Lightning McQueen is the name of the main car in the Pixar animated film "Cars." Most people assume that he is named after legendary movie star and race car buff, Steve McQueen.However, Lightning is actually named in honor of a former Pixar animator Glenn McQueen who died of skin cancer in 2002.
In case you were wondering about the design, Lightning McQueen was based on generic NASCAR vehicles, but they also took cues from the Mazda Miata and the Dodge Viper. John Lasseter also met with General Motors to discuss the design for the new Corvette, but they decided not to leave him with a generic, but cool design.
While Cars and Cars 2 are Pixar's lowest rated movies, they are actually the most financially successful films in their roster. Merchandising in particular has been a huge success for the franchise. Disney's California Adventures is also opening a whole area dedicated to Cars.