In Pixar's Cars (2006), U.S. Route 66 inspires the road-trip setting around Radiator Springs.
The fictional town is presented as a once-busy stop along an older cross-country highway. Its decline follows the construction of a modern interstate that bypasses the town, leaving local businesses and landmarks isolated from passing traffic. That story reflects the real effect that Interstate 40 had on many communities along old Route 66 in the American Southwest.
Route 66 ran from Chicago to Santa Monica and became one of the best-known roads in American popular culture. Pixar artists researched the highway, visited its towns, and used its landscapes, roadside attractions, and roadside architecture as visual and thematic inspiration for Cars.
Radiator Springs is not a literal single Route 66 town. It is a composite created from several real places and landmarks. The film therefore fictionalizes the geography while preserving the broader history of Route 66 communities affected by changing transportation routes.