What was the title of the first Cars short film, released in 2006?

The first Cars short film, released in 2006, was titled Mater and the Ghostlight.

Mater and the Ghostlight is a short companion to the original Cars. In the story, the residents of Radiator Springs play a prank on Mater by telling him about a mysterious blue ghostlight. The joke is designed to scare the tow truck, whose confidence and storytelling often make him an easy target for teasing.

The short was released on the Cars DVD and Blu-ray and later became part of the Cars Toons material. It is separate from the later Mater’s Tall Tales series, which began in 2008 and presents Mater’s exaggerated stories about adventures around the world.

The title can be confused with The Radiator Springs 500½, a later Cars Toons special, or Tokyo Mater, another short centered on Mater. Mater and the Ghostlight is notable as the earliest Cars short and for expanding the original film’s supporting cast.