We knew times were tough for some dealmakers on Wall Street with the volume of M&A down, but did you really need to trade in a 1997 Aston Martin DB7 Volante for a new Toyota Corolla? The rare sports car, which Aston Martin charged $137,000 for the privilege to own one of only 7,000 made, was one of the myriad of cars that also included Bentleys and Rolls Royces sent to the crushers as part of the cash for clunkers program.
The information is courtesy of the Obama administration, which has released a complete list of cars traded in, leading auto enthusiast blog Jalopnik to assemble a slideshow highlighting some of the most expensive and rarest gems turned into scrap, such as a 1985 Maserati Quattrporte, which only 55 were sold in the U.S..
So did The Deal's readers really trade in such gems? Autoblog, another enthusiast site, suggests these rarities are more likely simple data entry mistakes. One can only hope. - Matthew Wurtzel
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