Mater (voiced by Larry the Cable Guy) was inspired by a 1951 International Harvester[3][4] tow truck but bears more of a resemblance to a 1955-57 Chevrolet or GMC; the actual inspiration may be the 1955-56 version since the hood which Mater recovers at the end of the film after a twenty-year absence lacks the "gunsights" of the 1957 model. Mater runs "Tow Mater Towing and Salvage." Along with the movie, he also stars in an animated short, Mater and the Ghostlight, and acts as an announcer in the Cars video game. He speaks with a thick Southern accent with a bit of hillbilly twang and uses incorrect syntax.

Mater is also the (self-proclaimed) world champion backwards driver. He attributes his skill to his rear-view mirrors and his own philosophy: "Don't need to know where I'm going, just need to know where I've been." In the movie, Mater befriends and supports Lightning throughout his adventure in Radiator Springs. In the end, McQueen gives Mater an opportunity to fly in a Dinoco helicopter like he always wanted. His color was originally baby blue, as shown in a flashback; however, over the years, he has rusted into a patchwork light brown/orange color, with some of the blue still showing through. He is missing his hood and his left headlight (in the short Mater and the Ghostlight, he trembles so much, his right headlight comes loose). In the credits he managed to fish his hood (which has more of its original color on it than the rest of Mater does) from a cliff up in Tailfin Pass, but then sneezed, causing it to fall back down the cliff. His license plate number is A113; the passenger locomotive which nearly crashes into McQueen before his initial entry into Radiator Springs bears the same number on its identification plates. His final personality was based on his voice actor, Larry the Cable Guy, and he uses many of Larry's catchphrases, including "Git-R-Done" during the final race sequence and "I don't care who you are; that's funny right there" during the tractor tipping scene, among others.