In Pixar's Cars, Radiator Springs is built along historic U.S. Route 66.
The fictional town sits on a once-important road bypassed by a modern interstate. That change explains why Radiator Springs has lost most of its visitors and why its businesses struggle before Lightning McQueen arrives. The film uses the town to explore the human cost of faster roads and forgotten communities.
Pixar artists researched Route 66 locations and architecture while developing Cars. The movie incorporates roadside imagery associated with the highway, including motels, service stations, neon signs, and wide desert landscapes. Radiator Springs is fictional, but its setting draws on real communities along the route.
Route 66 originally ran from Chicago to Santa Monica and was established in 1926. It was removed from the U.S. Highway System in 1985, although historic sections remain tourist attractions. Cars helped introduce this road's visual culture to a worldwide audience.