Doc Hudson

Doc Hudson, also known as the Hudson Hornet or the Fabulous Hudson Hornet, was a former dirt track racer and Piston Cup legend that served as Radiator Springs' judge and doctor, prior to his death in between the events of Cars: Race-O-Rama and Cars 2. In memory of Doc, the Piston Cup Racing Series' trophy was renamed the Hudson Hornet Piston Cup, and the Racing Museum now contains memorabilia related to Doc, including old newspapers, and Doc's trophies.

Why He's a Judge, a "DOC"tor, and a Racing Expert, nor a "Crazy Grandpa Car"!

 * 1) He is one of the most likable characters out of all in the film along with Lightning McQueen, Mater, etc.
 * 2) He is one of the greatest dirt-track racers of all time, as Darrell Cartrip mentions by McQueen's mentor in Cars 2.
 * 3) He is exactly the smartest car in Radiator Springs, and not actually Mater, as mentioned from BQ #2 on his page.
 * 4) His dirt track race around the Willy's Butte with his drift was incredibly awesome.
 * 5) Other pop-culture: He was so popular that his model, the Hudson Hornet itself, made appearances in two Forza games; first in Forza Motorsport 4, and then re-debuted soon back in Forza Horizon 4.
 * 6) * It also appears in Driver: San Francisco too as well.
 * 7) * His Fabulous paint job also even makes a reference with the "Albany Hermes" from Grand Theft Auto V, which is based on a 1949 Mercury Coupe (coincidentally Sheriff's model, another car almost from the early-50s with a very similar design). It reads "Amazing Albany Hermes" instead. But sadly though, if only it was a LOT cleaner, didn't have any rust, it would've been so much more thrilling and perfect. And again but, also, thankfully there is a mod that gives this. It was uploaded on March 31, 2018. A link to it can be found right here.
 * 8) His engine, a 308 cu in (5.0 L) I6, was amazing to listen to, especially in his Willy's Butte race.
 * 9) There hasn't been ONE single part where he was unlikable, nor flanderized AT ALL.
 * 10) Best quotes/lines like:
 * 11) *"Not all my tricks, rookie!"

The ONLY Bad Quality

 * 1) R.I.P.: Of course, sadly he died on September 26th, 2008, coinciding with the death of Paul Newman. However, Pixar actually decided having Doc appear in Cars 2 would not be a good idea. Despite this, the only exceptions are, he still appears in post-2007 Cars-based games after Mater-National Championship, even including the latest Cars 3: Driven to Win, although this was considered to be a continuity error. However, the exception of a game appearance is such as Cars 2: The Video Game. He wasn't mentioned, nor didn't even have a flashback in Cars on the Road.
 * 2) *If Newman was still alive, he would've appeared in later films and other Cars content (although he did appear in a brief flashback in Cars 3) (see below in Trivia).
 * 3) *After his death, it made the next two films lose a key part of the franchise.

Trivia

 * Doc's racing number, 51, is a reference to the first year of the Hudson Hornet's movement, 1951.
 * A blue Hudson Hornet makes a cameo in The Incredibles, although it was released before Cars. The Hudson Hornet was one of the first cars used by drivers in the beginning of NASCAR.
 * It is most likely possible that this was actually a teaser of Cars coming in the future at that time.
 * The story of the Fabulous Hudson Hornet is true. Many Hornets used in NASCAR at that time actually used that quote on their body paint design. Hudson won the championship from 1952-54.
 * Although Doc's number was 51, there was no actual #51 Fabulous Hudson Hornet.
 * In 2004, Doc Hudson should have owned the number "6".
 * Doc was Paul Newman's last non-documentary role. Also, like Newman, he has blue eyes too.
 * Doc would have appeared in later films had Newman not died.
 * Doc Hudson is the third Cars character whose original actor died, preceded by Red and Fillmore and followed by El Machismo.
 * Doc and Stanley are the only two characters in the entire Cars franchise to have died off-screen. Stanley died before the events of the first film.
 * Cars: Fast as Lightning features an unlockable building titled the Doc Hudson Statue, a statue of Doc that can be unlocked by unlocking Lightning McQueen.
 * In Cars: Mater-National Championship, Doc is one of the fastest opponents to catch in Doc and the Law's Race 'n' Chase in Arcade mode. He shares this trait with Sarge and Emma.
 * Racing #51 also includes Cruz Ramirez, Ruby Oaks, and Aikens.
 * There is a continuity error regarding Doc's crash. In one of the BOOM! Comics stories, it was said that Doc crashed because Sammy pruned him, which caused Doc to lose control and crash. In Cars 3, Doc accidentally lost control by himself.
 * He is one of the two characters raced against in Cars 3: Driven to Win that is not playable, the other being Bill.
 * Although the reason for Doc not being playable might be due to his death, the races are simulations.
 * Mater and the Ghostlight marks his only short film appearance ever, as he had passed away in the timeline of the other shorts.

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