OK, words don’t even begin to describe our reaction to the news that Aston Martin is considering rebranding the upcoming Toyota iQ city car as a Aston Martin. No joke. We’re like not even joking. Multiple sources are reporting that Ulrich Bez, CEO of Aston Martin, is seriously considering introducing this badge-engineered Toyota into the Aston lineup. In a press release describing the Cygnet concept, Bez describes it as “akin to an exclusive tender to a luxury yacht … allow[ing] us to apply Aston Martin design language, craftsmanship and brand values to a completely new segment of the market.”

GM is dumping its share of the joint-venture New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (or NUMMI), which GM and Toyota have operated together since 1984, although the plant dates from the 1960s. The venture was already split 60% toward Toyota parts production, and now GM and Toyota have become unable to agree on any future GM products to be produced at NUMMI. Thus, GM’s ownership stake will be left in “Old GM,” essentially abandoning the plant to Toyota. This will leave Toyota with a union plant in their group of mostly non-union American manufacturing facilities. We’ll keep you posted about what Toyota’s plans for the facility are. Press release after the jump.

A Follow Up to the 9 Detroit Auto Brands We’d Miss the Least

On December 3rd of 2008, we published an article entitled “9 Detroit Auto Brands We’d Miss the Least” encouraging the Detroit automakers to slim down and get rid of some of their brands. The argument was, that just like Aron Ralston cutting off his own arm to survive, the major US car manufacturers needed to take drastic action and cut off some major portions of their business in order to keep the business alive as a whole.

Almost 7 months later, we’re back with a follow-up to see which of our original 9 brands survived and which ones went the way of Oldsmobile and Geo. Check it:

The MINI E UK Research Consortium has won a £25m grant from the UK Government’s Technology Strategy Board in order to launch a 12-month field study of the MINI E’s real-world sustainability. Spearheaded by MINI’s parent company, BMW Group, the MINI E UK Research Consortium is comprised of several corporate, academic, and government organizations, including energy provider Scottish and Southern Energy, Oxford Brookes University’s Sustainable Vehicle Engineering Centre, the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), as well as both the Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council.

Joining similar projects already underway in the U.S. and Germany, the UK test project will bring BMW Group one step closer towards achieving Strategy Number ONE: mass-producing the electric plug-in MINI E within the next five years.

Renault Megane Trophy Concept

Is a stateside Renault built for Saturn a complete pipe-dream? Following up on a report from Bloomberg over future Saturn production, the new/future owners of the former GM brand are addressing rumors of possible replacement models coming from Renault or Nissan. At the same time Roger Penske has thankfully taken Smart cars out of the mix for Saturn dealers…sort of.

Most of us still can’t get the images of the smog-filled air of Beijing (or that smug face of Phelps) out of our heads after the Summer Olympics, so maybe it’s no surprise that the Chinese government is wary of the proposed deal for Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Corporation to buy HUMMER from GM. Feeling that the acquisition is going to send the wrong message, Beijing is poised to nix the deal.

The 35th annual Ford and Team Shelby nationals are coming up in Tulsa, and Shelby Automobiles has released six new models to commemorate the event, including the new 2010 GT500 Super Snake.

Most of the models are essentially upgraded versions of previous generation Mustangs, ones current owners of GT’s, Shelby GT’s, and Shelby GT500s can bring in and have modified by the Shelby staff out in Vegas.

Check the jump to get the scoop on the Prima Donna Super Snake—and those other five cars, too.

New Kia Forte; Coming To A Saturn Dealer Near You?

The preying on the carcass that was once noble GM continues with a report that Kia is looking to expand into markets previously held by Saturn. According to Automotive News, in one scenario, the Korean automaker is either looking to open or move dealerships into areas recently vacated by Saturn or will try to partner with those dealerships left standing after the automaker breaks from GM.

Its skill for media whoring rivaled only by the Chief Harem Girl herself, the 2010 Camaro, the GTbyCITROËN GranTurismo 5 concept sports car has finally made its debut in the flesh (erm, carbon fiber?). Initially unveiled back in October at the Paris Motor Show, Citroën went to great lengths to assure the public that the GTbyCITROËN was purely a marketing tool for Sony’s launch of Gran Turismo Prolouge5 and thus never intended for production. Correctly assuming PS3 fanboys everywhere would be just detached enough from reality to take the bait, Citroën then announced they would unveil a production version of the GTbyCITROËN (in “very limited numbers,” of course). Little more was heard of the project until months later when a European TV crew posted a clip of the GT in action on YouTube, generating both our reluctant interest and our begrudging curiosity.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has proposed some new tire ratings labels to help consumers looking to buy new tires. Rating tires in three areas, fuel economy and greenhouse commissions, wet traction, and durability, the NHTSA is apparently trying to focus consumers’ attention on the fuel savings to be found in choosing a low-rolling resistance tire. Plus, this is a handy and quick way to directly compare tires, something that is notoriously difficult to do. But holy lawsuits, Batman! What could the unintended consequences be?