Is a Cardinal a sign of good luck?

A Cardinal was in the middle of the roadmI picked it up & put it in my car. The entire time he did not move, he was not scared he just sat in the passengers seat by my purse. Very silent. Never looked my way. When I go to my destination and went to pick him up, he flew to the back of my car and then out the window I had open. I looked every where for him, everywhere and could not find him. is there a superstition that goes along with this bird. When I was looking for it, it was as if he disappeared. And why was it sitting in the middle of the road if it could fly? What does that mean?