Life After Death: Where Old Cars Go To Die: Domestics Edition

As stated with my last post, the local "pick and pull" had relatively few interesting cars this time of year, mainly due to CFC just ending. The yard was overflowing with SUVs and trucks of all shapes and sizes, but mostly those of the GM and Ford variety. The selection of trucks, vans and SUVs that were dying reminded of the typical used car lot selection--single cabs, extended cabs, leather, cloth, 2WD, 4WD, the yard had it all. Want a 1996 Chevy 1500 Z71 with leather? Want a 10 year old Toyota 4Runner without rust? Or howbout a mid 1990s Ford Explorer? Maybe you fancy an Isuzu Trooper? Or are you looking for a Dodge Caravan or Voyager? Perhaps a Windstar is more your liking.
When I arrived, the selection of cars shocked me, to say the least. One whole half of the yard was littered with Chrysler products from end to end. Intrepids, Avengers, Caravans, Durangos, Rams, Spirits, Cirrus, Neons, no matter the modern Chrysler product, this yard had a vehicle you could cannibalize if needed. The GM and Ford selections didn't fare much better, though the selection of cars in both categories were much more limited. Grand Ams and other 3.1 powered goodies accounted for most of the GM selection, with a few 1999+ thrown in for good measure. On the Ford side, Escorts and ZX2s and thier derivatives seemed to make up most of that side, while the selection of sports/sporty cars at either brand was pretty slim. I can't remember seeing any Mustangs, and I saw maybe two GM F Bodies.
Making my way through the truck section to start out, I got bored of combing through endless rows of dead Explorers and full-size Chevy trucks, so I didn't even finish the section. I did notice a few oddballs, though I managed to snap only two.
First up is a Ford Escape V6. Written on the windshield is the stock number, which signifies it as a CFC. Sort of sad, really, because these Escapes aren't even that old. Being a 2001, and only eight years old, it should've had a long life ahead of it. But, no.. the idiot owner decided it was worth $4500 towards the purchase of a new, more fuel efficient vehicle. Like what? a $35,000 Escape Hybrid that gets 5 MPG more?

Next up on the list is a bit of a shocker. Lost in all the remains of Jeep Cherokees and Grand Cherokees, I knew a piece of the modern-Jeep-pie was missing. Skipping through hoards and hoards of once trail rated machines, this Wrangler had me doing a double take. Why? Not only was it the only one in the yard, it seemed as it was saying "what the hell happened to me?" If I knew I was waiting to rot, wilting in the cold, Minnesota winter, I'd have that kinda look on my face, too.

As I mentioned above, interesting cars were far and few between, with both domestic cars I snapped being GM products. Most of the GMs in the yard were of the A body variety, with Cutlass Cieras making up the biggest portion of the "collection". While Chevy Celebritys were common cars here 10 to 15 years ago, seeing one today is a rare sight, so seeing one in the junkyard kind of sucked. What made it all the more sad is that this one was not only Eurosport, but a Eurosport wagon. The Eurosport was to the Celebrity what the STE was to the Pontiac 6000, the T Type was to the Buick Century, and the International was to the Cutlass Ciera. These cars had, for the most part, meatier tires, more standard features, and sportier body styling including upgraded alloy wheels, and different paint and trim options. These relatively small appearance changes helped the car look more towards the "nice" department, versus base models being bland, or "meh" in slang speak. In gray with red pinstriping and badging, this Celebrity was probably a relatively nice looking car in its day compared to a base wagon, or even the hubcapped CL.


Progressing through the GM section older cars became more and more common, with rust hulk G bodies making up most of the inventory. Big GMs are a rare sight here, both on the street, and in the yard, as I found out by this lone specimen of Oldsmobile 98 coupe. Being the curious fellow I am, I poked around this beast and found that the original wire hubcaps were intact, and inside the relatively clean--for a junkyard--interior. Being so complete, this yard finding made me a bit sad. At least it wasn't candy painted and thrown up on 26s like so many kids would find "tight" or "cool" today.

Moving onto the Ford section didn't yield too many surprises, however. There were only two cars I found worth photographing out of the whole 200+ car lot. I skipped the Windstars, and more than half of the Taurii and Escorts got no glance from me. I was nonchalantly wandering through the corpses of America's Best Selling wreck, when in the corner, something caught my eye. I noticed the subtle lip kit, and unique alloys, so I moved in for a closer inspection. I found a Taurus SHO in the yard. This 1994 model was not a CFC, so I'm led to believe it had a rough life to end up here. The body seemed to be in great shape, with no rust, and no crash damage. Methinks it suffers a grenaded transmission. One too many burnouts, perhaps?

The only other car I shot in the Ford section was this Mercury Capri. Suffering for marketing screw-up, these underpowered convertibles didn't sell very well in the US. The back seat was too cramped for a four year old, the engine wheezed at mountain altitudes, and the top was a chore to open and close. But, I still like em. I'd never own one, but I do think they were, and still are nice cars from their era. This example was one of two or three I've seen in the yard throughout my four or five times visiting, so they are slowly disappearing from our roads. Maybe I should shoot the next one I see parked. Just maybe.