A new Disney•Pixar Cars Toons short will premiere Friday, October 8 (9:30 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney Channel. The animated short, directed by Academy Award-winner John Lasseter with Rob Gibbs co-directing and composed by Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo), will also be presented on Disney XD on Friday, October 15 at 7:27 p.m., ET/PT.

In the episode entitled Heavy Metal Mater, Mater is a rock star in a heavy metal band. He starts out in a garage band and rises to the top with his hit song, "Dad Gum." Lightning McQueen joins him on stage in the middle of a huge concert and they rock into history.

The popular Cars Toons shorts debuted in October 2008, and during the current quarter have already reached 62.3 million unique total viewers, including 22.7 million among the target age group of kids 2-11.

About Cars

Directed by Academy Award-winner John Lasseter, Cars was the 2007 Golden Globe winner for Best Animated Feature Film and an Academy Award nominee for Best Animated Feature Film and Best Music - Original Song. The film also won the 2007 Grammy Award and was the No. 1 animated film on DVD for 2006. Its soundtrack was the first Pixar soundtrack to debut in the Billboard Top 10 and to certify gold.

Disney•Pixar's Cars 2 will hit the track on June 24, 2011 and will be presented in Disney Digital 3D in select theaters. In this thrilling new high-octane installment of the Cars saga, all the world's a racetrack as superstar Lightning McQueen zooms back into action, with best friend Mater in tow, to take on the globe's fastest and finest. Mater and McQueen will need their passports as they find themselves in a world of intrigue, thrills and fast-paced comedic escapades.

Disney•Pixar's Cars is among the fastest growing franchises for Disney Consumer Products and has a presence at Disneyland Resort where a new Cars Land, a 12-acre world of Radiator Springs with three new attractions, will debut at Disney's California Adventure in 2012.

Disney•Pixar World of Cars Online (WorldOfCars.com) is live! The free-to-play, browser-based virtual world lets kids create their own car and join Lightning McQueen and the cast of Cars in Radiator Springs. In the world, kids can make new friends, race on a variety of tracks, play fun mini-games or just explore the open road, taking on offbeat adventures with Mater, Fillmore, Sarge and others!