Pixar's Cars was released in 2006.
The film premiered on May 26, 2006, at the Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, before its wide release on June 9. It was Pixar's seventh feature film and followed The Incredibles (2004).
Cars was directed by John Lasseter, Joe Ranft, and Dan Fogelman, with Lasseter receiving the primary directing credit. Its story follows Lightning McQueen, a rookie race car who becomes stranded in the small town of Radiator Springs while traveling to the final race of the Piston Cup season.
A common mix-up is confusing the film's release year with the year of Cars 2, which arrived in 2011, or Cars 3, which followed in 2017. The original Cars also introduced characters such as Mater, Sally Carrera, Doc Hudson, and Ramone.