The film stars an ensemble voice cast of Owen Wilson, Paul Newman (in his final voice acting theatrical film role), Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy, Tony Shalhoub, Cheech Marin, Michael Wallis, George Carlin, Paul Dooley, Jenifer Lewis, Guido Quaroni, Michael Keaton, Katherine Helmond, John Ratzenberger and Richard Petty, while race car drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr. (as "Junior"), Mario Andretti, Michael Schumacher and car enthusiast Jay Leno (as "Jay Limo") voice themselves.

Set in a world populated entirely by anthropomorphic vehicles, the film follows a young self-obsessed racecar named Lightning McQueen who, on the way to the most important race of his life, becomes stranded in a forgotten town along U.S. Route 66 called Radiator Springs, where he learns about friendship and begins to reevaluate his priorities.

It was announced that the producers agreed that it could be the next Pixar film after A Bug's Life, scheduled for a 1999 release, particularly around June 4; the idea was later scrapped in favor of Toy Story 2.

The event intensifies a rivalry between the retiring seven-time champion, Strip "The King" Weathers, the cunning Chick Hicks, and the talented but overconfident rookie, Lightning McQueen, who are all tied for the most points.

Desperate to win and leave the unglamorous sponsorship of Rust-eze for the prestigious Dinoco, Lightning struggles with teamwork due to his self-centered attitude.

Lightning repaves the road shoddily in a rush to leave, and Doc challenges him to a race for his freedom, on the condition that he starts over from scratch if he loses.

Over time, Lightning warms up to and befriends the town's residents, especially Mater, a rusty tow truck, and Sally, who dreams of reviving Radiator Springs.

Lightning also discovers that the bitter Doc, reticent about his past, used to race as the legendary Hudson Hornet until a disastrous crash ended his career.

[10] Some of the original drawings and characters were developed in 1998 and the producers agreed that Cars could be the next Pixar film after A Bug's Life and be released in early 1999, particularly around June 4.

Wallis then led eleven Pixar animators in rented white Cadillacs on two different road trips across the route to research the film.

We were then able to add in things like metallic flake to give it a glittery sparkle, a pearlescent quality that might change color depending on the angle, and even a layer of pin-striping for characters like Ramone.

In the past, we've mostly used environment maps and other matte-based technology to cheat reflections, but for Cars we added a ray-tracing capability to our existing Renderman program to raise the bar for Pixar.

[20] Cars was released on DVD, in both its original theatrical 2.39:1 anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio and an open matte 1:33.1 fullscreen edition, on November 7, 2006, in the United States and Canada.

[22] This THX certified release also features an Easter egg in the main menu, which is a 45-second clip showing a Cars version of Boundin'.

[29] The latter's bonus was a Rev'd Up DVD Disc that featured material mostly already released as part of the official Cars podcast and focused on the inspiration and production of the movie.

[43] In the UK, Cars managed to beat out Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest to claim the number one spot, earning $3.4 million in its opening weekend.

The website's critics consensus reads, "Cars offers visual treats that more than compensate for its somewhat thinly written story, adding up to a satisfying diversion for younger viewers.

[49] William Arnold of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer praised it as "one of Pixar's most imaginative and thoroughly appealing movies ever,"[50] and Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly called it "a work of American art as classic as it is modern.

"[51] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three out of four stars, saying that it "tells a bright and cheery story, and then has a little something profound lurking around the edges.

"[52] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film three and a half stars out of four, saying, "Fueled with plenty of humor, action, heartfelt drama, and amazing new technical feats, Cars is a high octane delight for moviegoers of all ages.

"[53] Richard Corliss of Time gave the film a positive review, saying, "Existing both in turbo-charged today and the gentler '50s, straddling the realms of Pixar styling and old Disney heart, this new-model Cars is an instant classic.

"[54] Brian Lowry of Variety gave the film a negative review, saying, "Despite representing another impressive technical achievement, it's the least visually interesting of the computer-animation boutique's movies, and—in an ironic twist for a story about auto racing—drifts slowly through its semi-arid midsection.

"[55] Robert Wilonsky of The Village Voice gave the film a positive review, saying, "What ultimately redeems Cars from turning out a total lemon is its soul.

"[56] Ella Taylor of L.A. Weekly gave the film a positive review, saying, "Cars cheerfully hitches cutting-edge animation to a folksy narrative plugging friendship, community and a Luddite mistrust of high tech.

"[57] Gene Seymour of Newsday gave the film three out of four stars, saying, "And as pop flies go, Cars is pretty to watch, even as it loops, drifts and, at times, looks as if it's just hanging in midair.

"[58] Colin Covert of the Star Tribune gave the film a positive review, saying, "It takes everything that's made Pixar shorthand for animation excellence—strong characters, tight pacing, spot-on voice casting, a warm sense of humor and visuals that are pure, pixilated bliss—and carries them to the next stage.

"[61] Jessica Reaves of the Chicago Tribune gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying, "While it's a technically perfect movie, its tone is too manic, its characters too jaded and, in the end, its story too empty to stand up to expectations.

"[64] Amy Biancolli of the Houston Chronicle gave the film three out of four stars, saying, "It thunders ahead with breezy abandon, scoring big grins on its way.

"[67] Moira MacDonald of The Seattle Times gave the film three and a half stars out of four, saying, "Though the central idea of nostalgia for a quieter, small-town life may well be lost on this movie's young audience—Cars finds a pleasant and often sparkling groove.

[85] Directed by Brian Fee, the film focuses on Lightning McQueen, now a veteran racer, who after being overshadowed by a new generation of racecars, gets help from Cruz Ramirez, a young performance coupe, to instruct him for the increasingly high-tech world and defeat his new rival Jackson Storm.