Author's note: I've decided to write this story as a completely separate entity to my other Cars stories, so I could keep Doc alive (because I miss writing about him and his friendship with Lightning). Therefore, after doing some fandom research, I have also decided to make some alterations to the way I've interpreted the World of Cars. While there will be some events based on ones that I've already written about in my other Cars stories, most of the events in this story will be completely new and/or based on events that occurred in the movies.

Here are some changes that I've made:

Reproduction:

In this story, all vehicles can reproduce. For cars, their sexual organs are contained inside them and, like cetaceans, they have a genital slit. The genital slit is located between their rear bumper and their rear axle. The only way they can copulate is by having one car lying on their roof, while they other climbs on top, with their undersides touching each other. Obviously, size differences between vehicles can sometimes make things difficult, so they prefer to try and marry a vehicle that's a similar size to themselves.

Cars are very sensitive about their undercarriage. It is their most private area, mainly because they like to hide their genital slit. The exhaust system is also considered a private part, because it is extremely sensitive to touch. Cars like to stimulate their partners by touching and/or blowing on their exhaust pipe/s. Females are more likely to play with their male partner's exhaust pipe/s, because it triggers their sex drive and gives them an erection (whether they want to have one or not!). Therefore, females tend to be more dominant in bed than males.

Female cars have two small teats located just in front of their genital slit. When the female is about to give birth, she will start producing baby old for her baby to feed on. Baby cars are weaned once they grow large enough to no longer be able to crawl beneath their mother (usually at about six to eight months).

Male cars have penis's that retract inside themselves through their genital slit. The average length is about a meter for a medium-sized car. Obviously, the larger the vehicle, the longer and thicker his penis will be.

While all cars have slightly flexible 'skin' (metal body), baby cars are born with a very soft skin; similar to copper. Babies are born with completely bare metal, and they usually don't receive their first paint job until they start crawling. They are also born with very soft tyres that have a similar consistency to balloons, so they are completely useless for driving on. Baby cars don't start learning how to drive until they are at least a year old.

Food, Fuel and Digestion:

Cars are able to eat normal food, along with fuel and oil, because they have an organic stomach, which attaches to their fuel tank. Everything they consume through their mouth goes into their stomach, which is broken down into liquid. The liquid then moves into the fuel tank, where it is blended with fuel that is injected through cars via their filler pipe (ie, how we normal refuel cars). This processed fuel is fed into the engine, where it is burned up. Any excess and gasses are expelled through the exhaust. Also, when cars urinate, they expel excess oil and/or water.

If a car ingests something it shouldn't (like the wrong type of fuel), it will either vomit if the foreign substance has only entered its organic stomach. If the foreign substance is ingested into its fuel tank, the only way to remove it is by flushing out the car's system. That is a very unpleasant experience, so they will only have fuel and other substances injected through their fuel filler pipe if it's absolutely essential. Race cars are more used to being refuelled via their fuel filler pipe, since that's the only way their tank can be filled up quickly.

Aging:

Cars have an average lifespan of 150 years, although a few cars have reached 200 years of age. The lifespan for other vehicles will vary, depending on what they are. For example, aircraft have a much shorter lifespan of about 80 years. When cars die, they are either buried or cremated. Most cars prefer to be cremated, because then their families are able to make mementoes from their melted metal. Morbid, I know, but we like to take a bit of hair or fur from our loved ones and pets after they die. Mourning jewellery can still be found, especially for pets that have passed.

Because cars can live for so long, they normally aren't in a rush to get married. It's not uncommon to hear of cars being boyfriend and girlfriend for up to twenty years. Because of this, a lot of cars are born out of wedlock. But even if a couple does decide to wait until they are married before they have kids, there's still no rush to have them, because cars remain fertile up until about the age of 100.

Injuries and sickness:

Vehicles in the Cars' world are made up of both organic and metal parts. Organic parts include: the brain, eyes, reproductive organs, lungs, mouth (including teeth, tongue, tonsils and oesophagus), and the stomach. Their engine, fuel tank, exhaust system, wheels etc. are all metal. Therefore, doctors and nurses have to be trained in mechanics as well.

Cars can suffer from similar ailments to us, like colds and the flu, but they can also suffer from mechanical failures. Injections can be given either through the fuel filler pipe, or through an oil line located in any one of their wheel wells. If a car's windshield gets broken or damaged, they become blind.

Miscellaneous:

All vehicles are either left or right wheel dominant. Whichever side is their dominant side will be the side that contains a thin, flexible metal arm that is mostly kept concealed inside their wheel hub centre cap. This arm has a claw on the end that enables vehicles to pick up and carry things that they would be unable to carry otherwise. It also enables them to write, draw and use computers. Because this part is so fragile, forklifts are often employed to undertake heavy lifting tasks. Of course, vehicles like Mater prefer to use their tow hook instead of their arm to carry and pick up things.

Acknowledgement: I'd like to extend a huge amount of thanks to IrishScottDragonGirl for allowing me to borrow and/or expand on some of her ideas about the Cars World. If you haven't read any of her stories yet, I 110% recommend it! She's a brilliant and talented writer in this fandom, while also being an amazing friend.

Forward

Ka-chow!

Yeah, it's me. Lightning McQueen. Seven-time Piston Cup Champion, and movie star. What? You didn't know about the movie star bit? Well, I am. You see, beck in 2006, when I was in my rookie year, a film studio called Pixcar approached me with the idea of doing a documentary on me, since I was likely to become the first rookie ever to win the Piston Cup. But things kinda didn't go the way we'd planned. Those of you who've seen the first movie will know what happened to me.

But I'm getting ahead of myself here. I tend to do that a lot. Honestly, if my engine were as fast as my brain, I probably wouldn't be doing NASCAR. I'd probably… You know what? I can't think of any other type of racing that I could do that's faster than NASCAR. Except for Formula One. But I'm not an open wheeler, so I can't do that anyway.

And, I'm doing it again. Okay, let me go right back to the beginning and re-introduce myself. Wanna know a big secret? My real name isn't Lightning. I kinda wish it was, but as far as I know, my parents weren't hippies. My real, full name is actually Montgomery Alexander McQueen. Kinda corny, I know, which is why I changed it. I don't know why my mother chose that name for me, but I suppose it had something to do with one of my ancestors. You know how old-fashioned names can be passed down through the family until nearly everyone has the same name? I think that's what happened with me. But I'll get to that again later.

Most of my fans already know that I was born on June 9, 1988. I can already hear the Next Gen cars groaning and thinking that I'm now going to start talking about the 'good old days'. And they're right! Those of us who were born in Gen Y will understand what I'm talking about. We got to see all kinds of technology introduced to us, like DVDs, cell phones and the discman. If anyone ever figured out how to carry a discman on their hood without dropping it as soon as you braked, please contact me. I know it'd be an awesome sight to behold! I've seen old Doc balance three glasses of beer on his hood and still manage to drive around corners, so I'd like to see him try to carry a discman. I think I'll ask him to give it a go at our next post-race party. If I can find one, that is…

Oh, you mean to say that you didn't know that Doc was still alive? Well, he is, and he's still my mentor, crew chief, doctor, surrogate father and best friend. Yeah, I know that Mater keeps insisting that he's my best friend, but I can have more than one, can't I? Besides, sometimes I need Doc to keep Mater away from me to prevent me from going insane.

Anyway, going back to my role as a movie star. The first movie proved to be such a hit at the box office, that the producers decided that they wanted to do a sequel. That didn't go down quite as well. You see, instead of creating a documentary style of movie, this time they created their own plot. In hindsight, I know I should've refused to be in it like Doc did, but since Mater had a starring role, he was almost down on his axles begging me to do it with him. So, I did, but I can't say I enjoyed it. Did the producers really think that almost killing me would go down well with the audience? Actually, in their first draft of the script, they really did kill me off, but that upset Mater too much, so they changed it. I think they also realised that by killing me off, there'd be no hope for a third movie about me. I still have mixed feelings about doing that one, because it was a bit ambiguous at the end as to whether I decided to keep racing or not.

The truth is, I am still racing in the Piston Cup, and I'm currently on track to winning my eighth Piston Cup. Get it? On track. That's where I race and… Oh, never mind then! I found it funny. As I stated earlier, Doc is still alive and well. In fact, I can just see him out of my office window now. He's over at Flo's, gasbagging with Sherriff. The directors of the second movie decided to fictionally kill him off after he outright refused to be in any more of them. What was it with their obsession with killing off all the good guys? Why couldn't they have blown up Miles Axlerod at the end, like they were going to do with Mater?

Whoops, I'm starting to rant now, aren't I? How's Sally? I can hear you asking. Well, as the third movie depicts, we are still boyfriend and girlfriend. I know, I know! We've been together for thirteen years now, but we still have no plans to marry anytime soon. I know the other actors in the third movie kept calling me 'old' (it was scripted), but the reality is that, although I'm thirty-one years old, I've still got another twenty or thirty years of racing left in me. Heck, sometimes Doc even competes in veteran's races for charity, and he's pushing ninety!

Now that all of that is cleared up, I think it's time for me to start telling my story right from as far back as I can remember. There are a few incidents that are a bit hazy to me now due to the number of concussions I've had while racing, but I'll do my best to remember as much as I can. So, grab a drink, find a quiet corner to park in, and get ready to enjoy the best ride of your life!

This is the true story about how I became Lightning…

Monty 'Lightning' McQueen