In Pixar’s Cars, U.S. Route 66 inspires the road trip and setting of Radiator Springs.
Route 66 was one of the original highways in the United States Highway System, established in 1926. It connected Chicago with Santa Monica and became associated with migration, roadside businesses, motels, diners, and long-distance travel. Cars draws on that cultural history when Lightning McQueen is stranded in a town bypassed by newer interstate roads.
Pixar artists and filmmakers researched Route 66 communities and landscapes for the film. Radiator Springs is fictional, but its architecture, signs, desert scenery, and business districts evoke real places along the historic highway. The film helped renew public interest in Route 66 and its roadside heritage.
Route 66 was removed from the official U.S. Highway System in 1985, but much of its alignment remains marked as Historic Route 66. It is not the same as Interstate 40, although the modern interstate replaced or bypassed portions of the older route.