A Cargolux Boeing 747-400 freighter, on a flight from Barcelona to Luxembourg, was cleared to land on Luxembourg’s runway 24 in low visibility due to fog when one of the tires of the giant plane impacted the roof of a van parked on the runway at 12:53 Local time. The airplane landed safely, the driver of the van escaped with just a shock, the van received substantial damage, the airplane suffered damage to the tire.

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.

Adding to the Ford Flex’s already sizable reputation as one of the coolest people movers on the market, the Friends of the National Automotive History Collection (NAHC) recently bestowed upon it a new honor, awarding it 2009’s “Most Collectible Vehicle of the Future.” Apparently, the Flex’s unique, retro-modern styling not only makes it a hear turner today but also guarantees it plenty of limelight at the Woodward Dream Cruise in 2034.

Ford is naturally elated by the news. “We are delighted that the Ford Flex has been recognized by the NAHC as having a design that will become a collectible of the future,” said Kate Pearce, Flex marketing manager at Ford. “We knew from the start that we had a vehicle with stand-out design that looks like nothing else on the road, but that also meets the needs of our customers looking for passenger space with innovative technology and great fuel economy,” she said. “Reaction from our customers has been fantastic and we hope they will enjoy their cars long into the future.”

Of course, some critics may dismiss the optional wood paneling, mini fridge, and panoramic moonroof as red herrings meant to distract from the fact that, at its core, the Flex is nothing more than the Windstar’s cleverly-disguised successor. While they may be right in some respects, it is imperative that naysayers not forget that while the Flex may posses some inherently minivan qualities, it still remains unparalleled in its class. In 2034, the Dodge Caravan will be rusting out behind a tool shed in northern Michigan, the Toyota Sienna will be scattered in charred bits along I-95, and the Honda Odyssey will still be lame.

Do you ever pick up an old yearbook or leaf through a dusty stack of dated photos and cringe over the fashion choices you made? Fads are a bitch, aren’t they? Unfortunately, no one is immune to the poor choices encouraged by passing trends, including the automotive industry. Enter: the 1990 Chevrolet Lumina APV. At the time it may have been the Honda Odyssey of the soccer mom circuit, but today a “full gauge instrument cluster” and “horizontal rear wheel housings” do not a solid seller make – but it does provide an immensely entertaining way to kill about 10 minutes.

If you want to take a troll down memory lane and relive the futuristic, segment-changing glory that was the Lumina APV, hit the jump for the official vid.

Apparently, the bad luck is no longer limited to Japanese cars. This morning, Ford announced they will be issuing a recall for some 4.5 million vehicles over a fire-prone cruise control switch. The switch, which is manufactured by the geek demi gods at Texas Instruments, is responsible for deactivating the cruise control function and has been shown to malfunction in rather serious ways. According to the recall, the switches may spring an internal leak that immediately erupts in smoking and/or burning, and in some instances the problem has resulted in brake fluid leaking into the ABS, also causing fires. To rectify the problem, dealers have been instructed to install a fused wiring harness and in some vehicles, replace the ABS module.

With Sweetest Day (a holiday that no one aside from that aunt of yours who works at Hallmark has ever even heard of) right around the corner, Ford has taken another opportunity to highlight the outstanding cargo capability and fuel efficiency of the Ford Transit Connect. Rather than rely on trusty (if a little outlandish) PR verbiage to do the trick, however, Ford went directly to Transit Connect owner and local Michigan florist Frank Mancuso, who is busily preparing for one of the largest greeting card-created holidays of the year.

Mancuso owns and operates Mancuso Florists in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, and he lauded the Ford Transit Connect with praise for the invaluable asset it’s become to his business. “A full-size van is almost invisible, because they’re everywhere,” explained Mancuso. “But all kinds of people notice our Transit Connect. Our drivers get so many inquiries about the vehicle, we hand out cards with information about it. Transit Connect serves as a ‘rolling billboard’ for our business.” Of course, some might argue that a panel van with a halfway decent graphics package could achieve the same results without being so, well, weird looking but the Mancuso’s praise for the Transit Connect doesn’t stop there. “It costs us about $30 to fill the gas tank in the Transit Connect,” said Mancuso. “It costs us about $70 to fill the tank in one of our full-size vans. A full tank lasts around the same time in either vehicle, so delivery costs are significantly reduced by using the Transit Connect.”

Alright now listen up because we’re only going to say this once: the Daihatsu Deca Deca Concept is pretty cool. Maybe it’s just the impressive way in which Daihatsu chose to display the Deca Deca’s flexible functionality in the press photos, or maybe we’re just feeling unusually charitable today, but either way we find ourselves tipping our hats to Diahatsu.

Unfortunately, the Deca Deca is merely a concept and will be sharing the spotlight at its Tokyo debut with five other Diahatsu vehicles (none of which are really worth reading about, trust us), so the press release detailing the Deca Deca’s many features was sparse to say the least. Really all we know is what can be immediately gleaned from the photos, which is probably for the best since it’s a safe bet that whatever is under the hood would make us weep for humanity…but that’s neither here nor there.

According to the very enthusiastic press release, Mitsubishi will be appearing at the Tokyo Motor Show in a few weeks with 16 new products in tow, one of which will be the i-MiEV Cargo Concept. If you’ve read, seen, our otherwise know anything about the Ford Transit Connect, then you can appropriately gauge how excited you should be over the i-MiEV Cargo Concept – which is to say, not very. Designed for the rough and raucous small business owner crowd, the i-MiEV Cargo is slightly bigger than a minivan yet smaller then the beat up panel van your plumber uses.

As the name would suggest, the i-MiEV Cargo is a plug-in electric vehicle and sources power from a single permanent magnet synchronous motor. Output is limited to 47 kW and 180 Nm of torque and average range is a modest 160 km (about 100 miles) per charge. Despite the seemingly production-ready specs, Mitsubishi has not indicated when the i-MiEV Cargo will hit the market so for now, you’ll just have to sate your lust for 60-feet of storage space with the image gallery after the jump.

Word out of Detroit is that GM is looking to spread Volt-developed technology to other vehicles in their lineup. A smart move in light of the fact that they have dropped significant funds into the plug-in hybrid system. So what vehicle will benefit from this decision? A sporty two-door coupe or convertible? Perhaps one of their numerous thirsty trucks or SUVs. Nope. Their newest minvan.

Scion tC: One Of 25 Winners

A study by automotive consulting company AutoPacific turns out some interesting results about TRUE customer satisfaction. It is one thing to say that a new car performs satisfactorily for your own use, but according to the results of this survey, a vehicle has to perform in all sorts of other ways for a customer to feel comfortable recommending the car to their friends.

It makes sense. If you are going to recommend a car to a friend, you’d better REALLY like it. There aren’t many ways that would be more effective in turning a friendship sour than someone close to you resenting your automotive input into their new car. The top vote-getters in 25 categories are listed below.