Route 66 inspires the setting and road-trip story of Pixar’s Cars.
The film’s Radiator Springs is a fictional town on a forgotten stretch of road, and its story reflects the decline experienced by communities bypassed after the construction of modern interstate highways. Route 66, officially established in 1926, became one of the best-known roads in the United States before it was removed from the U.S. Highway System in 1985.
Pixar’s filmmakers researched Route 66 during a 2001 road trip. They visited roadside businesses, historic landmarks, and small communities to study the architecture and atmosphere that appear in the film. The trip helped inspire locations such as the Cozy Cone Motel, Flo’s V8 Café, and the town’s abandoned traffic flow.
Cars does not depict one exact real town. Instead, Radiator Springs combines details from several Route 66 communities, turning the highway’s history into a fictional story about renewal, friendship, and slowing down.