The first Pixar film in the Cars franchise was titled Cars.
Cars was released in 2006 and introduced Lightning McQueen, Mater, Sally Carrera, Doc Hudson, and the residents of Radiator Springs. Its story follows Lightning after he becomes stranded in the small town while traveling to a tiebreaker race for the Piston Cup.
The film was directed by John Lasseter and Joe Ranft, with Lasseter serving as the primary director. It was Pixar’s seventh feature film and its final film distributed by Disney before Disney completed its acquisition of Pixar in 2006.
Cars later received two direct sequels: Cars 2 in 2011 and Cars 3 in 2017. Planes is a separate animated film set in a related vehicle-themed world, but it is not one of Pixar’s Cars films. The franchise also expanded through shorts, merchandise, and theme-park attractions.