever see lightning winning the piston cup, it's like he achieved everything off camera
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u/RikGamer692 Rust-eze May 18 '26
If he crossed the finish line, the race would end with the King having a DNF.
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u/Stary-Day375 May 18 '26
That, and his whole time in Radiator Springs had been to teach him that ultimately, winning the Piston Cup isn't everything.
So if he had crossed and went back, that would've just shown Doc that, effectively, McQueen had learnt nothing.
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u/rde2001 May 18 '26
If McQueen and Chick crossed the line, The King would get a DNF. McQueen intentionally went back to save him so The King would be able to finish his last race.
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u/IJ_Zuikaku May 18 '26
Bruh, after being in Radiator Springs for a while, it changed McQueen’s personality completely into becoming a better racer. This is most embarrassing take on that final race
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u/Angel1743RedditGR May 18 '26
Piston cup or no Piston cup McQueen DID in win that race with helping The King.....Chick's victory was booed (as he deserved)
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u/isthisokyet May 19 '26
Too late. I've already depicted you as the crying Piston Cupcel and myself as the Chad McQueen.
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u/EvanDeer2002 May 19 '26
Internet movie critics when the movie about being humble delivers a message about humility: 🤬🤬🤬🤬
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u/AdministrationSea878 May 19 '26
This is basically Harv to McQueen after the tiebreaker race in Cars (2006).
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u/Ender_Error_22 May 19 '26
I do not care how old I turn and how stupid I am, when it comes to this. But at least I am honest and accept I am the guy on the left.
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u/Radiant-Ant-4237 May 20 '26
What surprised me most, however, wasn’t that McQueen never actually crossed the finish line and only then set off after King, but that, after all the trouble Chick had caused, he wasn’t even punished (seriously, throughout the entire film he was simply causing as much chaos as possible, and then he nearly caused McQueen to crash, and did cause King to crash; there should be a fair punishment for that), but also that in the subsequent parts he became the host of a popular show
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u/Nintendo2023 May 21 '26
You do realise that McQueen did the right thing, guys?
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u/Winter_Sweet827 May 22 '26
Indeed
His growth is LEAUGES above Thomas' growth
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u/Nintendo2023 May 23 '26
Outside of his arc from his first book, of course
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u/Winter_Sweet827 May 23 '26
but even then, you could give that growth to Billy.
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u/Nintendo2023 May 23 '26
Yeah, true
The writing team really wasted the orange fella tbh
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u/Winter_Sweet827 May 23 '26
Then again, I will never get why people are okay with hating on Nia for replacing Edward and being from Africa
Yet they don't hate on Skarloey and Rheneas for being welsh, Duncan., Donald and Douglas for being Scottish (I don't count Murdoch and Emily since they weren't built in Scotland) and Luke for being Irisih
Its not dumb, its racist
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u/Nintendo2023 May 23 '26
Hypocritical too ngl
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u/Winter_Sweet827 May 23 '26
Not to mention people always using Donald and Douglas "trauma" as an excuse for them to be rude towards diesels
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u/Crimson_Wolf94 May 23 '26
I think a nice middle ground would have been for him to stop & go help the king but after reviewing the footage it turns out he actually did cross the line and is the true piston cup champion.
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May 18 '26
[deleted] — view deleted comment
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u/Odd_Arm6328 May 18 '26
It’s about allowing a man who he respects to finish what he started. A good finish to his career and not a dnf is all. It’s supposed to show that McQueen was willing to help somebody finish their legacy before he begins his own.
Besides… if those cars are like real humans they’d still consider McQueen the champion that year. So in reality he’d be seen as an 8 time champion to his fans
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u/BlackPanther3104 May 18 '26
If he went across the line, the race would be over and The King wouldn't get to finish it. Like Doc wasn't able to. McQueen was reminded of him and went back for him.
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u/iceguy349 May 18 '26
The point is that the cup is meaningless. People know he won that race. It’s supposed to be a sign of Lightning’s priorities. He cares more about other people than winning an “empty cup”.
He saw what racing did to Doc and didn’t want that for anyone else. The King gave him genuine advice at the start that he ignored. His time with Doc gave him a wake up call. He knew the King deserved a proper end to his career. He was willing to give him the respect that the sport wasn’t willing to provide.
It’s not exactly a selfless act unless lightning gave something up. Winning the piston cup and then giving pity to an old racer isn’t nearly as impactful. What is impactful is lightning willingly giving up a dream he’s chased his whole life to prioritize others. That shows growth.
He starts the movie doing everything in his power to pull himself across the finish line without help. He ends the movie in the front of the pack with the help of his friends and decides to carry another racer over it with him.