Cars was the first Pixar Cars movie nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. The 2006 film received that nomination at the 79th Academy Awards, although it did not win the category.
Cars competed against films including Happy Feet and Monster House, with Happy Feet receiving the award. The nomination recognized Pixar’s work on a large-scale world of talking vehicles, detailed racing environments, and digitally animated landscapes.
Cars 2, released in 2011, and Cars 3, released in 2017, were also eligible animated features but did not receive Best Animated Feature nominations. Cars 2 was instead notable for expanding the franchise into international espionage and action.
Toy Story 3 is a common source of confusion because it won Best Animated Feature at the 83rd Academy Awards and was another Pixar sequel. However, it is not a Cars film. The question concerns the first entry in the Cars series, which remains the only Cars feature to receive that particular Oscar nomination.