In Pixar’s Cars, Lightning McQueen is sentenced to community service in Radiator Springs.
After Lightning damages the town’s main road while trying to escape, Judge Doc Hudson orders him to repair it. The punishment keeps him in Radiator Springs long enough to meet the residents and discover that the isolated town has a strong community. Lightning initially wants to leave immediately, but the repair work gradually changes his attitude.
Radiator Springs is located in the fictional Carburetor County. Its businesses include Flo’s V8 Café, Luigi’s Casa Della Tires, Ramone’s House of Body Art, and the Cozy Cone Motel. The town’s prosperity declined when Route 66 was bypassed by Interstate 40.
Ornament Valley is the broader landscape around the town, not the town itself. Carburetor County is the county name, while Radiator Springs is the specific community where Lightning performs his sentence.