[3] In the summer of 2012, the 12-acre Cars Land theme area opened at Disney California Adventure in Anaheim as the main component of $1-billion park renovation.

Lightning is about to win the race, but helps The King (Richard Petty) cross the finish line after Chick Hicks (Michael Keaton) causes him to crash.

The story starts with Lightning McQueen competing in the World Grand Prix, organized by Sir Miles Axlerod (Eddie Izzard), a three-race event taking place in three countries: Japan, Italy, and England, with his racing rival being Italian formula car Francesco Bernoulli (John Turturro).

The three uncover a plot to sabotage the World Grand Prix, which is seemingly led by Professor Zündapp (Thomas Kretschmann) and a group of lemon cars.

With the plot foiled and the villains defeated, Mater is knighted by the Queen of the United Kingdom (Vanessa Redgrave), and a new race is held in Radiator Springs.

While his weapons get confiscated, he gets to keep the rocket engines he acquired, as the two agents take off in Siddeley (Jason Isaacs), the British spy jet.

As everyone begins to ask him if he might retire, Lightning struggles with keeping up with these racers and during the final race of the season, he suffers a violent crash.

Four months later, a recovering Lightning mourns the late Doc Hudson and travels to the new Rust-eze Racing Center, now under the management of Sterling (Nathan Fillion).

Sterling assigns Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo) to train him on the simulator, which Lightning accidentally destroys after losing control.

During a recent interview at the 2023 Porsche Rennsport Reunion Event, the creative director of the saga, Jay Ward, revealed that they are developing new projects related to the franchise: "There are more Cars things brewing, I can't say much more yet.

[15][16] On December 10, 2020, during Disney's Investors Day event, Pixar announced that an animated series starring Lightning McQueen and Mater traveling the country while meeting friends, new and old, was in development.

[17][18] On November 12, 2021, it was announced that the show would be titled Cars on the Road, and that Owen Wilson and Larry the Cable Guy would reprise their respective roles as Lightning McQueen and Mater.

[20] Mater and the Ghostlight is a 2006 Pixar animated short created for the DVD of the 2006 film Cars, which was released on October 25, 2006, in Australia and the United States on November 7, 2006.

Miss Fritter's Racing Skoool is a 2017 Pixar animated short created for the Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD and DVD of Cars 3, which was released in the United States on November 7, 2017.

[8] The short, set in the Cars world, follows the "blindsided testimonials from the Crazy 8's, touting the transformative impact Miss Fritter's Racing School has had in reshaping the direction of their lives".

[27] In the film, Dusty Crophopper, a small-town cropdusting plane, follows his dreams by competing in a world air race despite his fear of heights.

At first unsuccessful, Dusty and Chug accidentally start a series of events that captures the audience's attention, eventually completing the stunt.

This, however, causes problems in Radiator Springs as the rookies over-do every aspect of their job in an attempt to score commendations, turning the town into a hotbed of taped-off crime scenes.

[33] It was removed from the release schedule in March 2018,[34] and on June 28, shortly after the announcement of Lasseter's departure from Disney,[35] Disneytoon Studios was shut down, ending development on the film.

In its opening weekend, the original Cars earned $60,119,509 in 3,985 theaters in the United States, ranking number one at the box office.

In the United States, the film held onto the number one spot for two weeks before being surpassed by Click, and then by Superman Returns the following weekend.

A video game based on Cars 2 was developed by Avalanche Software and published by Disney Interactive Studios for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PC, and Nintendo DS on June 21, 2011.

[70] It has also been noted that the plot of Cars bears a striking resemblance to that of Doc Hollywood, the 1991 romantic comedy which stars Michael J.

[72] A Cars Life was a series animated by the UAV Corporation, produced by Spark Plug Entertainment, and distributed by Allumination Filmworks.

Several stores had trouble keeping the toys in stock, and some models are still difficult to find[citation needed] because of being shipped in lower numbers than other characters.

[citation needed] Some online Disney enthusiasts are comparing it to the same shortage that Mattel faced with its Toy Story line in 1995.

[citation needed] On August 14, 2007, the die-cast Sarge car, made between May and July 2007, was recalled due to "impermissible levels of lead" used in the paint.

[88] At D23 2024 on August 10, 2024, it was announced that the Magic Kingdom version of Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island would be closed in 2025 to make way for a Frontierland expansion, based on the Cars franchise.

Cars Land opened on June 15, 2012, with the completion of Disney California Adventure's expansion[93] along with Buena Vista Street.

[citation needed] The attraction's setting is car service station in the small town of Radiator Springs located in the desert.