A fansite of the cars,called heartbeat city,had a short teaser commercial
of the first cars tour in 17 years.The teaser trailer only showed blured figures of the band and a few shots of the members mouths and eyes.There were only four guys in the picture.The original band consisted of five members.The cars bass player and second lead vocalist Benjamin Orr died in 2000 of pancreatic cancer.There was a new song playing in the background called ''Not Tonight'' and the voice singing it was not Ric Ocasek.During an interveiw on vh1 classic's Hanging with,Ric said that he would not go on a cars reunion tour unless it was ''small and contained''.From the looks of the trailer and the screaming audiance in the background it dosen't seem like it will be a small tour.Rumors have spread that former Utopia band member Todd Rundgren will replace Ric(well replace is a strong word).Although I am not certain because I have never listened to Todd Rundgren or Utopia.If you do know what his voice sounds like go to dreamvally.com/thecars or just type in heartbeat city a site devoted to the cars and check it out and see if the voice sounds familiar and let us know.A Cars reunion?Without Ric?Without Ben?Is this crazy to you?Can you really call them the cars without those two?

The Cars!!! one of my fave groups!!!

Very, very, very cool! Loved The Cars all my life!!!

The Cars with Todd? I don't know whether to be or about it actually.

I saw the Shake it Up Tour eons ago.

Stax said:

So did I.

minneapolisgenius said:

Todd is a better singer and more talented than Ric so how could it be bad?

kdj997 said:

Yeah but Ric is the man as far as The Cars go. But my cat is Elliot.

how bad does ric look these days?

...Panorama.

The Cars + Todd = too


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

where is NWF?

blackguitaristz said:

I just found this at billboard.com

Rundgren Steps In For Ocasek In New Cars


November 20, 2005, 1:50 AM ET

Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.
Cars principals Elliot Easton and Greg Hawkes are in talks to team with veteran singer/songwriter Todd Rundgren in a new incarnation of pioneering new wave rock act the Cars, which will tour and possibly record an album next year. Rundgren will step in for Cars frontman Ric Ocasek, who has no plans to participate in the project. Cars bassist/vocalist Ben Orr died of cancer in 2000.

And while reports have suggested Blondie drummer Clem Burke and Everclear bassist/vocalist Art Alexakis will join the new band, sources tell Billboard.com their participation is still being discussed.

The original Cars split up in early 1988, after a 12-year-career that spawned such classics as "Just What I Needed," "Let's Go," "My Best Friend's Girl" and 1984's Orr-sung "Drive," the Cars' biggest hit at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Billboard.com has learned that the New Cars are eyeing a 2006 tour with another legendary new wave rock outfit, but no details have yet been announced. Reaction to the news that Easton and Hawkes were pressing on without Ocasek and Orr has been mixed, but Rundgren defended the decision this week in a post on the Web site TRConnection.com.

"So now an opportunity has arisen for me to pay my bills, play to a larger audience, work with musicians I know and like, and ideally have some fun for a year," he wrote. "The catch is, a lot of people have been counting on something else," he said, referencing the disapproval of fans that are clamoring instead for a reunion of the Rundgren-featuring '70s band, Utopia.


"Let's make this clear: the possibility of a Utopia reunion of any kind has always been extremely remote," he said. "We disbanded for specific reasons that a previous reunion attempt [in 1992] only exacerbated. Despite whatever enjoyment we got from playing the music for our fans, the reformation left a sour taste. It would be ludicrous to Spinal Tap our way through a tour so fans could be satisfied that we simply showed up on the same stage. That's a redefinition of Utopia I can't personally handle."

Speculation about a Cars reunion has increased in recent years, as the band's influence has become apparent on such hit-making modern rock acts as Weezer and the Strokes. "We will be playing parts of the country we'd never get to otherwise, and hope to see you all there when we do," Rundgren said.

And although he is opting out of the new band, Ocasek told Billboard.com this summer that he was involved in assembling a Cars documentary, tentatively titled "The Cars Unlocked." No release date has been nailed down for the film.

"The backstage stuff is stuff in hotel rooms and dressing rooms," he said. "I think it will be a nice insight into what the Cars were really like. There's interviews, video outtakes, kind of just hamming it up, and some nice club things that probably people wouldn't have gotten to see, from way back. I think it's pretty telling. I think it's the most comprehensive thing that's ever been put out on the Cars."

http://www.billboard.com/...1001525267

Stax said:

All of a sudden this doesn't sound that great.
Why don't they just start a new band?


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

theAudience said:

I hear you. For some reason, when I first read the post I thought Todd was filling in for Ben.
[Edited 3/3/06 16:17pm]

Stax said:

Well, I thought it was the o.g. lineup. Later for all of this replacement shit. It's like seeing the Ohio Players. I'm like "Who is that on bass and shit?! And keyboards AND drums?! Fuck it, this ain't the Ohio Players!"

blackguitaristz said:

Stax said:

Ditto dog...Fuck the scabs....If Ben and Ric aint in it, it's not the Cars...No reason to be excited about this one...WTF????
[Edited 3/3/06 16:53pm]

At least Todd admits he's doing it for the money. I'll listen to it, but I'm not hopeful.