note 9 . commitments and contingencies operating leases we are obligated under noncancelable operating leases for corporate office space , warehouse and distribution facilities , trucks and certain equipment . the future minimum lease commitments under these leases at december 31 , 2009 are as follows ( in thousands ) : years ending december 31: .

$ 55178: 2011: 45275
2012: 36841
2013: 30789
2014: 22094
thereafter: 59263
future minimum lease payments: 249440

rental expense for operating leases was approximately $ 57.2 million , $ 49.0 million and $ 26.6 million during the years ended december 31 , 2009 , 2008 and 2007 , respectively . we guarantee the residual values of the majority of our truck and equipment operating leases . the residual values decline over the lease terms to a defined percentage of original cost . in the event the lessor does not realize the residual value when a piece of equipment is sold , we would be responsible for a portion of the shortfall . similarly , if the lessor realizes more than the residual value when a piece of equipment is sold , we would be paid the amount realized over the residual value . had we terminated all of our operating leases subject to these guarantees at december 31 , 2009 , the guaranteed residual value would have totaled approximately $ 27.8 million . litigation and related contingencies in december 2005 and may 2008 , ford global technologies , llc filed complaints with the international trade commission against us and others alleging that certain aftermarket parts imported into the u.s . infringed on ford design patents . the parties settled these matters in april 2009 pursuant to a settlement arrangement that expires in september 2011 . pursuant to the settlement , we ( and our designees ) became the sole distributor in the united states of aftermarket automotive parts that correspond to ford collision parts that are covered by a united states design patent . we have paid ford an upfront fee for these rights and will pay a royalty for each such part we sell . the amortization of the upfront fee and the royalty expenses are reflected in cost of goods sold on the accompanying consolidated statements of income . we also have certain other contingencies resulting from litigation , claims and other commitments and are subject to a variety of environmental and pollution control laws and regulations incident to the ordinary course of business . we currently expect that the resolution of such contingencies will not materially affect our financial position , results of operations or cash flows . note 10 . business combinations on october 1 , 2009 , we acquired greenleaf auto recyclers , llc ( 201cgreenleaf 201d ) from ssi for $ 38.8 million , net of cash acquired . greenleaf is the entity through which ssi operated its late model automotive parts recycling business . we recorded a gain on bargain purchase for the greenleaf acquisition totaling $ 4.3 million , which is .

Questions:
what was the variation in the rental expense for operating leases from 2007 to 2008?
and what is this variation as a percent of that expense in 2007?
and throughout the next one year period, from 2008 to 2009, what was that variation?
and how much did this variation represent in relation to that rental expense in 2008, in percentage?

Answers:
22.4
84%
8.2
17%