Abandoned Car of the Week

The remains of a Chevrolet



A rusty hulk is all that remains of this 1966 Chevrolet in eastern North Carolina. Its small block V-8 is gone, perhaps removed to give new life to another car. 1966 was a good year for Chevrolet with 2.2 million in sales.
(Photo by Ralph Gable)

Bullet-nose Studebaker

Studebaker adopted a bullet-nose look in 1950 giving its car a fresh appearance. Studebaker called it "The Next Look" in cars perhaps implying it would start a trend. Apparently the redesign worked — 1950 sales jumped nearly 250 percent rising to 320,884 units from 129,301 in 1949. This restorable '50 Studebaker was found in Casa Grande, Ariz. (Photo by Jim Prueter)

Paris Springs Sinclair and an old Packard



An old Sinclair gas station has been restored and turned into a Route 66 attraction in the village of Paris Springs Junction, Mo. The gas station, which was established in 1926 on the Chicago to Los Angeles highway, is now a tourist stop on the old route and contains some artful displays of old cars. One of those displays features a 1952 Packard that is being worked on by a "thirsty" mechanic.
(Photo by Jim Meachen)


Remains of a Rambler


With the introduction of the Rambler in 1950, Nash established a new segment that is acknowledged to be the first successful modern American compact car. The original Rambler, produced from 1950 through 1955, came in sedan, station wagon, hardtop and convertible formats. This Nash "Country Club" 2-door hardtop was found in an automobile graveyard along Route 66. (Photo by Jim Prueter)


A Sonoma in the woods



This 1990s GMC Sonoma compact pickup truck was found languishing in the weeds in eastern North Carolina with a load of junk in its bed. The Sonoma was the GMC version of the Chevrolet S-10, built from 1981 through 2004 in North America. (Photo by Jim Meachen)

Ready for an abandoned vacation

It's possible to find more than just Harley-Davidson motorcycles at some Harley dealerships. Take the Lindon, Utah, store for example. Outside on display was a used up 1959 Chevrolet station wagon complete with  boat on top, presumably ready for a summer vacation. Chevrolet sold 1,462,140 cars in 1959 outselling Ford by a scant 10,000 units. (Photo by Jim Meachen)

Old Chevy dusted with snow



The "Advance Design" Chevrolet pickup trucks entered the scene in June 1947, and exterior styling remained virtually the same through 1953. The first major change was with the grille treatment in 1954. This post-World War II Chevy pickup was found with a dusting of snow in late-winter Nevada.
(Photo by Jim Prueter)

LeBaron convertible in disrepair



This 1993 Chrysler LeBaron convertible was found abandoned in eastern North Carolina, its useful life probably at an end. The1993 LeBaron got a slight restyle with the hidden headlamps of the 1987-92 models, deleted in favor of less aerodynamic headlamps. The convertible was 184.8 inches in length with a 100.5-inch wheelbase, equating to a large compact car in today's sizes. Two turbocharged versions of Chrysler's 4-cylinder engine — a 2.2-liter and a 2.5-liter — were available along with a 3.0-liter Mitsubishi V-6 making 141 horsepower.
(Photo by Jim Meachen)

A post-war Chevrolet panel van



Chevrolet made very few exterior changes to its panel van between 1947 and 1953 after completing reinventing the van — tagging it Advance-Design — following the end of World War II. Starting in 1951, trucks and vans got door vent windows, which would make this Chevy, photographed by Jim Prueter, a 1951-1953 model. Chevrolet pickups and vans is this era were number one in sales in the U.S.

Watching the world go by



Packard was completely redesigned for the 1951 model year and remained mostly the same, but with styling tweaks, through the 1954 model year. Packard dropped the number configurations for models is 1953 and went to Clipper (base), Cavalier (mid-level) and Patrician (top). A 1953 Clipper, left, and a 1953 Cavalier, right, watch traffic go by on an eastern North Carolina highway. Packard sold 90,252 cars in 1953, which turned out to be its best-selling year before the brand was terminated in1958 after merging with Studebaker.
(Photo by Jim Meachen)