Short answers, pulled from the story.
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment began its authorized rental program with Fotomat on the 4th of March 1980. This agreement started as a four-city test covering Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, and the San Francisco Bay Area.
The legal corporate name of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment remains Buena Vista Home Entertainment until today. The division dropped the Buena Vista branding in its public name by 2007 to become known as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.
Buena Vista Home Video formed a joint venture called Jim Henson Video in November 1992 to distribute Muppet productions worldwide until late 1997. This deal covered all Muppet productions distributed through that partnership during those years.
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment handled autonomous distribution for thirty-seven years across various physical formats. In February 2024, the company entered an agreement with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment to transfer all physical media production and distribution duties for North America.
Cars marked the final VHS release from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on the 19th of February 2007. This release occurred after the company began working on DVD releases in 1997 and started Blu-ray releases in late 2006.