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Mini Minor to be co-developed with Toyota

It was back in 2011 when Mini first showcased the prospect of an even smaller hatchback with the Rocketman concept at the Geneva Motor Show. In the nearly four years since, parent company BMW has hemmed and hawed on the possibility of putting it into production, but the latest word from Europe has it that the project is a go. According to Automobile magazine, Mini is realigning its product portfolio into five pillars: the essential hardtop we've already seen (available in two/three- and four/five-doors), the convertible, the upcoming new Clubman wagon (coming this summer with full-size auxiliary suicide doors on both sides), the next-gen Countryman crossover in 2016 and two new model lines. One will be the production version of the Superleggera roadster concept, earmarked for 2018. The other will be the Minor, a smaller city car reviving a long-gone model name and presaged by the aforementioned Rocketman concept. But for that last one, Mini won't go it alone. To develop the mini Mini, BMW will reportedly turn to its partnership with Toyota. The relationship is already set to yield a new Supra and Z4 and share fuel cell and other technologies. But this would broaden the partnership to include a small hatchback. However rather than use the existing (or next-gen) Aygo, which is already built under joint venture with PSA Peugeot Citroen (with which BMW previously had a joint engine venture), word has it that the BMW and Toyota will develop a new platform for the project – one that will be used by both partners. The new product plan doesn't leave much room for the Mini Coupe and Roadster (which have already been discontinued), for the Paceman three-door crossover (which will suffer the same fate) or for the projected seven-seater minivan. But the addition of the new Superleggera roadster and super-mini Mini aren't likely to leave us wanting for either. Related Video:

Toyota tops Consumer Reports best, worst used car values

We often mock Toyota for building boring, soulless cars, but a new study by Consumer Reports suggests that regardless of whether that's true, the company has some of the best used cars on the market. In its report on used cars from 2004-2013, the Japanese automaker had 11 vehicles among its brands on the list - more than any other automaker.
CR breaks the list down by cost and vehicle size, and Toyota has at least one entry at every price point and in nearly every segment. To score a recommendation, a vehicle had to perform well in the magazine's initial tests and score above-average reliability results. It also tried to only suggest cars with electronic stability control. Of the 28 recommended vehicles, Honda/Acura had the second most mentions at six, and Ford, Hyundai and Subaru managed two each.
The Detroit brands also made it to the list, but not in a positive way. Consumer Reports compiled a list of 22 vehicles it wouldn't recommend because "they have multiple years of much-worse-than-average overall reliability." General Motors had the most unrecommended models on the list at six, but Chrysler and Ford weren't far behind, with five cars each from their brands not making the grade. The full list of recommendations is available on CR's website.

Does Scion's LA concept presage a US Auris?

When the doors open at the LA Auto Show in a few weeks, Scion will be on hand to showcase its new iM Concept. But considering what little Toyota's youthful brand has revealed about the concept so far, it's led to rampant speculation. And the prevailing wisdom seems to point towards a production iM arriving as a Scion-badged version of the Toyota Auris.
For those unfamiliar, the Auris is to European (and other) markets essentially what the Matrix is (was?) to ours: a hatchback version of the Corolla. The model line was first introduced in 2006, looking in its first iteration like an overgrown version of the contemporary second-gen Yaris, and was replaced with the current model in 2012. It's available as a five-door hatch or wagon, with a range of gasoline, diesel and hybrid powertrains available.
If the rumors - spurred by the similarity of the iM concept's nose depicted in the teasers - prove accurate, and public reception to the idea ends up spurring Toyota to put it into action, it wouldn't be the first overseas Toyota brought over as a Scion. The Scion iQ was sold as the Toyota iQ overseas years before it arrived here.