History Music / TheCars

!Let the tropes be told, let them say what they want:

->''You can't go on,\\

Who's gonna drive you home tonight?''
-->"Drive"

Ben died of pancreatic cancer in 2000. Ric continued his solo career, and in 2010, he put together a set of songs that he really liked. A call with Elliot led to a reunion, and ''Move Like This'' was released in May 2011. Greg and producer Jacknife Lee filled in on bass. ''Move Like This'' is a return to the sound of the first two albums. In 2018, the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Ric Ocasek passed away in 2019.

Ben died of pancreatic cancer in 2000. Ric continued his solo career, and in 2010, he put together a set of songs that he really liked. A call with Elliot led to a reunion, and ''Move Like This'' was released in May 2011. Greg and producer Jacknife Lee filled in on bass. ''Move Like This'' is a return to the sound of the first two albums.

* Ric Ocasek: Lead vocals, rhythm guitar, wrote or co-wrote every song

* Benjamin Orr: Lead vocals, bass (1976–88)

* NewSoundAlbum: Two in the span of two years — ;''Panorama'' found them shifting from power pop-inflected new wave to frantic, Music/TalkingHeads-esque post-punk, while ''Shake It Up'' is bouncy, shiny SynthPop.

* ShoutOut: From "They Won't See You":

* LivingADoubleLife: "[[CaptainObvious Double Life]]".

They released a best-of in '85, with one new song, "Tonight She Comes". They took another break in '86; Ric, Ben, and Elliot released solo albums. They reunited in '87. ''Door to Door'', produced by Ocasek, brought them back to their roots as an early New Wave band with a lot of {{Punk|Rock}} influences. They tried to get away from the mechanical sounds of their previous albums, but they didn't make it. Critics panned it, and sales were modest, nothing compared to ''Heartbeat City''. The tour was difficult, with the band drifting apart and a lot of empty seats at each venue. It was enough to give Ric a [[HeroicBSOD nervous breakdown]], and so The Cars broke up for what appeared to be the last time in February 1988. 1995's best-of and rarities collection ''Just What I Needed'' was intended to be the final nail in the coffin. But the band members remained friends, ready to reunite any time Ric was ready.

* LongRunnerLineUp: Type 1's {{logical extreme}}. Formed in 1976, the five members never changed until their breakup in 1988. If the Orr-less lineup lasts to 2020, it will be a Type 2.

* AcCENTUponTheWrongSylLABle: Ric pronouncing "introverts" as "in-TRO-verts" on "Gimme Some Slack". Also, the way he pronounces "cement" in "Touch and Go" makes it sound like...[[JizzedInMyPants something else]].

** "Since You're Gone": "You're so treacher-ESS" (rhymed with "mess"). It may be an AffectatonateParody of Music/BobDylan doing such things in his lyrics - note how Ric's voice becomes more nasal and twangy for that one line.

'''Discography:'''

* {{Fanservice}}: Babe-laden videos, especially "Shake It Up" and "Hello Again".

** A musical one is found in "Just What I Needed" in that it begins with the same guitar riff as "Yummy Yummy Yummy" by Ohio Express.

They took a break in '82; Ric and Greg released solo albums. They reunited in '83, and after eight months of studio tweaking with producer Creator/RobertJohnMuttLange, released ''Heartbeat City'' in early '84. With this album, they nearly completely ditched their PowerPop tendencies and instead went for high-energy, synth-laden high-tech but still rocking {{New Wave|Music}}. Five songs were Top 40 hits, the ballad "Drive" was their highest-charting hit at #3 ({{Prince}}'s "Let's Go Crazy" kept them from #1), and MTV put the videos for "You Might Think", "Magic", and "Drive" into heavy rotation. They performed at Live Aid, and were superstars... [[FifteenMinutesOfFame for about two years]].

They took a break in '82; Ric and Greg released solo albums. They reunited in '83, and after eight months of studio tweaking with producer Creator/RobertJohnMuttLange, released ''Heartbeat City'' in early '84. With this album, they nearly completely ditched their PowerPop tendencies and instead went for high-energy, synth-laden high-tech but still rocking [[NewWaveMusic New Wave]]. Five songs were Top 40 hits, the ballad "Drive" was their highest-charting hit at #3 ({{Prince}}'s "Let's Go Crazy" kept them from #1), and MTV put the videos for "You Might Think", "Magic", and "Drive" into heavy rotation. They performed at Live Aid, and were superstars... [[FifteenMinutesOfFame for about two years]].

They released a best-of in '85, with one new song, "Tonight She Comes". They took another break in '86; Ric, Ben, and Elliot released solo albums. They reunited in '87. ''Door to Door'', produced by Ocasek, brought them back to their roots as an early New Wave band with a lot of [[PunkRock Punk]] influences. They tried to get away from the mechanical sounds of their previous albums, but they didn't make it. Critics panned it, and sales were modest, nothing compared to ''Heartbeat City''. The tour was difficult, with the band drifting apart and a lot of empty seats at each venue. It was enough to give Ric a [[HeroicBSOD nervous breakdown]], and so The Cars broke up for what appeared to be the last time in February 1988. 1995's best-of and rarities collection ''Just What I Needed'' was intended to be the final nail in the coffin. But the band members remained friends, ready to reunite any time Ric was ready.

* MrFanservice: Benjamin Orr. Seriously go onto YouTube and look at most of the comments which are about his looks.

* BiTheWay: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ci7z6_auVQA Ric.]]

* ConspicuousCG: The music video for ''You Might Think''. Justified that it was in 1984; CGI was relatively new at the time, and it is one of the first music videos to use CGI.

One of the most successful American [[NewWaveMusic New Wave]][=/=]PowerPop bands, and a pioneer in distilling the various strains of New Wave into something that was both progressive and accessible.

* {{Adorkable}}: Ric, in both voice and looks. Especially on his less-cynical songs like "Victim Of Love" and "Magic". He practically [[UrExample invented]] the de facto "dork rock" look that would take off in the '90s.

* AcCENTUponTheWrongSylLABle: Ric pronouncing "introverts" as "in-TRO-verts" on "Gimme Some Slack". Also, the way he pronounces "cement" in "Touch And Go" makes it sound like...[[JizzedInMyPants something else]].

* ConspicuousCG: The music video for ''You Might Think''. Justified that it was 1984 when CGI was relatively new at the time, and this is one of the first music videos to use CGI.

* LargeHam: Happens surprisingly often for a band often stereotyped as cold and detached. Ben hams it up on "Bye Bye Love" and "Don't Tell Me No," Ric on "You're All I've Got Tonight" and "Getting Through" (Both of those pairs of songs also happen to be consecutive on their respective albums.) ''The entire band'' turns into pure pork on "Door To Door".

* LongRunnerLineUp: Type A's logical extension. Formed in 1976, the five members never changed until their breakup in 1988. If the Orr-less lineup lasts to 2020, it will be a Type D.

* MushroomSamba: A rather literal example in "I'm In Touch With Your World" with the line "I'm a psilocybin pony".
* NewSoundAlbum: Two in the span of two years — ''Panorama'' found them shifting from power pop-inflected new wave to frantic, Music/TalkingHeads-esque post-punk, while ''Shake It Up'' is bouncy, shiny synth-pop.

* RecordProducer: Ric produced ''Door to Door'' and many albums by other bands, during and after his time with The Cars. Credits include Music/BadReligion's ''The Gray Race'', Music/{{Weezer}}'s ''Blue'' and ''Green'' self-titled albums, and The Pink Spiders' ''Teenage Graffiti''. [[Music/{{Queen}} Roy Thomas Baker]] produced the first four albums, and RobertJohnMuttLange produced ''Heartbeat City''.

* TitleTrack: "Candy-O", "Panorama", "Shake It Up", "Heartbeat City", "Door To Door".

* WordSaladLyrics: "I'm in Touch with Your World," "Gimme Some Slack," "A Dream Away," and "Cruiser."

* SillyLoveSongs: Most of their work.

* VocalTagTeam

* AccentUponTheWrongSyllable: Ric pronouncing "introverts" as "in-TRO-verts" on "Gimme Some Slack". Also, the way he pronounces "cement" in "Touch And Go" makes it sound like...[[JizzedInMyPants something else.]]

* [[NewWaveMusic New Wave]]: One of the genre's essential bands.

* FadingIntoTheNextSong: "Think It Over" to "Maybe Baby", "Coming Up You" to "Wound Up On You".

* LeadingADoubleLife: "Double Life".

* FadingIntoTheNextSong: "Moving in Stereo" to "All Mixed Up", "Think It Over" to "Maybe Baby", "Coming Up You" to "Wound Up On You".
** "Double Life" to "Shoo Be Doo" to "Candy-O."

* RecordProducer: Ric produced ''Door to Door'' and many albums by other bands, during and after his time with The Cars. Credits include Music/BadReligion's ''The Gray Race'', Music/{{Weezer}}'s ''Blue'' and ''Green'' self-titled albums, and The Pink Spiders' ''Teenage Graffiti''.
** Roy Thomas Baker produced the first four albums, and RobertJohnMuttLange produced ''Heartbeat City''.

* LeadBassist: Benjamin Orr.