So, not only have The Cars reunited with Ric Ocasek, but the newly reformed group (minus bassist Benjamin Orr, who died of pancreatic cancer back in 2000) has even posted clips of a few new tunes. I’m somewhat surprised given the debacle that was The New Cars, a lame attempt by three remaining Cars to cash in on fans that didn’t care who sang the songs, even if it was Todd Rundgren. But that ill-advised tour was four years ago. Might as well have been a lifetime ago by today’s standards. In any case, Ocasek has obviously gotten over it. I’m not sure why he’s decided to make nice with his bandmates after all this time. It would have meant more a decade or so ago back when Orr was still around to make it legitimate. The cynical take is, of course, that it’s about the money. Even if we give them the benefit of the doubt, are the tunes any good? Well, the example above, entitled “Sad Song,” certainly sounds like vintage Cars, even down to the handclaps and Ocasek’s robotic inflection. The band has been characteristically oblique in its plans, announcing its reunion with only a photograph on Facebook. When a record does surface it will be the band’s first since 1987’s dismal Door to Door. Outdoing that stinker should be a cakewalk, even if it is two decades too late. [via Slicing Up Eyeballs]