I’m not a car person. The measure of a car for me depends on if it’s reliable, is a color I like and has a good stereo. It’s easy to accept cars as humanlike characters, but Cars‘ assumption that auto racing is interesting is a big stretch for me. The opening sequence is a big, loud race. It looks cool - much cooler than a real auto race, and it doesn’t smell nasty - but it is long and not exciting except for the way the animators handle every element of the race.

The race introduces us to Lightning McQueen, a hot young rookie car. He’s talented but also vain, selfish, arrogant, superficial, greedy and rude to his pit crew. Lightning is voiced by Owen Wilson who, even in the scenes where he’s a total jerk, has the charming, “aw shucks” quality in his voice that we know means he’s a good guy - somewhere under all the shiny metal and unappealing personal shortcomings.

Lightning is in a tie for first place with two other cars. Michael Keaton voices Chick Hicks, a mustached motor machine who is as big a jerk as Lightning, except that he bullies his crew into a kind of camaraderie by making fun of every other car in the race.

King, voiced by Richard Petty, is and has been champ. He’s a classy guy who knows family, friends and crew are what makes his success so sweet. King is retiring at the end of the season, and his lucrative sponsorship contract will be up for grabs.

The opening sequence race ends in a three-way tie which means that there must be one more race to determine who will win the coveted Piston Cup. The deciding race will be in California in a week. Lightning wants to get their first and makes Mack (John Ratzenberger), the truck who hauls him, drive too many hours and ends up sidelined in the middle of nowhere when Mack falls asleep while driving.

The middle of nowhere is Radiator Springs, a tiny town on Route 66, bypassed by Interstate 40 and populated by “characters.” Lightning runs afoul of the local authorities and is sentenced to road-building as punishment. Doc Hudson, the judge who sentences him to this hard labor, is voiced by Paul Newman, actor, race car driver and philanthropist. Sally, the lawyer who gets Lightning convicted, is voiced by Bonnie Hunt.

Sally and Doc will be two key characters in Lightning’s transformation from immature jerk to decent guy. Doc isn’t just a crusty old guy with lots of wisdom to impart. He’s also the legendary 1951 Hudson Hornet who won several Piston Cups back in the day. The townsfolk have no idea he’s a famous car. Sally is a cute Porsche who can’t help liking Lightning.

Radiator Springs is filled with other characters. Mater, a lovable rusty old tow truck (voiced by Larry the Cable Guy) with uneven grill work becomes Lightning’s best friend. He’s not fast, but he’s fun. The rest of town is a collection of stereotypes. There’s a souped-up guy named Ramone, voiced by Cheech Marin, who owns the local car painting shop. Luigi and Guido (Tony Shaloub and Guido Quaroni) run the tire store. Flo, voiced by Jennifer Lewis, is the cafÈ owner. Fillmore and Sarge, voiced by George Carlin and Paul Dooley, are a hippie VW bus with a passion for alternative fuel and a rigid old retired military guy. They live close by to each other and argue daily over saluting the stars and stripes Sarge prefers a traditional reveille. Fillmore favors Jimi Hendrix’s “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

The voice talent in Cars is key to its appeal. Every voice brings very predictable characters to life and gives them more genuine appeal than the script. Newman is especially important. Because he is an admirable human who loves racing, for those like myself (who think auto racing is a big waste of time, money and petroleum products) he makes the picture.

The folks of Radiator Springs, especially Doc and Sally, teach Lightning valuable and very blunt lessons about “values.” And they do a really good job. Cars dawdles in Radiator Springs, as it proselytizes the virtues of dawdling.

I’m all for slowing down and enjoying life, but it is kind of laughable to see a bunch of cars lamenting the demise of small towns and being left behind by an interstate highway. Cars, and our addiction to speed, are a primary cause of the demise of small towns. The anonymous and unsightly sprawl that characterize modern American life would not be possible without the automobiles that let us run fast and far from any urban problem, be it a big city or small town issue.

Some of the coolest visuals in Cars are in Radiator Springs. The valley is surrounded by a mountain range that is a natural rendering of Cadillac Ranch, the very cool art project by the Ant Farm artists’ collective in Amarillo, Texas, where cadillacs have been stuck in the ground in a row. The valley is filled with rock formations that look like radiators and hood ornaments.

There is not a living thing in all of Cars except plants. There are no humans and no animals. Even the bugs are little flying VW Beetles. It is uncomfortably empty, but when Sally and Lightning take a country cruise, Cars gives us a lively natural landscape.

When Lightning leaves Radiator Springs for the big race, it isn’t clear how much of what is good about this small town and its kind-hearted inhabitants he has taken to heart. But in the thick of the big race he can’t quite concentrate. I don’t know what would constitute the heart of a car, but his heartstrings are pulled. In Grinch language, his heart grew three sizes that day.

Lightning loses the big race by performing an act selflessness, kindness and respect. In so doing he wins the hearts of race fans and everyone in the audience. He’s a new man, and he uses his success to do worthwhile things. It’s a message that’s a winner.