Vintage "Wild Cherry" van embroiled in controversy found stripped

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The van behind a still-brewing who-owns-it? controversy has been found stripped of all of its parts, spray-bombed black and left for dead.

“Wild Cherry” recently gained internet fame (or infamy) when the current owner, Chris Carter, spotted the vehicle under a tree and was let onto the property by a neighbor who opened the gate.

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Vintage "Wild Cherry" van embroiled in controversy found stripped Back to video

The neighbour told him it was abandoned, and Carter towed away the van – which he’d idolized as a young man from its appearance in a cult classic van culture film, Van Nuys Blvd – to be restored.

The property owner, 54-year-old Laura Godin, who has owned the vehicle since she was 16, reported it stolen six months later.

Godin says Wild Cherry had the title sitting in the glove box, which is why she doesn’t have it. Carter says he never found the title. Neither Laura Godin or her husband gave permission to Carter to take the van.

The vehicle title, at the end of the day, decides who owns the vehicle, and that’s where things get a bit hazy for Wild Cherry. When running the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), it comes up as both a 1976 Chevrolet titled in Florida; and a 1975 Chevrolet titled in Illinois, where Chris lives.

Both records state the owner is Vicki Carter, Chris’ grandmother, who happens to live in Florida.

Carter apparently used a different 1976 Chevrolet van as a donor vehicle, as parts of the original Wild Cherry were too damaged to repair. His restoration this past year saw the van returned to its former glory, complete with shiny custom paint and vintage accessories, and driven across the country.

Police found the van late October on Van Nuys Boulevard, the California strip where it got its fame, reports Hagerty, in a state one sheriff called “the worst stripped vehicle I’ve seen in my 17 years as a police officer.” It is unclear whether Carter was involved in its disassembly, as he is not cooperating with authorities.

After its use in the film, the van found its way into disrepair, eventually winding up on Godin’s property, where it sat for years. It is not clear if Godin ever planned to restore it, but she did plan on going to a cruise on Van Nuys Boulevard to see Wild Cherry a few months before she filed the stolen vehicle report.

Carter also plans to trademark the name “Wild Cherry,” probably using the rationale “If I can’t have it, nobody can.” Carter has been arrested for felony theft over the vehicle and is set to be charged in California where the warrant was first laid.