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.”

No, that’s not a typo – Mahindra & Mahindra, the Indian truck manufacturer famed for its Jeep replicas, is still on track to bring their “Pik-Up” stateside by the end of the year. You may remember it as the rather homely pickup formerly known as the “Appalachian,” whose moonshine-y sounding name must have been a casualty of the Hindi-to-English translation game. However, even the Pik-Up name might fall by the wayside as Mahindra’s American distribution partner, Global Vehicles USA of Atlanta, wants to use alphanumerics to designate North American trucks. In any event, why consider a Mahindra truck? A powerful and frugal 2.2L turbodiesel making 140 HP and 236 ft-lbs of torque will make it the only compact pickup in the US to offer a diesel, a fuel economy of more than 30 MPG on the freeway, and its mid-$20,000 price range should make it appeal to a wide variety of tradespeople.

Everyone who knows anything about those fine Bavarian sportscars with the roundel on the hood knows that if your car sports an M-badge, it’s usually backed up by a seriously good motor and a lot of tweaking. That is, unless you’re either a poser who shaved your 318i and slapped a M3 logo on, or this distressing styling package from our Bayerische friends. Take a regular 7-Series, add “unique styling accessories” like new front and rear bumpers, more chrome, and … wait for it … M-Design wheels, and you get this.

Not even the profitable Cayanne is helping Porsche now.

Recently Porsche has been aggressively attempting to acquire Volkswagen, seeking to become the world’s largest automaker (a goal also coveted by Fiat’s Sergio Marchionne). However, after buying the most recent chunk of VW assets, Porsche finds itself badly in the hole … and is forced to beg for a loan from VW. It’s an amazing turn of events between two companies with headstrong leaders with large egos. What does it mean? Porsche’s drive to own VW is effectively over, and Porsche is now in danger of being subsumed into VW itself.

Well, it’s official. With $600 million in financing from the European Investment Bank, Koenigsegg has signed a memorandum of agreement with General Motors, essentially guaranteeing the sale. It’s a done deal, the champagne’s been popped, and we’re hoping the honeymoon goes smoothly, seeing as how Saab lost $384 million last year.

[Source: Forbes]

In this installment of “Like Father, Like Son,” we’re taking a look at a prestigious American racing family, whose exploits brought fame and glory to Ford and vexed Enzo Ferrari to no end … the Ford GT40 and its spiritual successor, the Ford GT. Will the GT make its father proud? Make the jump to find out.

OK, OK, so no one’s actually said anything definitive. GM head honcho Fritz Henderson said “not a chance, suckers,” when asked about the likelihood of the G8 surviving the bankruptcy. But now there’s dissention in the ranks, as Tom Stephens (a VP in charge of product development) says it might live … with another GM badge.

Image: egmcartech.com

Roger Penske, owner of Penske Racing and the Penske Automotive Group of dealerships, has been announced as the confirmed buyer of Saturn. GM’s press release doesn’t include much of the gory details, but the press release does confirm that Penske-Saturn will contract with GM to continue producing the Aura, Vue, and Outlook models until Penske hooks up some new suppliers (rumored to be a foreign automaker, possibly Renault or a Chinese company). This provides some stability for Saturn’s employees at their respective GM plants, but the future is still far from certain for Saturn as a brand. Let’s just hope Penske chooses to make this work, because remember how bad the buyer’s remorse was when you bought a HD-DVD player a while back? Imagine if you’d bought an entire automaker. Yeesh.

Press release after the jump.

Chevy Cruze WTCC race car - image source Motortrend.com

Holden is in the news again, this time allegedly cooking up a hatchback version of the Chevy Cruze. The handsome (yes, legitimately handsome … especially next to a Cobalt!) product of a union between Suzuki and GM, the Cruze looks to be a hit in Europe, where it has already debuted. Destined to replace the Cobalt, the Holden hatch version has a slim chance of sales here, where hatchbacks generally do poorly. Of course, with a turbocharged Ecotec motor and some tuned suspension, it could be a Mazdaspeed 3 or GTI killer. Are you listening, GM?

Malcom Bricklin, your ride is here.

… and the fortune reads, “You will soon embark on a foolish misadventure.” Could that misadventure involve selling a Hafei Saibao 3 with electric bits inside for $45,000 to Californians? Click the jump to read more about this strange trans-Pacific mess.