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Car Kabob from ‘Wayne's World’ is doomed

Quirky eight-car sculpture to be replaced by Walgreens

CAR KABOB
Ralf-finn Hestoft / Corbis file
The Spindle, an Illinois sculpture casually known as the "Car Kabob" and the "Eight Car Pileup," will be dismantled this summer to make room for a pharmacy.
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updated 2:41 p.m. ET July 10, 2007

BERWYN, Ill. - A kitschy landmark that made a cameo in the movie “Wayne’s World” will be dismantled to make way for a pharmacy.

Officially named the Spindle, the towering sculpture of eight cars impaled by a massive steel pipe became famous for its appearance in the 1992 comedy starring Mike Myers as Wayne and Dana Carvey as his buddy Garth.

Despite years of rust and layers of bird droppings, the Spindle — also known as the “Car Kabob” and the “Eight Car Pileup” — continues to draw movie fans to a shopping center parking lot in this suburb west of Chicago.

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“From a marketing standpoint, I like the Spindle,” said Berwyn Mayor Michael O’Connor. “It has definitely been a plus for the community.”

Still, he said, the quirky sculpture will be removed this summer to make way for a Walgreens pharmacy. It could be moved elsewhere, though the cost of doing so would likely be high.

California artist Dustin Shuler, who built the piece in 1989, calls the dismantling “painful” and “a loss for Chicago.”

“Personally, I would have moved the Walgreens and left the Spindle where it is,” he said.

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