Route 66 gives Radiator Springs its historic setting in Pixar’s Cars.
The film portrays Radiator Springs as a once-thriving roadside town whose businesses lose traffic after Interstate 40 bypasses it. Lightning McQueen reaches the town while trying to get to California for a race, and his time there introduces him to its residents and history.
Route 66 was a major United States highway established in 1926. It connected Chicago with Santa Monica and became associated with automobile travel, roadside attractions, diners, motels, and small-town commerce. The highway was officially removed from the U.S. Highway System in 1985, although many historic sections remain popular travel destinations.
Cars drew heavily on real Route 66 communities and landmarks. Pixar artists and filmmakers traveled the road while researching the movie’s landscapes and architecture. Radiator Springs is fictional, so it should not be confused with a real city. The highway reference is the key historical link between the film’s invented town and America’s road-trip heritage.