Rod "Torque" Redline

Rod Redline
Occupation	Field agent
Main portrayer(s)	Bruce Campbell
First appearance	Cars 2
Character information Alias(es) Torque Gender Male
Technical details Top speed 233 km/h (145 mph) Engine 5.5L V8

File:Cars 2 Turntable "Rod "Torque" Redline"

Rod "Torque" Redline (died June 2011) was a muscle car and was the American spy that Finn and Holley were supposed to meet up with. He worked as a field agent for the United States intelligence agency.

History

Cars 2

Rod Redline is considered by many as the greatest American spy in the world. Recruited after the Cold War for both his brains and brawn, Torque is a tough-as-nails Detroit muscle car with a mastery of disguises. In his latest deep-cover operation, he obtained vital information about the plot to sabotage the World Grand Prix. So Rod plans a rendezvous with his British counterparts to share his discoveries at the World Grand Prix welcome reception in Tokyo, Japan. But with the bad guys hot on his tailpipe, Rod is forced to ditch the intel early and with the first party guest he sees — a rusty American tow truck named Mater.

He was first seen on the oil rig (at the beginning of Cars 2) disguised as a Gremlin. Rod later came to the Tokyo party to exchange info with Finn McMissile, but his plan was infiltrated, and he was ambushed by Acer and Grem, who both proceeded to beat him up, damaging him heavily. When Mater comes across them, Rod passes the device with the info onto Mater's undercarriage when no one was looking.

After doing this, Rod was captured by Grem and Acer, who brought him to Professor Z in their secret lair, where he was restrained on a dynamometer with parking boots on his front wheels, while his rear wheels were put between cylinders. He was then pumped with the fuel "Allinol", which he claimed was good for cars. However, Professor Z demonstrated, on the agent himself, what happens when cars fueled with Allinol are exposed to an electromagnetic pulse generator disguised as a camera. As Allinol began to react, the lemons demanded to know who Rod passed the intel to, putting up a slideshow of all the cars he made contact with. Rod resists, but he has an involuntary reaction at an image of Mater, which Professor Z catches. Rod could only show horror at allowing an oblivious civilian tow truck to become a target, before he was killed from the spontaneous explosion of Allinol. 

After his engine was blown and his entire body is exploded into million pieces, his corpse is visible slightly among flames in the reflection of the screen.

It is currently unknown what happened to him afterwards, he is likely to be turned into spare parts after his death.

Cars 2: The Video Game

In Cars 2: The Video Game, Rod is a playable character that can only be used in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game, as he needs to be purchased from one of the corresponding stores. He is a light weight, and utilizes more power than speed. He can also be downloaded in his Gremlin disguise. However, he is an unlockable character in PSP version of game.

Personality

Rod has a cool manner. He does not worry even though he knows there is no chance for him to live even after the encounter with the lemons. Instead of worrying, he tries to keep up a smile and even insults the lemons.

Under his disguise, he is seen smiling at everyone he talks to except when meeting with the lemons.

Livery

Rod was painted blue, with black stripes and chrome rims.

Model

Rod's design was a mix of a 2005 Ford Mustang GT and a 2010 Dodge Challenger R/T. His top speed was 145 mph (233 km/h), with a 0-60 of 4.4 seconds. His engine was a 5.5L V8, with a horsepower of 550. According to the Meet the Cars book, he is a 2006 Deringer DXR.

His license plate was M1911A1, which is also the name of a gun.

Occupation

Rod was an American spy.

Weaponry and Gadgets

Rod's status bar

• Gremlin disguise: Rod had an integrated disguise of an ocre AMC Gremlin which is not a hologram but composed of physical pieces, unlike the disguises of his British colleagues.

  

  Rod removing his Gremlin disguise

• Concealed pistol: Located in the front left wheel.
• Telescoping utility arm: A small screwdriver-like arm, located in the right wheel. Rod used this to attach a small device on Mater that was containing top-secret information.
• Status bar: Right under his eyes, Rod had a screen in the form of a bar that gave him his sitrep, notably giving the amount of fuel, and several other parameters.

Behind the Scenes

Rod's interrogation scene has been criticized as surprising or even inappropriate. In an interview, John Lasseter said that the scene was necessary to explain efficiently and visually the working and high danger of Professor Z's camera.

It also enabled to get in the movie a certain tone of the spy genre. Story Supervisor Nathan Stanton said that while "watching spy films, where your character is basically tortured and it can be a really horrifying scene, I remember thinking if we could just get five-percent of this in one of our scenes, [...] if we could just get a little of this in what we want, it would be great. It would go a long way."

Both Lasseter and Supervising Animator Dave Mullins mentioned that the scene as it had originally been conceived was much more dark and cruel, and that several people at the studio reacted to it. They say in consequence that they "backed off tremendously." Lasseter mentions that the changes included making Rod a "tough guy".

Appearances

Feature Films

• Cars 2

Video Games

• Cars 2: The Video Game (as a downloadable character)
• AppMATes

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Danish	Rod 'Topper' Redline	Rod 'Topper' Redline
Finnish	Rodi Ruuti Riski	Rodi Ruuti Risk
Italian	Rod Coppia Motrice	Rod Torque Drive
Polish	Rod "Rumak" Spoiler	Rod "Horse" Spoiler
Russian	Род "Конь" Рэдлайн	Rod "Horse" Redline (Конь means Horse, therefore Horsepower, a car specification similar to Torque.
Ukrainian	Турботяга	Turbotyaga

Trivia

• Rod's render is a modified version of Snot Rod, minus the hot rod engine.
• The G4 DXR labels on Rod may be stating the fictional name of his car model.
• According to his license plate, he is from Michigan. Michigan is the birthplace of actor Bruce Campbell, who voiced Rod Redline.
• A Toys "R" Us Lego exclusive of Rod was released for free on October 15, 2011 in the US.
• Rod was seen talking to Shigeko while in his Gremlin disguise.
• When Rod had his Gremlin disguise on, his eyes were brown instead of blue.
• Rod is downloadable in Cars 2: The Video Game, even though he was killed in the film. However, since all the tracks are just simulations, it's possible that Rod is part of the simulations, which is quite dark.
• In the cancelled Cars Toons short, To Protect and Serve, the sheriffs Mike 07 and Didi 05 were going to use Rod's basis.
• In Cars 3, Pat Traxson's model is very similar to Rod's model.
• Rod is the fifth known Cars character to die in the movie franchise.
• Even though Rod is a deceased character, Rod gives the player the tutorial mission on AppMATes.
• All Lego Cars toy line have printed eyes. However, Rod's eyes were placed as a sticker.
• Rod has not been re-released in the 1:55 scale die-cast line since 2012 for unknown reasons.
• On the Cars 2 page for the Pixar website Rod is included in the racers category, in place of Jeff Gorvette, despite being a spy.
• Rod was going to receive a variant of his damaged die-cast with a parking boot but it got cancelled.
• Rod's registration number (M1911A1) is a reference to the Colt M1911A1 semi-automatic pistol.

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Rod Redline/Gallery.

Quotes

• "Okay, McMissile. I'm here. It's time for the drop." (his first words)
• "I'm fine."
• "Well, you know. I was just wearing a disguise. You guys are stuck looking like that!"
• "Allinol? Thanks, fellas! I hear this stuff is good for you."
• "Oh, a TV camera. What does it actually do?"
• "Is that what you want? I got a whole act!"
• "Whatever you say, Professor."
• "Your mother. Oh, no, I'm sorry, it was your sister! You know, I can't tell them apart these days!"
• "What do I care? I can replace an engine block!"
• "No!" (his last word, after the lemons find out he put his intel on Mater)