In Pixar’s Cars, what highway does Radiator Springs sit beside?

In Pixar’s Cars, Radiator Springs sits beside historic U.S. Route 66.

The fictional town is located along a once-busy stretch of Route 66 in the American Southwest. The road was a major east-west highway linking Chicago and Santa Monica before much of its long-distance traffic was displaced by the Interstate Highway System.

Cars uses Radiator Springs to show how communities along older highways declined after motorists began bypassing them. Lightning McQueen’s accidental detour brings him into the town, where he meets residents including Mater, Sally, and Doc Hudson. The setting therefore drives both the story and the film’s themes about slowing down and preserving local history.

Route 66 is also known as the “Mother Road.” Pixar artists researched its landscapes, roadside businesses, signs, and architecture. Radiator Springs is fictional, but its atmosphere draws on real places along the historic highway, making the setting recognizable to travelers familiar with the route.