15 of the most memorable and lovable Pixar side characters ranked

Fillmore (Cars)

Of all the citizens of Radiator Springs, there’s something special about Fillmore, the hippie, ’60s Volkswagen van with a penchant for Jimi Hendrix and all natural organic fuel. After all, Fillmore’s life would a booming entrepreneurial success if not for the conspiring major oil companies controlling the government.

Fillmore’s film presence is limited to a few key moments emphasizing his liberal spirit. Take, for example, his encouragement of “fly away Stanley, be free!” when the statue of town founder Stanley gets toppled by Lightning McQueen, or his observation that every third blink of the streetlight is slower. (See: “The ’60s weren’t good to you, were they?”)

And of course his “respect the classics, man. It’s Hendrix!” is a classic in and of itself. Each of those moments demonstrates the star quality of Fillmore, who most definitely had an intriguing life before his Radiator Springs days. (Speaking of which, what brought Fillmore to the cutest little town in Carburetor County in the first place?)

Even better, Fillmore’s next door neighbor is the militarily patriotic Sarge. While they have their differences over the star-spangled banner and yard decor, they are also friends. And in a day where nobody seems willing to set aside political differences, the friendship of an environmentalist hippie van and a proud WWII army Jeep is oddly inspiring.