Lights Out

This article is about the episode from Cars on the Road. For other episodes, see Lights Out.

Cars on the Road
"Lights Out"

Number 2

Episode information

Story by

Stephen King
Steve Purcell

Written by

Steve Purcell

Directed by

Steve Purcell

Original airdate

September 8, 2022

*Cars on the Road* Episodes
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"Dino Park"	"Salt Fever"

"Lights Out" is the second episode of Pixar's Cars on the Road. It premiered on September 8, 2022 on Disney+.

Synopsis[]

The rain-soaked duo check into a creepy hotel where Lightning is haunted by four-wheeled frights.

Plot[]

Mater tells McQueen that he senses that it is about to rain which, contrary to McQueen's opinion, ends up coming true. They manage to find a place to stay called the Hotel Destiny which looks very creepy on the outside and are met by the equally creepy caretaker Randy. Mater is frightened by the hotel's appearance while McQueen throws caution to the wind and tells him not to worry. Ironically, Mater falls fast asleep while McQueen cannot get any shut eye due to the noise and leaves the room to explore the place.

McQueen is suddenly tailed by ghosts and runs into a variety of strange and off putting sights, such as words written on the wall, twin girl cars who implode, and an elevator full of anti-freeze. He ends up in a room full of dancing ghosts before getting chased by a Wraith rod that proceeds to chase him down the halls of the hotel and somehow transport him outside. After falling down into a bottomless pit, McQueen ends up back in his room and tries to sleep only for it to be morning. Mater awakens and thanks McQueen for suggesting they stay at the hotel.

As they leave, McQueen is left on edge and insists that Mater pick the next couple of stops. A completely different caretaker wonders if Randy was messing with the tenants (again), only to reveal that Randy was also one of the ghosts.

Cast[]

Owen Wilson as Lightning McQueen
Larry the Cable Guy as Mater
Tania Gunadi as Lisa
Ruth Livier as Louise
Steve Purcell as Randy, Wraith Rod
Matt Yang King as Wraith Rod

Trivia[]

The episode title shares the same name as the 2016 horror film Lights Out.
The episode makes numerous references to The Haunted Mansion:
- The episode's title plaque resembles the logo for the attraction.
- The room where ghost cars dance resembles the ballroom.
- The hall of portraits is similar to the walkway queue.
- Randy's voice is similar to that of the Ghost Host.
  - Coincidentally, Lightning's voice actor, Owen Wilson, would later star in 2023's Haunted Mansion film.
The episode makes numerous references to The Shining, which is a recurring Pixar gag:
- The twin cars resemble the Grady twins, and their line "Come race with us" is similar to "Come play with us."
- The elevator spilling anti-freeze is a reference to the elevator spilling blood from the movie.
- The writing on the wall says "Racecar" instead of "Redrum".
One of the cars says "Going my way?" as a nod to The Twilight Zone episode "The Hitchhiker".
Wraith Rod looks similar to Mater. This is one of the only two times a character uses a similar design to Mater, with another one being Ivan from Cars 2.