Audi A8

Time for another abandoned car from Dubai, I think.

(Photo by Danny McL)

Not much to write about the Audi A8. It has been the big luxury limousine by Audi since 1994.
The second generation started in 2002, and the facelifted model you see in the picture was sold between 2005 and 2009.
It was probably dumped on the airport, when in the recession last year, managers flew the country in order to not be arrested.

The nice car abandoned here once looked similar to this one:

(Photo from mobile.de)

Rolls Royce Silver Shadow and Porsche 911

Here we have a nice combo on a farm in Australia.

(Picture by racin jason)

Both cars were expensive when they were built. Nowadays, they are not extremely expensive anymore, because they are not that rare.
The Silver Shadow I, also known as Silver Wraith, has been built about 17000 times and is nowadays available for around 10000€ in good condition.
The Porsche, which has been produced in much larger numbers, nevertheless costs at least 15000€ for a good example.
Both cars were built in the second half of the 1960's.
I can't imagine a reason why the owner of the farm lets them and many other cars rot there, but he won't sell them and their condition does not really look excellent.
Both cars were many men's dream when they were new and looked like this:
(Picture by luxurycarphotos.com)

Saab 96

(Picture by dok1, click the photo for a higher resolution)

The Saab 96 was first introduced to the market in 1960. After five years, it got a big facelift that made it look like the example in the picture, which is rusting away somewhere in Colorado, USA. That also means it has a four stroke cycle engine, which was a big innovation for Saab.
The next facelift in 1969 changed the headlights to a form that was kept nearly untouched until the end of the production in 1980.
Pay attention to the wooden bumper of the abandoned Saab.
As usual in the 1960s, the bumper originally was chrome, as you can see here:

(Photo taken by Albert S. Bite)

Chevrolet Biscayne

(Photo by radnage70)
This beautiful 1959 Chevrolet Biscayne has been photographed on a scrapyard.
It was the smallest Chevrolet at that time, although it is 5,31m long.
In my opinion, it looks amazing with that mixture of rust and matte paint.

I wasn't able to find a picture of the Bicayne from the back in original shape, but this one is obviously restored and tuned:

(Picture from ridelust.com)

Datsun 411 Bluebird SS

(Photo by dave_7)
This Datsun was found in the yard of a Canadian Nissan dealership.
The model has been built from 1964 to 1967, changing its name from 410 with a minor facelift in 1965. As the difference between the 1964 and 1965 model is only recongizable by changed letters on the fender, which are missing on this car here, I can't tell whether this is a 410 or a 411. However, it was definitely built before 1966, as the grille changed in this year.
The SS-version was Datsun's "performance-saloon" with 65 hp compared to 45 to 60 hp in the normal models.

Jaguar XJ220

Ok, already the second Jaguar here. But this time, it is more exclusive.
A photographer found this in a desert in Quatar:

Peugeot 504 Coupe

Here we have a Peugeot 504 Coupe just standing on a street in the Netherlands.

(Photo by Skitmeister)

The car looks more or less undamaged, only the paint will probably have suffered from the dirt on it.
But the fact it has two different rims could tell that the owner did not care about it all too much even before he abandoned the car on the roadside.
The 504 was one of the most successful models by Peugeot. First introduced in 1968, the last 504 was built in Nigeria in 2005. In Europe, the production ended in 1983 though.
The Coupe, just as the convertible, was built in the same time, but in much smaller numbers. So nowadays, this model is rare and quite expensive.
The car in the photo was built after 1975, recognizable by the large taillights. So it has 106 or 144 bhp.
Originally, the car looked like this:

(Photo by Robotriot)

As you can see, the abandoned car does not have the original bumper and front rim anymore.

VW Karmann Ghia

(Photo by orangevolvobusdriver4u)


(Two pictures from the seller (the scrapyard))

This Volkswagen Karmann Ghia (Type 14) has been photographed on a historical car scrapyard in Switzerland. The car has been produced between 1955 and 1974, the one in the picture is an early model built before 1959, as you can recognize from the small grille. Full of dirt and moss, this coveted classic sure is a heavy project for a restauration.
Nevertheless, someone actually bought it, when all cars on the scrapyard were sold. According to the seller, it is the 1958 model.

Kia Sorento

A quite new car here as the second post today.
This Kia Sorento has been abandoned in Dubai. Seems quite normal to leave almost new cars somewhere on the roadside there.

(Picture by Danny McL Click it for higher resolution.)
The Sorento has been produced since 2002, but this specific car is a post-facelift-model, meaning it can't be older than four years. The first generation has been sold till 2009, so at least it is not newer than one year. It seems more or less undamaged, but very dirty. Maybe the window wasn't open before somebody used the car as a litter bin, so it could possibly be destroyed. At least it will also be dirty inside.
The Kia was aimed at the European market as a cheaper alternative to Mercedes ML or BMW X5. Till now, it has been playing this role quite successfully.
If treated in a normal way, the Sorento should look like that:

Jaguar XJ Series II

(Picture by Martin van Duijn)
This is a Jaguar XJ6 Series II, which has been built from 1973 to 1979. The car in this picture does not look to rusty, just the dirt coming with time has covered the paint. It has been abandoned in the garden of a house nobody lives in anymore. The car seems to be a bit customized with tinted windows, extra chrome around the wheels and white sidewall tires. So somebody seemed to have liked it before it was left to rot.
It once was a large luxurious limousine with 3.4 or 4.2 litre engines. Nearly 130000 Jaguar XJ Series II were sold, including the coupe-version. The XJ6 cost around 65000$ at that time.
Nowadays, it is not especially rare or expensive, although very good examples can cost more than 25000$.
In better condition, the car looked like that:

(Image from a seller on mobile.de)

Ford Escort Mk2

Welcome to my new blog.
Here, I will show you cars left to rot somewhere, compared to what they looked like when they were new.
Sometimes, I will also write about abandoned car dealerships, showing pictures and telling as much of their story as I can reconstruct.

This first post is about the Ford Escort Mk2 you see here:

(Photo by paul70allen, click on the picture for a higher resolution)
This car is standing on a car graveyard and somehow looks like it's been shot at.
The Escort Mk2 has been produced from 1974 to 1980.
Here you see the 3-door-version, that was also available as the sports-model "RS2000", which looked a bit different and had 110hp. The Escort was also sold as an estate or with 5 doors.
When it was new, it looked like this:

You can still recognize the original rims and some chrome parts on the abandoned car. The mirror is on the right side because the car is British.