It's been a year of celebrity car crashes, wrecked supercars and staggering unluckiness on the part of motorists and various animals.

Alex Eckford looks back on the first twelve months of the Weird World of Wheels.

Got any stories you think we should feature in the Weird World of Wheels? Send them to us at editorial@autotrader.co.uk.

Valet parking girls

Ah, who can forget the girls who started it all?

The very first Weird World of Wheels story was of Californian company with a difference - Valet Girls Parking.

Still going strong today, VGP has been challenging this traditionally male only preserve on the other side of the pond since 1983.

Company founder (and clever cookie) Brad Saltzman said all the lady parkers possess: "a flawless driving record and a great smile".

Good dog key

WWW featured its fair share of animal stories this year - few stranger than the tale of Juliette Piesley and her dog.

Back in September, Ms Piesley had to remember an extra item every time she popped out in her car.

The trouble started when her dog George swallowed the immobiliser chip after it fell out of her keyfob while she was changing the battery.

A warning light came on, the car failed to start, and the AA were called. Patrolman Kevin Gorman suggested George may have wolfed down the chip, and placed him in the passenger seat. One turn of the key later the chip in the hungry Hungarian Vizsla's stomach allowed the engine to start.

300... 299... 298...

I'll remember 2006 as the year of the trashed supercar.

Aside from a few Ferraris, we've reported on not one but two Lamborghini Murcielagos which have crashed in the past twelve months.

The Italian manufacturer has produced just 300 0-to-62mph-in-3.4-seconds LP640s, which have been eagerly snapped up by rich people the world over.

One car burst into flames after hitting a tree in Austria (on its way to a press event) – just weeks after the first one bit the dust.

Eyewitnesses said the driver lost control while attempting to overtake another car, ran into a tree and burst into flames. The driver was treated for severe burns at a nearby hospital.

Bondi beached

Bondi beach had a strange vandalism problem this year.

But it wasn't marauding gangs of youngsters who were causing the problem, it was camper van driving pensioners.

Motorists are allowed to park their cars at the beach for a couple of hours at a time, but groups of elderly sunseeking motorists found a novel way of getting round parking laws.

They chopped down the parking signs.

Because it took local officials up to two weeks to put up new signs, the silver surfin' sunseekers had time to sun themselves at a leisurely pace, and move on.

Suicidal blonde

The year's 'd'oh' moment came back in February, when an unnamed woman drove her Land Rover Freelander into a lake at Sale Water Park in Manchester.

We've all made mistakes, but when you drive your vehicle into a lake, it's time to think long and hard about the best use of your skill set.

The woman, who says she suffered a 'blonde moment' when she, was spotted by passers-by banging on the window for help.

Seconds later the dizzy driver climbed out of the back window and was rescued by watersports instructors in a speedboat.

"One minute I was parking, the next I was in the water," said the woman.

"I'd had a really busy day."

When bees attack

The quote of the year came from US volunteer fire chief Kent Gilbert, who was one of the first on the scene when teenager Jacqueline Cossairt crashed her SUV into a tree full of bees.

The swarm of angry bees engulfed the car, stinging Cossairt, a bystander, a paramedic and seven firefighters who had arrived at the scene, near Fort Wayne in Indiana.

Ken's quote? "Those bees were mad."

Park up

An incident in a North London street in October had stunt drivers the world over scratching their heads.

A woman driver created a scene reminiscent of Steve Guttenberg's car parking attempt in the original Police Academy film, by parking her Fiat on the side of a Ford Fiesta.

Her car came to a halt with one wheel resting on the side of the parked Ford after she swerved to avoid another motorist in Wood Green.

Video of the year: Up the junction

A moment of pure gold from the video archives.

Eagle-eyed video enthusiasts might spot this video of a traffic junction in India has been visited by the speeding-up fairy (note the pedestrians walking as though they're in a silent movie), but the next time you feel angry about being cut up at a junction, come back to this page.

Click the play button below to start the video.

Want to read more stories and see more videos? Take a look through the archive now.

Got any stories you think we should feature in the Weird World of Wheels? Send them to us at editorial@autotrader.co.uk.