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Quick, what's the most controversial American car ever built? Was it the Edsel? The Pontiac Fiero? The Chrysler Airflow? That wasn't a serious question, because all of us know the answer already: the Chevrolet Corvair. Today's Junkyard Gem was built during the last gasps of Corvair production and now resides in a self-service car graveyard in Denver, Colorado.
The first new Subarus sold in the United States were microscopic kei cars brought over by Malcolm Bricklin in 1968, and they were followed by slightly larger (but still comically tiny) Leones a few years later. Bigger and better-equipped Leones followed during the 1980s, along with the sleek XT sports car. When the XT's successor appeared here for the 1992 model year, it was named the SVX and it looked wild! Today's Junkyard Gem is one of those first-year SVXs, found in a Colorado car graveyard.
Just over a month before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2009, General Motors announced that the 83-year-old Pontiac Division would be «phased out» by the end of 2010. Only three Pontiac vehicles were sold as 2010 models in the United States: the Solstice, Vibe and G6 (new G3s were sold here during 2010 but they were all 2009 models, while the G5 was available as a 2010 model only in Canada and Mexico). Today's bit of junkyard automotive history is one of the very last Vibes ever built, found in a yard near Denver, Colorado.
Every year, fewer new vehicles are available in the United States with manual transmissions (though the ancient five-on-the-floor still exists… for now). American Volvo buyers preferred three-pedal setups in their cars later than some, though even they had mostly fallen out of love with manuals by the time the 1990s dawned. Still, some stubborn holdouts kept demand for the once-beloved gearbox technology alive here, until Geely-owned Volvo axed the manual transmission for the U.S. market after the 2013 model year. The final three-pedal Volvo sold here was the C30, and I've found one of those rare machines in a New Orleans car graveyard.
American car shoppers were able to buy new Toyota Corolla station wagons from the 1968 through 1996 model years (with a break from 1984 through 1987), after which the Corolla-related RAV4 took over. One of the most popular of the longroof Corollas sold here was the fourth-generation TE71/TE72 version, available in the United States for the 1980-1983 model years. Here's a first-year example of that wagon, found in a Denver-area car graveyard a couple of months back.
As our reviewer asked when writing about the 2003 Baja: Remember the Subaru BRAT? Yes, from the 1978 through 1987 model years, Subaru sold a version of the Leone with a pickup bed in the United States, and memories of the BRAT remained fond even after all the lawsuits over injuries suffered by passengers riding in the Chicken Tax-avoiding jumpseats. That's why it seemed to make sense for Subaru to give the BRAT treatment to the much larger Legacy; today's Junkyard Gem is one of those first-year Baja pickups.
After years of selling the Isuzu Faster with Chevrolet LUV badges here, GM replaced it with the S-10 in 1982. Ford sold Mazda Proceeds with Courier badges for even more years, but ditched the Courier once the Ranger became available as a 1983 model. Chrysler was able to put truck beds on Omnirizons at that time, but didn't have the deep pockets to develop its own rear-wheel-drive small pickup; for this reason, Dodge-badged Mitsubishi Forte pickups continued to be available in the United States all the way through the 1994 model year. Here's one of those trucks, found in a Colorado car graveyard.
More than a thousand years ago, Scandinavian invaders conquered much of northern England and Danes came to rule the old Roman city they called Jórvík. The Danelaw is long gone, but I visited that city (now known as York) a couple of months back and found some ancient Scandinavian treasure in a junkyard scrapyard there: a Saab 96, as rusty as a long-buried iron Viking sword but still recognizable.