Cars 2 is the second "made by order" sequel Pixar inherited after the deal. TS3, Cars 2, MI2 were all in development before Bob Iger wised up. In a sense they had (and still have) to go through all these things (even Finding Dory is another artifact) although this time they're in Pixar's control.
The then-director couldn't make it work and to be honest I don't think any one can make a Mater film work, so John had to throw his name in as a director and I think it's a brave move but too late. For some reason John Lasseter really like the character and thought the audience and kids must like him too. A Cars 2 that was only a spy movie or a whole other spinoff (like Planes) might have worked better.
Cars 2 is the only real misstep of Pixar and I think they're sobered up now, delegating everything Cars to their Canada studio and DisneyToon and never touching them again. The Cars world is an endless stream of merchs so they need to expand it to cash in and Lasseter likes him some vehicles but Cars is gone forever from the main Pixar campus.
