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Happy New Year! Our Top 12 Car News stories of 2011

Top Car News 2011 Happy New Year to all Cars UK readers, and a look back at the top car news stories – month by month – of 2011. It’s the first day of 2012, so it seems like a good time to look back at the top car news stories of 2011. Instead of looking at the most read stories overall of 2011 on Cars UK, we thought we’d have a look at the top story for each month.

Watch the sad, final moments of a crusher-bound heap

Automotive wrecking yards are good places to reflect on the real-world values of heavily depreciated vehicles versus global current scrap-metal prices, and to see which cars have suddenly had the fix-it-versus-total-it line moved by insurance companies (the early-21st-century Subaru Legacy Outback, for example, appeared in large numbers in high-turnover wrecking yards just during the last year, as fairly minor collision damage on these cars is no longer worth fixing). You'll see the things that a car's last owner does in a desperate attempt to sell (or at least live with) an increasingly decrepit heap (as we learned in "Repo Man," you really will find a Little Tree in every car). During a recent trip to a San Jose, Calif., yard, I encountered this sad yet strangely compelling scene.

Land Rover Discovery 4 Landmark Limited Edition

Land Rover Discovery 4 Landmark - The Black & White Disco It’s the time of year that car makers make an extra effort to sell some metal. Cars don’t exactly walk away from showrooms of their own accord at the start of the year – not until the new plate kicks in in March – so an extra incentive or three is in order to get punters to write a cheque. Depsite a cracking year for Land Rover they’re not resting on their laurels, and have churned out a Limited Edition Discovery – Land Rover Discovery 4 SDV6 Landmark - to tempt buyers to treat themselves to the best 4×4 when the winter weather kicks in properly.