Lightning just couldn't keep news like that to himself. He knew that most of the townsfolk would be gathered at the café, so he zipped over there at top speed. "Oh my gosh!" he said as he drove into Flo's. "Guys! Did you know Doc is a famous race car?"

 

For a moment, everyone was silent.

 

Then they burst out laughing.

 

"Doc?" Sheriff cried. "Our Doc?"

 

"Not Doc Hudson?" Sarge bellowed¹.

 

"Did you hear that one?" Ramone—radiant in new yellow paint—was laughing hysterically². "He's saying Doc's a—this guy cracks me up!"

 

"No, no, no," Lightning insisted. He felt almost desperate. He had to convince them of who Doc was. "It's true! He's a real racing³ legend. He's the Fabulous⁴ Hudson Hornet!"

 

"Fabulous?" Flo said doubtfully. "I've never seen Doc drive more than twenty miles an hour. I mean, have you ever seen him race?"

 

"No," Lightning admitted, "but I wish I could've." Lightning was dead serious. "They say he was amazing. He won three Piston⁵ Cups!"

 

Mater spat⁶ out the oil he'd been drinking. "He did what in his cup?"

 

Lightning tried to persuade them that Doc Hudson was the real deal, but the townsfolk didn't buy it.

 

"I think the heat's startin' to get to the boy," Sheriff said.

 

"Are you sick, buddy⁷?" Mater asked.

 

Sally hit the gas lever with her tire. Ding ding ding! She filled up Lightning's tank.

 

"Hey! Hey!" Sheriff protested. This could be dangerous. "What're you doing?"

 

"It's okay, Sheriff," Sally said. "You can trust me, right?"

 

"I trust you, all right," Sheriff said, narrowing his eyes at Lightning. "It's him I'm worried about."

 

"I trust him," Sally said. "C'mon," she told Lightning. "Let's take a drive."

 

Once his tank was full, Lightning considered taking off for the open road. Nothing was stopping him now.

 

Sally started toward a mountain in the distance. "Hey, Stickers," she called. "You comin' or what?" She drove away, letting Lightning decide for himself whether to make a run for it.

 

After hesitating for just a moment, he took off after Sally.

 

"Mmm-hmm," Flo said knowingly to Sheriff. "And you thought he was gonna run."

 

"Okay," Lightning said as he caught up to Sally, "you got me out here. Where are we going?"

 

"I don't know." Sally zipped off.

 

Lightning was surprised by how fast Sally was as he chased her into a forest. Playfully, she splashed him with an icy puddle⁸, and the shock took his breath away. Grinning, Sally tried to splash him again, but Lightning dodged⁹ the water—and ran into a puddle of mud.

 

Sally laughed as Lightning took off after her. He accidentally drove into a pile of leaves, which stuck to his muddy surface.

 

As they rounded a few turns, Lightning took the lead, but Sally shot past him again. The two cars passed through a rock tunnel as the road wound up the mountain. Lightning was starting to notice the natural beauty that surrounded him.

 

As he took a curve, Lightning caught sight of Sally passing a majestic¹⁰ waterfall up ahead. He was stunned¹¹ by how beautiful she looked. He smiled at her and she laughed. His grill¹² was covered in bugs¹³! Lightning spit the bugs out and took off after her again, and soon he found himself at the top of the mountain. Sally was stopped in front of an old abandoned motel.

 

"Wow," Lightning said as he looked around at the dusty motel. "What is this place?"

 

Sally sighed. "Wheel Well. Used to be the most popular stop on the Mother Road." She was referring to the old Highway 66.

 

Lightning looked carefully at Sally and wondered. She was a brand-new Porsche. A fancy car. Why was she living in the little town of Radiator¹⁴ Springs in the middle of nowhere?

 

"How does a Porsche wind up in a place like this?" he asked, marveling.

 

"Well, it's really pretty simple," Sally told him. "I was an attorney in L.A., living life in the fast lane. And you know what? It never felt … happy."

 

"Yeah … ," Lightning said thoughtfully, then caught himself. "I mean, really?"

 

"Yeah." Sally went on. "So I left California— just drove and drove and finally broke down right here. Doc fixed¹⁵ me up. Flo took me in. Well, they all did. And I never left."

 

Lightning thought for a moment. He had to admit, his time in Radiator Springs hadn't been all bad. Still, he couldn't really imagine himself living there. "I understand you need to recharge the old batteries, but you know, after a while, why didn't you go back?"

 

"I fell in love," Sally said simply.

 

Lightning's tires deflated¹⁶ a little. "Corvette?"

 

"No." Sally drove to the edge of the cliff. "I fell in love … with this."

 

Lightning followed her and looked down. "Whoa." Below them, Radiator Springs was a glistening¹⁷ green oasis¹⁸ at the base of a towering mountain range. The setting sun made the breathtaking waterfall sparkle in the distance. Beyond Radiator Springs, cars zipped by on the Interstate, oblivious¹⁹ to the beautiful scene. "Look at that," Lightning said to himself. "They're driving right by. They don't even know what they're missing."

 

"Forty years ago," Sally said, "that Interstate down there didn't exist. Back then, cars came across the country a whole different way."

 

"How do you mean?" Lightning asked.

 

"Well, the road didn't cut through the land like that Interstate," Sally explained. "It moved with the land; you know it rose, it fell, it curved. Cars didn't drive on it to make great time. They drove on it to have a great time."

 

Lightning was quiet. His whole life was about speed. The idea of driving slowly, for fun, was strange. "What happened?"

 

"The town got bypassed just to save ten minutes of driving," Sally said.

 

Lightning imagined what the Wheel Well and Radiator Springs must have been like when they were thriving. "How great would it have been to see this place in its heyday²⁰?"

 

"Oh," Sally said in a soft, sincere voice, "I can't tell you how many times I've dreamed of that. But one of these days we'll find a way to get it back on the map."

 

"Hey, listen," Lightning said thoughtfully, "thanks for the drive. I had a great time. It's kind of nice to slow down every once in a while."

 

"You're welcome," Sally said, smiling.

 

The two cars headed back to town in silence, enjoying the view.

 

让麦坤把这样的消息藏在肚子里简直太难了！他知道大部分居民会聚在咖啡店里，于是径直朝咖啡店飞奔而去。刚到门口，麦坤便迫不及待了：“我的天啊！伙计们，你们知道吗？蓝天博士是一辆有名的赛车！”

 

片刻间，大伙一言不发。

 

接着，所有人哄堂大笑。

 

“蓝天博士？”警长大叫一声，“我们的蓝天博士？”

 

“他不是蓝天博士？”士官长惊呼。

 

刚刷了黄色新涂装的雷蒙看上去光芒四射，他在一旁笑得前仰后合：“大家听到麦坤的话吗？他说蓝天博士是——这小子逗死我了！”

 

“别别别，别笑！”麦坤执意解释。尽管几近绝望，他必须向大伙说明博士的真实身份：“我说的都是真的！他是真正的赛车传奇，他就是大名鼎鼎的哈德森·大黄蜂！”

 

“大名鼎鼎？”芙蓉疑惑地说，“我从来没见过博士开过20码以上的时速。我是说，你见他参加过比赛吗？”

 

“没有，”麦坤承认。“但我希望我看到过，”麦坤极度严肃地说，“别人都说他确实很了不起，他赢过三座活塞杯！”

 

板牙把喝到嘴里的汽油吐了出来，说：“他在杯子里放了什么？”

 

麦坤试图说服大家相信蓝天博士是一辆名副其实的赛车，然而大家都不买他的账。

 

“这孩子一定是发烧说胡话了！”警长说。

 

“老兄，你吃错药了吧？”板牙问。

 

莎莉用轮胎踩着油枪，叮叮叮！不一会儿，麦坤的油箱就加满了。

 

“喂喂！”警长不同意莎莉的做法，他认为这样做过于危险，“你知道自己在做什么吗？”

 

“警长，没事儿，相信我，好吗？”莎莉回答说。

 

“好吧，我相信你，”警长一边说一边眯着眼睛看着麦坤，“我担心的是他。”

 

“我相信他。”莎莉说。“走吧，”她对麦坤说，“我们去兜兜风。”

 

油箱加满以后，麦坤就合计着冲到公路上一走了之。毕竟，现在什么都阻拦不了他。

 

莎莉面朝远山发动引擎。“喂，闪电侠，你要不要跟上来？”她叫了麦坤一声后便先走了，让麦坤自己决定要不要一走了之。

 

麦坤只犹豫了一会儿，便转身朝莎莉追去。

 

“嗯哼，”芙蓉胸有成竹地对警长说，“你刚才还担心他会一走了之呢。”

 

“你带我离开这里了，那我们现在去哪儿？”麦坤追上莎莉说。

 

“我不知道。”莎莉说着，加速把麦坤甩在身后。

 

麦坤没想到莎莉的速度可以这么快，他紧追其后，两人开进了一片树林。莎莉故意驶过冰坑，开玩笑地把冰坑里的水溅了麦坤一身。麦坤大吃一惊。她嬉笑着想再溅他一次，谁知麦坤躲开了这坑冰水，却不小心陷入了另外一潭泥浆。

 

麦坤加速向她追来，莎莉乐得哈哈大笑。他不小心撞进一堆树叶里，沾满泥的车身迅速被树叶裹了起来。

 

俩人你追我赶了几个来回，麦坤刚领先一步却被莎莉如利箭一般反超。他们沿着蜿蜒的山路一直走，随后穿过一条岩石隧道。麦坤开始留意周围大自然的美景。

 

麦坤转了个弯，他看到莎莉驶过一个巨大的瀑布。眼前的莎莉如此漂亮，麦坤沉醉了。他看着莎莉微笑，莎莉突然大笑了起来。麦坤的进风口爬满了小虫！他把小虫吐了出来，然后朝莎莉追去。不一会儿，他不知不觉到达了山顶。莎莉被一座废弃的旧旅馆拦住了去路。

 

麦坤向周围望了望，他看着落满灰尘的汽车旅馆说：“喔哦，这是什么地方？”

 

莎莉叹了口气。她指着曾经的66号高速公路说：“轮井，这里曾经是整条公路最繁忙的站点。”

 

麦坤专心地看着莎莉，他纳闷起来。莎莉是一辆崭新的保时捷，是一辆豪华轿车。可是，为什么她要在前不着村后不着店的水箱温泉镇生活呢？

 

“一辆保时捷为什么要留在这个地方呢？”麦坤觉得不可 思议。

 

“好吧，说起来简单，”莎莉对麦坤说，“我以前在洛杉矶做律师，每天的生活节奏就像在快车道上飞驰一样。可是你知道吗？我从来感觉不到……快乐。”

 

“呃……”麦坤若有所思地说。他欲言又止，转而问道：“我的意思是，真的不快乐吗？”

 

“是的。”莎莉继续说道，“所以我离开了加利福尼亚，一直走啊走……直到有一天，我在这里抛锚了。蓝天博士把我修好，芙蓉收留了我。小镇上的每个人都接纳了我。我就再也没有离开过小镇。”

 

麦坤沉思了一会儿。他必须承认，在水箱温泉镇的这段时光也不是糟糕透了。但尽管如此，他并没有真正考虑过要留在这里生活。“我理解，你确实需要给自己充充电。可是过了一段时间，为什么不回去呢？”

 

“我恋爱了。”莎莉轻轻地说。

 

麦坤觉得自己的轮胎瘪了一些。“你是指雪佛兰？”

 

“不是。”莎莉来到崖壁边，“我爱上了——这里。”

 

麦坤跟在莎莉身后，他顺着莎莉说的方向望去。“哇——”麦坤为眼前的美景惊喜不已。原来，水箱温泉镇坐落在耸立的山脊上，它像一片闪亮的绿洲一样，在阳光的照耀下美丽极了。夕阳下，远处的大瀑布晶莹璀璨、美不胜收，令人惊叹不已。而在小镇旁边的高地上，成群结队的车辆从州际公路上飞驰而过，完全忽视了这里的美景。“你看看那些车辆，”麦坤自言自语道，“他们马不停蹄地开过去，竟然不知道自己错过了什么。”

 

“四十年前，”莎莉说道，“这条州际公路还不存在。那时候，车辆经过这里走的是一条完全不一样的路。”

 

“你的意思是？”麦坤问。

 

“那条路并不像州际公路一样笔直地穿过这片土地，”莎莉解释道，“那时候的路随地势的起伏，一会儿上坡一会儿下坡，还有很多转弯。那时候开车走这条路不是为了省时间，他们在这条路上开车是种享受。”

 

麦坤一时不知道该说什么。他一生都在追求速度。在慢速行驶中享受快乐，这种想法让麦坤觉得十分奇怪。“后来发生了什么？”

 

“就为了节省十分钟的驾车时间，小镇被绕开了。”莎莉说。

 

麦坤开始想象轮井和水箱温泉镇热闹时候的样子。“如果能看到这里重返当初的热闹，该多好啊！”

 

“是啊，”莎莉的噪音充满了温柔、真诚，“我已经记不清自己做了多少回这样的梦了。终有一天，我们会让它重新回到地图上。”

 

“喂，你听我说，”麦坤诚恳地看着莎莉，“谢谢你带我出来兜风，我很开心。偶尔放慢脚步，感觉挺好的。”

 

“不用客气！”莎莉微笑着说。

 

回小镇的路上，两个人静静地欣赏着沿途的风景，都没有讲话。

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