In California you cannot park a car on a "non-op" on a public street. If you park your car where it's not supposed to be or longer than allowed, and it gets towed and impounded/stored, and accrues a storage bill, don't be surprised if it is auctioned off for pennies on the dollar and you get billed for whatever the sale doesn't cover. And if you don't pay the bill they will threaten to sell it to a collection agency if the tow company is especially evil. I knew scumbags who ran just this kind of tow operation in California and it is perfectly legal.
In short, you cannot abandon a car on the street and have it go away.