2 Ideal Heavy Duty Flashers 552 12 Volt 2 Terminal Parker Automotive on 2040-parts.com

Cash-for-clunkers gems: Corvettes, Camaros, Mustangs and one infamous Bentley meet the end of the road

By now, the high-profile casualties of cash-for-clunkers are well documented: a Bentley Continental R and an Aston Martin DB7 Volante from 1997 and a 1985 Maserati Quattroporte all perished under the government-funded incentive program. But scratching beneath the surface reveals that scores of everyday enthusiast rides such as Mustangs, Camaros and even some Corvettes met ignominious endings by having their engines destroyed and their bodies crushed. While it’s likely that many of the nearly 700,000 clunkers turned in actually were at the end of their roads, the final report released by the government reveals the demise of plenty of affordable, likely still-fixable cars that could have been enjoyed by collectors of all ages.

Ariel Atom V8 (2010) first official pictures

This is the really rather mad Ariel Atom V8. That’s right, this tiny little track-biased car has an eight-cylinder engine driving its rear wheels. And it’s a 3.0-litre V8 that produces 500bhp at 10,600rpm, to give the new Ariel Atom V8 a Bugatti-beating 909bhp/tonne.

VW Sharan MPV (2010) at Geneva motor show

This is the new Volkswagen Sharan, and it’s about time too - the original was launched in 1995. In the time it’s taken VW to replace the Sharan, Ford has ditched its Sharan-based Galaxy, launched a new version using S-Max and Mondeo parts, and facelifted it. We’ve all laughed at the geriatric Saab 9-5, but for the mighty Volkswagen Group this seems like a serious oversight.