- For other uses, see Tex (THX)
- Tex Dinoco: "Oh-ee! That was one close finish. You sure made Dinoco proud. Thank you, King."
The King: "Well, Tex, you've been good to me all these years. It's the least I could do." - —The King and Tex
Tex Dinoco is a supporting character in Cars and Cars 3. He is a mustard yellow 1975 Cadillac Coupe de Ville with Texas Longhorn cattle-horns on the hood, an obvious tribute to Boss Hogg's similarly-adorned Cadillac in the "Dukes of Hazzard" franchise. He is the owner of Dinoco.
As a smooth-talking Texan, Tex holds the keys to the hottest sponsorship deal in racing. He is honest and honorable as he values loyalty and fair play above instant success. He is passionate about racing and helicopter rides.
Tex is used to race cars schmoozing him to try and get the sponsorship that all race cars dream of.
Tex knows it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to win—he started Dinoco with just one small oil well and it's now the largest oil company in the world.
Cars[]
"Tex has been Dinoco's team owner and talent scout for over 20 years. Sure, he's a smooth-talker from the Lone Star State, but he's also a genuine guy with a big heart. He knows it takes more than flash and big talk to win -- it takes loyalty, smarts and a lot of hard work. And Tex ought to know; he started Dinoco with just one tiny oil well, and now he runs the largest oil empire in the world."[1]
Tex is first seen driving alongside The King and his wife, near the Dinoco tent. He is also seen in Lightning McQueen's daydream of winning over Dinoco.
Later, in Lightning McQueen's daydream of Chick Hicks getting sponsored by Dinoco, Chick touches Tex with his tire, and both of them along with the Dinoco gang laugh. He is then seen with Chick when the text "The New Face of Dinoco" is shown.
At the Los Angeles International Speedway race, he and Lynda cheer on for The King. They both get shocked when Chick rams The King off the track, and are happy to see McQueen forfeit his victory so he can push The King towards the finish line.
He offers Lightning the chance to become the new face of Dinoco but is turned down. He later lets Mater ride in the Dinoco team helicopter.
Cars 3[]
During McQueen's heyday, Tex Dinoco is shown to be still openly courting McQueen to join Dinoco, even when his current Dinoco recruit Cal Weathers is within earshot. Later, when Cruz Ramirez and Lightning McQueen jointly win the Florida 500, Tex Dinoco enlists Ramirez to race for Dinoco, and eventually buys Rust-eze from Sterling to have all relevant assets under the same roof, and allowing McQueen to race for him as well.
Trivia[]
- Tex is a 1975 Cadillac Coupe De Ville.[1]
- Tex's license plate reads "DINOCO". The same applies for Dex, his Cars Toons doppelganger.
- Tex has a similar car body to Mel Dorado, a TV show host in Cars 2.
- Tex's name is a reference to his home (Texas) and strong Texan dialect. It could also be a reference to THX's mascot of the same name (who Pixar also created).
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