Tag: Junkyard
Junkyard Gem: 1960 Mercedes-Benz 180b
During my junkyard travels, I document plenty of discarded Mercedes-Benzes from the 1970s and 1980s. Earlier Stuttgart machinery is a bit tougher to find, though I had managed to run across a couple of 1950s W120 proto-E-Class sedans prior to now. Here’s the third boneyard W120 to fall before my camera: a very solid 1960
Junkyard Gem: 1988 Nissan Maxima
Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Toyota and Nissan were locked in a ferocious battle to sell Americans large-ish luxury sedans full of futuristic electronics and powered by meaty six-cylinder engines. Toyota had the Cressida (a close cousin of the Supra), while Nissan had the Datsun 810 (a close cousin of the Z-Car).
Junkyard Gem: 1981 Ford LTD Country Squire
Ford began using the Country Squire name to designate the top trim level of its biggest station wagon models back in the 1950 model year, with Country Squire production continuing all the way through the last of the squared-off Ford LTD Crown Victorias in 1991. All Country Squires had wood (1950-1951) or “wood” (1952-1991) body
Junkyard Gem: 2007 Saturn Vue Green Line
When the first Insights appeared in American Honda showrooms in late 1999, the era of production gas-electric hybrids on our streets officially began. That car was so cramped and goofy-looking, despite being a 60-mpg masterpiece of fuel-efficient design, that few paid it much mind … but then the Prius arrived here about a year later.
Junkyard Gem: 1991 Mazda Navajo
Noting the way American Motors and then Chrysler printed money by putting former sedan and wagon drivers into new XJ Cherokees during the second half of the 1980s, Ford got busy designing a suburbia-friendly SUV based on off-the-shelf Ranger powertrain and suspension components. This was the Explorer, which debuted for the 1991 model year and
Junkyard Gem: 1990 Mazda MPV 4WD
New minivans with four driven wheels began to appear on American roads in quantity during the early 1990s, after Toyota and Volkswagen managed to move some four-wheel-drive TownAces and Vanagon Syncros here during the 1980s. GM offered the all-wheel-drive Chevy Astro/GMC Safari starting in the 1990 model year, while Ford and Chrysler were right there
Junkyard Gem: 1965 Plymouth Belvedere Race Car
I’ve found the occasional retired race car during my junkyard travels, but most of them have been fairly modern machines. Today’s Junkyard Gem is a different sort of racing remnant: an ancient dirt-track beast that probably last saw service more than 40 years ago, found in a Denver-area yard last summer. It’s really just a
Junkyard Gem: 1977 Toyota Celica GT
Toyota spent the second half of the 1960s watching Detroit print dollars by taking plain-looking compacts and turning them into fun, sporty machines with a minimum of investment. Ford made the Mustang from the Falcon, GM made the Camaro from the Chevy II, and Chrysler made the Barracuda from the Valiant. So, when developing the