Chrysler Neon

(Photo by Arete Trading Pte Ltd.)

Most abandoned cars are old and used until they didn't work anymore or suffered some kind of damage. The Chrysler Neons in the picture above are different. They are new. Well, not if you take time for measurement (they were produced in 1997), but definitely if you have a look at the odometer. None of them has moved under its own power since they left the factory.
Apparently, quite a lot of right hand drive Neons had simply been forgotten in a storehouse in Singapore (or they were bonded, but that sounds boring).

Trabant 601 Universal

(Own photos)

This Trabant 601 Universal has been parked behind an abandoned discotheque in Germany for the last few years, maybe even decades. It's still wearing its original numberplates from the German Democratic Republic.
Before Germany was reunited in 1990, the Trabant was the most popular car in East Germany with more than three million cars having been built from 1957 on. The 'wagon' version of the Trabant only had three doors, none of which are left on the car pictured above.
There still are lots of examples in better condition, though, as you can see below.


(Picture by orangevolvobusdriver4u)

Mercedes-Benz /8

(Photo by thermionic)

Somewhere in Greece, this nice Mercedes-Benz W114/W115 (usually referred to as "/8") is standing unused at a roadside. Apart from some missing chrome and the too new W123-rims, this example looks almost collectible-like. Like many Mercedes of this size, it probably had a long and useful life since it left the factory between 1973 and 1976. As the /8 was very successful, there are still plenty of it left, making it a quite affordable classic today. So maybe someone decided this Mercedes was cheap enough to not drive it, but place it on the roadside as decoration.

Ford Thunderbird

(Photo by I am Ted7)

This 1967 Ford Thunderbird is standing on a scrapyard in the United States. Not a project for a weekend, but with a proper restoration, this example is probably still saveable.
The fifth generation of the Thunderbird was even bigger and more luxurious than the previous ones. With its big 8-cylinder-engine, it was not a slow car, though. Between 1967 and 1971, Ford sold more than 270.000 Thunderbirds. With six more generations to come, the Thunderbird was produced until 2005. At least the first six or seven generations are popular classics nowadays.
Therefore, more T-Birds look like the one below than like the one above today.

(Photo by Alex Nunez)

Ferrari 512 TR

(Photo by Lukas Hron Photography)

An abandoned Ferrari ... where could you find something like that? I'm sure everybody's first guess was Dubai, but this time, that's wrong. Although the plate points to the United Kingdom, this photo was actually taken in Czech Republic. With a flat tire and lots of dust on it, this example is waiting for its owner to return. Maybe he just forgot he still has a car worth at least 60.000€/80.000$ standing in a garage.
This would amaze, especially as this is not just any car. It is a 512 TR, of which only 7500 examples were built, already including the precedessor (Testarossa) and successor (F 512 M). All of these cars leaving the factory between 1991 and 1994 were equipped with a 428hp-V12-engine, making it capable of a topspeed of 314 km/h (196 mph). The speedometer of the car above probably hasn't displayed such a high number for quite a long time, though.

[Multi] Opel GT

(Photo by KatrencikPhotoArchives)

The Opel GT, of which 103.463 examples left the factory between 1968 and 1973, always was a doubtlessly desirable car. In its homecountry, Germany, it still is well known for the slogan "Nur Fliegen ist schöner" - "Only flying is better.". More than 50.000 cars were exported to the USA, though, where it was known as the "Baby-Corvette". As you can see in these pictures here, not all of them survived. Nevertheless, the Opel GT is a popular classic today, with good examples reaching prices of 25.000€/30.000$. So, even the examples above and below probably are still worth some money. Most of them would require much more money to restore them, though.

Subaru L1800

(Picture by Atrocity_Exhibition)

This car has been left behind in an abandoned workshop at a college and obviously became the victim of vandals. Part of the damage may also be a result of the car being used for training purposes, though.
It is a 3rd-generation Subaru Leone wagon, also known as L1800, Loyale or Omega in parts of the world.
The wagon sold best of all variants of the Leone, but still not in really big numbers.
As this model also rusted quite quickly it is almost impossible to find a good example now, 18 years after production ended.
Here is one of the few still existing:

(Photo by Spottedlaurel)

Update 19.7.12: Had to replace the originally used picture with a smaller version due to some problems with Flickr. Clicking the picture will still bring you to the full-size photo.

Update 16.3.13: The scene has changed, and not to the better.
(Photo by donebythehandsofabrokenartist)

Lotus Excel

(Photo by Alpus)

Just eleven years after it left the factory in 1985, this Lotus Excel has been left standing in someone's driveway in Great Britain.
As the body is made of plastic, it doesn't rust and therefore still looks quite fresh for having been parked outside for 16 years.
The Lotus Excel is a facelifted version of the Lotus Éclat; sold from 1982 on.
Like pretty much every Lotus, it is not a common car. However, as it is not considered a classic yet, even very good examples hardly reach five-digit €-prices.

[Multi] Subaru SVX

(Photos by V6CavRS (two), [jonrev] and MindThreat)

Presenting the SVX as the successor of the not quite successful XT in 1991, Subaru was planning on selling 10000 cars per year. In the end, they only sold 25000 till the end of production in 1997.
The Subaru SVX was only available with automatic transmission which not only put off buyers who wanted to use the 3.3-litre-boxer-engine with a stick, but was also known for failing quite often. Therefore, it probably also is the reason why many SVXs can be found on scrapyards today and it is even rarer than it was when it was new now.
There are some fans of this model though who care for their car and keep it looking like this one:

(Photo by Rutch)

Peugeot 205

(All photos by me)

A Peugeot 205 may not seem special to you. More than five million examples produced between 1983 and 1998 do not exactly make it a rare car.
The one in the pictures above apparently has an interesting story to tell, though.
Especially the high milage (if it is genuine) is astonishing. 444784km are a lot for such a small car.
Furthermore, somebody still seems to "care" for the car. When I first visited it, a part of the front bumper was hanging down and the left front wheel did not have a hubcap. Two months later, the bumper was fixed and the hubcap from the right front wheel had been moved to the left.
To see all photos I took of this Peugeot, please click here.