And, IIRC, The Cars’ first album was “The Cars,” released in 1978. My older sister bought it. I remember it from my childhood as having one of the cooler cover photos from the period.
Doesn’t a band also have to sell at least 1 million albums during its lifetime, or something like that?
Hell Yes!
That’s really all there is to say about that.
Just as there’s no way you should put ANYBODY in the RRHoF until Black Sabbath is voted in. They influenced more bands than all the other bands you’ve mentioned combined.
Chris W
The Cars album with the coolest cover was Candy-O, with the Vargas pin-up cover. Yeah!
While I’ll second Kyomara’s feeling about the importance - or rather, the lack thereof - of the R&R HoF, I’m a big Cars fan.
Their first album had five songs that still get airplay: “Good Times Roll”, “My Best Friend’s Girl”, “Just What I Needed”, “You’re All I’ve Got Tonight”, and “Bye Bye Love”. The rest of the album’s damned good too, with songs like “I’m In Touch With Your World” and the inexplicably overlooked “Don’t Cha Stop”.
Candy-O had “Let’s Go”, “It’s All I Can Do”, “Got a Lot On My Head”, and “Dangerous Type”.
IMHO, the quality of their albums dropped off after that, with fewer songs per album getting airplay, and fewer non-singles that deserved to be played. But their songs have stayed fresh, at least to me, and apparently to many others. I don’t see getting tired of “My Best Friend’s Girl”, “Just What I Needed”, “Tonight She Comes”, or any of the other songs I’ve mentioned.
Did any one else get confused by the title? I thought we were going to talk about putting like Elvis’ car in the RnRHOF! I guess I’m just an idiot. 
I love the Cars music a lot. No question about it.
I don’t see them as being very influential though. How many bands have been inspired by them? (And there’s not a lot of covers of their songs either.)
The Police? Give me a break. The Police are an example of what’s wrong with American Music. Bad music and no influence (on other good musicians).
No. Don’t get me wrong, in general, I like the Cars, but HOF material? Can’t see it. I think a HOF inductee should be more than what the Cars were.
As for the Police…first of all, they were a British band, and second, yes they were influential. Their earlier style of skittish, reggae rooted punk (well, sort-a like punk), helped spawn a number of ska and punk-reggae bands. Bad music? Says you…and judging from the bands popularity over the years, I think you’re in the minority.
Nobody gets in until Skynyrd gets in, dammit! 
But yeah, the Cars probably deserve a nod. Their lyrics were awfully lightweight, but the sound was absolutely infectious. They had a nice, long string of hits, and their videos were pretty influential as well. Put 'em in.
Nope, sales don’t seem to be a requirement. From the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame web site:
Eric
Actually, I’ve got nothing against bands getting into the HoF, or otherwise being ranked high on this or that all-time list, because of their influence on other bands.
But the idea that a band should be expected to have significant influence on later bands to be highly regarded is a crock, IMHO. The Doors weren’t particularly influential; they were merely great. They’re not influential because nobody else is going to be Jim Morrison. BFD. The Moody Blues created an unforgettable sound, but it really can’t be done by anyone else without looking imitative. So? They were a very good band, better than quite a few that are in the Hall. (The Four Seasons? The Bee Gees? Gladys Knight and the Pips? Gotta wonder about the Hall’s standards.)