What was the name of the abandoned town Lightning McQueen helps restore in Pixar’s Cars?

Lightning McQueen helps restore Radiator Springs in Pixar’s Cars.

After damaging the town’s main road, McQueen is ordered to repair it before leaving. During the work, he becomes acquainted with the residents and learns that Radiator Springs once prospered as a Route 66 destination. The town declined after Interstate 40 diverted traffic, leaving businesses and landmarks nearly empty.

Restoring the road becomes more than a punishment for McQueen. It gives him a connection to the residents and helps revive the community’s sense of pride. The film’s depiction draws inspiration from real Route 66 towns, roadside attractions, neon signs, and landscapes of the American Southwest. Radiator Springs is sometimes confused with Ornament Valley, the surrounding landscape in the Cars Land theme-park area, but Ornament Valley is not the town’s name in the film.