The fictional movie town of Radiator Springs, faithfully replicated at Disney's Anaheim theme park, draws inspiration from a number of locations along a 1,000-mile stretch of Route 66 between Kingman, Ariz., and Tulsa, Okla.
The film follows a selfish and arrogant young racecar named Lightning McQueen who, on the way to the most important race of his life, becomes stranded in a forgotten town along U.S. Route 66 called Radiator Springs, where he learns about friendship and begins to reevaluate his priorities.
Where are Radiator Springs supposed to be located?
According to The Art of Cars, Radiator Springs is located in between Gallup, New Mexico, and Kingman, Arizona[citationneeded] (which both can be heard in the end credits song). Since Gallup is on the far west side of New Mexico, Radiator Springs is most likely in Arizona.
According to The Art of Cars, Radiator Springs is located in between Gallup, New Mexico , and Kingman, Arizona (which both can be heard in the end credits song). Gallup is very close to New Mexico's western border; therefore Radiator Springs is likely situated in Arizona.
The Motor Speedway of the South, located in Motor City, United States, is the racing speedway which the Piston Cup race at the beginning of Cars, the Dinoco 400, is being held.
The life of the various cars met by Lightning McQueen unfolds around the small town of Radiator Springs. The town decor is inspired by the arid landscapes stretching between Gallup, New Mexico and the Sonoran Desert in California.
In Cars, Route 66 is the route that Radiator Springs is on, somewhere in western Arizona or eastern New Mexico. Back in 1965, the town was popular. However, when Interstate 40 was built, Radiator Springs and Route 66 lost its population, and was even taken off the map.
Inspired by director John Lasseter's real-life cross-country road trip, the film still draws families and fans to iconic attractions featured (or riffed on) in the movie, including the remaining Wigwam Villages, trading posts, curiosity shops, and vintage filling stations.
Here you'll find the famous waterfall in the Grand Canyon that inspired the one that Lightning McQueen and Sally admire during their tour of the countryside. This same waterfall is one of the crowning features of the Radiator Springs Racers ride in Disney's California Adventure.
1. Location of Radiator Springs on Route 66: - Radiator Springs is depicted as being located between Gallup, New Mexico, and Kingman, Arizona, along Route 66 [[1]](https://www.latimes.com/travel/la-xpm-2013-jan-05-la-trb-route-66-cars-land-disney-california-adventure-11201228-story.html ).
Florida International Super Speedway. The film features several races across the country—and filmmakers added details to make sure each track had a distinctive personality. But the final race in the film that takes place in Florida was a culmination of Lightning McQueen's journey—so it had to be special.
Lightning McQueen, #95, is a hotshot rookie race car who loves going faster than fast. When he's not racing, he spends his time in Radiator Springs with his best pal, Mater.
Italy. After adapting the Grand Prix races to the real cities of Tokyo and London, the filmmakers decided to create the Italian Riviera town of Porto Corsa from whole cloth.
How Old is Lightning McQueen? In the original Cars movie, McQueen is in his early-to-mid twenties, and reaches the apex of his career in his late thirties in Cars 2 , before approaching obsolescence and retirement in his early forties through Cars 3 .
Anticipation for Cars 4 is high, but Disney has not addressed any details for the movie. Producers have shown openness to expanding the franchise, with potential for a new lightning McQueen narrative. Story details remain a mystery, focusing on potential Cruz Ramirez involvement and moving away from McQueen.
Monument Valley's unique rock formation resembling a Mexican sombrero is the inspiration for the fictional Willy's Butte location in Pixar's Cars (2006) & Cars 2 (2011), intended to resemble a classic Pontiac hood ornament.
Porto Corsa is a town (possibly city) which is located in Italy in the 2011 Disney/Pixar animated film, Cars 2. It is one of the places hosting a World Grand Prix race.
Route 66 technically doesn't exist anymore, it was decommissioned on June 26, 1985. But the original road ran from Chicago to Los Angeles and has been replaced for much of its route by I-40. You can still travel over much of what used to be Route 66 and there are a lot of towns that still celebrate the “Mother Road”.
US 66 underwent many improvements and realignments over its lifetime, but it was officially removed from the United States Highway System in 1985 after it was entirely replaced by segments of the Interstate Highway System.
The world premiere of the film took place at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood on June 18, 2011. Cars 2 was released in 4,115 theaters in the USA and Canada, setting a record-high for a G-rated film and for Pixar.
