Radiator Springs
File:Disambig-icon.pngThis article is about the city. You may be looking for the Cars Toons short: The Radiator Springs 500 1/2.
- "Lightning McQueen: "Where am I?"
Mater: "Where are you? Shoot! You're in Radiator Springs. The cutest little town in Carburetor County."" - —Lightning McQueen talking to Mater, Cars, [[{{{3}}}]]
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Radiator Springs is a small town/village along Route 66, located in Carburetor County (somewhere in southwestern Arizona). It is a town where Lightning McQueen ends up in after accidentally destroying the town's main road. It is a town of rural misfits and rejects where everybody there serves each other in unconditional love. It is a community (a lot like a church) that teaches others to slow down and enjoy nature. It is quite a beautiful place that is considered a "paradise".
History
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Radiator Springs was founded by a steam car named Stanley in 1909, and a statue of him is outside the town courthouse. Later, Stanley married Lizzie. After Stanley died, more people came to live in Radiator Springs, and the town grew. It was a popular rest area where almost all cars would stop to shop and fill their gas tank. However, in the early 1960's, Interstate 40 was built near Radiator Springs, which greatly decreased traffic for Radiator Springs, since the Interstate bypassed the town. Finally, in the mid 1985, Route 66 was decommissioned.
In 1954, famous Piston Cup racer Doc Hudson suffered a massive accident that found him in a hospital for the rest of the 1954 season. Some time after his crash, Hudson fully recovered and returned to the Piston Cup; but found that the sport had left him behind because of new-comers and sponsors, the money had been spent, and the competitiveness in the races had grown. Hudson felt like nobody appreciated him anymore and retired completely from the Piston Cup before practically vanishing off the face of the Earth, leaving Smokey and his racing clan in Thomasville in the process. Eventually, Doc found shelter in Radiator Springs. His wisdom tough grandpa-like attitude earned him enough respect from the town that in the mid 20th century, Hudson was hired as mayor, judge and the CEO of the town.
In 2006, famous race car Lightning McQueen destroyed the town's main road in a hurry to get to a Piston Cup race in Los Angeles, California, and was arrested for 5 days to fix the road. Lightning soon became friends with the Radiator Springs populace, and after his race, he set up a racing headquarters in the town and stayed there, and the town started to grow again. And as revealed in Cars 3, he started mailing Smokey letters of Lightning and Doc's travels, including the fact that he now lives in Radiator Springs.
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In the video games, it has made appearances in Cars: The Video Game, Cars: Mater-National Championship, Cars: Race-O-Rama, The World of Cars Online, Cars 2: The Video Game, and Cars 3: Driven to Win.
Location
The location of Radiator Springs is not known exactly; however, it is most likely in eastern Arizona, along Route 66 and in the Monument Valley.
Radiator Springs is somewhere along the old Route 66, which was in the United States. Route 66 went from Los Angeles, California to Chicago, Illinois, which can be heard in the Route 66 song during the Cars end credits. Radiator Springs is surrounded by red rocks and desert, and is not near any large cities, so Radiator Springs must be on Route 66 in either California, Arizona, or New Mexico. 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). Since Gallup is on the far west side of New Mexico, Radiator Springs is most likely in Arizona. The truck stop that Mack and Lightning McQueen passed by on their trip could not be west from Houck, Arizona because of a sign which reads "LAST TRUCK STOP FOR 500 MILES", and since Houck is on the far east side of Arizona, the truck stop was most likely in western New Mexico, and if Mack drove for only a few hours more after the truck stop before he fell asleep, then Radiator Springs is most likely in eastern Arizona. Also, Carburetor Canyon is a reference to the Grand Canyon in Midwest Arizona which is about 200 miles away from Radiator Springs.
Residents
Current Residents
- Sally Carrera
- Sheriff
- Sarge
- Fillmore
- Ramone
- Flo
- Luigi
- Guido
- Lizzie
- Mater
- Red
- Frank
- Tractors
- Lightning McQueen (since 2006)
- Mack (since 2006)
- Cruz Ramirez (since 2017)
- Smokey (since 2017)
- River Scott (since 2017)
- Junior Moon (since 2017)
- Louise Nash (since 2017)
Former Residents
- Delinquent Road Hazards (left after Spinning)
- Doc Hudson (died before Cars 2)
- Stanley (died before Cars)
- Big Al
- Van Hefty
- Sticks Shiftley
- Mia and Tia (left after Cars 2)
Buildings & Attractions
Inside town
- The Cozy Cone Motel
- Fillmore's Taste-In
- Flo's V8 Cafe
- Glenrio Motel (closed - building became the Racing Museum)
- Lightning McQueen's Racing Headquarters
- Lou's Casa Della Tires (closed - building became Luigi's Casa Della Tires)
- Luigi's Casa Della Tires
- Doctor Hudson: Dr. of Internal Combustion (Ornament Valley Mechanical Clinic) (In Cars)
- Radiator Springs Courthouse & Fire Department
- Radiator Springs Curios
- Radiator Springs Drive-In Theatre
- Radiator Springs Municipal Impound
- Ramone's House of Body Art
- Sarge's Surplus Hut
- Sarge's SUV Boot Camp
- Tow Mater Towing & Salvage
- Tractor Pasture
- Willy's Butte
- The Cap
- Rusty Bumper
- Eat
- Foggy Windshield
- Hudson Hornet Racing Museum (Previously Ornament Valley Mechanical Clinic) (In Cars 2)
- Lube O Rama
- Mrs. Piston
- The Oil Pan
- Pop N Patch Tire Repair
- The Racing Museum (building was previously the closed Glenrio Motel)
- Radiator Springs Garage (closed)
- Stanley's Oasis (In Time Travel Mater) (now gone)
- Wimpy's Wipers
- Muddy's Mudflaps
- Sparky's Spark Plugs
- Mr. Curb Feeler
- Carburator Emporium Repair
- Mrs. Muffler
- Budville Trading Company (closed)
Nearby
Gallery
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Cozy Cone Motel
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Flo's V8 Cafe
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Ramone's House of Body Art
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Tow Mater Towing & Salvage
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Doctor Hudson: Dr. of Internal Combustion
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Radiator Springs Drive-In Theatre
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Fillmore's Taste-In
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Luigi's Casa Della Tires
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Radiator Springs Municipal Impound
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Radiator Springs Curios
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Sarge's Surplus Hut
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Courthouse & Fire Department
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Sarge's SUV Bootcamp
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Tractor Pasture
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Willy's Butte
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Racing Museum
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Cadillac Range
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Ornament Valley
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Wheel Well Motel
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An aerial viewpoint of the town
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An aerial viewpoint of the town
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An aerial viewpoint of the town
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Map
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Entrance
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Radiator Springs, the gateway to the Ornament Valley
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Map of Radiator Springs in Cars: Mater-National Championship.
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Eat
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Wimpy's Wipers
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Rusty Bumper
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Sparky's Spark Plugs
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Mr Curb Feeler
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Foggy Windshield
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The Oil Pan
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Lube O Rama
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Pop N Patch Tire Repair
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Mrs Piston
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Carburetor Emporium Repair
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Muddy's Mudflaps
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Mrs Muffler
Names in other languages
- Polish: Chłodnica Górska
- Russian: Радиатор-Спрингс
- Ukraine: Радіаторний рай
- Spanish: Radiador Springs
de:Radiator Springs
es:Radiador Springs
nl:Radiator Springs
pl:Chłodnica Górska
pt-br:Radiator Springs
ru:Радиатор-Спрингс