Movie teaser boosts ‘Cars’ a year ahead

Moviegoers will get their first “Cars” ride this weekend.

A teaser trailer for what is likely to be the final Disney/Pixar computer-animated comedy will be featured before their latest collaboration, “The Incredibles.”

“Cars” isn’t due in theaters until November 2005, but the studios hope to rev up the early buzz for the first feature directed by Pixar co-founder and “Incredibles” executive producer John Lasseter since 1999’s “Toy Story 2.”

The movie centers on speed-obsessed race car Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson), who gets lost on his way to the track.

He lands in Radiator Springs, a downtrodden town off fabled Route 66 that’s been bypassed by the interstate and learns about what really matters from the cars of the 1950s and ‘60s.

Hoping to tap into public’s growing appetite for auto racing, “Cars” also features the voices of track aficionado Paul Newman, who continues to compete at age 79, and NASCAR great Richard Petty.