Last year, I featured “CC’s Western Wall” that I also call The Wall of Cars, my nickname for a scrapyard in Laramie, WY that had a huge wall/pile of cars that went on and on. While they’ve started whittling away at part of it, I noticed they got a bunch of obviously new additions so I stopped and took a look yesterday on my way home from there.
They don’t seem to have a fence (or it’s buried under the cars) but the chunk of land between The Wall and the railroad tracks seems to be a non-signposted no-man’s-land that this new batch sits upon. Most importantly for me, there are no signs forbidding access. I drove right on up and since it was cold just rolled down my window with the heater on full blast, snapped the pictures, and got back on the road. Most of them superficially seem more or less OK, but that’s the case with many of the cars at this place, not every one is horribly wrecked etc.
So that’ll make a fine question for today – which one of these would YOU take home and use after you fix it? And why over the others? The first contender is possibly the most CC-worthy, obviously an AMC Eagle. Resplendent in wood paneling and lots of chrome trim, these seem to be on the verge (verge!) of becoming sort of collectible.
Perhaps though you’ve lusted for something more genteel, perhaps for this Mercury Mystique GS, that tweener-sized twin to the Ford Contour that was somehow both too Euro but not Euro enough, and in any case way too expensive to replace the Tempo/Topaz without bumping up into the Taurus class. Nevertheless, FoMoCo seemed to sell a bunch of them (as well as several more bunches to Hertz), but I can’t recall the last time I saw one of the Mercury ones rolling around. You could be that guy or gal!
Pushed up hard against the Mystique I was surprised to see a Buick Park Avenue. I quite like these, even if this doesn’t appear to be a supercharged Ultra version. With 3800 V6 power, a very comfortable interior, and some of Buick’s finest build quality, these were surprisingly common in the Bay Area when I still lived there. Out here though? Quite a rarity. I wonder what went wrong with it to end up here, although this part of the country sees some very high annual mileages.
Mercedes-Benz E-320 wagon. It is a 4-Matic and it appears to have California plates (rear visible in next pic). I really wonder what wheels were on this one to cause them to disappear. Perhaps it merely had good tires, who knows. Anyway, now flopped unceremoniously in the snow it no longer has quite the presence it would have had on the dealership floor when new. This generation wasn’t nearly as beloved as its W124 predecessor generation but still sold in respectable numbers, and the E-class wagon supposedly has the highest average income demographic of all of Mercedes’ lines. There’s probably some wheels that’d fit in the stack o’iron behind it and they’ll use the forklift to heft it off the ground. Easy peasy.
Yes, I know, heresy; Civics supposedly last forever and don’t wear out. Well, this one seems to have had a few hits in front on its way here and who knows what else. It’s still not a bad-looking car and while some may call it bland, others may simply prefer its non-shouty nature. Fix that one thing, whatever it is, and it’ll possibly never need anything else.
Oy, a Chevy Venture, as unbeloved a minivan as is possible. Sold on price, driven hard, put away wet, and eventually junked. I can’t say I was ever a huge fan although they are more attractive than the preceding Lumina version. And more attractive than the successor Uplander version that tried to look like an SUV. Changing the name always seems like an admission that something wasn’t well regarded, right? Anyway, between this, the Lumina and the Uplander, I guess that makes this the most attractive FWD Chevy minivan ever made then…although I still prefer the RWD/AWD Astro, even though it’s supposedly an even bigger deathtrap than these U-bodies in a frontal collision.
Someone managed to make that most Euro-flavored of Cadillacs ugly with those chrome fender trims, they go oh-so-well with the blacked out window trim. This generation Seville is, to me, the single most attractive shape that Cadillac built between oh, 1975 and today. It has presence, doesn’t look cheesy, isn’t trying too hard, and looks comfortable in its own skin. This is a Cadillac I may have bought once upon a time. (But OK, I probably would have bought the Audi instead as I re-read this. Still, if I had to pick a Caddy, this would be the one, just for the styling).
How fitting that right in front of the Cadillac Seville is a Lincoln LS. These are pretty rare around here, but obviously have their fans too. Edward Snitkoff would pick this over the Seville I’m pretty sure, but Brendan Saur wouldn’t be caught dead in it. For him there’s an old P38 Range Rover around the front of the place but I didn’t get a picture. Seen one Range Rover not running by the side of the road, seen them all…
Chevy S-10’s are like cockroaches too, just when you think you’ve seen the last of them, another pops up. This one seems to have led a pretty hard life but still has bumpers on both ends. Four wheels, enough lugnuts to hold them more or less on, and it’ll probably fire right up. Remember, it’s a Chevy, it’ll run poorly for longer than most others will run at all.
My PhD candidate tenant has one of these (festooned with bumper stickers on the tailgate), for a minute I thought this might be his but no it isn’t. Volvo XC70 Cross Countrys seem to outlast Audi Allroads but eventually the added complexity catches up with them as well, not really a surprise to see one here. The front end damage likely caused it to end up here, although I think the transmissions are in general more the 70-series’ Achilles Heel. The seats in these were excellent from what I recall, and this one still looks fairly modern. Which of course it is, although the oldest of them are now almost twenty years old, hard to believe.
And hard up against it, parked Parisian style, is one from the prior generation. Again with great seats and a very comfortable dynamic, these (and the newer one) were very popular here in the Rockies.
And then right next to the older Volvo XC70 is the grand-daddy of the segment, an early Subaru Outback. It’s hard to overstate just how popular these still are around here, even though most are total beaters by now. Still, they all seem to have well over 200k miles on them, and still seem to chug around town just fine, no matter how many times the head gaskets will have been changed by now (Or maybe just once with a better design/version to give them the fountain of youth?)
One of the few in this assortment with actual serious visible damage and deployed airbags, no surprise why this is here (for now). Is this the 4Runner’s greatest generation, I like to think so, the looks were just right, the 3.4 V6 had enough power and the interior was an attractive and comfortable place to be. A couple of years ago I think this one would still have been put back together by someone but eventually these get too old as well I suppose. But perhaps Gtemnykh and his brother would try?
The first generation unibody Grand Cherokee was everywhere back in the day too, now they are dropping off as well.
If you go back to the prior picture you will see that someone actually replaced the back plastic tailgate panel that ALWAYS is cracked on every one of these. And it still looks intact but being the wrong color looks even worse than with the crack. Sheesh.
My in-laws bought one of this generation Explorer (a 2002 I believe) new but in RWD, my sister-in-law still drives it around Santa Monica; I remember when my FIL told me he got it for $18,000 out the door, an absolute base model though with presumably less to go wrong. This one here looks like the opposite end of the spectrum, a fairly gussied up example. Not unattractive, but this generation was definitely on the downside of the BOF Explorer’s popularity curve.
Mr Shafer, all I can say is that at least the one in your driveway is white and not whatever color they call this one. And yours is in fantastic condition. I’ll let you and Mr. “ClubWagon” Cavanaugh debate and fight over this one. I just…can’t.
The high point of this little Focus sedan is probably the door handles, they felt good and solid as I recall from whenever I drove my mother’s hatchback ZX3 version. Overall this is a much better “Euro”-Ford than the Contour/Mystique we saw towards the beginning, but Europe never bought as many Foci in sedan form as we did. If it was a wagon or a hatch it’d be much higher on my own personal hit-parade, but DougD probably still has some spare parts that’d fit this in his garage.
The Impreza-based Outback Sport was never really that popular for some reason, although it looks decent to me. This is sort of like today’s XV Crosstrek I suppose although that one is selling like the dickens. With minor front end damage this one must have massive mileage to not be salvageable before getting here. That’s a minor but scary-ish hit, these are all on the Takata recall list. It’s a good, if rare, color too.
This mid-2000’s Toyota Sienna in a great dark blue color with some weird front end damage (paint?) makes it looks uncomfortably like my own fire-victim Sienna from back in the day post-fire. Now fondly remembered by me, these seem rare to see junked (although they obviously do get junked). With a willing 3.3 V6 (later a 3.5) they are quite a lot faster than many thought and a great option for seeing the country or just tootling around town. All this one (as well as the others) sees now is the train on one side and its dismal future on the other, sadly…So consider these choices and answer the question – Which one would you take and why over the others?
Most don’t appear to have landed there as a result of rust issues, unlike our Ontario cars of the same vintage
The Eagle is the one I would save. Probably the most collectable of the bunch, and not much in the way of complicated electronics to worry about, basic and straightforward to work on. Underpowered and thirsty as these were, I always thought they were kind of cool.
A straight six from a later Jeep Cherokee would likely bolt right in, solving the power problem and likely give better mileage since it wouldn’t have to work as hard.
Ditto. I’m in the EU so it will get an LPG conversion to deal with the consumption. All the others are well into the electronic age and are festooned with things which I cannot repair when they decide to go AWOL.
The color of that Club Wagon is called “Over Processed Lasagna Noodle”.
What surprises me is seeing the ramp right behind that broken window – it appears this may be converted for use by those with mobility issues. Unless there is something drastically wrong mechanically (and with a likely 5.4 or 4.6 the odds are greatly reduced) I’m surprised to see it here. These are so stinking expensive when new that depreciation isn’t applicable and they stay on the road a very long time. My neighbor in Hannibal had a 10 year old Chevrolet Venture so equipped and got nearly $20k when she sold it outright after her chair-bound husband died.
From what’s here I’d go with one of the sedan based wagons for the offspring to haul her harp although I have some apprehension about repair costs on the Mercedes.
That’s what I was going to say. There’s so much value added in that conversion that heroics to keep the van mobile make a lot more sense. I can’t understand why that’s there.
And/or pulling the lift to put in another van, although the spacers around the bumpers mean this one might have a lowered floor too. Either way, even now any organization that repairs cars for charity would gladly accept it as a donation.
All seem to have taken a hit to the front, any deforming of the chassis rails writes them off here just due to the cost of repairs, as an example an idiot backed into the front of my C5 a few months ago the quote to repair minor cosmetic damage was $2,939.00 a new bumper skin alone was $1200, he wasnt insured denied responsibility so Ive just left it alone after refitting the lower grille, car still runs and drives fine and the rest isnt immaculate.
The vintage CCs are in the ‘wall’ at the back. Including a demolition derby victim Colonnade Cutlass.
What in the world happened to the Winnebago, behind the blue Sienna?
Looks like it met up with the train and lost, badly.
Out of the options presented, the Cherokee. These were sturdy and came with Mopar’s awesome 318. Or, maybe even better, the AMC inline six. I do need a 4X4 for our winter driving. Plus, I just like them. Although… I saw a Bronco ll with intact glass to the left and behind it…
Eagle, definitely. There are some sad sights in the stack, R body New Yorker, Lincoln Mark IV, Lincoln Mark VII, Plymouth Horizon TC3, E21 BMW, colonnade Cutlass sedan, last of the huge Continentals.
Also missed the 66 dodge polara behind the LS.
TC-3?!? WHERE??? I can’t seem to find it……. I located a pristine one (when they were a couple of years old) for a younger sister’s first car! 🙂
It’s buried deep in the stack in the picture with the 4Runner, left of the 4runner’s windshield below the F-series bed
“The high point of this little Focus sedan is probably the door handles, they felt good and solid as I recall from whenever I drove my mother’s hatchback ZX3 version.”
I have a somewhat opposite recollection and vaguely remember how loose and jiggly the door handles were on the first generation Focus.
And I agree that the Eagle in the first photo is probably the best candidate for saving, although that Park Avenue appears to be in the best shape.
You really have to wonder what’s wrong with some of those cars, particularly the ones that look otherwise very clean. With those, I suppose there’s some sort of major malfunction in the drivetrain: engine, transmission, or simply uncorrectable electronic gremlins and the expense involved to fix simply doesn’t make the vehicle worth saving.
It does not take much of a hit in the front to total a car, especially an FWD or AWD/4WD.
There also could be an expensive airbag deployment even with little visible bent metal; and I seem to recall that in some states, an accident-related airbag deployment requires a salvage title.
That would explain it. A light pop in the front that didn’t do much damage but deployed the airbags on an older car, making it a salvage title recipient, then the insurance pays out on it as totaled, and now what appears to be an otherwise decent car is sitting at the boneyard.
Likewise, there’s the advent of Carfax which goes a long way to verifying a car’s history, making it much tougher to repair and hide even minimal collision damage.
Another thing that sends some older cars to bone yards is long time owners passing away, and the kids don’t want “that old car”. So, donated, and only scrap buyers get it cheap at auction. Such as that white Park Ave. I think.
And the 5th Ave, Cutlass Ciera, and R body Chrysler in the pile may have had same fate.
That Cadillac Seville, or the older Volvo if the snow stays around.
The Cadillac Seville, though still nice-looking, may have the Deadly-Sin Northstar engine; and the Honda Civic, a bent front frame.(it looks kind of warped).
That PlastiWood-slathered Eagle can occupy my driveway anytime!
Some very cool stuff in those piles.
The E-320 Mercedes would be my pick. I bet the rims disappeared because they were sexy AMCs’ with Pirelli P600 and some decent tread still. Sadly, my W124 will soon be going this way too. Never thought it would happen, but it’s way past economical repair now; busted bumpers, rusted wings, damaged bonnet, rusty exhaust, blown air-con evaporator, dodgy gearbox, sagging headliner and blowing pistons. The only panel not dented is the roof!
There’s a 4-WD S-10 Blazer 2 door with the V-6 and a stick with my name on it in that pile somewhere. I’ll take a Jimmy if not. That pickup will do as well.
The AMC. Owned several, gave me good service, easy to maintain, and did everything I asked of them. With a sense of simplistic style as well, this is simple question for me.
Either the JGC or the S-10.
S10 gets a rip-roaring 5.3 LS motor, 17″ Soft 8 (Nascar) steelies, 1LE Z28 front brakes, a 2″ lowering with stiffer springs and big swaybars…and nothing else, leave the gray primer and ratty body.
So you’re saying you’d lift it from its current stance? 🙂 . I like the way you’re thinking!
In my area these used cars still worth A lot of money so No junking Down Here unless the Body is severely damaged beyond repair and If you want you can skip replacing the air bags.Cops don’t care as long as they get their pack of Winston.
Don’t really see much that I would want to take home with me, but the white Chevy G series drywall and painting van looks pretty straight from this angle. The S-10 would be cool and easy to play with. I like the Lincoln LS and the old 40’ railroad box car with the roof walk. I did notice the white Dodge K van that has a mobilty ramp in it as well.
And, are old motor homes like refrigerators where when you put them out, you have to take the doors off of them?.
I once had a Seville in that body style, and the Northstar’s issues are way overplayed. About 20% fall victim of the head pulling issues and mine didn’t in the 160,000 miles that it slowly accumulated in my family. That said, it was done in by a combination of several $1500 issues all at once, none of which would’ve individually been fatal, but the combination of which make fixing it far more valuable than the car. It still looked good, accelerated smoothly, and felt solid. If someone was determined to keep one going, it’s no better or worse than a BMW or Mercedes of the same era: if it needs suspension, electrical, or engine work you can count on $1500 minimum. If that’s not a problem, go for it.
Out of this group, that Park Avenue would be the one most likely to get you to work for the next 5 years. I wouldn’t mind having one.
My heart bleeds for that Park Avenue. I’ve always liked these, and for years sort of dreamed about buying a used one someday.
They are getting old and hard to find, but you won’t regret buying a clean Park Avenue or LeSabre.
My folks had an Eagle wagon like that, only blue with wire wheel covers. Drove it to Prom.
I actually bought a 2001 Venture minivan, new (purchase based on an extended rental), in that color – it was an LS with the black trim and door handles – the pictured seems to be an LT or “WB edition” with painted trim. It was fine and worked well for us for 8 years. I fit a riding lawnmover in the back with the seats removed. I’m not sure the competition was that much better at the time.
The LS or the Seville for me. Tough call but I think I would ultimately pick the LS.
Park Avenue for me. They’re tough and comfy, and the 3800 is cheap and easy to fix and strong like bull.
It’s the Seville or LS without a dozen warning lights on the dashboard.
As always Jim, the lack of rust in these photos is highly amusing…
I’ll take the Lincoln LS if it’s a five speed (unlikely) but do kinda like that early 80’s Civic behind the Shafer van..
That Civic appears to be the one car with visible rust all around the wheel arches….
I’d bring a cutting torch, cut out the Vasquez sign, and hang it on my wall. Pretty.
I like the Mercedes wagon. The S10 probably just needs wheels and some gasoline to drive right out of there. I thought I saw a Saab 9000 up there somewhere, too. How are those Park Avenues’ reliability when they are approaching the daily/beater phase? I am thinking of replacing the old-but-reliable Taurus because it is made mostly now of rust and wishful thinking.
The sheer amount of first generation “S” Chrysler minivans in the background! So this is where they all ended up 🙂
If I had to take my choice from the featured cars, it would be the E-Class wagon. There’s something so classy and old money about those. Although I can’t say it would be an inexpensive car to keep up and running.
Thanks for the shoutout too!
Beat me to it on the Caravans! Out of the highlighted choices, the LS is the best looking in my book, but with scary potential or already-realized issues.
That E Class wagon is what Carmella Soprano drove. Before she got the Cayenne. More like dirty money. 🙂
None of them really do it for me as things I might want to bring back from purgatory, though the Outback, which seems very well preserved for its generation, comes close. My first Subaru was a 1996 model with the 2.2 L engine that didn’t have the head gasket problems of its 2.5 L descendants.
It was beginning to host some electrical gremlins that I would have to address when somebody hit me from behind, and the insurance company declared it a total loss and took it away. Though Subarus are major sellers where I live, ones of that generation are becoming rare due to normal attrition and road salt. The occasional survivor catches my eye. My family fleet has had three Outbacks, including my current 2007 model, so I am pretty good at repairing them.
An S10 of similar vintage to the one pictured, a 1983 or 84 if memory serves, with extended cab, was once my daily driver. It was a reliable, if unexceptional vehicle that served me well. One day the clutch went on it, and my friend and I used his car to drag it to the gas station where we both worked as gas pumpers.
I needed it to get to school and work the next day, and I could ill afford to have it attended to by a professional. With basic tools, and without experience or a service manual, my friend and I got it done that evening for the cost of parts and a few hours of our time, to our mutual surprise and satisfaction. The clutch lasted as long as I had the truck. A surprising thing that I remember was that the transmission, though a manual, used ATF.
The great wall of cars in the background reminds me of an old junkyard a few towns from where it live. It went out of business in the 1970s or 80s and has been partially cleared out in order to remediate its effects on nearby wetlands.
Junkyards draw my attention like a light bulbs draw that of moths, and I was able to get in and explore it a few times before the most recent clearing. Its most notable attraction was a pink Edsel out by the road.
Its wall contains older vehicles, more crushed down than the one in the pictures here, and the effects of time have dulled its once vibrant colors.
Eagle for me.
I’m intrigued by that green coupe in the wall behind the Exploder. Is it an Impala/Caprice?
Yes, it looks like a 77-79 Caprice/Impala. I noticed it right away too, as it’s one of my favourite B-bodies.
Eagle as a collectable, definitely. Civic or Focus as a daily driver, if one of ’em has a clutch pedal that’s the one I’ll take.
Did anyone notice Peggy Hill’s Buick behind the Caddy and Lincoln? I guess Hank made her junk it after the show ended…….
The van what ever the colour is for me
I like those Park Avenues quite a bit, but white is my least favorite color.
I think most interesting are the ’66 Dodge and the boxcar. Also can’t remember the last time I saw a RWD Century sedan.
For some strange reason I want to save the Venture. It’s in better shape than my Silhouette as the rust monster is feasting heavily on the Doraville steel. The drivetrain is rock solid (other than the leaky valve cover gasket) and with new wheels and tires, it’s plowing through the snow here like a fat man at a all you can eat buffet.
A friend has a Venture of the same era (2004), and even though that van’s equipment level is far less, I actually like it more than my own van. The pictured van looks like an LT, which would be between my buddy’s stripper and my loaded Silo. I find I like the van, as it drives pretty well and you can throw a lot of stuff in it and not have to worry about it. These things are at the bottom of the depreciation curve (and will probably never crawl back up), so while it’s not exactly driving for free, it’s pretty close. If you end up with a $1000 repair, junk it and find another one.
I could see adopting several of these. I could get in line for the Eagle, and could also happily accept the Grand Cherokee or the Outback. That Explorer is intriguing, so long as it’s a V8.
I can buy one of those Civics any time I want (with the right offer to my daughter). As for the van, I will be another who says no thanks. I think that color was called Melanoma Frost.
I love the wall of cars! It got me thinking maybe this is the answer the President is looking for on the southern border…
My choice would be the Park Avenue or the Seville, two cars GM really got right in the 90’s.
Awful lot of two box vehicles. Is that representative of the mix there?
My first pick would be the 4Runner, almost bulletproof 3.4l v6 a340 auto trans and Toyota/Hino 8″ axles. Would not take much to put back on the road.
Second would be a tie between the Outback wagon and Buick Park avenue as both are very well engineered cars with a well deserved reputation for long life.
The blue Sienna, absolutely.. We have one (a 2005) with 256,,000 miles since we bought it new and all it does is run.. Will also testify to the faster than it looks, since I’ve been in some 95 mpg runs down I-95 with absolutely no problems. A great car.
the AMC Eagle for me but the Volvos and Subaru’s were close AMC Eagle because it is quite unique and is cool
AMC Eagle