The movie is out and the action was intense! If your little one wants to recreate the best racing and action scenes from the movie, these 5 toys are Cam’s Official Picks!
There’s a lot to like about this awesome race set. First, most Shake ‘n Go cars will work, even the ones from the original Cars movie. Second is the ability to create custom races using any characters you want. The set includes the Lightning McQueen and Francesco Bernoulli Shake ‘n Go! cars, but forget that predictable race and pit Sarge vs. Professor Z!! I love that one track goes through dirt, and the other take a long way around the back. For just $54, this is a race set you’ll come back to time and again!
2. Cars 2 World Grand Prix Race Launcher
This is my favorite purchase so far, and I’ve made a lot of purchases. This is a “toy” with great many uses, and that gives it high value for the money. The Cars 2 World Grand Prix Race Launcher features 10 race car slots to match the 10 contestants in the World Grand Prix. Above each slot is the car’s number and flag, and it is fascinating to watch my son carefully place each car in the correct slot! Until we get all 10 WGP racers, we are using racecars from the original Cars movie, as well as Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell. Even Grem and Acer have had a chance to compete!
Possibly my favorite part of the toy is the launcher. With the race cars loaded and the spring pulled back (designed to be so easy enough for a 2-year old to do it!), with a 
push of a button they shoot forward! On hardwood floors, I’d estimate that they go about 15 feet. Certainly long enough to judge who is the winner!
Savvy parents will recognize that this toy is also great for storing Cars 2 die-casts. And any toy that can also be used for storage has instant value! When the 10 cars are loaded, the doors to the race slots can be shut and your toddler can use the handle to take this race set anywhere in the house, or to the grandparents’.
Honestly, for $27. this is the best toy if you have the die-cast toys and really want to get the most out of them!
3. Cars 2: The Video Game
We purchased the Cars 2 game for the Wii and it has been incredible. There are so many Cars characters in the game, so many racetracks, so much fun! There are different types of games to play, such as a classic race, or a elimination race with weapons, or a race where you destroy lemons, or a race where lemons are trying to destroy you!
The game plays an action scene from the movie when it first loads (easy to skip, if your kid will let you!) to really get you in the mood to race some lemons! During the races, you can easily drive backwards, drive on two wheels, shoot a variety of weapons, and hear your character talk as it battles against the competition!
There are plenty of characters to choose from in the race. Many of them must be unlocked by achieving certain milestones in the game, but I was very happy to see that Jeff Gorvette was available right away without having to complete anything to unlock him. Playing as Jeff Gorvette is a great experience in the game.
Cars 2: The Video Game is also available on Nintendo DS, Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and for PC/Mac.
4. Finn McMissile Zero Gravity RC Car
After seeing some of the stunts that Finn McMissile pulls off in the Cars 2 movie, you’re gonna want to have a remote-controlled Finn to play with. Well don’t settle for the usual RC car, Air Hogs has created a zero gravity Finn McMissile!
What’s a zero gravity RC car? Well, imagine a car that can drive on up vertical walls! (see a video here). You can even drive from the floor up to the wall, and back down to the floor! Remember the opening scene in Cars 2 when Finn is trying to find out more about the lemons’ plan so he drives on the walls? Now you can replicate that in your own home. Talk about serious spy skills for just $40!!
5. Shake ‘n Go! Jeff Gorvette
It may be fairly obvious that my favorite character in Cars 2 is Jeff Gorvette. Although he had only one or two lines in the movie, and didn’t really factor into the races much, I’m a Corvette fan at heard and I love the yellow paint job. And for little Corvette fans out there, the Shake ‘n Go! Jeff Gorvette is a great way to play with this character. The awesome paint job and classic “Cars” eyes and scowl make this a perfect toy to shake and race!
