In Pixar's Cars, what highway route inspires Radiator Springs?

In Pixar's Cars, Route 66 inspires Radiator Springs.

The fictional town is presented as a once-thriving roadside community bypassed by a newer interstate highway. Its location and visual identity draw heavily from real Route 66 towns in the American Southwest.

Route 66 connected Chicago and Santa Monica after its creation in 1926. Pixar artists and filmmakers researched the highway, visiting landmarks, diners, motels, and landscapes that helped shape the film's setting. The story's road-trip structure also reflects Route 66's place in American travel culture.

Radiator Springs is fictional, so it is not a real town on the highway. The film instead combines details from several real communities, including locations in Arizona and California. This mix is why viewers may recognize multiple Route 66 landmarks in one setting.