U.S. Route 66 inspired Pixar's Cars setting and road-trip story.
Route 66 was established in 1926 and originally connected Chicago, Illinois, with Santa Monica, California. It became famous through automobile travel, roadside businesses, popular culture, and its association with westward journeys across the United States.
Cars uses that history in Radiator Springs, a fictional town bypassed by a new interstate highway. The town's decline reflects the effect that faster roads had on many real communities along older highways. Pixar artists researched Route 66 and visited roadside locations while developing the film.
Route 66 is often called the “Mother Road,” a nickname associated with John Steinbeck's 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath. The real highway was removed from the U.S. Highway System in 1985, but preserved sections and historic businesses remain important tourist destinations.