Radiator Springs is the abandoned highway town where Lightning McQueen is stranded in Pixar's Cars (2006). The fictional settlement lies along the historic U.S. Route 66 in the American Southwest.
McQueen reaches Radiator Springs after fleeing from the sleepy town and damaging its road. A court order requires him to repair the roadway, so the place he sees as an obstacle becomes the setting for his personal change and new friendships.
Radiator Springs is inspired by real Route 66 communities and landscapes, including the road's roadside businesses, desert scenery, and decline after interstate highways redirected traffic. It is often confused with Ornament Valley, a broader fictional landscape associated with the Cars world, but Radiator Springs is the town itself.