Many fans praise Cars Land in Disney California Adventure as one of the best themed lands at any Disney Park, and it's easy to see why—the charming small town of Radiator Springs from the Cars movie comes to life in breathtaking detail. The land even has a lighting with music that takes place every day at sunset, illuminating Radiator Springs in neon lights with the “Sh-Boom” (“Life Could Be a Dream”) song like what we see in the film.
While Cars Land is already an impressive recreation of Radiator Springs from the film, many wonder about the real-life influences behind the charming small town and its various landmarks and businesses. While Radiator Springs is fictional, there are several nods to real locations on Route 66 that are featured in the film (and subsequent land in Disney California Adventure).
We will take you through some of these real-life locations that inspired Radiator Springs in Cars, with stunning photos of these locations courtesy of photographer and writer Rhys Martin who joins us to share his thoughts. We love to hang out in Cars Land and writing this piece just affirmed our love.
Real-Life Inspiration for Radiator Springs
In the movie, Radiator Springs is a small town located along Route 66 somewhere between Gallup, New Mexico, and Kingman, Arizona (in the fictional “Carburetor County”). The town was once a destination for travelers along Route 66 own of Radiator Springs, but after the construction of a new interstate, it started to experience a decline and lost much of its traffic as fewer and fewer cars come through. Lightning McQueen witnesses how much the other cars love the charming town, grows to love it himself, and ultimately decides to stay and establish Radiator Springs as his racing headquarters.
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While Radiator Springs is fictional, many elements of the town are inspired by real locations along Route 66, one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System that stretched from Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles, California.
The famous route has been referred to as the “Mother Road” and the “Main Street of America.” Several businesses and attractions located along Route 66 became well-known, and many of these iconic locations are referenced in the small town of Radiator Springs in Cars. After the creation of the Interstate Highway System, Route 66 saw an eventual decline.
In making the Cars film, the Pixar team embarked on research trips along Route 66 that led to the creation of Radiator Springs with several real-life influences. “We connected with the people and their towns and we really got it,” Co-Director and Story Supervisor Joe Ranft said. “We found out that life out on that old highway is never predictable, and that is what makes the journey so much more memorable. We found the heartbeat of the Mother Road.”
Real-Life Inspiration Behind Radiator Springs
In the Cars film, we see locations like Flo's V8 Cafe, the Cozy Cone Motel, and Ramone's House of Body Art, which are also featured in Disney California Adventure's Cars Land. Below, we will take you through the real-life inspirations behind some of the most iconic Radiator Springs locations.
The photographs of the real-life Route 66 locations that are featured in this article with permission are by Rhys Martin, a photographer and writer who specializes in travel, cityscape photography, and roadside Americana.
Rhys Martin is the President of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association and an accomplished photographer. Fortuitously, he had visited Cars Land for the first time two weeks before we reached out to him to get his perspective for this article on the real-life Radiator Springs. He was very impressed with the land. We share quotes and his thoughts on how Route 66 inspired Cars below.
Rhys shared with us, “I realized in about 2013 that I'd lived near Route 66 most of my life and had never really paid attention to it. I'd fallen in love with exploring Oklahoma's small towns, so I took a little day trip. I was amazed at the story that weaved Route 66 communities together and the quirky nature of the roadside attraction. Soon, I began to meet the people that really make the road special. I've been on something of a never-ending-road-trip ever since.”
He has traveled all 2,448 miles of Route 66 and captured some truly spectacular photographs of the locations that the Cars film took inspiration from. You can see and purchase his work on his website, Cloudless Lens Photography.
When we asked Rhys what part of Route 66 he thinks was best captured in the film and Cars Land, he said, “Route 66 is a journey of individuality. It's not the same strip mall type of installation over and over again – likewise, Cars Land is this immersive experience where the Americana theme is expressed with a reverence to the individual, authentic nature of a Route 66 road trip. Disney always does such a great job transporting you to another place – and Cars Land is no exception.”
Cadillac Ranch (Cadillac Ranch Mountains)
The magnificent backdrop of the Radiator Springs is the Cadillac Range, with mountain peaks like Cadillac tail fins. This is inspired by the Cadillac Ranch public art installation along Route 66 near Amarillo, Texas. Cadillac Ranch was created in 1974 by Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez, and Doug Michels, who were part of an art group called the Ant Farm. The art installation features a line of Cadillacs half-buried nose-first in the ground (which are now covered in graffiti).
At Disney California Adventure, you'll see six mountain peaks that look like the tail fins of classic Cadillac models from 1957 to 1962, based on the Cadillac Range mountain peaks that appear in the Cars film that are inspired by Cadillac Ranch. These serve as the backdrop for Radiator Springs Racers, one of the best Disneyland rides.
The Wigwam Motel Chain and The Blue Swallow (Cozy Cone Motel)
The Wigwam Motel Chain served as inspiration for the design of the Cozy Cone Motel that you see in the Cars film and in Cars Land at Disney California Adventure. The rooms of the hotel chain were built to resemble tipis, which were referred to mistakenly at the time as wigwams.
In the Cars film, we see rooms shaped like giant orange traffic zones at the Cozy Cone Motel that take inspiration from the two Wigwam Motels located along Route 66 in Holbrook, Arizona, and San Bernadino, California.
At Disney California Adventure, the Cozy Cone Motel is a quick-service restaurant that offers multiple food offerings from the giant orange cones that you see in the film: Churros and Beverages at Cozy Cone 1, Soft Serve and Beverages at Cozy Cone 2, Snacks and Beverages at Cozy Cone 3, and Snacks and Alcoholic Beverages at Cozy Cone 4.
The Cozy Cone Motel from Cars also takes inspiration from the real-life Route 66 Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico for its sign. You'll find similarities in the design, neon lighting, and the lettering “100% refrigerated air.”
Several of the Radiator Springs locations from the Cars movie, like the Cozy Cone Motel, come to life in meticulous detail in Cars Land. Rhys Martin shared that a big part of what made Cars Land so impressive to him was “The details! So many things from the first movie were realized and presented in a way that didn't feel like a cheap tribute – it was reverence to the real-world experience. I could point at any number of things and explain why they were made to look worn a certain way or what inspired certain design decisions. It was all deliberate.”
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Jack Rabbit Trading Post (HERE IT IS Sign)
Another element of Radiator Springs inspired by a real-life Route 66 attraction is the “HERE IT IS” sign, inspired by the famous one outside Jack Rabbit Trading Post. The Jack Rabbit Trading Post is a convenience store and curio shop located just outside of Joseph City, Arizona. The location became famous for its mileage signs and giant yellow billboard outside with a silhouette of a jack rabbit that says “HERE IT IS.”
The coloring and details of the lettering of the “HERE IT IS” sign from the Cars movie are extremely similar to the famous billboard from Jack Rabbit Trading Post, serving as a clear nod to it. Instead of a rabbit depicted, the Radiator Springs sign features a Ford Model T silhouette.
According to Rhys Martin, “There's a specific art style to the rabbit on the famous, ‘Here It Is!' sign at the Jackrabbit Trading Post near Joseph City, Arizona. When you look at it side-by-side to Stanley on the Cars Land version, it could've been drawn by the same person. You can also see how the Imagineers worked hard to replicate the way those wooden boards weather in the sun. There's a very real, authentic quality that makes it look like the signs at Radiator Springs Curios were literally borrowed from the Sandhills Curiosity Shop in Erick or any other spot on Historic Route 66. My favorite tiny detail, though, is the little ‘Auto Corps of Engineers' stamp on the truss bridge portion of the Radiator Springs Racers track. I love a good bit of wordplay!”
Sandhills Curiosity Shop (Radiator Springs Curios)
In the Cars film, you see the “HERE IT IS!” sign outside Lizzie's Radiator Springs Curios, which is a souvenir shop with an exterior covered with a variety of old road signs. You can see a strong resemblance between the outside of Radiator Springs Curios and the real-life Sandhills Curiosity Shop on Route 66 in Erick, Oklahoma. The Sandhills Curiosity Shop is located in the former City Meat Market, known as the oldest brick building in Erick.
In the film, Lizzie's Radiator Springs Curios offers a variety of Route 66 souvenirs and memorabilia. At Cars Land, visitors will find a selection of Cars-themed merchandise at the shop.
Tower Station and U-Drop Inn (Ramone's House of Body Art)
Another source of real-life inspiration for Radiator Springs is Tower Station and U-Drop Inn located along Route 66 in Shamrock, Texas, which was originally built in 1936. The Art Deco-style building held two businesses, the Tower Conoco Station and the U Drop Inn Cafe. After Route 66 was decommissioned, the U-Drop Inn fell into disrepair and closed in the late 1990s. When the city of Shamrock acquired it, they restored the building, which has been adapted to serve as a museum, visitors' center, and the city's chamber of commerce.
In the Cars film, Ramone's House of Body Art is a body and paint shop in Radiator Springs inspired by the distinctive architecture of Tower Station and U-Drop Inn. You'll also find it as a shop in Cars Land at Disney California Adventure, which lights up beautifully in neon at night, as you are turning to walk towards Radiator Springs Racers.
When we asked Rhys Martin if he was drawn to photograph Cars Land in the same way as Route 66, he shared, “I was, especially at dusk when the neon came on! It was fun to sit back and be a part of the crowd at that moment as everyone took photos of the buzzing tubes coming to life around us. You see the same thing on Route 66 as the lights come on, only at Cars Land it was much more concentrated!”
Fran Houser and the Midpoint Cafe (Flo's V8 Cafe)
Midpoint Cafe is a restaurant, souvenir, and antique shop that is located on Route 66 in Adrian, Texas, billing itself as the midway point between Chicago and Los Angeles on Route 66. The Midpoint Cafe is famous for its signature “Ugly Crust Pies.” These got their name from pastry chef Joann Harwell, who created pies with her grandmother's recipe with crust that didn't quite visually turn out how her grandmother's did (but tasted just as good). Fran Houser, who owned the Midpoint Cafe from 1990 until 2012, served as real-life inspiration for the character of Flo from the Cars film.
While in the film, Flo's V8 Cafe is a gas station for cars to fuel up, it takes the form of one of our favorite quick-service locations in Cars Land at Disney California Adventure that offers classic American comfort food. A version of the famous “ugly crust pie” inspired by the Midpoint Cafe was also once offered at the Cars Land dining location.
Route 66 Cars Film Impact
Seeing all of these real-life Route 66 inspirations for Cars Land really makes you long for an adventure to go see them in person! When we asked Rhys Martin if he thinks the popularity of the Cars movie has affected tourism on Route 66, he shared, “A few months ago I led a tour bus full of college students down Route 66. I asked them who all had seen Cars and every single person raised their hand. That meant they already had a basic understanding of the road and its story – and it had fueled their desire to learn more. That's how the next generation of ‘roadies' are born!”
Cars Land continues to be one of the most special lands in the park for many people. It may be the best land that Walt Disney Imagineering has ever created. There is a certain magic there that is amplified by the real-life inspirations behind many of the Route 66 locations you'll find throughout the small town of Radiator Springs.
Rhys says that a large reason he thinks people are drawn to Route 66 is that “Route 66 is the story of a linear community, people coming together to live and work along something that is greater than themselves. Today it's something of a time capsule and a reminder that life doesn't have to move so fast…and if we take time to slow down and enjoy the journey, there's a wealth of experiences we can have that cannot be replicated. It's connection to person next to you, whether you're from the same town or another country.”
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Frequently Asked Questions
What was the inspiration for Radiator Springs?
Radiator Springs in the Cars film is inspired by multiple iconic attractions and businesses along Route 66, including the Wigwam Motel Chain, Jack Rabbit Trading Post, Tower Station and U-Drop Inn, and more. Above, you can see our article on the various real-life locations that served as inspiration for the fictional town of Radiator Springs.
What is the cozy cone based off of?
The Cozy Cone Motel is based off of the two Wigwam Motels that are located along Route 66, which have rooms shaped like tipis. In the Cars film, the Cozy Cone rooms take inspiration from the Wigwam Motel and are shaped like giant traffic cones.
What was the inspiration for the movie Cars?
The writer and director of the movie, John Lasseter, said that the inspiration for the movie Cars was a cross-country road trip he took with his family in 2000. Multiple locations that appear in the Cars film were inspired by real-life Route 66 locations, which you can read about above.
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