Mini’s Vanishing Van Edition

Mini The Mini Clubvan is like a Mini Cooper Clubman, but with its rear windows blanked out.
In which we bring you motoring news from around the Web:

• Not long after last year’s debut, Mini has discontinued its Clubvan, which is essentially a Mini Cooper Clubman with sheet metal in place of rear windows. Introduced last year as a future concept that would become available in the North American market, Mini pulled out after selling 50 of the miniature sedans. The automaker cited low demand and the 25 percent “Chicken Tax” tariff on foreign commercial vehicles as reasons for its decision. (Green Car Reports)

• Facing multiple lawsuits over hybrid vehicle fuel-efficiency claims, the Ford Motor Company announced that it would update software on 77,000 Ford Fusion, C-Max and Lincoln MKZ hybrid vehicles to increase fuel economy. Midwestern customers, whose vehicles face colder temperatures and higher speed limits than average, have posed a particular problem for Ford, which told hybrid owners that they would update the software by the end of July. (The Detroit News)

• The 2013 Ram 1500 pickup has lumbered to the top of the Consumer Reports full-size pickup heap, according to Consumer Reports’ latest ranking. The redesigned model, introduced last summer, received a number of modifications including weight reductions and high-tech fuel saving measures like grille shutters and a variable demand fuel pump. In its report, Consumer Reports points out that rankings in the highly competitive pickup truck market are likely to shift, but for now the publication lauds the truck’s simultaneous refinement and capability. (Consumer Reports)

• Diamond Electric, a Japanese company that manufactures ignition coils for Ford, Toyota and Subaru, has plead guilty to the Justice Department charges on price fixing and conspiracy charges. The company agreed to pay a $19 million fine for its role in the conspiracy. This is the latest in a two year antitrust investigation, which has led to 15 executives and 10 automotive parts suppliers pleading guilty to price-fixing charges and has generated a number of fines that have reached $828 million.


• With sales of the Volkswagen Passat on the wane, Volkswagen AG has decided to bring the Phaeton back to the North American market. VW had pulled the Phaeton – Volkswagen’s most expensive model – out of the American lineup seven years ago, after weak sales. According to a report from Bloomberg, the new Phaeton may make an appearance at the Detroit auto show in January.