The Kansas Historic Route 66 Association on Saturday unveiled along Route 66 in Galena, Kansas, a replica of the Lightning McQueen character from the 2006 Disney-Pixar animated movie “Cars.”
Lightning is part of the Luigi’s Pit Stop attraction on East Front Street (aka Route 66) in Galena, along with several other “Cars” characters. Much of “Cars” was directly inspired by real-life people and places along Route 66.
KSN-TV reported:
The Cars character Tow Mater was inspired after members of Pixar were driving through Kansas and noticed a boom truck at what would eventually become Cars on the Route.
Since then officials say tourism to the area has snowballed into what it is today.
“I think it’s actually put our section of Route 66 on the map. Kansas only has 13.2 miles and I don’t think that the state how many people were coming and driving through on Route 66, and so I kind of think it let them know that this is an important part of Kansas,” says Renee Charles, Kansas Historic Route 66 Association President.
Here is the station’s video report:
Here’s another video from the event. The unveiling happens around the 5:30 mark:
More images that were posted on Facebook:
The aforementioned Cars on the Route was originally an old Kan-o-Tex gas station repurposed in 2006.
The “Cars”-linked attractions in Galena probably boosted the city’s downtown more than any other. A few years after the station was repurposed, then-mayor Dale Oglesby led a revitalization of that area that continues today.
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They need a wax statue of Owen Wilson to go with it.