These are all horrible…
It’s always shocking when a beloved car is destroyed in a sudden accident. When that happens on a large scale with hundreds if not thousands of cars, the results are absolutely horrific. Each one of these stories involves the mass destruction of vehicles, but we’re warning you, the stories can be absolutely heartbreaking.
Warehouse Complex Fire
Back on April 16, 2020 fire broke out at a warehouse complex which stored countless classic cars, motorcycles, and race cars in Sauget, Illinois. The blaze, which reportedly was started by some people working on a vehicle, hollowed out building after building, leaving just exterior walls standing and no roof, allowing drone operators to capture the mass automotive grave in horrific detail.
Read more about this story here.
Top Mountain Crosspoint Motorcycle Museum Fire
In the early morning hours of January 18, 2021 fire crews in Austria were dispatched to Top Mountain Crosspoint, a famous local motorcycle museum. When they arrived, the blaze was already shooting through the roof of the massive facility. Thankfully, workers were on the scene when the inferno began, allowing them to save the contents of a traveling Indian exhibit. However, the over 230 bikes stored inside, many of them incredibly rare, were lost to the fire.
Read about this tragedy here.
If you want a happier story, read about the museum opening up again here.
Felicity Ace
The world was glued to the story of the Felicity Ace, a cargo ship carrying nearly 4,000 cars, which caught fire in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on February 16, 2022. While the origin of the blaze might never be revealed, we do know the many electrified cars’ lithium-ion batteries kept the fire burning for weeks. Those especially intense flames wouldn’t allow for traditional firefighting methods. Ultimately, the cargo ship and all the cars onboard sunk to the bottom of the ocean.
Read more about this tragedy here.
Fast and Furious Franchise
Not all cars are destroyed by accidents or natural disasters; sometimes cars are destroyed on purpose for entertainment. While people are shocked by the number Dodge Chargers destroyed by the production of The Dukes of Hazzard television show, which is estimated to be over 300 cars, that doesn’t hold a candle to the number of rides destroyed by the Fast and Furious franchise. During the first 7 installments alone nearly 1,500 cars were wrecked. With two more movies after that and another one in the works, that number could easily top 2,000 by the time the series wraps.
Read more about this shocking movie car carnage here.
Wisconsin Rioters
On the night of August 23, 2020 anti-police rioters in Kenosha, Wisconsin decided to take their rage out on local businesses. One of those was a car dealership. Video footage captures the horrific scene as the vehicles are consumed by fire, breached gas tanks triggering mini explosions.
Read more about this story here.
Tornado Damage Corvettes
On December 11, 2021 tornados ripped through multiple communities in the Midwest, including Bowling Green, Kentucky. While the loss of life, livelihoods, and homes in the natural disaster were the most tragic, it was still shocking for gearheads to learn GM’s Bowling Green Assembly Plant and the National Corvette Museum Motorsports Park both were damaged. The end result was GM had to crush a batch of C8 Corvettes which were partially assembled.
Check out the rest of the story hereand here.
Golden Ray Shipwreck
The Golden Ray cargo ship was transporting thousands of cars through the St. Simons Sound off the southeast coast of Georgia on September 8, 2019 when tragedy struck. Suddenly losing power, the massive ship tipped to one side, creating a multi-year cleanup effort. Eventually, the cargo ship had to be cut into pieces and hauled away one at a time.
Read more about this shipwreck here.
