Fred

Freddie "Fred" is a supporting character in Cars. He is a rusty red Stodegy/Suaver LT. He is a starstruck, excitable, rusty racing fan of Lightning McQueen.

What Fred lacks in appearance, he more than makes up for with enthusiasm. He is consistently amazed that famous faces from the racing world seem to know his name, due to the fact that "Fred" is written on his front license plate.

Personality[]

Fred gets excited very easily, and as a result, he often has his bumper fall off. Whenever someone reads his license plate and says his name, Fred freaks out and shouts the phrase "He knows my name!"

Cars[]

"Fred is truly racing's number-one fan. Some cars have better wax jobs, or attached bumpers, but do they have the heart and dedication Fred has? Not a chance. Between Fred's racing blogs, podcast, websites and daily call-ins to numerous radio shows, it's amazing Fred has time to get to any actual races."^[2]

Fred is seen in the Rust-eze tent at the Motor Speedway of the South, happy due to the fact that Lightning McQueen "knows his name" even though it is printed on his license plate. He got excited, and his front bumper fell off. He is somehow fine without the bumper.

The same situation happened with Mario Andretti at the Los Angeles International Speedway, where Mario said his name, and he got even more excited and happily told the security guard, "Mario Andretti knows my name!" after the Piston Cup security guards won't let him in because he didn't have a garage pass. Fred said that it was okay, because Lightning knew him.

At the epilogue of the movie, Fred is seen hopping up and down on the main road of Radiator Springs, with tons of decals stickered onto him from Lizzie's Radiator Springs Curios shop, and his bumper falls off again.

Trivia[]

Fred and Fillmore are the only characters in Cars who have front license plates.
According to Car Finder and Pixarpedia, Fred is a Stodgey Suaver LT.
Fred's license plate simply reads "FRED".
Fred's original die-cast was too big, so he was re-scaled into a smaller size. However, the smaller one was considered by many as "out of scale" to other models.
In several ways, he is similar to Otis. They are both rusty, have a closely resembling design, and are both considered "lemons".

Quotes[]

Fred: "You're my hero, Mr. McQueen!"
Lightning McQueen: "Yes, I know." (chuckles as he reads Fred's name on his license plate) "'Fred. Fred, thank you."
Fred: "He knows my name. He knows my name!" (his front bumper falls off)

—Lightning meets Fred.

Marco Axelbender: (to Fred) "Hey, you! No admittance without a garage pass!"
Fred: "Oh, it's okay. Lightning McQueen knows me!"
Mario Andretti: "Hey, Marco, it's a beautiful day for a race, isn't it?"
Marco Axelbender: "Absolutely, Mr. Andretti."
Mario Andretti: "And good morning to you, uh, Fred."
Fred: "Mario Andretti knows my name!" (to Marco) "You gotta let me in now!"

—Fred at the tie-breaker race in Los Angeles.