20 Years of Ka-Chow: Cars Creative Director Jay Ward Looks Back On The Iconic Franchise

It’s more than a little hard to believe that Cars is 20 years old. The franchise at once seems to have been around forever, and yet it doesn’t seem like it’s been nearly that long. It was because of the anniversary that Jay Ward, Pixar Creative Director in charge of the Cars franchise was on hand this past weekend at the Walt Disney Family Museum to celebrate the film, as well as an unsung hero of the original movie.

Jay Ward worked on Pixar’s early efforts before leading the character team on Cars. He admitted it wasn’t a job he knew much about, but as a sell professed “car guy” his expertise in the automotive world made him indispensable to the film, and ultimately landed him the job of “franchise guardian.”

How Route 66 Made Cars

Ward’s talk wasn’t about Lightning McQueen or Mater or any other character, though certainly he touched on them all. Instead, the talk was about Route 66, the real life road on which you’ll find the fictional town of Radiator Springs. The 20th anniversary of Cars is also the 100th anniversary of “The Mother Road” so it was a fitting time to discuss it.

Route 66 was a component of Cars since even before Lightning McQueen as the original treatment for the film was about a different sort of vehicle, one more like Luigi than a race car, getting stuck in a town on Route 66. However, it was author Michael Wallis, who wrote Route 66: The Mother Road in 1990, who made the road a character in its own right when he convinced Cars director John Lasseter that people from Pixar would need to visit Route 66 in order to truly understand it for their film.

It was in June 2001, almost exactly 25 years ago, that the first, of multiple Pixar trips to Route 66 took place. The group, including the likes of Lasseter, co-director Joe Ranft, Lee Ukrich, and others, rented multiple Cadillacs and started to head down the road.

It was on this trip that Joe Ranft saw a rusted out tow truck next to a service station that became the direct influence for Mater. The gas station that previously owned the tow truck ended up selling it to a local farmer sometime after the Pixar crew came through. After the movie hit big, the station bought it back and it sits next to the building today, complete with a pair of eyes in the windshield, next to an old firetruck that strongly resembles Red, the firetruck from the film.

While there’s no single location on Route 66 that is Radiator Springs, a number of specific locations were direct influences for locations in the film.

The famous Cadillac Ranch art installation is not far off Route 66, and it became the Cadillac Range, part of Ornament Valley's landscape. It’s impossible to see the Shamrock, TX Conoco station, and it's associated U Drop Inn, and not see how it influenced Ramone’s.

Dawn Welch, owner of the Rock Cafe in Stroud, Oklahoma had come from a larger city and changed her life when she decided to stay and start a business on Route 66. She was a direct inspiration for the character of Sally.

Cars Land And More

After the first movie was a hit, Route 66 would then go on to become a key part of Cars Land at Disney California Adventure. While the initial concept was for a single attraction, that would take guests through the town of Radiator Springs, it would ultimately expand into the Cars Land we know, which sees the guests take on the role of the Cars arriving in town on Route 66.

Ward’s automotive expertise came in very handy when it came to designing the vehicles, both on the Radiator Springs racers attractions, as well as the versions of Lightning, Rater, and more, which cruise Cars Land to take photos with guests. Keep an eye out for the ride vehicle on Racers with the J0905W it's a reference to Ward (and his birthdate). He promises it never breaks down.

At the same time that Cars Land was being developed, the Art of Animation Resort at Walt Disney World was in development. This was then followed by Cars Road Trip at Disneyland Paris which opened in 2021. Route 66 is now an international destination.

Route 66: 20 Years Later

Six years ago Jay Ward returned to Route 66 and brought his family. During the global pandemic he had the idea of renting a gulfstream trailer and recreating the original Pixar research trip, they drove across the country to St Louis. and then headed down Route 66.

20 years after Cars, it’s not difficult to see what the film franchise means to Route 66. Many locations have added images of Lightning McQueen and the rest of the crew. Artistic renderings, murals, and models of the original vehicles that inspired the characters are found all over.

While there may not be a single town that inspired Radiator Springs, Galena, Kansas has very much adopted the film adding multiple references to the film all over town, and they’re not the only ones. The Rock Cafe has Cars characters painted out front. The Shamrock Conoco that inspired Ramon’s has a Cars gift shop. The Midpoint Cafe in Adrian, TX, which inspired Flo’s has a new owner, but is still going strong.

Many of these places that inspired Cars 25 years after the first research trip were still there in 2020 when Jay Ward visited, and are still there today. Part of the reason Ward knows this, is that Pixar just got back from filming a series that is set to run on YouTube in September. It will return to Route 66 and visit the people and places that inspired the film.

Route 66 had a major impact on what Cars would be, and in return, Cars has continued to have an immeasurable impact on Route 66. Ward says that Cars is part of the reason that many of the people on Route 66 have fought to keep their shops and restaurants open, despite the fact that tourism on the road continues to be tough.

Visit waltdisney.org for more information about the Walt Disney Family Museum.