Pixar's Cars is dedicated to co-director Joe Ranft.
Ranft was a major Pixar story artist, screenwriter, and director who co-directed Cars with John Lasseter and Dan Scanlon. He died in a car accident in August 2005, before the film's 2006 theatrical release. The finished movie includes a dedication to his memory.
Ranft contributed to many important Pixar productions, including Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, and The Incredibles. He also voiced several characters, including Red and Peter Clawhauser in Pixar projects. His storytelling work helped shape the emotional structure and humor of Cars.
The dedication is sometimes confused with the film's creative credits or with later tributes to Paul Newman, who voiced Doc Hudson. Newman died after Cars was released, while Ranft died during the production period. Cars 2 and Cars 3 are later sequels and are not the film identified by this original dedication.