Ending years of speculation, Disney-Pixar announced today that the sequel to the 2006 summer hit movie, “Cars,” will be released in summer 2012. The movie prominently featured Route 66.

And get this — “Cars 2″ will be released in 3-D format — along with at least nine other Disney films over the next four years, according to a news release sent out just minutes ago.

Here’s the plot summary:

All the world’s a racetrack as racing superstar Lightning McQueen zooms back into action, with his best friend Mater in tow, to take on the globe’s fastest and finest in this thrilling high-octane new installment of the “Cars” saga. Mater and McQueen will need their passports as they find themselves in a new world of intrigue, thrills and fast-paced comedic escapades around the globe. “Cars 2″ is being directed by Brad Lewis, producer of the Oscar®- winning film “Ratatouille.”

I’ll have more on this as I track down more information over the course of the evening.

UPDATE: First off, here’s the logo for “Cars 2,” straight from Disney:

Second, Michael Wallis, technical adviser for the original “Cars” and the voice of the Sheriff in the film, took time out of his schedule Tuesday to talk about the sequel. Wallis has been busy writing the biography of Davy Crockett.

Although whispers of a “Cars” sequel were rampant from the moment the film was released in June 2006, the rumors didn’t gain much credibility or specifics until fairly recently. Wallis said he didn’t have an inkling about “Cars 2″ until “a few weeks ago.”

“It was one of the worst-kept secrets on the Mother Road,” he said. “I had to keep denying it for my own self-interest,” he said, referring to his wishes to retain his advisory and Sheriff roles in the film.

“But I can’t tell you how many people have asked: ‘When is the sequel coming? When is the sequel coming?’”

Wallis said he hasn’t seen a script yet for “Cars 2,” although he said understands a “working” screenplay is available. He said he’s been contacted by the casting director, and added that “many, if not all, of the other actors” from “Cars” will be re-enlisted. That would include, presumably, Paul Newman as Doc, Owen Wilson as Lightning McQueen, Bonnie Hunt as Sally and, most importantly, Larry the Cable Guy as Mater.

Wallis noted that the “Cars 2″ release date of summer 2012 was not simply chosen out of the blue.

“That’ll be a great year, because that’s when Cars Land (at Disneyland Resort in California) opens,” he said. “So it’s perfect timing.”

Pixar producer Brad Lewis is listed as the director for “Cars 2,” not original director John Lasseter. However, Wallis insists “everything will have Lasseter’s touch on it,” and that “Cars 2″ will be “in good hands.”

“In all my 62 years, I’ve never worked with a more creative bunch than the folks at Pixar and Disney,” Wallis said. “I have the utmost trust in them that they’ll do Route 66 right again.”