We knew this was going to happen, but sharp-eyed reader Jennifer pointed out in this comment that a slew of new die-cast toys from last summer’s Disney-Pixar hit, “Cars,” is coming out soon.

RPMdiecast.com is taking pre-orders for these “Cars” characters, a few of which are shipping in June or July; others have no release date listed except for “coming soon 2007″:

• No. 64 race car
• Bob Cutlass (the announcer voiced by Bob Costas)
• Darrell Cartrip (the color announcer voiced by Darrel Waltrip)
• Cruisin’ McQueen (this is the Radiator Springs-repainted Lightning McQueen with whitewall tires)
• Dale Earnhart Jr. car
• Dinoco-colored Chick Hicks
• Dinoco Tex
• The Ferrari F430
• The rusty Fred truck
• Hydraulic Ramone
• Lightning McQueen with tongue sticking out
• Mario Andretti
• Red and white Ramone
• Snot Rod
• Yeti
• Change-up McQueen (give Lightning McQueen your own Radiator Springs makeover)
• Dinoco helicopter
• Pit crew performance playset
• Radiator Springs playmat

No Frank the combine, however.

Rob Ryan of The Times in London attended a sneak preview of a few new rides at Disneyland Paris. If you’re vacationing in France, fans of Route 66 and last summer’s Disney-Cars “Cars” movie have something to look forward to:

Cars: Race Rally is a gentle ride based on the Pixar movie, and will feature two figure-of-eight driving tracks and newly designed vehicles inspired by those in the film. It’s a very junior attraction, hardly likely to raise the pulse of seasoned ride-hounds, but one of its important benefits will be the theming it brings to a previously lacklustre corner. The extensive neon-soaked facades of Radiator Springs (the Route 66 town in the film) will certainly address some of the paucity of eye candy on the lot.

A miniature Radiator Springs drenched in neon? Cool.

If you can’t go to Paris, Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., also has a “Cars” ride. However, based on Ryan’s description, it sounds a tad bizarre:

Like its counterparts in Paris, Disneyland at Anaheim is also capitalising on the Disney-Pixar link. It is debuting a new A Disney imagineer creates Cars: Race Rally submarine ride based on Finding Nemo, with eight submersibles that take guests on a subaquatic coral reef trip.

UPDATE: After a little more surfing, I found the Web site for the Cars: Road Rally attraction at Disneyland Paris.

A new restaurant has opened on the Manchester alignment of Route 66 in St. Louis, called the After Diner.

The Riverfront Times’ restaurant reviewer went there, and gave it a tepid reaction. Some restaurant reviewers are food snobs and should be taken with a grain of salt. However, the complaints are troubling enough that Route 66ers should regard the diner with somewhat lowered expectations.