Deep in this story by the Pontiac Daily Leader is this somewhat startling factoid that ties in to the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame & Museum:
Karls said that Pontiac has found a tourism niche: coach tours to the Route 66 and Livingston County War museums. In 2005, there were 15 tours; this year there will probably be 35.
Even if just half of the tours were Route 66-related, that’s still a jump that will raise your eyebrows. I attribute the increase to greater awareness of the relatively new Route 66 museum and the tons of publicity from the “Cars” movie.