Pixar's first Cars short-film series, launched in 2008, was titled Cars Toons.
The series is also known as Mater's Tall Tales because many episodes frame their stories as exaggerated adventures told by Mater. The shorts use the characters and setting of the feature films but generally take a playful, episodic approach rather than advancing the main movie storyline.
The first broadcast short was Rescue Squad Mater, which premiered in October 2008. Other installments place Mater in roles such as a fire truck, a rock star, a Tokyo-style street racer, or a time traveler. Lightning McQueen often appears as a supporting character or listener.
Cars Toons is separate from the Cars feature-film trilogy. The title Cars on the Road was later used for a Disney+ series that premiered in 2022, so the two names should not be treated as interchangeable.