The discography of the American rock band the Cars includes seven studio albums, eight compilation albums, four video albums and 26 singles. Originating in Boston in 1976, the band originally consisted of singer and guitarist Ric Ocasek, singer and bassist Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes, and drummer David Robinson. The band disbanded in 1988 and Orr died of pancreatic cancer in 2000. The band reformed in 2010 without Orr and released another studio album the following year before disbanding again shortly after. The Cars sold over 23 million albums in the United States and had 13 singles that reached the Top 40. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018 and reunited for the final time at the ceremony, and Ocasek died of natural causes the following year.
Albums Studio albums Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications(sales threshold) US AUS CANPeak positions for the Cars' albums in Canada: The Cars: Candy-O: Panorama: Shake It Up: Heartbeat City: Greatest Hits: Door to Door: More Like This: The Complete Greatest Hits: GER JPN NL NZ SWE SWI UK The Cars Release date: June 6, 1978 Label: Elektra Formats: LP, MC, 8-track 18 35 50 — — — 5 — — 29 US: 6× Platinum AUS: 2× Platinum UK: Silver MC: 2× Platinum NZ: Gold Candy-O Release date: June 2, 1979 Label: Elektra Formats: LP, MC, 8-track 3 7 4 — — — 6 — — 30 US: 4× Platinum Panorama Release date: August 15, 1980 Label: Elektra Formats: LP, MC, 8-track 5 19 10 — 69 — 14 — — — US: Platinum MC: Platinum Shake It Up Release date: November 6, 1981 Label: Elektra Formats: LP, MC, 8-track 9 20 7 — — 40 12 — — — US: 2× Platinum MC: Platinum Heartbeat City Release date: March 12, 1984 Label: Elektra Formats: CD, LP, MC, 8-track 3 15 5 15 22 41 1 26 20 25 US: 4× Platinum NZ: Gold UK: Gold Door to Door Release date: August 25, 1987 Label: Elektra Formats: CD, LP, MC, 8-track 26 26 19 57 32 — 10 29 20 72 US: Gold Move Like This Release date: May 10, 2011 Label: Hear Music Formats: CD, LP, digital download 7 — 22 — — — — — — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart.
Compilation albums Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications(sales threshold) US AUS CAN JPN NZ UK Greatest Hits Release date: October 18, 1985 Label: Elektra Formats: CD, LP, MC, 8-track 12 32172 2 27 US: 6× Platinum AUS: 4× Platinum NZ: Gold UK: Gold Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology Release date: November 7, 1995 Label: Elektra Formats: 2xCD, 2xMC — ——— — — Shake It Up & Other Hits Release date: June 19, 2001 Label: Elektra/Rhino Formats: CD — ——— — — Complete Greatest Hits Release date: February 19, 2002 Label: Elektra/Rhino Formats: CD, MC 32 6555— 10 — AUS: Gold The Essentials Release date: August 30, 2005 Label: WEA International Formats: CD — ——— — — Classic Tracks Release date: November 2008 Label: Elektra/Rhino Formats: CD Limited release — ——— — — Greatest Hits & More Release date: 2008 Label: Timeless Media Group Formats: CD — ——— — — Moving in Stereo: The Best of The Cars Release date: 6 May 2016 Label: Rhino Formats: CD, 2xLP, digital download — ——— — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart.
Box sets Title Album details Original Album Series Release date: 1 March 2010 Label: Rhino Formats: 5xCD Studio Album Collection: 1978–1987 Release date: March 16, 2014 Label: Elektra/Rhino Formats: digital download The Elektra Years 1978–1987 Release date: March 11, 2016 Label: Elektra Formats: 6xCD, 6xLP, digital download
Singles Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications(sales threshold) Album US US Rock AUS CAN FRA GER NL NZ SWE UK "Just What I Needed" 1978 27 — 96 35 4 — — 38 — 17BPI: Silver The Cars "My Best Friend's Girl" 35 — 67 55 — — 40 — — 3 "Good Times Roll" 1979 41 — — 74 5 — — — — — "Let's Go" 14 — 6 5 — — — 40 — 51Candy-O "It's All I Can Do" 41 — — 17 — — — — — — "Double Life" — — — — — — — — — — "Touch and Go" 1980 37 — 62 16 2 — — 42 — — Panorama "Don't Tell Me No" — — — — — — — — — — "Gimme Some Slack" 1981 — — — — — — — — — — "Shake It Up" 4 2 10 7 10 — 48 26 — — Shake It Up "Cruiser" — 37 — — — — — — — — "Since You're Gone"1982 41 24 — — 10 — — — — 37 "Victim of Love" — 39 — — — — — — — — "Think It Over" — — — — — — — — — — "You Might Think"1984 7 1 24 8 — — 49 27 20 88 Heartbeat City "Magic" 12 1 96 14 10 — — 50 — — "Drive" 3 3 10 6 9 4 12 5 15 4 BPI: Gold "Hello Again" 20 22 52 42 4 27 — 12 — — "It's Not the Night" — 31 — — — — — — — — "Why Can't I Have You" 1985 33 11 — 90 — — — — — — "Heartbeat City" — — 75 — — — — — — 78 "Tonight She Comes" 7 1 16 36 — — — 20 — 79 Greatest Hits "I'm Not the One (remix)" 1986 32 29 75 82 — — — — — — Greatest Hits (Shake It Up) "You Are the Girl" 1987 17 2 69 33 — — — 30 — — Door to Door "Strap Me In" 85 4 — — — — — — — — "Coming Up You" 1988 74 — — — — — — — — — "Sad Song" 2011 — 33 — — — — — — — — Move Like This "—" denotes releases that did not chart.
Videos Video albums Title Album details Peak chart positions US UK Heartbeat City Release date: September 1984 Label: Warner Home Video Formats: VHS, Betamax, LaserDisc 10 16 Live 1984–1985 Release date: October 1985 Label: Vestron Music Video Formats: VHS, Betamax, VHD, LaserDisc — 28 The Cars Live Release date: October 24, 2000 Label: Rhino Home Video, Warner Music Vision Formats: DVD, VHS — — The Cars Unlocked: The Live Performances Release date: October 17, 2006 Label: Docurama, Warner Music Vision Formats: DVD+CD — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart.
Music videos TitleDirectorAlbum"Just What I Needed"The Cars"My Best Friend's Girl""Let's Go"Candy-O"Double Life""Dangerous Type""Panorama"Gerald Casale and Chuck StatlerPanorama"Touch and Go""Shake It Up"Paul JustmanShake It Up"Since You're Gone""You Might Think"CHRLX, Charlie Levi and Jeff SteinHeartbeat City"Magic"Tim Pope"Drive"Timothy Hutton"Hello Again"Don Munroe and Andy Warhol"Why Can't I Have You"Peter Richardson"Tonight She Comes"Jeff SteinGreatest Hits"You Are the Girl"Door to Door"Strap Me In"Doug Nichol"Blue Tip"Move Like This"Sad Song""Free"
Notes
References
External links Unofficial discography of The Cars