"Ain't got anywhere else to go honey…" Flo Lewis muttered to herself as she tossed another suitcase into her car. It was time to get out of her little hole in the wall. She glanced behind her at the little house set far back from the road. It was nice enough for a middle-class family, but she'd been living off her aunt and uncle for years. Now, well times were changing. The young woman sighed, it was time to move on.
Silently she slipped behind the wheel of her car and cranked it. She felt thankful that her relatives were sound sleepers; else they'd be outside already. An earthquake couldn't wake them. The engine purred to live as she scooted down the driveway, time to move outward and onward with life. She wasn't quite sure where she was going, she simply followed the lines on the road until night turned to day. With the first rays of sunshine she spotted a little gas station and turned in to fuel her car.
As a young man attended to her car she grabbed a road map and paid for it, a frown marred her chocolate skin. Where to go? With a sigh she closed her eyes and stuck her finger on the map. Route 66, it was as good as any other path she could take. She folded the map and piled back into her car and moved forwards.
Pavement blended together before her eyes, green and brown zipped by on either side of the road. She rolled the window down and let the air filter through her car. At twenty years old, she felt free as a bird. She was an adult woman who knew her own mind and she was ready to conquer the world. Nothing could stop her. Mile after mile passed, the radio cranked out the most popular tunes of the day and she grinned at the sky. It was a perfect day.
The thought of her plans made her grin. She was going to open her own business and she was going to be a complete success, she pitied anyone that dared to interfere. Her thoughts were cut short as a rock went flying and hit the side of her car. Frowning she decided to keep driving, it couldn't have caused that much damage anyway, though it did annoy her.
Her road trip was proving fruitless; nothing on her chosen Route 66 was grabbing her attention. There was nothing to beckon to her that it could be a new home. Flo was almost ready to turn around and admit defeat…almost. Her hands tightened on the wheel as she noticed a side road. A tug to her gut immediately had her turning down the road. She drove for what felt like hours till she came to the bustling sight of a town under construction. It was perfect! She pulled her car into the parking lot of what seemed to be a car shop. Her excitement bubbling up she slid out of her car. This was going to be her home, she just knew it.
"Hey, man…I think your car needs some new paint." A smooth accented voice cut into her thoughts. She turned on her heel and a hand became planted on her hip.
"Do I look like a man honey?" Flo's eyebrows shot up in question.
"No…I'd say not." A tall man stepped out from the shop doorway. "Name's Ramone."
"Flo Lewis." She sent him an appraising look.
"Welcome to Radiator Springs…Or it will be Radiator Springs. Why you here…ma-…Flo?"
"I'm going to live her honey." She beamed. Ramone grinned back at here, it looked like Radiator Springs had a new occupant.