In the “things are tough all over” department, the Bugatti Type 35C I told you about on Sunday failed to reach the pre-auction estimate of $1.4 million, selling instead for a disappointing $900,000. It’s hard to imagine that the car will ever lose money; despite the sky high purchase price, I’d label that one “well purchased”. Full article after the jump.

Take a short wheelbase car or truck, shoehorn in the biggest motor you can find and track down a driver who’s all balls and no common sense. Sound like a recipe for fun? It was, as the above video, posted by Jesse on Just a Car Guy, demonstrates. If you’ve never seen The Little Red Wagon, Hemi Under Glass or any of the other wheelstanders in action, this vids for you. Pure car porn.

Source: Just a Car Guy

Mothers were sure to keep their kids indoors whenever the Crack wagon rolled into town.

Original high res image at Shorpy

Model bloat is an epidemic. Cars swell with each generation, gobbling up extra gizmos, safety features, insulation, and mass like a katamari tumbling through a shopping mall. You end up with Yokozuna-weight Toyatas and Hondas and heavyweight Chevys that can go toe-to-toe with their solid-steel-framed ancestors (at least on the scales, if not in a crash test). And weight kills driving dynamics, not to mention performance and fuel economy. Thing is, most people don’t notice model bloat.

Let’s take a look at a car that I have a unique kinship with: The Mazda GLC/323/Protégé/MAZDA3. The first car I can remember was an orange ‘78 GLC five door. The first real car I drove regularly was a silver ‘88 323. My second car was a “mocha frost” ‘93 Protégé LX and my current daily driver is a white ‘03 Protégé 5. Now before anybody goes apoplectic, I realize the Mazda 3 is built on a different chassis than the Protege, but it is a direct descendent and takes up the same spot in Mazda’s model lineup.

As a bittersweet farewell to one of the most tumultuous years in automotive history, RideLust presents to you a re-cap of all the biggest industry events in 2009…and a few that slipped in under editorial bias.

Rick Wagoner, Bob Nardelli, and Alan Mulally spent weeks feigning humility and destitution in three piece Brooks Brothers suits in an attempt to wrangle a billion-dollar loan from an apparently benevolent Uncle Sam. Eventually, the government acquiesced and agreed to bail out both General Motors and Chrysler so as not to interrupt their steady production of poorly built, aesthetically unappealing vehicles.

Stunt double Ben Collins outed himself as Top Gear’s infamous masked driver, The Stig, potentially blowing the sweetest gig on planet Earth. Rather than kill him off, Top Gear attempted to counter the rumors by fingering (::snicker::) legendary racer Michael Schumacher as The Stig. Gearheads in America with an Internet connection that’s too slow to cope with downloading the weekly BBC broadcast still don’t give a rat’s ass.

There was some sort of F1 scandal involving Renault intentionally throwing the Singapore Gran Prix, but we were too immersed in our rally obsession to care. Just Google it or something.

As per their plan to cut costs and pretend to pay back taxpayers, GM made the logical decision to axe one of the only remaining brands that consumers still cared about, Pontiac. Shortly after the announcement, rumors began to circulate that the late John DeLorean’s company was interested in purchasing the rights to produce the Pontiac Solstice. The idea, much like the DMC-12, was short lived.

Drawing heavily from the blatantly phallic styling of the Ambiguously Gay Duo’s car, Porsche released it’s first 4-door sedan, the Panamera.

Counting heavily on consumers’ fond memories of the Challenger of yesteryear to carry the bloated pony through the rest of the race, Dodge has announced the addition of a genuine throwback to the exterior color choices: Plum Crazy Purple. To heighten its exclusivity and ensure its collector status decades down the road, it will only be offered as an option for SRT8 and R/T models and also feature an optional black or white side-stripe.

Presumably reserving the real production for their half-century celebration in 2019, the Nissan 370Z 40th Anniversay Edition pays relatively understated homage to 40 years of affordable sporting. At it’s core the 40th Fairlady is a 370Z Coupe Touring model with a manual tranny and the rather comprehensive sports package, including Nissan’s famed SynchroRev Match, front chin spoiler, rear spoiler, Nissan Sport Brakes, 19-inch Rays forged aluminum-alloy wheels and viscous limited-slip differential. The only elements that distinguish the 40th Anniversary edition from the stock model that underpins it is the addition of a premium “40th Quartz” exterior color, red leather-appointed interior, and distinctive badging.

Since it’s birth in 1969 as the Datsun 240Z in the States, the Z has established an impressive reputation that few in its segment have been able to match. We’re slightly disappointed with the lack of pizazz, if you will, but we understand that a faltering economy does not bode well for an expensive birthday celebration. In all actuality, the fact that the Z is still here representing one of the few imports that doesn’t induce vomiting is slightly surprising, especially given the fate that was met by others in its segment. Apparently, we’re not the only ones to feel this way.

“Throughout the history of the automobile, a rare handful of cars stand apart as vehicles that not only capture the imagination of the world but also embody the essence of the automaker’s brand, engineering and ideals. The Z is just such a vehicle,” said Al Castignetti, vice president and general manager, Nissan Division, Nissan North America, Inc. “It’s almost inconceivable that it has been 40 years since the original 240Z changed the course of Nissan and the concept of affordable, everyday sports cars,” continued Castignetti. “In a year, 1969, marked by the first man to walk on the moon, the 240Z made a remarkable first step of its own. Happy anniversary, Z.”

Celebrating over 500 years since a slightly confused Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in search of native peoples to disenfranchise, in a few hours a group of legendary Maserati’s will lead the 65th annual Columbus Day Parade up Fifth Avenue in New York City. After completing the parade route, the pack of Italian supercars will come to rest between Madison and Fifth Avenues before the Columbus Citizens Foundation where they will remain on display until the charity raffle later this week or until one of New York’s finest defaces the vehicles, whichever comes first.

In perhaps one of the strangest pieces of news to come across our desks this week, DeLorean Motor Company is purportedly seriously interested in rescuing the ill-fated Pontiac Solstice from the scrap heap. The announcement comes on the heels of news that Saturn – and with it the Solstice’s only remaining relative, the Saturn Skyy – would be killed off after GM’s distribution deal with Penske fell through. Discontent to watch what was inarguably one of the most enjoyable cars an American company had to offer slip into obscurity, DMC announced their bid to save the Solstice.

After overseeing General Motors through one of the darkest periods in company history and witnessing the posting of the most abysmal sales results in decades, North American sales chief Mark LaNeve has announced he will be resigning. Given the aggressive round of musical chairs that’s been played throughout the past year amongst GM’s top executives, the announcement does not come as a shock to those familiar with the trade. What we did find mildly surprising was LaNeve’s decision to leave GM in favor of a job outside of the automotive sector, indicating either an exasperation with or total loss of hope in the industry he’s devoted 28 years of his life to.