The single was first issued in the US in February 1980, where it peaked at #4 on the Cash Box Top 100 and #9 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on June 7, 1980, remaining at that position for three weeks.
According to Numan, the song's lyrics were inspired by an incident of road rage: I was in traffic in London once and had a problem with some people in front.
Upon its release in 1979, Smash Hits reviewer Steve Bush wrote: "With its distant haunting message of doom, "Cars" doesn't stray very far from the themes of the excellent 'Replicas" album, although the new lyrics are shorter and the vocals sharper.
[16] Garry Bushell in Sounds was cynical of both Numan and the single, yet adds, "Jimmy Pursey tells me this will be number one.
Writing for The Guardian in 2012, George Chesterton found "the force of the multi-layered Moog synthesiser parts is almost overwhelming.
Chesterton also noted that the song, unlike many similar contemporaries, had aged well lyrically: "Cars contains a bit of futurology that was rather sophisticated.
James Frost of Zoo Films directed the video, and Synn Labs, which had previously worked with the band OK Go, engineered the cars.
[30] Fear Factory, an American industrial metal band, recorded a version of "Cars" and released it as the second single from their album Obsolete.
The song was only included as a bonus track on the limited edition digipak re-release of Obsolete and would be instrumental in breaking Fear Factory into the mainstream.
Upon request, Numan's management flew him out to the Vancouver studio for a three-day span to record vocals on "Cars."
[32] Numan had a long-standing dislike for being associated with what he perceived as dated music, and this initially made him apprehensive of working with Fear Factory until realizing "there was a chance that it could introduce me to a new generation of people who didn't know my history.
"[33] The uncharacteristically bouncy and bright rendition somewhat contrasts with Fear Factory's reputation for intense, grinding metal, while the heavy use of synthesizer and other electronic elements corresponds with the band's industrial style.
Herrera later noted that the group initially wanted to record U2's "New Year's Day" but chose "Cars" because they were fortunate enough to have Numan participate.
[35] According to Herrera, the cover received greater enthusiasm in the UK than in the band's native US, which was validated by its chart status.
[38] The song was featured as the main theme for Test Drive 6, a video game released in 1999 for the PlayStation and Dreamcast consoles.
[39] Numan also appears in the sci-fi music video, directed by John S. Bartley and filmed in Vancouver, which debuted in June 1999.
Bell enthusiastically described the ambitious video as having a "Stanley Kubrick-type of vibe to it": [Bartley] put Gary and me into harnesses and we had to simulate floating in space.