Who directed Pixar’s first Cars movie, released in 2006?

John Lasseter directed Pixar’s first Cars movie, released in 2006.

Lasseter co-directed Toy Story and directed several of Pixar’s early successes before leading Cars. The film marked Pixar’s seventh feature and combined talking vehicles with a story influenced by American road culture and Route 66.

Joe Ranft was credited as co-director and also contributed significantly to the film’s story and characters. Ranft had been a major Pixar story artist and had worked on earlier films including Toy Story and A Bug’s Life.

Cars was Lasseter’s final solo directing credit for a Pixar feature before he moved into broader creative leadership at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. Brad Bird, Pete Docter, and Andrew Stanton are also major Pixar directors, but they directed other films rather than the original Cars.