The Cars is the debut studio album by American  band , released on June 6, 1978, by . Produced by , the album spawned the singles "", "", and "". It peaked at number 18 on the US  and has been certified six-times platinum by the  (RIAA).

Formed in Boston in 1976, the Cars consisted of , , , , and , all of whom had been in and out of multiple bands throughout the 1970s. After becoming a club staple, the band recorded a number of demos in early 1977. Some of these songs later appeared in finished form on The Cars, such as "" and "", while others were saved for a later release, such as "Leave or Stay" and "Ta Ta Wayo Wayo" (both of which later saw release on their 1987 album ). The demos for "Just What I Needed" and "My Best Friend's Girl" were often played on Boston radio by DJ Maxanne Sartori, giving the band frequent airplay.

Both  and  attempted to sign the band, but in the end, Elektra was chosen, due to its lack of new wave acts, allowing the band to stand out more than they would have had they signed with the new wave-heavy Arista. Robinson said of the choice, "Here they had the  and , and along comes this crazy Boston band who wanted a black-and-white photo collage on their cover." - Wikipedia.

Elektra Records 1978  6E-135

Track listing

Side oneNo.TitleWriter(s)VocalsLength1.""OcasekOcasek3:442.""OcasekOcasek3:443.""Ocasek3:444.""OcasekOcasek3:315.""OcasekOcasek3:01Total length:17:44Side twoNo.TitleWriter(s)VocalsLength6.""OcasekOcasek4:137.""OcasekOrr4:148."" Ocasek Orr4:469.""OcasekOrr4:14Total length:17:27 35:11