In Pixar's Cars, what town is home to Lightning McQueen's friends?

Radiator Springs is the town at the heart of Pixar's Cars.

Lightning McQueen reaches Radiator Springs after accidentally damaging the town's main road. He is ordered to repair it, and the work gives him time to meet residents including Mater, Sally Carrera, Doc Hudson, and Luigi.

The fictional town is inspired by communities along historic U.S. Route 66. Cars presents it as a place bypassed by Interstate 40, reflecting the way newer highways reduced traffic through many roadside towns. The setting therefore supports the film's themes of slowing down and valuing local communities.

Radiator Springs is not the same as a real city called Radiator Springs. It is a fictional location created for the film, although many of its visual details draw on real Route 66 landmarks and landscapes. The town also appears in later Cars films and attractions at Disney theme parks.