Link to the thread on Cars (2006).

Alas, the sequel will have to make do without Paul Newman or George Carlin, both of whom have passed away since the first film came out. Hopefully Owen Wilson will be up for it, though? (Has he gone into production on any other films since his, uh, incident?)

- - -

'Cars 2' racing to theaters in 2011
The follow-up to John Lasseter's 2006 film "Cars" was originally set for release in summer 2012, but Lasseter, Pixar's chief creative officer said at a Disney presentation Wednesday, that the film has been moved up to a summer 2011 release. . . .
In the meantime, Pixar will keep the "Cars" engine humming with a series of animated shorts that it will dub "Cars Toons." The first in the series will focus on Mater, the truck character voiced by Larry the Cable Guy.
Hollywood Reporter, September 24

Pixar's first "Cars Toon" debuts tonight on Toon Disney
Jim Hill shares what he knows about these new interstitials, which are designed to help keep this Pixar franchise fresh 'til "Cars 2" rolls into theaters during the Summer of 2011
Jim Hill Media, October 27

FWIW, The Pixar Blog finds these clips "Rather underwhelming...":

Just a quick aside: the title of this thread refers to the original Cars as Disney's least-loved film. I haven't checked Rotten Tomatoes or anything, and admit to being too lazy to do so right now, but...isn't A Bug's Life the least-loved Pixar film? Quantitatively, I have nothing to back up my hunch, but qualitatively, I know a ton of people who regard it as the slightest of the studio's work.

I know a number of people who have referred to Cars as Pixar's low point, but perhaps it stands out more because it came after (or in the middle of) a streak of highly praised films, whereas A Bug's Life was only the studio's second film, so it came out while they were still finding their feet as it were -- which might make some audience members more forgiving.

At any rate, A Bug's Life currently has 91% at Rotten Tomatoes (cream of the crop: 94%) and 77% at Metacritic, while Cars has 75% (cream of the crop: 74%) and 73%, respectively. So, yeah, either way, Cars has the lower rating, though by a much narrower margin at Metacritic than at RT.

I like ABL. It is interesting that these two, ABL and Cars, are basically remakes of The Seven Samurai(/Mag7) and Doc Hollywood, whereas Pixar's most popular/successful films are basically originals (TS/TS2, Nemo, MonstersInc, Incredibles, etc.).

FWIW, I have always thought A Bug's Life was more like a remake of Three Amigos!.

There were aspects of WALL*E that came dangerously close to remaking Short Circuit: the design of the character, the way he (almost) squishes an insect. But I wouldn't say the STORY was ripped off from any other particular film.

Sure, but the point is unaffected: It would seem that Pixar is at its best when cooking from scratch.

Will Paul Newman's Character Return For 'Cars 2'?
Lasseter is adamant, however, that the decision will ultimately be beholden to story, and not tradition, confessing he's not averse to recasting the role with a sound-alike actor, similar to what the company decided to do with Slinky Dog, a character voiced by Jim Varney in "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2" before the actor's death in 2000.
"In 'Toy Story 3,' for instance ... we found actually an old friend of [Varney's] who sounds an awful lot like him - another actor that's going to be doing that voice," Lasseter said of the character's return. "It'll be hard to replace Paul Newman, but we don't know yet."
"Cars" voice star George Carlin also died this year, in June. His character, Fillmore, was a much smaller role than Newman's. It is unclear if he will be replaced as well, or if Fillmore will simply be written out of the sequel.
MTV News, November 18