Have you ever been driving down the freeway and seen a flatbed truck with a big stack of flattened cars and pickups on board, and wondered where these crushed vehicle carcasses were heading? 

There are hundreds of these trucks on the road every day in California.  Just where do old cars go when they die? The answer may surprise you.

As a nation-state of more than 40 million people combined with the legacy of the state’s car culture, California is home to more than 36 million registered vehicles. Just like any other durable goods, some of these vehicles reach the end of their useful life every year – about 1.5 million per year.