“We’re building more than one car; we’re building a brand,”

McLaren boss Ron Dennis, on the announcement of the one car that McLaren is bringing to market in 2011, the MP4-12C. By 2015 McLaren hopes to offer a 911 competitor and a Carrera GT-class super-duper car, bringing total volume to 4,000 units per year, reports the Times. The MP4-12C is named for Dennis’s 1997 Formula One-winning race car, and will be rocking all the mid-engine V8, adaptive suspension, carbon-fiber chassis, gullwing doors and seven-speed accoutrement one expects at a $250k price point. Meanwhile, the designer of McLaren’s first road car is betting on tiny city cars. And it’s tough to tell which of the two is crazier.

The Chinese government has sent back Sichuan Tenzhong’s bid for GM’s Hummer brand, reportedly due to uncertainty regarding whether Hummer’s patents were part of the deal. “I, based on the current situation, understand that it’s not in coordination with our nation’s industrial policy,” Vice Minister for Commerce Chen Jian tells Bloomberg. But, says Chen, it was not the commerce ministry that nixed the deal. A different “relevant department is currently reviewing and has expressed opposition,” Chen said. It seems Chen was probably referring to the National Development and Reform Commission. GM and Tenzhong both claim to still be pursuing the deal. [Hat Tip: ohsnapback]

Rumors involving Chinese automaker SAIC in Saab’s rescue plans have been percolating for some time now. Christian Von Koenigsegg raised the possibility in an Auto Motor and Sport interview [via Saabsunited], saying, “we may look at producing Saabs for China, in China.” Then came word from an anonymous source quoted in Reuters as saying, “SAIC is considering taking a stake in Saab but has not made up its mind or the size of any possible investment.” And yet, mysteriously, it seems that Koenigsegg’s $420M financing shortfall has magically disappeared. SAIC refuses to confirm that it is the anonymous funding source, pleading shyness in the wake of its recent disastrous ownership of Korean automaker Ssangyong.

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GMI claims The General has yanked Buick Allure badging in favor of the the US-market LaCrosse moniker—after an unknown number of 2010 Allures have been sold. GM is apparently offering to rebadge already-sold Allures as LaCrosses. Why the jerking around? It seems GM is no longer scared of the LaCrosse name in Canada. Why they waited to change their mind until cars were on lots and in driveways is anyone’s guess. Throw another log on the LaCrosse launch bonfire of vanities. [Hat Tip: Richard Chen]

BMW’s Norbert Reithofer scored some brownie points in Old Blighty by “confirming” that “the MINI Coupe concept car and another new MINI model [SPOILER ALERT: it’s a roadster] will both be built at Oxford.” Jolly good and all that, but Ze Germans just laid off 850 Oxford employees in February. So, are the Coupe and Roadster being fast-tracked for production? “We can’t put a number on it yet,” says Reithofer. “It will be years before we begin production. It takes time to scale up.” But why let that ruin some good hype?

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One of the lingering holdovers from the Daimler-Chrysler era, Sprinters at the Dodge dealer, is coming to an end. Automotive News [sub] reports that the commercial/recreational vans will be yanked from Dodge dealerships starting January 1, and will be sold at 150 select Mercedes dealers going forward. 45 Freightliner dealers will continue to sell Sprinters under the Freightliner brand, but all remaining Sprinters will be sold as Mercedes models under the new distribution plan. Which begs the question: why?

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Autocar reports that BMW is considering licensing Toyota’s iQ city car platform for its long–rumored neo-Isetta EV. In return, Toyota would reportedly get access to BMW’s MINI platform. It’s understandable that BMW would want to trade for a city car platform (they all look/drive the same anyway), but why would Toyota want a platform that could be mooted by improving the Yaris’s underpinnings? Also, is BMW not aware that Aston is doing its own iQ re-skin? How did the Bavarians not pick up on the scornful reception that news elicited? Meanwhile, Toyota is also in platform-sharing talks with Daimler. When did Toyota become the new Fiat?

Fox News reports that GM has confirmed Roger Penske’s decision to pull Saturn from the Canadian market. Saturn’s 46 remaining Canadian dealers sold 18,726 vehicles last year. According to GM, “a business case could not be made” to keep Saturn operating in Canada. Sorry Canucks, but there will be no Renault/Samsung loving for you.

The “Toyota is the new GM” meme is a provocative one. After all, prior to GM’s decades-long unraveling its dominance of the industry put Toyota’s tentative top-dog status to shame. GM’s decline proved once and for all that no make, model or brand can coast on being “number one” alone. Which is why I want to believe that Lexus is shaping up to be the new Buick, as Mark Phelan insists at the Freep.

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Yes, it’s different. Hit the jump to find out how.

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The Detroit News reports that GM is removing its “Mark of Excellence” badges from its entire lineup, starting with the new Chevy Equinox. “We are just really focused on the four core brands and this provided us with another opportunity to make sure they were at the forefront,” say GM spokefolks. “Plus people on Twitter were making fun of them.” Okay, so the last part is made up. Still, about time, no? As industry commentators never tire of mentioning, consumers don’t buy GM as a brand, they buy Chevys, Buicks, Cadillacs and GMCs. Okay, they buy Chevys. Anyway, what’s the point of having four separate versions of every platform if there’s a badge reminding everyone that they’re all basically the same? Don’t answer that, it’s a rhetorical question. Instead, hit the jump to learn how to de-Mark of Excellence your ride.

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Dodge doesn’t compete in NASCAR to test new technology. Nor does NASCAR highlight fundamental attributes of Dodge vehicles the way, say, Subaru’s rally competition does. So why stick around when resources are so tight? “NASCAR fans love performance and Dodge fans love to win,” explains Michael Accavitti, Director of Dodge Brand and SRT Marketing at Chrysler Blog. “It’s always been a match made in heaven and we intend to remain involved in the NASCAR sport for the foreseeable future.”

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A BlueSport-based sub-Boxster? A “Roxster” Cute Ute based on the Tiguan? A Panamera coupe? VW CEO Martin Winterkorn’s interview with Manager Magazin is sure to make Porsche purists sweat. Sure, he says “a Porsche must remain a Porsche.” But how else does Winterkorn expect the Zuffenhausen boys to sell 150k units per year by 2012, let alone 200k by 2018? Just as a reminder, Porsche currently sells about 75k units per year, Cayennes and all. But, as Winterkorn modestly asks, “who plays the multi-brand game better than us?” Yikes!

Ford will be offering four-cylinder Ecoboost engines in a vast array of its forthcoming models, reports Motor Trend. The 2.0 EcoBoost will likely see base-model duty in vehicles ranging from the Edge and Mustang to the unibody 2011 Explorer, while replacing the V6 option in the Fusion and Escape. And though the EcoBoost two-liter looks good on paper (275 hp, 280 lb·ft), its projected ubiquity raises an interesting question: how important are engines in product differentiation? If GM’s blurring of the platform-sharing/brand-engineering lines hurts its brands, does the same hold true for Ford’s engine-sharing? Though modern engine control units theoretically allow Ford to customize engine characteristics (torque curve, power, efficiency) for each application, we’re not hearing anything about any such plans in the EcoBoost PR material. Could Ford’s engine uniformity hurt its appeal?