Vroomaroundus Bugus is a species of insect that appears in the Cars franchise. They often serve as an annoyance to many of the characters (similar to how flies in real life annoy humans). What type of insect they are is unclear, as they have exhibited behaviors identical to that of both flies and lightning bugs. They shine their headlights at night. Their engine sound is a sped up Volkswagen Beetle motor sound. Their vehicle model is a 1960's VW Bug.
Cars[]
Several individual bugs of this species appear in the post-credits scene where Mini and Van are still desperately trying to find an on ramp to get to their destination while dirty and slowly moving in the middle of a deserted area in Ornament Valley. The bugs fly around Van as he arrogantly claims he knows there is an on-ramp close. After Van devilishly laughs and drives away, one of them then accidentally bumps into the camera, leaving a mark. Confused and embarrassed about the situation, he flies away awkwardly. The scene then fades to black.
Mater and the Ghostlight[]
In Mater and the Ghostlight, after being warned about the Ghostlight by the Sheriff, Mater scarily attempts to go to sleep, and then sees a glowing light come towards him. He initially believes it to be the Ghostlight, but then realizes it's just a Vroomaroundus Bugus with its headlights on.
Heavy Metal Mater[]
In Heavy Metal Mater, a Vroomaroundus Bugus is seen flying near the Drummer Pitty, who tries to shoo it away, but keeps hitting the drums and cymbals with his drumsticks, causing Mater and the band to change their style of music.
Bugged[]
In Bugged, Red is seen watering his flowers when a Vroomaroundus Bugus flies up to him. It starts to annoy him and he tries to shoo it away with his hose. He eventually get the bug to stop bothering him, but when he sees the bug wounded and unable to fly underneath the Stanley statue, he feels bad for it and blows the water off of the bug to heal it. He is happy to see the bug able to fly again. However, much to his annoyance, the bug honks its horn to call for other bugs, and they all swarm in on him.
Cars on the Road[]
In Cars on the Road, while Mater and Mato are doing a staring contest in a series of challenges to prove who's better, a Vroomaroundus Bugus flies up to Mater's face, causing him to blink uncontrollably.
Trivia[]
- The buzzing sounds used for these bugs are actual VW Bug sounds sped up.
- The markings on the wing, if highlighted correctly, form the letters "V" on top of a "W".
- They are flies, who are changed to mini-cars with wings.
- The Vroomaroundus Bugus is a literal interpretation of the Volkswagen Beetle, the car the insect appears to be based on.
- While the first Cars film portrayed all VW Bugs as literal insects, the sequel for some reason retconned this so that there are also "human" VW Bugs instead. It also featured "animal" planes and trains, but we have yet to see "human" farm and construction equipment.
- He might be similar to the car version of Flik, except that he only has wings.
