Location of Radiator Springs?

Does anybody know the location of Radiator Springs, USA, in Cars? I can’t seem to figure it out.

I always assumed it was somewhere in Arizona or near there. :slight_smile:

Well, it runs by Route 66, so I would like to think that it is somewhere in the middle of Route 66.

I always guessed it was in New Mexico, since it’s on Route 66, it’s in the middle of nowhere, and they’re definitely not in California or Oklahoma. But I still have no clue.

It’s somewheres in western Arizona maybe near Seligman.

Ya I want to say it is located in Arizona, but Radiator Springs was imaged after a town called Amboy in California. The way the shops were laid out is similar to that in Amboy and they used that particular town becuse the business was destroyed when Interstate 40 was opened.

Okay, I’ve found some more info. The truckstop that Lightning didn’t allow Mack to stop at? That’s not in Arizona. There is a sign they go by that reads, “LAST TRUCK STOP FOR 500 MILES”. Going along Interstate 40, the road that Mack and Lightning were on, it ends in Barstow, California. Going 500 miles on I-40, east, from Barstow, is in Houck, Arizona (okay, so that’s 504 miles but it’s close enough). The truckstop was also in the middle of the desert. Now, living in New Mexico, (the middle of nowhere, which is in the middle of the desert), I can tell you that there are lots of truck stops along I-40 in New Mexico, and not as many in Arizona. The truckstop are most popular from Gallup to Santa Rosa, so my guess is that the truckstop they went to was in between Gallup, NM, and Santa Rosa, NM. Now, they drove a little bit from the truckstop, and then it was night, when the DRH came over, causing Lightning to land in RS. Mack must have drove approximately 150-200 miles from the truckstop, when he fell asleep. Also, there must have been a turn that led to Route 66 in the area that Lightning fell out of the trailer. Also, Radiator Springs was obviously not near any big city, so it must not be near Albuquerque or Flagstaff. Also, Lightning corssed a railroad track before reaching Route 66. So, my best guess to Radiator Springs’s location is just a mile north of: Bluewater, New Mexico!

Is that an okay guess?

Here’s a not-so-good satellite image of that area.

I guess since it is a fictional town, it could be anywhere. That sounds good to me, but they still claim it to be in Arizona…I dunno…that whole area is a possibility, and it all looks feasable. I have driven there many times.

I don’t have proof of this, but it’s been suggested that the name of Radiator Springs is based off of Peach Springs here in Arizona.

My guess has always been near Arizona , because not only could Lightning make it to California just in time , and it would be a good place far enough for Sally to break down , but not be too far at the same time . Besides , Arizona is in the Route 66 song . :smiley:

Anyone got a screencap of Radiator Springs on the map in Cars?

That’s not a bad guess. But just because Arizona is in the song doesn’t mean that’s where the town is. :laughing: New Mexico and Oklahoma are in the song, too. 8D

I forgot all about Sally’s story about driving and driving from Los Angeles. Well, there are tons of…ca…well, (whatever the plural of cactus is) in and near Radiator Springs, and New Mexico doesn’t have as many saguaro(s?) as Arizona does, so I think most of you are right. It must be somehwere in Arizona. Both Arizona and New Mexico have beautiful red rocks (in the drive scene), but I am quite sure that New Mexico has NO waterfalls (okay it has one big one in the rocks, but only one…and it up north, not by the interstate), and I know that Arizona does have waterfaals in the red rocks in some places. Now if only I could remember where some of those were…

So far, my guess to Radiator Springs’s approximate location is in eastern Arizona along Route 66, possibly near Holbrook, where the Wigwam Hotel is located? :confused:

Actually, Radiator Springs is likely in Arizona - in the Art of Cars book it states where the location of Radiator Springs is intended to be:

“It was decided that Radiator Springs would have a high desert look and feel, similar to the Mother Road country between Gallup, New Mexico, and Kingman, Arizona.” (p.96, Art of Cars… citing source and not plagiarizing for those who care.)

If you look at that area on a map, it stretches across almost all of Arizona and a little bit into the western part of New Mexico. So I’d conclude from that that Radiator Springs is most likely in Arizona.

When planning my fic, I also hauled out an old atlas that my parents had that showed Route 66 before it was decommissioned as a US Highway and the proximity to the I40. There is an area between Kingman and Flagstaff where Route 66 would have been close (say, within a few miles) to the interstate, so thats where I’ve put Radiator Springs for my own purposes, located approximately equidistant from both places.

Sarah

That’s really good, so now we know for sure that Radiator Springs is located in between Kingman, AZ, and Gallup, NM. I used to live in Gallup, and I know there were lots of pretty red rocks like the ones in RS, but there were not any waterfalls and/or cactus(es?) The state with the most cactus(es?) is Arizona, so I guess we’re all thinking that Radiator Springs is in Arizona, which is most probably the case. Well, according to the Art of Cars, I now know that Radiator Springs is definitely not in Bluewater, New Mexico. I do know that the truck stop they passed cannot be anywhere west of Houck, Arizona. The truckstop must be in between Gallup, NM, and Santa Rosa, NM. And if Radiator Springs had to be an hour or two away from the truckstop, then Radiator Springs must be in eastern or central Arizona, and the truckstop must be in western or central New Mexico. Living in New Mexico, I do know that there are tons of truckstops in between Gallup and Santa Rosa, so I’m guessing that the truckstop was somewhere in between Gallup and Albuquerque. I actually saw Lightning’s trailer (or a replica of it) at the Sky City Truck Stop a week or two after Cars came out, so that’s probably where the truckstop was.

Boy, I’m getting tired. :laughing:

That stretch of Rt 66 looks like near where you take off to go to Grand Canyon. And I thought the same about Peach Springs, AZ, cause if you look at a map, Rt 66 takes off of I-40 in a very similar way to the movie. Anyway, I love that stretch of the road…