caption current_members associated_acts years_active label article_title past_members background genre image origin name
the benjamin orr , greg hawkes , david robinson , ric cars ocasek , and elliot easton . , 1984 . l -- r : ric ocasek greg hawkes elliot easton david robinson the new cars 1976 -- 88 , 2010 -- present elektra , concord the cars
 benjamin orr group_or_band rock , new wave , power pop the cars.jpg boston , massachusetts , united states the cars
the cars

the cars are an american rock band that emerged from the new wave scene in the late 1970s .
the band originated in boston , massachusetts in 1976 , with singer , rhythm guitarist and songwriter ric ocasek , singer and bassist benjamin orr , lead guitarist elliot easton , keyboardist greg hawkes and drummer david robinson .
the cars were at the forefront in merging 1970s guitar-oriented rock with the new synthesizer-oriented pop that was then becoming popular and which would flourish in the early 1980s .
robert palmer , music critic for `` the new york times '' and `` rolling stone '' , described the cars ' musical style by saying : `` they have taken some important but disparate contemporary trends -- punk minimalism , the labyrinthine synthesizer and guitar textures of art rock , the '50s rockabilly revival and the melodious terseness of power pop -- and mixed them into a personal and appealing blend . ''
the cars were named `` best new artist '' in the 1978 `` rolling stone '' readers ' poll and won `` video of the year '' for `` you might think '' at the first mtv video music awards .
their debut album , `` the cars '' , sold six million copies and appeared on the billboard 200 album chart for 139 weeks .
as of 2001 , the cars have sold over 23 million albums in the united states .
the band broke up in 1988 , and ocasek had always discouraged talk of a reunion since then .
orr died in 2000 from pancreatic cancer .
in 2005 , easton and hawkes joined with todd rundgren to form a spin-off band , the new cars , which performed classic cars and rundgren songs alongside new material .
the original members reunited in 2010 to record a new album , `` move like this '' , which was released in may 2011 , followed by a short tour .
