It is not true that all animated films take place in invented, magical, and sometimes implausible places. Many, in fact, are set in real places – or in places inspired by real locations – as in the case of Radiator Springs, the town featured in Cars, whose main locations are all inspired by Route 66.
This itinerary takes you through all the real locations featured in Cars – the first animated film to win a Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature Film – along the legendary Route 66. Despite the fictional names used in the film, all the locations are inspired by the most beautiful road in the world, the Mother Road, which stretches for almost 2,448 miles (3,940 km) from Chicago to Los Angeles. Also known as “Main Street of America” or “Highway of America”, it is a road that has become a symbol of hope, the soul of America.
How could I not mention it? It is after all my favorite road in the United States (and here you can find all the other articles about it, with itineraries state by state)?
Let’s start with the plot: Lightning McQueen is a young race car competing in the prestigious Piston Cup for the first time and hoping to win the race as a rookie, thus securing Dinoco as his sponsor. However, the race does not go as hoped, and Lightning crosses the finish line alongside The King – the old race car he looks up to – and Chick Hicks, the eternal runner-up who is unfair and cowardly. So, the commission decided to organize a tiebreaker race between the three the following week in California. Dumped by his team because of his egocentricity, Lightning climbs onto Mack, his trailer, and immediately sets off for California, forcing the trailer to drive straight to his destination without stopping. Mack, of course, falls asleep, swerves, and accidentally presses the open button, letting Lightning slide out onto the road. Jolted awake, the car tries to chase after its trailer but can’t find it and gets lost on the night roads, ending up on Route 66. Chased by a sheriff who wants to stop him for speeding, he finds himself in a small town in the middle of nowhere, where he causes a lot of damage in his attempt to escape and is eventually arrested. The next day, he undergoes a brief trial in which he is sentenced—thanks to the intervention of Sally, the town lawyer and owner of the “Cozy Cone” motel—to rebuild the road he destroyed. Lightning McQueen thus discovers that he is in Radiator Springs, in Carburator County. Arrogant and egocentric, he initially hates the place and its inhabitants, but slowly begins to grow fond of everyone, especially Mater, the slightly crazy tow truck who becomes his best friend, Doc Hudson Hornet, who, only at the end, becomes his mentor for many things, including racing, and Sally, with whom he falls in love.
At this point, the most significant scene for those who, like me, love Route 66 takes place: one day, Lightning and Sally go for a drive along the roads surrounding Radiator Springs, and she, native to Los Angeles, tells him the history of the town: forty years earlier, Interstate 40 did not exist, and Route 66 followed the landscape, so Radiator Springs had many customers and tourists. Everything changed in the mid-1980s, when a stretch of highway was built not far from the town, which was thus cut off to save ten minutes, eventually disappearing from the maps. With no more customers coming in, some of the former residents closed their shops permanently and left town, while the remaining residents spent their years relying on each other, patiently waiting for customers. During the story, Sally also says one of the phrases that has stayed with me the most: “Cars didn’t drive on it to make a great time. They drove on it to have a great time”.
Lightning finally finishes repairing the road, but before leaving for California, he makes numerous purchases in the town’s shops, particularly from Luigi and Guido, the Italians who sell tires, and has all the neon signs throughout Radiator Springs repaired. Meanwhile, Doc Hudson, who still can’t stand Lightning, calls the press to alert them to the race car’s presence in town. Shortly thereafter, Mack and a flood of journalists invade Radiator Springs, taking Lightning back to California. However, Lightning misses the only true friends he has ever had and races in the championship without any enthusiasm… if you don’t know the ending, you’ll just have to watch the movie!
The story Sally tells Lightning McQueen is a true story, the story of Route 66, which enjoyed a golden age before being replaced by the I-40. Many towns on the Mother Road became isolated, becoming ghost towns. Fortunately, several associations have been set up to preserve Route 66 and the towns along it, and the film is intended as a tribute to this piece of America, in the hope of contributing to its rebirth (you can find the complete history of Route 66 in this post).
The Real-Life Radiator Springs: the characters in the film
Returning to the film, did you know that not only the places but also some of the characters are inspired by real people who played a part in the history of the Mother Road?
Like Flo, the owner of the V-8 Café, inspired by Fran Houser, owner of Sunflower Station, a gift and antique shop in Adrian, Texas, the Midpoint town, exactly halfway along Route 66. Fran and her little dog also ran the bar next to the shop when the Cars team showed up for a surprise visit during filming, and thanks to the wonderful welcome they received, they dedicated a character to her.
Filmore, the hippy Volkswagen, is also inspired by Bob Waldmire, a Route 66 legend, the man who painted most of the murals along the road while traveling in his old Volkswagen. Sadly, Bob passed away a few years ago, but his works are still visible – often on Mother Road postcards – and his van is on display at the Route 66 Hall of Fame in Pontiac, Illinois. A small tribute has also been dedicated to him on the Santa Monica Pier, a display containing drawings, images, signs, postcards, and objects from all along the Route.
The sheriff in the film is a tribute to Michael Wallis, an expert on Route 66 and author of many books about it. He was the guide for the Pixar team, who decided to honor him by dedicating one of the characters in the film to him.
Returning to Texas, the owner of Dinoco, the one with the big horns on the hood, is inspired by the Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo and its owner, Bill. It is a unique place and definitely worth a visit (stop for a bite to eat if you can, it’s worth it). We stayed at the Big Texan Motel, in the Honeymoon Suite (here’s the dedicated post). It was the most Texan thing we’ve ever seen, starting with the size of the bed, which I had to climb into with the help of a ladder provided! After all, how does the saying go? Everything is bigger in Texas!
At breakfast the next morning, I asked if they could heat some milk for me. The answer? No, but if you want, we have breakfast steaks! Breakfast steaks! Only in Texas… But then again, this is where they have the free dinner challenge: you have to eat 12 appetizers and 2 kg of steak, so… what could we expect? It was a unique experience!
Returning to the characters in the film, do you remember the tractors that look like cows? The ones that Mater enjoys knocking over? They are actually inspired by the donkeys of Oatman, a small town in Arizona that still has a Wild West feel and where donkeys roam freely in the streets, sometimes even wandering into shops and bars. It’s definitely worth a visit!
Finally, one last interesting fact: in Erick, Oklahoma, there is the Sandhill Curiosities Shop, which, despite its name, is not a shop but a small exhibition of Route 66 memorabilia, set up by Annabelle and Harley Russell. Annabelle passed away a few years ago, but Harley is still there in their little museum, and it seems that Daniel Lawrence Whitney, the original voice of Mater, better known as Larry the Cable Guy, was inspired by Harley’s accent and tone to give voice to Lightning McQueen’s best friend.
The Real-Life Radiator Springs
The Pixar production team traveled the entire length of Route 66 to study the locations for the story, so most of them are actually a mix of several real places. To discover them all, let’s follow an itinerary that will take us to all the places that inspired the film, from Illinois to California.
Let’s start in Springfield, Illinois, the city of Abraham Lincoln and of the Corn Dog. It was the Cozy Dog Drive-In, owned and founded by Ed Waldmire, Bob’s father, that inspired the name of the Cozy Cone, the motel owned by Sally.
Speaking of Cozy Dog, the restaurant is famous for its corn dogs. Do you know what they are? They are simply hot dogs fried in cornmeal batter, a typical American street food. In reality, many people claim to have invented them, but the only thing that is certain is that German immigrants living in Texas filed the patent for the invention around 1927. The first to claim this were the Fletcher brothers, who said they sold the first corn dogs at the 1938 Texas State Fair. The folks at Cozy Dog in Springfield claim to have been the first to sell corn dogs on a stick in 1946, but in the same year, Dave Barham opened the first “hot dog on a stick” kiosk in Muscle Beach, Santa Monica, California.
But we don’t really care who was first. With our corn dogs in hand, we set off for the next stop and arrive in Cuba, Missouri.
When Lightning McQueen and Sally go for their first drive together in the film, they stop in front of the Wheel Well Motel, which has seen better days, and it is here that Sally tells the story of Route 66. The motel is inspired by the Wagon Wheel Motel, an icon of the Mother Road, built in 1936. Just think, at the time, it cost between $2.50 and $3 per night for two people to stay here. Today, it remains almost identical to how it was then and is part of the National Parks Service’s Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program, a program created to preserve historic sites along the Mother Road.
Speaking of gastronomic curiosities, right next to the Wagon Wheel Motel is Missouri Hickory BBQ, the place along Route 66 where we have eaten the best so far. I recommend you try it. I still dream about their cheesecake. I can’t find one as good anywhere else, not even in New York!
We continue along the route to Kansas, the State with the shortest stretch of Route 66: just 13 miles! Yet, this is where Radiator Springs, the town featured in Cars, is located. It was inspired by Galena, a small town in Kansas where today you can find “Cars on the Route”, an exhibition dedicated to the film inside a restored gas station, and the old tow truck that inspired the character of Mater. Over the years, the owners have purchased several vehicles reminiscent of the characters in Cars to further emphasize their connection to the film, and today their exhibition is a real attraction, perhaps the main one, in the town.
Leaving behind the few miles of Mother Road in Kansas, we can continue on to Texas, crossing Oklahoma and passing through the Cyrus Avery Route 66 Memorial Bridge in Tulsa, a bridge also featured in Cars during Sally and Lightning McQueen’s famous walk.
Once in Texas, several stops await us. The first is in Shamrock, where we find the U-Drop Inn and its iconic Conoco Tower, which inspired Ramon’s artistic paint shop.
This Art Deco building included the Tower Conoco Station, so named for the metal tulip tower attached to the building; a café, which was given the name U-Drop Inn by a local student who won a contest and $5 for naming the place, and a space that was to house retail sales. At one time, the U-Drop Inn was known as “the most elegant of trendy eateries” and “the most modern building of its kind on US Highway 66 between Oklahoma City and Amarillo.” It was also the only place within 100 miles, so it was not only stylish but also crowded. However, like all the other places along Route 66, it fell into oblivion during the road’s darkest years, despite having Elvis Presley among its loyal customers. Fortunately, it was restored in 2003, and today we can sit at its tables too.
Staying in Texas, we continue towards Amarillo, where, in addition to the Big Texan I mentioned earlier, there is also Cadillac Ranch, which was the inspiration for one of the most recognizable locations in the movie Cars, aptly named “Cadillar Range”. You’ve probably seen pictures of Cadillacs with their noses in the sand somewhere: this is Cadillac Ranch, the Cadillac graveyard, an art installation commissioned by Texas millionaire Stanley Marsh III. He was such an eccentric character that he had the Roman numeral III changed to the Arabic numeral 3. He called in an artist from San Francisco to create this unusual work for his ranch, taking ten different Cadillac models from 1948 to 1963 from storage facilities and junkyards and planting them in the ground, with the intention of representing America’s golden years. Initially, the cars were in their original colors, but travelers from all over the world began to leave their signatures, more or less colorful on these cars, while vandals occasionally passed by to destroy them. They were repainted several times, but in the end, it was decided to give travelers free rein, inviting them to leave a colorful mark of their passage on these cars.
We continue our journey, and from Texas we arrive in Arizona, where we find the largest number of locations from the film. We start in Holbrook, just across the border, where one of the two Wigwam Motel is located, the motels with teepee-shaped rooms that inspired those of the Cozy Cone, but in the shape of a traffic cone.
There were once seven Wigwam Motels. The first was built in 1935 as a museum for Frank Redford’s collection of Native American artifacts. Others followed, but only three remain today: two are located on Route 66, and the third is in Kentucky.
Shortly after Holbrook, if you pay attention, you will notice a yellow sign with red lettering that says “Here it is” and a drawing of a rabbit: this is the famous sign for the Jack Rabbit Trading Post, now a symbol of Route 66, also featured in the movie Cars, except that instead of a rabbit, there is a tractor.
Continuing west, you arrive at Selingman, one of the most important locations. Why? This is where Angel Delgadillo works and lives, the man to whom we owe much of Radiator Springs and, above all, the entire Route 66.
An icon of the Mother Road, he is nicknamed, not surprisingly, the “Father” or “Angel” of Route 66. Angel Delgadillo was interviewed by the crew, and his stories inspired Radiator Springs and the entire film. Born in 1927, Angel is truly the main character of the Route, and we could talk about him at length. It is thanks to him that the Main Street of America is still passable today and still talked about. He was the founder of the first association for Route 66, the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona, followed by 11 other associations dedicated to preserving the road. Thanks to the activities and battles of his association, the State of Arizona recognized the stretch of Route 66 between Seligman and Kingman as a “Road of Historical Interest.” That was the day “Historic Route 66” was born. Other associations followed his example, other states recognized the historical importance of the road, and thus, the entire Mother Road was saved.
If you pass through Seligman, be sure to say hello to Angel in his shop!
The last location in Arizona featured in the film is located after Valentine and is the Hackberry General Store, which Bob Waldmire owned for a period, and which is practically identical to Lizzie’s Curio Shop in the film. Speaking of Lizzie, the old rusty car you see outside the General Store is hers!
We conclude our journey in California. There are no locations related to the film here, but you can take a trip to Cars Land, the theme park at Disney Adventure Park, where Radiator Springs is faithfully reproduced in full size. The perfect end to this journey, to feel literally transported into the film!
The Real-Life Radiator Springs: movie trivia
Isn’t it interesting to know some fascinating facts about this film?
Did you know, for example, that Cars was Paul Newman’s last film, he even voiced Doc Hudson, as well as his highest-grossing film? Paul, one of the greatest actors of all time, died in 2008, and out of respect, the character of Doc was no longer used in subsequent films in the series, apart from a few flashbacks in Cars 3, using scenes never shown before, filmed with Paul for the first film. He was a NASCAR enthusiast and a talented driver, and considered his performance in Cars to be his best since The Verdict in 1982.
Other characters with interesting facts are Guido and Luigi: Luigi’s license plate is 445-108, numbers that indicate the latitude and longitude of the Ferrari factory in Modena. Guido, on the other hand, was chosen as a name not only because it is Italian, but also as the first person present of the verb ‘to drive’, ‘I drive’. In the film, he only speaks Italian, and in the Italian version, they made him speak in the Modena dialect, again to reflect Ferrari’s origins. The only two words he says in English—even in the original version—are “ok” and “pit stop.” Guido’s record-breaking speed in changing tires is not a random choice, by the way: it represents the record times often achieved by F1 Ferrari mechanics in pit stops.
Let’s close with a little curiosity about the locations in the film: when the Los Angeles International Speedway is filmed from above, you can also see the Pixar Animation Studios in the distance. Cars was Pixar’s last film before it was acquired by Disney.
