In the ‘just when we’d thought we’d seen everything in the automotive world’ category, here comes a particularly oddball story, about a past warzone and a Toyota Corolla.
The Corolla in question has a special history, of course. It was recently unearthed, literally, in Afghanistan by present-day members of the Taliban. The car is actually a Toyota Corolla wagon that was used by Mullah Mohammar Omar, the founding leader of the Taliban, among other things to escape from American troops in 2001.
The model belongs to the generation known as E100, the model produced for the years 1992 to 1998.
Wrapped in plastic
According to NBC, Omar used the Corolla to flee Kandahar City and take refuge in Zabul province shortly after the U.S. sent troops into Afghanistan following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. We can agree the easiest thing would have been to just park the thing in a garage, but the Mullah feared that were American soldiers to find the vehicle, that would lead them quickly to him. So he had his men dig a hole, wrap the car in plastic, and bury it.
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Until recently, the location of the Corolla grave remained secret. The car was pulled out of its hole this month, about 10 years after its owner's death, and needless to say, it is heading for display, at the National Museum of Afghanistan in fact.
The photos, posted on the Karachi Track Facebook page, which is based in Pakistan, show a car that has weathered its time under ground pretty well. It’s said to be virtually intact, except for a broken rearview mirror. It is currently being cleaned before heading to the museum.
Stories of cars buried underground actually usually end pretty badly for the vehicles. Some may recall the story of a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere that was buried in the United States, only to be dug out 50 years later. That exercise provided clear evidence that water has incredible destructive capabilities. In this case, the dry climate of Afghanistan surely contributed to the preservation of the Corolla.
This car is unlikely ever to see a road again except on the back of a long-bed truck, but it will be used to illustrate a small history lesson that should engross visitors to the museum where it will be displayed, and surely serve the new Taliban government well in creating a larger-than-life story around the movement's founder.
