Cars is the first Pixar film featuring Lightning McQueen.
Released in 2006, Cars introduces McQueen as a talented but self-centered rookie race car competing in the Piston Cup. After becoming stranded near Radiator Springs, he is required to repair the town’s damaged road and gradually forms relationships with its residents. The experience changes his priorities and begins the franchise’s central character arc.
Cars was Pixar’s seventh feature film and was directed by John Lasseter, with Joe Ranft as co-director. It became the foundation for two direct sequels: Cars 2 in 2011 and Cars 3 in 2017. The franchise later expanded into short films, merchandise, theme-park attractions, and the series Cars on the Road.
Planes is a separate animated film from Disneytoon Studios set in the broader vehicle world, but it is not the first Pixar film featuring McQueen. The title answer is simply Cars, without a sequel number.