Try Not To Cringe At These Frightfully Neglected Abandoned Vehicles
It's hard to imagine that anyone in their right mind would abandon their car. However, this happens all of the time. These cars aren't just left in dump yards; many have been recovered in the woods, barns and garages. Even entire car dealerships have been abandoned. While these cars inevitably collect dust and rust over the years, some have literally crumbled apart. Price isn't a factor either: some abandoned cars are cheaper models, while others are worth millions. Let's take a look at some of the most shocking abandoned cars.
A Barnyard Find
This bad boy was one of only 503 of its kind and was found in a barn (yes, those are cows in the background). The 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona was discovered in Alabama covered in dust and moss.
Considering its unique make, you would think it would have sold for six figures. It went to auction with an asking price of $180,000, according to Road and Track. The filthy exterior must have frightened bidders because it sold for half that.
Buried In Other Abandoned Items
If it weren't for its distinguishable grill, this Jaguar Mark 2 would be nearly unrecognizable. The car sits buried in dust, dirt, and other abandoned items, like that wooden door to the right.
How and when the early 1960s vehicle landed here is a mystery. The body of the car was known for allowing better vision than other models at the time, and its layout became Jaguar's new standard until the 1973 XJ series 2.
The Forgotten First Generation
The first generation of the Fiat Panda wasn't the most attractive, but that doesn't mean it was worth abandoning in the woods. The European car solicited some pretty funny commercials back in the 1980s: one features a man laughing hysterically as he drives it past other cars that are stuck on the side of the road.
What isn't so funny is the green moss growing over the car's side. The "Dance" embellishment on the side suggests the owner added a personal touch before dumping it in the middle of nowhere.
You'd Have To Be Filthy Rich To Dump This
Beneath the grime and scratches lies an extremely rare and expensive sports car that someone must have been insane to abandon. The two-seater was the fastest standard production car according to the 1994 to 1999 editions of the Guinness Book of World Records, reaching 217.1 mph.
In terms of functionality, there wasn't much. In other words, it's not a car you would take to the airport or grocery store. Still, to leave this Jaguar XJ 200 somewhere is unbelievable considering it was sold for around $200,000.
Four Abandoned Cars In One
This old car hauler tells a story that we can only speculate about. The mid-twentieth century cars indicate that the hauler and its four vehicles go a ways back. What compelled the driver to drop off everything in the middle of the woods is a mystery.
Due to the severe rust, it's safe to say that the vehicles remained more or less stagnant. On top of that, the tires seem to be going flat due to the impact of the weight. They could have at least plopped the thing in a junkyard.
Welcome To Mossville
Covered in bright green moss, this soft blue Morris Minor was found in an equally moss-ridden shed. The mid-century car appears to be a four-door, which means it was abandoned sometime in the early 1950s.
The design is as British as its roots, so it isn't surprising that it was found in the UK. It seems to be sitting next to another model, so the person who abandoned it likely had multiples. Leaving behind multiple cars like this is a mystery that demands to be solved.
Sibling Cars In Equally Bad Condition
Two Vauxhalls were found in this rundown carport, each a different model. The car to the right had more of a hatchback design, while the other is a part of the Magnum series.
The purple and hot pink color of one car and deep gold of the other may have suited the 1970s era these cars were built in, but today it only further ages the vehicles. Then again, so does the thick layer of dirt and crumbling cement around at the tires.
This Old Car Has Thick Skin
This Citroën Traction Avant has almost as much lime green growth covering it as it does blue paint. The french car dates back to the 1930s. The name "traction avant" translates to "front traction," referring to the car's front-wheel drive.
The car was also crash-resistant and was made with a monocoque body, meaning that it had tough skin. That explains why the car looks relatively intact despite having sat in the forest for decades without care.
This Coupe Is Sinking Into The Earth
This abandoned car at least made it to a junkyard where it can die out with its car companions. The thick rust makes the vehicle difficult to imagine as a brand new vehicle. However, at one point it was a stylish Karmann-Ghia Coupe.
Though the tires are still intact, the car itself is gradually sinking into the gather of leaves surrounding it. The only headlight visible in this photo somehow came apart from the frame of the car like a sunken eyeball, while all of the windows are missing their glass.
Twin 63 Corvettes Put To Shame The Prince Song
Not every car design choice has stuck over the years. One of the designs that didn't make it far was the split-window, which really just serves to interrupt the driver's view. But that's what makes these identical cars to distinguishable.
The little red corvettes are far from what Prince was singing about. The one further away in the photograph seems to have aged far more than the other, which has at least maintained most of its color.
Nature Won This Machine
This photograph is pretty insane once you absorb what's happened. What appears to be a 1970s Buick was left in a field for so long that a tree grew through it. As much as this looks like a cheap Hollywood trick, there's no way to explain the grill.
Someone would have had to reassemble the car while keeping the engine and hood an open spot for the tree. According to Better Homes & Gardens, a tree can reach its full maturity in 10 to 30 years. That means it had plenty of time to plow through this car.
Nature Is Consuming This Car
This car's paint has become so overcome by nature that it looks like the car is dressed in camouflage. If you pay enough attention to its shape, though, you can decipher it as the Morris MO Oxford.
The decades-old car was produced in the UK by Morris Motors, which had been around since the early 1900s. What we want to know is how the car door managed to make it off its hinges. Odds are a person mistakenly went near the rotting hunk of metal.
The Best-Looking Abandoned Car
The 1960 Mercedes-Benz 190b, or more generally speaking the W121, was only manufactured from 1959-1961. This one somehow ended up buried in leaves alongside an old, wooden wall. Next to the car you can see bicycles that are completey submerged in rust.
Given how old the car is and how long it would have had to sit there to be so sunken into its surroundings, the vehicle looks pretty good. Despite the paint rusting, the silver of the headlights and grill are surprisingly shiny. Whoever took this photo probably gave the car a bit of a facelift.
This Porsche Is Nearly Unrecognizable
Of all the breaking down cars we've seen thus far, this one probably takes the cake. The 1967 Porsche 912 is virtually unrecognizable. Thankfully, the hood and headlights are enough of an indication.
The car is one of 32,000 of its kind and might be the most defeated of them all. The top barely has anything to hold onto now that the doors have all fallen off. The jagged edges around the headlight indicate severe damage to the metal far beyond rust.
Is This Truck Haunted?
Don't be frightened by the woman barely visible in the driver's side window; as far as we know, she is not a ghost. However, between the seriously decrepit pickup truck and the fact it's positioned in front of a tree, it does seem as though the woman is lingering near her fatal accident.
One unique trait is the direction that the door opens, which is unusual for trucks that were recently built. The car maintains a body structure popular in the mid 20th century, though the inside is barely holding on by a thread.
A Moss-Covered Ford
From the minute that the 20th century hit, Henry Ford was contemplating a car company. He went on to make one of the world's most profitable companies. It's funny to think that the company we just mentioned produced this moss-ridden hunk of metal.
It isn't clear where the car is exactly, but we can presume that it's sitting next to a building that has also been abandoned. It's as though someone just got up and left their life behind.
The Dead Hearse
This hearse dates all the way back to 1919, meaning it's seen more years that its makers probably did. It's pretty incredible to see a vehicle that's more than a century old. The hears is clearly past the point of no return, but the fact it's still standing is unbelievable.
Unlike many of the car we've seen, this one still has all of its outter components in tact, aside from the glass. As they say, we just don't make things as durable as we used to.
This Looks Like An Abandoned Lot
These vehicles are so uniform that it looks as though the owners parked them one by own and then got out and left forever. Additionally, each car is rusted to almost the exact same degree, suggesting they've all been there for about the same amount of time.
Though multiple models are lined up, there are duplicates of some of the vehicles. It's as though this is the spot in the woods that all of the car dealers went to dump the excess.
A Sheet Of Dust
The Dodge Charger 400 RT was popularized by the car chase scene in the film Bullitt, wherein it races against a Ford Mustang GT. A car that can race like that is the last thing you would expect to be sitting and collecting dusk.
This vehicle is at least inside of a garage but it has clearly been abandoned like the others. This thick layer of dust suggests it's been years, maybe even decades, since this car was driven.
Here Is Car Purgatory
Welcome to the place where cars go to die. Like so many junkyards, this one is in the middle of the woods. The location makes it easier for mother nature to consume the slowly decaying metal.
To the right, we have a red Zastava 750, a version of the Fiat 600 and the smallest car ever made by Zastava. Beside that is a white Porsche coupe, and in the distance are loads more cars that no longer have a purpose.
Not Too Shabby
This is a 1970 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, and it looks like it's hardly been touched since it was first produced. On the bright side, this car isn't in too bad of shape on the interior.
Though the car clearly is covered in rust, the inside looks more or less intact. How well it runs is another story, however. The surrounding cars reveal that the car is likely in a junkyard and may have a few missing parts.
This Dino Might As Well Be A Dinosaur
This Ferrari Dino turned into a dinosaur thanks to its owner, leaving it to rot in the driveway. The erosion of the metal between the driver's side front tire and door is so impressive, it wouldn't be surprising to find out that someone took a chainsaw to it.
Though it doesn't look like it now, the car was hot stuff in the '60s and '70s as it offered an affordable sports car to the public. Though the model name sounds like the shorthand for "dinosaur," it actually was the middle name of the founder of Ferrari's son.
This Classic Is Barely Hanging On
Looking at this car is a lot like looking at an elderly person that has made it to the triple digits. It's unbelievable to think that they've seen so much and are still standing. Though the car appears red, it's unlikely that the original paint was red.
In fact, many of these cars were painted black. The color shows how severely decayed the car is. On top of that, the front is just a barren frame with only a single headlight. Despite the glass and tires missing, the body of the car is in pretty great standing all things considered.
Left In The Mountains
This car was found off-road in the mountains of New Mexico. Exposure to rain left the metal rusted and the paint has nearly come off the doors. What's odd is that the roof and back of the vehicle seem to be missing.
Unlike many of the other abandoned cars, this one's missing pieces are nowhere in sight. It also differs from the others because it was left on higher ground, which has prevented the car from being buried like some of the others.
Six Feet Below
This car appears to be sinking in quicksand. The car is covered not in the dust, but even worse in the mud. The Pontiac GTO was the Motor Trend Car of the Year in 1968, which is why it's so strange to see it treated in this way.
Though it appears to be inside of an enclosed space, the car somehow became covered in dirt. Judging by the fact its tires are sunk into the ground, it must have been there for a while. It looks as though the car was buried and then dug up years later.
The Firebird's Cousin
The Chevrolet Camaro was similar to the first generation Pontiac Firebird thanks to their shared body styling, which is made to resemble a coke bottle. Some versions are placed in the pony car category, while others are classified as muscle cars.
It's known as the cousin of the Firebird for their similar properties. Like the Firebird we just saw, this one is still in decent condition aesthetically speaking. Then again, this one is missing a hood and a windshield.
Possibly Newly Abandoned
The Ford Torino was named after the Italian city Torino, which is thought of as the country's Detroit. This one belongs to its first generation, which transcends the design of older models. The facelift was influenced by Mustang, though the cars were mostly conventional.
Having been abandoned for so many years, the car is turning the color of its surroundings. However, the abandoned vehicle stands out for having its glass still intact and looking otherwise functional. The primary visible damage so far is the paint.
Sometimes Looks Fade
The first thing to grab the eye when looking at this Pontiac Trans Am isn't the giant bird on the hood, but rather is the utterly demolished tire at the front passenger side. The driver must have driven the damaged tire to the rim, then pulled to the side of the road and left.
Apart from the damaged paint, the car doesn't appear to have been left too long ago. In the late 1970s, this would have been one of the more attractive cars.
This Wealthy Man's Car Went Broke
Among classic cars is the Buick, which still looks bold even buried in that pile of leaves. The robust body of the car was characteristic of the brand, which sold large luxury vehicles. Amongst the thriving economy, the vehicle was popular amongst the wealthy.
You wouldn't have guessed based off of this abandoned hunk of metal that the car was a symbol of class. This Buick is growing a thick layer of moss on its hood, which no longer can close.
The School Bus That Never Arrived At School
How this school bus ended up in the middle of the woods is a mystery better left unsolved. What we can deduce from the photograph is that this bus has been there for a very long time.
For one, it looks like a monster took a big bite out of the metal over the front tire. The tire also appears to have sunk all the way down to the rim, though the rubber doesn't appear damaged.
A Rare And Expensive Find
Though this car doesn't look like much in its filthy condition, it's actually worth millions. That's because the 1938 Bugatti 57C is a rare find and is here pictured in an old garage full of other treasures.
Though it appears that the flat tires and dirty exterior are the only damage that's been done to the car, a car that's been sitting for decades can suffer from a variety of interior damage due to termites, condensation, and the weight of the vehicle on itself.
What's Going On In These Woods?
This Cadillac model has the rounded body characteristic of cars in the earlier part of the mid 20th century. Considering how long it has presumably sat in this yard, the car has managed to stay put together relatively well.
The damage to the paint gives away the damage that otherwise could be undermined. It's also worth noting that it's sitting in a woodland area next to an abandoned boat and what looks like a truck turned up on its front wheels.
The Creepiest Van
Vans don't always get the best reputation. This makes sense considering the only people in the movies who ever have vans are the ones robbing banks or spying on someone. However, seeing a broken down van in the forest would be rather disturbing.
This Dodge appears to have been here for a while judging by its disfigured body shape. It looks like the surrounding branches have had their toll on this abandoned car. Most people leave their cars in a clearing of some sort, but the previous owner of this van left it in a cluttered mess.
A Car From Early California
Many people love to visit Joshua Tree in California for its climbing rocks. However, you can also go there to view this century-old car. The fact that this car is still standing is impressive, particularly when you look at how shredded the tires are.
The long vehicles would never pass today's road standards, but at the time it was incredibly innovative. Though the middle part is missing seats, the car is otherwise a complete skeleton of what it used to be.
Possibly Remnants From A Fire
This vehicle resembles one that's been set on fire due to its barren interior and severely damaged exterior. The car's original color is impossible to know due to the thick orange rust and the white that's resulted from damage.
Considering that the car is in much worse condition that other abandoned cars from before its time, it's safe to say that something tragic likely happened to incite such damage. Behind the car, you can see a trail leading to a fence where someone should have noticed and collected the scrap metal.
This Could Be Yours
This find is being sold for $500 if the window advertisement is correct. The car is missing so many vital characteristics, that the buyer would have a field day trying to get this particular vehicle back on the road.
It could be bought for its parts, which is why some choose to visit a junkyard in the first place. The vehicle is located in Hawaii, where abandoned vehicles have actually spiked in recent years.
Where Science Meets Nature
It's easy to forget that the technology of today is derived from the natural elements of the world. That's why artist Alicia Ruis decided to photograph cars like this one, which had been left to be reclaimed by nature.
While abandoned cars are at one end sad looking since they are so far from their original condition, seeing the damage that nature brings upon them is a reminder of the force of nature and that nothing is everlasting.
That's One Way To Express Yourself
We're curious if this Volkswagon Beetle was abandoned in the streets of São Paulo before it was doodled all over, or if the wild design was done by the previous owner. Regardless, it's funny to look at.
The car couldn't have been abandoned much earlier, because the tow truck was only removing the car from the street at the time the photo was taken. However, the car lacks its hood and is full of plants rather than parts.
A Reminder Of The Past
Perhaps the best thing about abandoned cars is that they tell a story, and give perspective into the time that has passed. Older cars that have been restored are a wonderful way to experience the newness that our ancestors experienced.
However, when we see a car in its worn-out state, it goes to show how much time has passed since it was originally made. As with this car, we see both the design and dimension of the old vehicle, and the age that's manifested in its peeling exterior.
Consumed By The Earth
The same artist who took the photo we saw a few cars back took this photo. While the sight of a car being swallowed up by the land is pretty odd, it also is comforting to know that nothing is immortal, no even the materialistic items that we adore.
The car managed to stay rather intact until the end. The strength of cars like this one is a testament to the incredible engineering that humans have managed to master. While cars are a wonderful advance, even they don't last forever.
