Jackson Storm's generation was far more advanced than McQueen when compared to Lighting and the King.

he had that dog in him

I see it this way: The King was more experienced than the others and knew how to push himself to get that extra bit of speed, so he could outrace them. By the time Lightning was the "older" one in Cars 3, he was past his prime, and Jackson Storm and others were more technologically advanced than him so they could outdrive him (at first).

I love the detail in this scene of the arrow being improperly tracked on Chick so it’s not even pointing at him

Because he's the GOAT

No. He was obsolete now.

His problem was psychological and not physical. He's been winning non stop before Jackson storm showed up so he became complacent and stopped improving. He had the means to win all along but Jackson storm broke his spirit. It was just a matter of understanding that even if he retired there was still joy for him like coaching cruz ramirez.

1. Official race paint jobs must be pre approved. His new look wasnt.

2. Sponsors were removed, so they had to be put back.

3. Identity. People would probably not believe it was mcQueen if he didn't look like his old self.

Perhaps the racing livery is a wrap or a big sticker. Sally calls him stickers all the time. Maybe it’s not just about the headlights.

If we go by real world logic he's contractually obligated to have his sponsorship on him for the race... But I'm guessing given the time crunch maybe he is actually wearing a "wrap" (essentially one large sticker that covers the entire car body) rather than a repaint.

I remember in the book “Faster than Fast” there’s a scene where Ramone introduces him before the final race to the crowd with this paintjob as “the new Lightning McQueen”. Movie novels often include deleted scenes or details from the script, I wonder if this was one of them?

It would be same as if the new paint was a nice suit and the whitewalls were dress shoes. He wouldn’t race in that outfit, he’d wear the racing gear which in this case would be the racing approved paint job

Because people I've seen prefer this deleted ending more

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Sb9Un5v51E&t=168s&ab\_channel=SimtonporeStudio

mcqueen shoud've finished the race whether he won it or not because he started it and he's the main character of the whole series. Then, he passes his legacy to cruz and becomes her mentor just like doc hudson was to mcqueen.

I think it’s the perfect way to wrap up the story. He still has more story ahead, but the story of his racing is what we were introduced to in the first one, saw glory years of in the second one, and saw wrapped up in the third one. I couldn’t ask for a better ending.

I love the ending of Cars 3. Lightning spends the whole movie training Cruz to replace him without noticing until they're at the race. Doc did it for him and he's paying it forward. It's great a nice bookend for the trilogy 🤌

He can get as many paint jobs as he wants but he needs his number to race and I am sure it’s in his contract that he needs to be wearing his sponsors when racing. He likes the other paint job better so he changed it back?

More toys to sell without new molds.

Ramons good at what he does

Like wearing a firesuit for a race

It’s an animated movie about talking cars. I don’t think logic and continuity really factor in to the script too much

I've long thought that they could've essentially done what you're saying as part of a "have your cake and eat it too" ending. If what you're saying happened, you could have still had Lightning give Cruz a pep talk on the track (both would have started at the back because neither qualified, giving them literally the whole race to work toward the front and have a moment to talk - and they could have a pep talk similar to the final film during a caution or something) and then Cruz pulls away and wins the race while Lightning is the one who ends up against the wall, does the flip over Storm, and comes in 2nd. Lightning didn't need to win this race anymore because he wouldn't be working for Sterling anymore so the deal would be off. I think just him finally getting one over on Storm while Cruz gets the spotlight too would have been extremely satisfying. Tex could still buy Rust-eze because he doesn't want to let another generation defining racer get away which would let Cruz stick with that team and Lightning would happily pass his number to Cruz and keep Doc's. Additionally, Smokey could say something to Lightning like "you showed you still have it today kid but I heard what you said to Cruz on the track. You've got a real future as a crew chief when you do decide it's time" and you could flash forward to more races with Cruz and Lightning and eventually show him as her crew chief, similar to how the movie originally ended. I didn't hate the ending we got I just feel like something like this could've been so much better.

I belive that was an original planned ending. But Rusteeze dropped McQueen so Tex took the chance to take him on and he went on to win the race, beating both Rusteeze and Storm

I agree especially that this was palanned to be the orignal ending but then was changed to what we got.... Yes I know the point of the 3rd movie is about to move on but come on that would've been a perfect ending

I would have liked that, but Lightning keeps the 95, and Cruz gets the 20.

For me, just one thing was missing from the Cars 3 ending, that would have made it way better.

After the flip, McQueen says "Float like a cadillac!" and then Cruz answers "Sting like a beamer!", as she crosses the finish line.

Bam. Infinitely better.

Turns out Lando is much harder to pass when it's not turn 1

Lore related reason/theory: All the cars lightning would’ve been competing against had tech that wouldn’t have been compatible with his “biology” if he tried to have it installed nor would he have been able to learn how to use it efficiently before he was deemed to be too old to qualify for any kind of racing.

Plot related reason/theory: it was to show Lightning’s journey from hot shot rookie to a reckless and kinda selfish version of doc. He didn’t train his replacement for any reason other than to save his reputation and beat his rival, despite the theme revolving around the power of “love and friendship and a strong mentor/student bond” they were trying to go for.

Tires = shoes. The engine would be the brain or heart not so easy to replace

Based on a cars 1 deleted scene, the engine is seemingly the brain.

Kids discussing cars 3

It would be the car equivalent to extensive surgery just to keep racing more. He may simply not want to do that. Like, also a pride thing. Also kind of embarrassing. Like an aging celebrity getting work done tonkeep up with younger celebrities.

His body also might be able to handle it. These new raceways were entirely different models. They didn't just have more powerful engines. They had different frames, different bodies, etc. that all made them faster. I'm not a car expert, but I don't think swapping the engine in an old car is always enough to make it faster. Not by professional racecar standards, anyway.

Different style of racing, Grand Prix courses vs circle track, creative license, because it looks cool. Take your pick. Same reason he has a different style of wheel

Toy sales

Not this post being marked as "Spoiler" lmao

Plastic surgery

Because in the film, he raced on true circuits and not those goofy ahh fake oval "racetracks" he usually races on, he needed more downforce for the proper corners on those true racetracks. Hence his ducktail was replaced by a GT style spoiler.