VW Beetle Car Graveyard, USA

Deep in the woods lies an abandoned VW Beetle Car Graveyard. Hundreds of Volkswagen Beetles and Bus Campervans are organized into rows and clusters, seemingly based on age and model.

We visited this location on a rainy afternoon. After tracking down the owner, he kindly granted us permission to enter the property. These photographs were taken in the spring of 2018, during the first half of our USA Road Trip 2018.

The treasures of the VW Beetle Car Graveyard

This was a junkyard specializing in the German-built bugs and buses. The business must have ceased trading some years ago. Furthermore, every colour seems represented in this rusting rainbow-coloured fleet.

Most of the cars in the VW Beetle Car Graveyard remain complete. They appear to be missing only a few parts that have presumably been cannibalized for spares over the years. There are also piles of doors, organized by model and neatly arranged into rows leaning against trees. As well as VW Beetles and VW Campervans, there are also several VW Golfs, including a Rabbit LS model from the early 1980s.

There are also several Volkswagen Karmann Ghia, in ivory and brown paint jobs. These cars are essentially a Type 1 Beetle chassis and mechanicals with body styling by Italian designers Carrozzeria Ghia. They were hand-built by the German coachbuilders, Karmann. These appear to be the late 1960s to early 1970s models, judging by the size of the taillights and the smaller bumper size.

There is also a Mercedes-Benz W114 280. This appears to be a post-1974 model, with the larger bumper for the American market, which was added to these later models.

A unique custom VW Beetle masquerading as a Rolls Royce

One interesting car is painted in an imposing grey and features an aggressive-looking grill that may have been sourced from a Rolls-Royce. Careful examination of the headlights and the rear wheel arch suggest this is nothing more than a VW Beetle with an aftermarket kit. These heavily customized fibreglass body kits were popular among enthusiasts in the U.S. and U.K.