Mater (Cars)

Mater runs "Tow Mater Towing & Salvage" and is the first to befriend and support Lightning throughout his adventure in Radiator Springs. During the film, Mater shows Lightning how to do "Tractor-Tippin'" and how to drive backwards without crashing, a technique which Lightning uses to counter Chick Hicks' dirty racing in the Piston Cup tiebreaker. In the end, McQueen asks Tex to give Mater an opportunity to fly in a Dinoco helicopter like he always wanted, saying to Sally that Mater is his best friend.[13]

Mater replica in Phoenix, Arizona

Mater's friendship with Lightning McQueen has grown rather than diminished, with a lengthy best-friend handshake to prove it. Mater values every dent made during his adventures with Lightning as symbolic of their friendship. In an attempt to defend his friend against rival racing opponent Francesco Bernoulli, Mater gets Lightning to race in the World Grand Prix. Lightning in turn invites Mater to join him, and they set out from Radiator Springs to Tokyo for the first race. Mater is soon mistaken for an American secret agent and caught up in the world of spies. Agent Holley Shiftwell plays Mater's love interest/girlfriend; Mater is mesmerized by her beauty and falls for her immediately. During the first race, Mater accidentally causes a miscommunication that costs McQueen the race; resulting in McQueen lashing out at Mater and telling him that he doesn't need or want his help any more. In fact, McQueen suggests that Mater's antics are the reason why McQueen doesn't normally take him along to his races. Feeling saddened and very guilty, Mater decides to return home, only to continue his 'mission' with the British agents. Mater ultimately solves the mystery of the World Grand Prix during the third and final race in London, and is granted an honorary knighthood for his bravery. At the end of the film, he decides to compete in the unofficial Radiator Springs Grand Prix with McQueen after getting a pair of rocket jets.[14]

Mater takes on a more supporting role in Cars 3. Mater remains McQueen's best friend and supporter, never missing any races to proudly show much support, going as far as wearing over the top wearable merchandises. He is also there with Sally to comfort McQueen after he crashes, and is among the rest of the Radiator Springs residents witnessing McQueen ultimately make the decision to keep racing. Later, in the middle of the film, a downbeat McQueen calls Mater by FaceTime phone, and they both have a nice, heartwarming conversation. McQueen asks Mater for help after seeing that Jackson Storm, a car, has a new speed record, having the potential to beat Lightning McQueen. In response, Mater unconsciously suggests that McQueen track down and get some advice from Doc Hudson's mentor, Smokey. He is seen to be aware of Sterling's selfish plans beneath his words and buys McQueen some time by distracting him from keeping McQueen to get Cruz Ramirez to replace him for the race. He is also seen with everyone in Radiator Springs when Lightning shows his new appearance. In a post-credits scene, Mater is singing a funny song and is cleaning in his lot, and when his phone rings, he gets startled and jumps in fright then inadvertently knocks over his reception antenna along with tires falling down from his shack's roof, and the FaceTime on his phone goes dead, much to his dismay.

The short film follows Mater's day-to-day activities after things have returned to normal in Radiator Springs. Mater likes to play scary pranks on other characters until a blue light begins haunting him. His final prank is his most successful: Lightning McQueen sees a tow hook hanging from behind a stack of cans and, assuming that Mater is hiding behind it, approaches to foil the prank. Mater then jumps off of the roof of Flo's café, screaming behind McQueen, who then is startled and knocks over the pile of cans, revealing that the hook was actually from the sign of Mater's place of business, thus a decoy. Everyone starts to laugh at McQueen for having fallen for this clever trick, and Mater teases, "Whoa, Buddy. You look like you seen ... the Ghostlight!"

Sheriff admonishes him for "mocking the Ghostlight," a character of urban legend amongst the cars. The Ghostlight is described as a "glowing orb of blue, translucent light" that haunts Radiator Springs, and hates nothing more than the sound of clanking metal – a sound frequently made by Mater's rickety shell. Sheriff continues to tell the story of a young couple lost in the area, whose only remains were "two out-of-state license plates." He then concludes with an overly cheerful "Well, g'night." The population of Radiator Springs then leaves within seconds, leaving a very nervous Mater by himself.

As he reaches his garage he is first frightened by a "lightning bug" (a tiny flying Volkswagen Beetle with bright headlights). As he relaxes, a bright blue glow suddenly appears behind him and he goes into a blind panic, driving around in a frenzy, first going along the main road, then going through the tractor field, past Frank, then around Willy's Butte, and doing a lock-strafe move after that, until he is exhausted. The Ghostlight however, is just a glowing blue lantern to Mater's towing cable hung up by McQueen and Guido.

The short ends with Mater finally collapsing on the road before finally realizing that it's just a blue lantern. It was then the rest of the folks surround him and laugh at him, revealing the joke as retribution for the pranks he did to them (with his best friend Lightning laughing the loudest and throwing in a "Gotcha!"). The credits roll and after them there is a closing shot where the frightened Mater finds he has a huge construction vehicle behind him, snarling and carrying the license plate "Banshee." Mater does not realize who it is though and warns it of the Screaming Banshee before driving off, bidding the confused Banshee good night.

Mater is the main character in his animated short series, Cars Toon: Mater's Tall Tales with Larry the Cable Guy reprising his role. Each tale begins with Mater telling a far-fetched story of his past. In the story, Mater finds himself in an inescapable predicament. When McQueen questions Mater over whether the events in the story actually occurred, Mater responds, "Don't you remember? You was there too!", and continues the story including McQueen's sudden participation. The short series end with Mater leaving the scene, often followed by characters or references to the story that was being told, putting up a possibility that the story might have been real.

Mater appears in all Cars video games and with Larry the Cable Guy reprising his role in all video games to date (with the exception of Cars 3: Driven to Win). In the video game Cars, Mater is a playable character in the Arcade Mode, "Tractor Tipping", and "Rustbucket Race-O-Rama" levels. He does commentary for the race in "Radiator Springs Grand Prix" and "Radiator Springs GP". He teaches McQueen how to drive backwards in "Mater's Backwards Lesson". Mater is a playable character in both the Story and Arcade Modes of Cars Mater-National Championship. The Cars Race-O-Rama video game introduces new rivals to Mater: Bubba, Tater and Tater Jr., all of them tow trucks. However, Tater and Tater Jr. later befriend Mater. Mater also makes an appearance as a playable character and figure in Disney Infinity. He is also a playable character in Cars 3: Driven to Win.