“Cars” the movie — one year later

On June 9, 2006, Disney/Pixar released the animated movie, “Cars.” It became the second-biggest box-office hit of that year, grossing more than $400 million worldwide. Its four-wheeled characters in the lonely desert town of Radiator Springs earned many millions of dollars for Mattel and other toy companies. It earned two Golden Globes and was nominated for two Academy Awards.

“Cars” also was the biggest event to provide publicity for Route 66 since the publication of Michael Wallis‘ best-selling book, “Route 66: The Mother Road.”

Route 66 News contacted nearly a dozen longtime businesses and museums along the Mother Road to gauge the impact of “Cars.” Although this was hardly a scientific study, the evidence indicates that “Cars” made a strong impact on its initial release and will continue to do so this summer and beyond.

Fran Houser, owner of the Midpoint Cafe in Adrian, Texas, said the “Cars” movie bolstered her already-strong summer tourism traffic. “I’m seeing many more travelers on Route 66. People come in here all the time, asking where Radiator Springs is,” she said. “Pixar certainly hit a chord with the American public. The thing that’s amazing is that it’s not just young people traveling the road for the first time, but their grandparents. They saw the movie with their grandchildren.”

Scott Nelson, owner of Eisler Brothers Store in Riverton, Kan., said he saw a 20 percent increase in sales after the film’s release, and the effect is still going strong. “We saw a lot of people with their kids,” he said. “There’s still people coming, even a year later. There interest has always been there, but every little bit more helps.”

Pat Smith at the Route 66 Museum in Clinton, Okla., said it saw a 20 percent jump in business after “Cars” came out. “The film is still having a definite effect on children encouraging their parents to stop at the Route 66 Museum,” she said. “We had a family visit the museum last week. They said the reason they stopped at the museum was the children had seen the Route 66 Museum sign at the edge of town and said ‘Let’s go to the Route 66 Museum, the sheriff in the movie “Cars” will give us an audio tour.'”

Dawn Welch, owner of the Rock Cafe in Stroud, Okla., definitely saw a surge in customers, especially because she was an inspiration to Sally the Porsche in the “Cars” movie. “The ‘Cars’ movie is certainly still affecting the Rock’s visitors,” Welch said. “It is an awesome accomplishment by corporate level business (like Pixar) to acknowledge the small towns and businesses through this avenue. It takes a visionary or two to show all of us how the bridge between the old and young can often meet in the middle. Or the corporate and the small business. Or the artist and the family. Or the old and the new.”

Rich Henry, owner of Henry’s Rabbit Ranch in Staunton, Ill., said he’s seeing a bigger boost in traffic this year than in 2006. “There was some effect last year. I venture to guess about 7 percent,” Henry said. “It is more effective this year, since many had their vacations already planned last year when they saw it. This year I would say about 15 percent (increase). I feel every year there is a bigger percentage increase from the previous year. We started doing this in ’95 officially. I am awed at the number of people we see here, and I am presuming we are only seeing maybe 35 percent of the east-west 66 travelers on our 1930-40 alignment. The other 65 percent are using the other two alignments in our area.”

Ramona Lehman of the Munger Moss Motel in Lebanon, Mo., said she’s seeing more of a “Cars” effect this year. “We have a lot of families going out on Route 66 this summer,” she said. “It had a very positive effect on a lot of people. We have reservations from families in Iowa and Illinois. That’s good, because our reservations right now are down due to the high gas prices.”

Connie Wilson is secretary of the Shamrock Chamber of Commerce in Shamrock, Texas, which is housed in the U-Drop Inn. The former gas station was a direct inspiration to Ramone’s Body Art in the “Cars” movie. “The movie definitely increased interest from visitors,” Wilson said. “The children get so excited, they jump up and down, saying they’re in Ramone’s.”

Pauline Linder, an employee at the Route 66 Hall of Fame Museum in Pontiac, Ill., said the impact of the movie was noticeable. “Every day, people mention the ‘Cars’ movie,” she said. “It wasn’t just children. The older people thought it was unique, too.”

Debra Hodkin, curator of the Route 66 Mother Road Museum in Barstow, Calif., said the effect of the movie was a “slight” increase in business, but new interest in the road endures. “The movie has made the younger generations more curious about Route 66,” Hodkin said. “We have received inquires like, ‘Is Radiator Springs a real town? Where is Radiator Springs?’ One year out with the DVD available, an increasing number of children and adults seem more interested in Route 66, often bringing up the movie. I can’t think of a day the last couple of months when the movie has not been brought up. A guy restoring his ’57 Chevy wagon says he wants to paint his classic the same color green as Ramone’s girlfriend Flo’s car in the movie. Children wanting and parents/grandparents purchasing diecast vehicles mentioning the cute ‘Cars’ movie. Tomorrow undoubtedly ‘Cars’ will be brought up, and I will be happy that they may think more of Route 66, our history and preservation.”

Manoj Patel of the Wigwam Motel in San Bernardino, Calif., saw the design of his historic motel inspire the creation of the Cozy Cone Motel in the movie. “We have noticed more people stopping in to take photos and to see the place,” Patel said. “Very few will stay as paying guests. Reservations have probably increased a bit, most of which fall on the weekends. The weekends have always been busy for us, so it’s hard to gauge any boosts in revenues.” Patel noted that the motel increased its room rates in recent years, so more tourists and families are now in the mix and fewer local guests.

Cindy Jaquez at the Jackrabbit Trading Post in Jackrabbit, Ariz., famed for its “Here It Is!” billboard, said the “Cars” effect was slight. “The ‘Cars’ movie was great, but personally, I do not think our business has gone up any,” she said. “People taking pictures of our sign may have increased some what, but most of those are only stopping to take pictures only with no shopping. We have had a few others come in for autographs. Some others have phoned or e-mailed us with how excited they were for us being included in the movie. Locally, though, there have been a lot of people talking to us about the movie.”

One of the few who didn’t see much of a surge in customers was TeePee Curios in Tucumcari, N.M. “There were a few more people, but no biggie,” said co-owner Betty Callens. “It was short and small. It wasn’t anything to write home about.”