Melanie Hannah Lynette Quarry is one of the main protagonists of the film Herbie Returns and the sequel series The New Adventures of Herbie. Growing up, Melanie has always had an interest in cars. Many people judged her for it because they thought it was a "weird" hobby for a girl. Despite that, she never let the naysayers bother her. As an adult, she eventually manages, after a lot of driving lessons and training from her supportive brother Blaine, to become a successful driver, with her own car who she names "Myra", and also begins a relationship with famous Scottish racer Scott Gallen (much to the chagrin of some people who didn't believe a black woman should be with a white man). She one day meets Jim Douglas, his girlfriend Carole, his friend Tennessee, and his car, Herbie, and befriends them. She unfortunately becomes an enemy of Peter Thorndykeand his car Horace (Horace didn't appear in the original 1969 film, but in this universe he did). At first, while Horace is hostile towards Melanie, Thorndyke tries to look good to her using his British charm, until he notices she and Myra are winning more races than him as well as being friends with Jim, who is his rival. Due to this, he and Horace often put her in dangerous situations (a notable example is a time where she's driving the Golden Gate Bridge and he pushes her over, hoping that she will fall into the bay), requiring Team Herbie and Scott to save her. While she is friends with Jim and company, she also becomes close to Herbie, and the bug develops a crush on her (which she doesn't notice). She later on gives Myra a new paint job, painting red and white stripes on her as a tribute to Herbie (which he absolutely adores).