Auto Archaeology

Near the same buried landfill as where I found remnants of a Volkswagen Golf 1, is a very pretty early example of a 1961 Simca 1000 in "Green Velasquez". The code paint visible inside of the frunk tells us some pretty useful info to date the car; the "Green Velasquez" paint was only offered between 1964 and 1968. What confirms this are the small diameter headlights at the front - these were replaced by bigger diameter ones in 1968, confirming this car's vintage. Zoom in on the picture and appreciate the stark contrast of decay between the un-painted areas like the headlight housing, and the ones covered in that beautiful dark green paint: Lead-based paints of that era is exceptionally resilient to decay. ➡️@CarScraps

This couple of 1986 Citroën BX Serie 2 were the victim of property restoration, one of them carelessly extracted from overgrowth with a bulldozer. The fender turn signals being clear and having the same height as the headlights, the smoked taillights and the conventional-looking dashboard are clear indicators these are both face-lifted models. After the merge with PSA (Peugeot), Citroen discontinued their eccentric approach to dashboards and car controls, compare with the pre-facelifted BX dashboard, visible in some previous finds: (1), (2), (3). ➡️@CarScraps

These events date back to the late 80s, when one morning a section of a fence wall in a parking lot, bordering another residential building, collapsed in this building. The wall collapsed onto the parked cars, which were practically engulfed by the debris. There were no casualties, possibly because it happened very early in the morning and there was no one in the parking lot yet. After the wall collapsed, a lengthy lawsuit has been initiated involving two apartment owners who have been involved in the case for more than 30 years. Everything stayed the same. And time seems to have stopped on this morning in 1989. This is a kind of evidence of an event that is as peculiar as it is absurd. A monument to the powerlessness we face every day. Whether it's in local issues or in the big world of politics. Not my video! ▶️@CarScraps

The Austin Metro was one out of many attempts to replace the Mini with something more modern. This is a very unusual car to see in france, much less a RHD version sold locally and not some British tourist's LHD car. The "sprite" trim appeared in 1987, equipped with a 1215cc engine making 59hp; considering the base engine was 1000cc, this must've been a high end trim version of the car. ➡️@CarScraps

I finally visited Oradour-sur-Glane! Amongst many Peugeot and Citroen cars, the most interesting wrecks within the ruins are a Ford model A, a Renault Celtaquatre, and most especially a very rare and expensive 1937 Panhard et Levassor X77 Dynamic (2nd picture). Also of note is the last picture showing a Peugeot 202, allegedly the doctor's car which was the only car on the road during the massacre due to the fuel shortages during the war. ➡️@CarScraps