Pixar’s Cars was first released theatrically in 2006.
The film opened in the United States on June 9, 2006, after its world premiere at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on May 26. It was Pixar’s seventh feature film and followed The Incredibles, which had opened in 2004.
Cars introduced Lightning McQueen, Mater, Sally Carrera, and the residents of Radiator Springs. Its story combined a road-trip structure with a racing plot, while its setting drew heavily on America’s historic Route 66 and roadside towns.
Cars became one of Pixar’s major commercial successes and began a franchise that later included Cars 2 in 2011 and Cars 3 in 2017. The year 2006 refers to the original feature, not the later Cars Toons shorts or television productions.