In Pixar's Cars, the fictional Route 66 setting near Radiator Springs was inspired by U.S. Route 66.
The historic highway once connected Chicago and Santa Monica across the United States. After the Interstate Highway System diverted much of its traffic, many roadside communities lost visitors and businesses. Cars uses that history as the basis for Radiator Springs, a town bypassed by a newer freeway.
Director John Lasseter and members of the Pixar team researched Route 66 during a road trip, visiting roadside attractions, diners, motels, and small towns. The trip helped shape the film's visual identity and its theme of slowing down to notice places that modern travel can overlook.
Radiator Springs is fictional, but its landmarks draw on the real roadside culture of the American Southwest. The film therefore combines talking vehicles with a recognizable piece of twentieth-century transportation history.