Car Hater

[Before the adventure begins, Speed again reminds of the functions of the Mach Five's steering wheel.]

The scene opens with the Mach Five zooming down a country road on a clear, summer day. Trixie is driving and remarking how well the Mach Five handles. Speed is remarking that Trixie is doing 160 in an 80 mph zone. As Trixie decelerates a bit, a reckless driver in a yellow car (license #4975) comes up behind them, weaving back and forth. In the car are four boys making fun of poor Trixie. ``You drive just like a girl.'' Of course, she could take that as a compliment. They begin bumping into the Mach Five. But the yellow car loses control and spins around ahead of the Mach Five. Speed feels the need to help Trixie steer a little and uses the A button to jump over the car. Spritle and Chim-Chim are in the trunk getting a pretty rough ride from it all.

When the Mach Five stops, the yellow car comes up and stops as well. The guys get out and start yelling and threating Speed and Trixie. Just as one of them prepares to smash the Mach Five with a wrench, he realizes that it is, indeed, the famous Mach Five and that the guy in the blue shirt is Speed. They all change their tune then, begging for autographs and driving tips.

In a diner nearby, Speed is enjoying himself giving race driving tips to his new found fan club. Three shady looking men at a table overhear and approach Speed, one asking, ``Are you some sort of wiseguy?'' He claims to have once been a professional race car driver himself. After a few more comments and ``pleasantries'' are exchanged, a fight erupts. Speed easily dispatches them, and they run off.

Trixie, bored with the incessant race talk, walks to the restaurant door and sees Spritle sitting in the Mach Five driver seat talking with a cute girl about Trixie's age. He's explaining what the steering wheel buttons do. Trixie comes out and the girl introduces herself as Janine. When Trixie asks if she's like to take the Mach Five for a drive, Janine immediately and happily accepts. She tells Trixie that she wants to be a race car driver.

Before she can start, a man on a horse rides right in front of the car. The Mach Five spooks the race, which rears up throwing the rider to the ground. The driver is Mr. Trotter, Janine's dad, who chanced by. Ever since he lost his son in a car accident, he thinks of cars as weapons and hates them. Upset at Janine for being in a car, he brandishes his horse whip and says he'll smash the Mach Five with it. Speed walks up and manages to settle Mr. Trotter down. He apologizes telling Speed that he loses control whenever he's near cars.

In the Racers' garage, Pops and Sparky are repainting where the four rowdy teens scraped the paint - right down to the metal in places.

At the Trotter home, Mr. Trotter reads in the newspaper that a new race track is opening. At the track Speed pulls into the pit telling Sparky that the track has terrific S curve and a tight hair-pin. Unable to resist the new attraction, Janine had also come down and is hanging out with the Go Team. Mr. Trotter trots up on his horse at that point angrier than ever at again seeing Janine enjoying cars. He goes out onto the track riding head on towards the cars. They avoid him, but four cars smash up. Trotter is happy that there are fewer cars on the road now. The pit crews from the smashed cars are none too happy and chase Trotter. The three bad guys we saw in the restaurant earlier are there and throw some barrels down stopping the pit crews, which lets Trotter escape. Trotter says he needs men like them and asks to meet with them later. After he leaves, they say they've found a sucker.

In the city, Mr. Trotter is sermonizing in the middle of a busy, and now blocked, intersection about the evil automobiles. Later, he meets with the bad guys and offers them a stack of bills to go out and tell people how bad cars are. Alot like missionaries, I suppose. Janine phones home and tells her father that until he relents and lets her stay around cars, she won't come home. When she hangs up, Trixie says she should stay ``here'' for a while, probably the Racer home. Where does Trixie live anyway?

The three bad guys seem to have taken Mr. Trotter's words to heart. We don't know if they ever sermonize themselves, but they are more than eager to randomly sabotage cars. They must be pretty active because over the next few days there are so many accidents that the metropolitan traffic is snarled that the police won't let cars into the city!

Mr. trotter doesn't seem at all swayed by Janine's ultimatum. He asks the three bad guys to go to Pops Racer's Motor Factory and take care of the cars there. He cautions them not to let the police catch on though.

At the factory, which looks like the garage of the Racers' home, Speed and Sparky pull up and spot the bad guys running inside. After they beat up the three up, Speed forces a confession from one and discovers that they're paid by Trotter. When they confront Mr. Trotter he angrily demands to know where Janine is. When Sparky tells him that she and Trixie are driving to Craggy Peaks Mountains, a bad guy says that he rigged the car like Trotter had ordered.

Speed in his Mach Five and Trotter on his steed head to Craggy Mountains. By now, though, Trixie is driving on the winding roads with steep drop-offs. The little red sports car, license # N345, is wildly going 200 km/hr because the brakes have failed. The car begins hitting the guard rail after the steering also goes out. With no ability to control the car, Trixie and Janine crash through a guard rail and land in the valley below. Trixie is dazed but ok, but Janine needs medical attention. Mr. Trotter wants to put her on the horse, but Speed and Trixie say they don't care how he feels about cars. A car is the fastest way to get her help.

Some time passes, maybe a few days. In the hospital, Janine has recovered and receives gifts and balloons from the Racers. Mr. Trotter comes in and is asked by Janine why he hadn't come to see her. He says he was in jail paying for his crimes and the he has learned his lesson. ``A car can be either a weapon or a lifesaver depending on who's driving it.'' Pops points out the window a blue sports car he built himself as a present for Mr. Trotter.

In the city, the Racers are driving back with the Trotters. At an intersection we see two of the three bad guys helping an old lady and even a dog across the street. The third guy is acting a traffic cop. Trotter says he ordered them to help others. And finally, Mr. Trotter relents and lets Janine become a race driver. Speed volunteers to give her lessons -- and Trixie surprisingly agrees!