I never got into Cars, either. I'll give you my theory why it seems to fall short for a lot of people. Because John Lassiter has a passion for cars and (from what i've read) this Pixar film is considered to be HIS baby. So, since John is the big boss at Pixar, who's gonna tell him 'no,' when something in the script, animation, or any other aspect of the film, isn't quite working? I know in sitcom writers rooms, whenever the Executive Producer writes an episode, it's a general rule that the staff writers leave the script alone. The Ex Prod likes his script. He likes his lines. He doesn't want your notes. He/she will disregard your input. He's the boss. Everyone else on staff has their script read by the rest of the writers and there's always a note session where EVERYONE is allowed to contribute and pitch jokes and critique the work, usually making a good script BETTER. (Or potentially worse if there isn't someone guiding the process)
I suspect CARS didn't get the usual group think tank process that Pixar films are known for. And if suffers from it.
Again, this is just my theory. I could be way off base.
