Herbie: Fully Loaded

During the opening credits, viewers are reintroduced to the once famous Herbie – The Love Bug. It is revealed that he has been a famous racing car, but eventually went into a decline. Viewers then see that he has been consigned to a junkyard, where he is condemmed to demolition.

The focus then shifts a college graduation ceremony. There, one Maggie Peyton (Lindsay Lohan) becomes the first of her family to receive a college degree. Maggie will be spending the next few weeks living with her father Ray Peyton (Michael Keaton), owner of the Peyton Racing Team. This team, founded by Maggie's grandfather, has been famous in the past, but Maggie's brother Ray Jr. (Breckin Meyer), who is currently its driver, is incompetent. His lack of drivers' skill and of any passion for racing has led to the team's lack of victories, which in turn have caused its sponsors to lose confidence. Maggie, under the influence of her family, was once a great street racer, but as a result of an accident, her frightened father refuses to let Maggie race again. Instead, Maggie is designated to go to New York to work as an assistant producer for ESPN.

Ray decides to get a car for Maggie as a graduation present. Due to their lack of money, all he can do is bring her to the junk yard and tell her to choose the car she wants. Maggie goes from car to car, never paying attention to Herbie although he is constantly trying to make himself noticed. When Maggie has chosen a car, Herbie drops from a crane onto it. Frustrated, Maggie buys Herbie instead.

Upon entering Herbie's interior, Maggie is given a wild ride by the relieved Beetle through the back streets of the town. They arrive in the garage of an old friend and would-be beau of Maggie's, Kevin (Justin Long), who was Maggie's mechanic during her street races.

Kevin agrees to help fix Herbie and joins Maggie for a test drive. Once again, Herbie takes over and races through town, bringing them to a car show featuring the current NASCAR champion, Trip Murphy (Matt Dillon). Maggie does not admit to any of those who address her that she owns Herbie; annoyed, he sprays oil on Maggie's shirt. Luckily, there is a racing jumpsuit and helmet in the trunk, so Maggie wears the jumpsuit to replace her own clothes. When she searches for the key, Herbie literally knocks Maggie into the helmet. On the helmet is the name "Max", which presumably belonged to a previous unseen driver of Herbie. When Trip Murphy insults Herbie, Herbie defaces Trip's prized racing car.

An offended Trip confronts the helmeted Maggie, whom he does not recognize, and challenges her to a street race. Herbie takes over during the race, but eventually Maggie learns to control the car and rides the rail of a fence to pass Trip and win the challenge. ESPN films the whole thing.

Later that day, back at home, her dad's main sponsor, Sally (Cheryl Hines), brings a tape record of the race to show Ray as a joke. Ray sees Herbie winning the race and confronts Maggie, who improvises the lie that 'Max' is a friend of Kevin's, who had borrowed Herbie for the match.

In his workshop, Trip is ashamed of having lost to a Volkswagen Beetle. Seeking revenge, he sponsors a two-day, $10,000 challenge to all street racers.The first day is to be spent finding the local street champion; on the second day, Trip will challenge that champion to a match.

Kevin and Maggie restore Herbie. 'Max', as Maggie is called when hidden by her helmet, races and wins the first day of competition. That night, Trip approaches Maggie and lets her drive his NASCAR racing car, so as to distract her with pleasure while trying to discover Herbie's secret within the engine. He fails to discover the secret.

Maggie returns; Trip, suspecting that 'Max' and Maggie are the same person, wagers his racing car against Herbie on the coming race. Maggie accepts the wager.

The next day, the race occurs. When Maggie, now partially a believer in Herbie's intelligence, urges him on so that she may win Trip's racing car, Herbie refuses to complete the race. Maggie is further disgraced when she responds to Trip's command that she remove her helmet and reveal her identity.

Now the new owner of Herbie, Trip loads the Bug up onto a transporting truck and takes him away. Ray rebukes Maggie for lying to him.

Maggie, distraught and ashamed of her own behavior, approaches Trip to buy the car back, but finds that he has already sold Herbie to the owner of the local demolition derby. This derby is a gladiatorial competition, wherein the drivers of several cars drive at great speed/velocity toward each other, intending to crash and shatter their opponents.

Maggie heads out to the derby arena and is shocked to see a trembling Herbie in the middle. The owner tells Maggie that if Herbie survives intact, then she can have him. Maggie rushes out into the ring, dodging cars as she runs towards Herbie. She vows never to "give up" on him, whereupon he resumes his customary agility, audacity, and finesse. He spectacularly leaves the arena, destroying a Monster Truck in the process.

Meanwhile, back at Peyton Racing, Ray Jr. is accepted into the coming weekend's NASCAR race, but crashes and injures himself thereafter. His depth perception is damaged, leaving him incapable of driving. Maggie offers to drive in his place, but is refused on the grounds that she is all that remains to her father of his dead wife.

Back at Kevin's garage, a dejected Maggie and Kevin try half-heartedly to decide what to do with Herbie. The Peyton Racing Team arrive, led by Ray Jr. He tells Maggie that he wants her to drive. Maggie agrees, on the condition that she drive Herbie and no other. Herbie is therefore rebuilt into a standard racing car.

On the next day, Maggie and Herbie confront Trip, leaving him frustrated.

The race begins. Herbie and Maggie are at first left behind, but proceed. As they slowly progress to the front of the line, Herbie is cornered by the other cars on all sides. Maggie, frightened, is contacted over a radio transceiver by her father, who has come to help her reach victory. When the car behind Herbie knocks him onto the car before, he climbs over it and continues his advance.

The collision damages Herbie's oil tanks; the mechanics replace them with similar tanks taken from Sally's Volkswagen. Though this has temporarily solved the problem, Maggie is warned that she should be careful not to bump into the other cars, as it may put Herbie in danger.

Hearing this, Maggie considers surrender. Herbie, however, refuses to agree to this. He resumes the race, with Maggie in his seat, and soon brings himself to the attention of Trip Murphy.

Trip's team-mates advise him to concentrate on the race and take care of revenge later; but he disregards the advice. He tries repeatedly to crush Herbie and Maggie against a wall.

In the execution of such a manouvere, Trip misses and his car hits the wall at full speed. Trip loses control and lands upside down in front of Maggie. Herbie, at this, rolls onto the fence above Trip, rides on it at an unconventional angle, and lands perfectly in front of Trip. This echoes the move he made in Herbie Rides Again of going up the side of a cliff, as well as a similar move executed at the end of Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo, wherein he won by overtaking his rival on the roof of the Monte Carlo F1 curcuit. Herbie concludes his present race on a plot of grass grown in the middle of the oviform racing track. The crowd, having grown engrossed in Herbie's progress, celebrates this triumph.

Trip's frustration at having lost so spectacularly combines with his correct guess that Herbie is "alive" (ergo, autonomous and intelligent), causing him to accuse Herbie in a manner that leads his teammates to brand him insane. He is therefore incarcerated.

Kevin's romantic interest in Maggie is finally fulfilled when Herbie, noticing their proximity and the trend of their conversation, knocks them together. They kiss one another.

Herbie, too, is given romantic fulfillment when Ray permits him to court Sally's yellow Volkswagen Beetle, whom he has earlier met. Ray, however, insists on a curfew.

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