Greg Beato: Disney's Trying to Make Cars Relevant Again

When genuine cowboys had all but died out, Hollywood started sending sagebrush Valentines to the Wild West. When the Mob's monopoly on organized crime in America began to wane, Hollywood fell in love with Don Corleone and sons. The fact that Cars 2 screeched into 4,115 theaters last Friday and did $68 million at the box office over the weekend is a cultural car alarm, one more sign that the automobile is on the verge of downshifting from souped-up engine of freedom and prosperity to superannuated fetish item of a bygone era.

By Greg Beato

June 30, 2011