Which classic highway inspired the setting of Pixar's Radiator Springs?

U.S. Route 66 inspired the setting of Pixar's Radiator Springs.

Route 66, established in 1926, connected Chicago with Santa Monica and became one of the best-known roads in the United States. It carried travelers westward and supported diners, motels, gas stations, and small communities along its path.

The road was removed from the United States Numbered Highway System in 1985 after newer interstate routes replaced much of its through traffic. Cars uses that history as the background for Radiator Springs, whose businesses and population decline after a bypass diverts travelers away.

Pixar filmmakers researched the highway in person, studying its scenery, architecture, signs, and surviving roadside attractions. The film's fictional town is not a direct copy of one location, so Route 66 is the broad inspiration, not the name of a real town where the story takes place.