Lost & Driven
Cars that disappeared. The people still looking.
Automotive archaeology, powered by the community. Each month we surface a ghost car from an old magazine or forum thread and open the case to every member.
Ghost cars and the hunt to find them.
Lost & Driven is the community's archaeology programme. A ghost car is a vehicle that appeared in a photograph, a magazine feature, or a half-remembered story — and then simply stopped appearing. No follow-up. No final sale. No museum acquisition. Just gone.
Each month we open a new case. Members contribute leads, cross-reference records, chase down registration histories, and trace the car as far as the evidence will go. When someone finds it, the Vault opens immediately so the new chapter can begin.
Think of it as car-club detective work, done at internet scale, with a permanent record at the end.
The California Van
A 1973 Dodge Tradesman last spotted leaving a swap meet in Pomona, 1991.
It appeared in a single photograph published in a 1992 issue of Custom Van Magazine — two-tone copper-and-white, side-pipe exhaust, full porthole package. The plate was partially obscured. The owner's name in the caption was misspelled. Thirty-four years later, no one has found it.
- ·Custom Van Magazine, Jan 1992
- ·Pomona Fairplex swap meet, Oct 1991
- ·Two-tone copper + white, side exhaust
- ·Porthole windows, full-length mural
We open the case
Each month we surface one ghost car — a vehicle with a paper trail that runs cold. A photograph, a magazine mention, a show appearance with no follow-up.
The community investigates
Members submit leads, ownership records, sighting reports, and registration history. Every contribution is logged against the case file in the Vault.
The car is found or archived
If the car surfaces, the Vault opens immediately so the new owner can carry the record forward. If it stays lost, the file lives on — someone's still looking.
Found a mysterious car in an old photo? Help us add it to the files.
A half-remembered show car, a local legend that vanished, a Craigslist unicorn from 2003 that never resurfaced — every lead deserves a file.