The 1949 Ford is the first full-size Ford designed following World War II and the first Ford released after the deaths of Edsel Ford and Henry Ford. Ford was the first post-war America car line with an all-new model beating Chevrolet to market by six months and Plymouth by nine months. 1949 was a good sales year for Ford, which edged out Chevrolet for the top spot with 1,118,308 sales. This survivor was found in Casa Grande, Ariz. (Photo by Jim Prueter}

This 1951 Nash, decked out as a well-equipped police car, sits on the side of Route 66 in Paris Springs, Mo. Nash was rather successful in 1951 selling 205,307 vehicles ranking 11th out of 20 nameplates. And presumably some of those Nash models found their way traveling along the famous Chicago to Santa Monica cross-country road. (Photo by Jim Meachen)

This used-up Volkswagen bus, parked on a vehicle trailer, might be headed for a restoration, but in the meantime it is serving as a junk hauler. (Photo by John Harper)

The Ford Ranchero is a coupe utility that was produced by Ford between 1957 and 1979. Unlike a standard pickup truck, the Ranchero was adapted from a two-door station wagon platform that integrated the cab and cargo bed into the body. A total of 508,355 units were produced during the model's production run. Over its lifespan it was variously derived from full-sized, compact, and intermediate automobiles. This first-generation 1959 Ranchero was found rusting away in an Arizona salvage yard. (Photo by Jim Prueter)

The Chevrolet Corvair is a compact car built from 1960-1969 as a response to the popular Volkswagen Beetle. It was the only American-designed passenger car with a rear-mounted, air-cooled engine. This abandoned early-60s Corvair was spotted in a yard near Ojai, Calif. (Photo by Jim Meachen)

This fifth-generation 1975-76 Lincoln Continental, which stretched out 232 inches with a 127-inch wheelbase, was outfitted with a 206-horsepower V-8. Published 0-to-60 time was 12.6 seconds with a top speed of 114 mph. Gas mileage averaged 12 mpg. This example was found residing — perhaps permanently — behind a fenced-in lot in South Carolina. (Photo by Ralph Gable)

This 1963 Chevrolet was found in South Carolina. The base engine was a 135-horsepower 6-cylinder. It cost $110 more to upgrade to a 170-horsepower V-8. (Photo by Ralph Gable)

The Samurai was the first four-wheeled vehicle Suzuki sold in the U.S. beginning in the mid 80s. The U.S. version had a carbureted 1.3-liter overhead-cam four-cylinder delivering 63 horsepower and 74 lb-ft of torque. It was noisy and slow — MotorTrend clocked it to 60 mph in 16.9 seconds. This wore out example resides in eastern North Carolina. (Photo by Jim Meachen)

This late 1980s Chevrolet Camaro was found languishing behind a repair shop in eastern North Carolina. This model was part of the third generation Camaro that was built from 1982-1992. The third-gen Camaro design owed nothing to previous generations — the large and complex rear window showed off advances in car glass design. The front windshield reclined at 62 degrees, thus breaking an internal GM rule limiting such angles to 60 degrees. (Photo by Jim Meachen)

This circa 1960-1963 Ford Falcon wagon was found in a salvage yard in Maricopa, Ariz. It's from the first-generation Falcon, which was built from 1960-1963. Standard on the compact-sized Falcon was a 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine making 95 horsepower. A 3-speed manual was the standard transmission, with a 2-speed Ford-O-Matic automatic as optional. Station wagons came in two-door and four-door versions. (Photo by Jim Prueter)