The Hot Rod Dogs and Cool Car Cats facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hot Rod Dogs and Cool Car Cats |
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| Genre | Animation |
| Created by | Dave Edwards |
| Voices of | Dana Hill Jim Cummings Russi Taylor Frank Welker |
| Composer(s) | Ben Heneghan Ian Lawson |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Dave Edwards Mike Young Liz Young |
| Running time | 10 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Dave Edwards Studio Mike Young Productions Rainbow Animation Group Scottish Television Enterprises |
| Distributor | Scottish Television Enterprises |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV (CITV) |
| Picture format | 4:3 |
| Original release | 1995 – 1996 |
The Hot Rod Dogs and Cool Car Cats is a fun British cartoon series. It aired from 1995 to 1996 on ITV's kids' channel, CITV. Later, in 2009, it was shown again on the Scottish children's show wknd@stv. The series is all about cars that act like people, but they look like cats and dogs! These special car-animals are freedom fighters. They are trying to save their home planet, Autopia, from a bad guy called The Crusher. The show had two seasons, and each season had 26 short episodes, each about ten minutes long.
Meet the Heroes
These are the good guys who fight to save Autopia!
Hot Rod: The Main Hero
Hot Rod is a red dog-car and the main character of the show. He was on his way to camp when The Crusher's forces captured him. Luckily, he escaped and joined the group fighting for freedom. He seems to like his best friend, Carbs, a lot. A super mechanic named Gus upgraded Hot Rod. He got bigger tires, a weapon that shoots cogs (which can also be a buzzsaw), and the power to fly when he really needs it. Gus later built him an extra weapons pack for long-range attacks. Both Gus and The Crusher hinted that Hot Rod was "special," but we never found out why.
Carbs: Hot Rod's Best Friend
Carbs (short for "Carburetta") is a pink cat-car and Hot Rod's best friend. They first met when they were both captured by The Crusher. She also seems to like Hot Rod back! Gus upgraded her too. She gained super bright headlights, claws on her tires, and a tail that can stretch out. Her sister, Spare Parts, later built her a weapons pack, just like Hot Rod's.
Dog-Gone: The Wise One
Dog-Gone is an old and clever brown dog-car. He often gives good advice and wisdom to the group. He also spends a lot of time trying to keep his friend Benz from falling apart.
Benz: Always Falling Apart
Benz is a green dog-car and Dog-Gone's best friend. He is in very bad shape and is always breaking down.
Gus: The Legendary Mechanic
Gus is a light grey dog-car and a famous mechanic. He was the one who built The Crusher. When The Crusher went out of control, Gus went into hiding. Later, he helped Hot Rod and Carbs by giving them weapons to fight The Crusher's forces.
Meet the Villains
These are the bad guys who want to take over Autopia!
The Crusher: The Big Bad Guy
The Crusher was originally made to recycle junk in Autopia. But something went wrong, and he became a powerful, evil monster who wants to control everything.
Scarhood: The Bounty Hunter
Scarhood is a bounty hunter and The Crusher's main helper. He is a mean and nasty black dog-car. He really hates Hot Rod because Hot Rod has beaten him many times.
Choppers: Scarhood's Henchmen
Choppers are Scarhood's not-so-smart helpers. They are a group of tough-looking cat-cars with different weapons. Their leader is Gadget. Gadget's son, Socket, appeared in one episode. The other Choppers are Firefur, Carpoon, and One-Eye.
Gridlockers: The Corrupt Police
Gridlockers are Autopia's police force. They are completely controlled by The Crusher. They are led by Number One, who has Number Two helping him. The lower-ranking officers are Number Three and Number Four.
Other Cool Characters
Here are some other characters you might meet in Autopia!
Sandcat: The Junk Dealer
Sandcat is a junk merchant in the city of Catatonia. His business got much better thanks to Hot Rod and his friends.
Bentley Royce: The Reporter
Bentley Royce is a news reporter. He has an annoying habit of showing up when he's not wanted. He also often gets the names of the people he interviews wrong!
Towhead: The Pretender
Towhead was a young dog-car who pretended to be a friend. He wanted to sneak into the resistance group. His plan was to make them lead him and Scarhood to Gus. But Hot Rod stopped his plan.
Baby Bumper: The Little One
Baby Bumper is a baby dog-car who twice found his way into the heroes' camp. This left Hot Rod and Carbs to take care of him.
Spare Parts: Carbs' Sister
Spare Parts is Carbs' older sister. She appeared in a couple of episodes. She is a very skilled mechanic, just as good as Gus. She built Carbs' special weapons pack.
Jag: The Hypnotist
Jag is an evil cat-car who can hypnotize others. She managed to sneak into the heroes' camp, but she was quickly defeated. She seemed to be "interested" in Scarhood.
Hot Rod's Parents
Hot Rod's Mother and Father only appear in the first episode. They are always very "carful" and love Hot Rod very much. Hot Rod's Mother is a blue dog-car with a star emblem and a red light on her head, which might mean she works for the police, but this was not explained. Hot Rod's Father is a brown dog-car with bushy eyebrows and something that looks like a green Mohawk on his head.
Voice Actors
Here are the talented people who gave voices to the characters:
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Around the World
The show was also shown in other countries! It aired in Ireland on Den 2 from 1998 to 2003. In the UK, it was shown on Sky One's The DJ Kat Show. In Australia, you could watch it on Cheez TV on Network Ten. And as mentioned, it was on wknd@stv in Scotland in 2009.
