By Don Hammonds
Mini’s making “maxi” news as usual for 2012.
First of course, is the debut of the cool new  Mini Coupe, a brutish looking two door with an unusual roofline and seating for two.

 One of the first things you’ll notice is that it has a rear spoiler on the back that goes into action  automatically at 50 miles per hour. And like all other Minis this year, it has the availability of a feature aimed at Mini Connected buyers who will be able …

Scion is back in 2012 with a new model guaranteed to get plenty of attention for the brand. 
It’s the 2012 Scion IQ.
This one will be a watershed model for both Scion and parent Toyota in this country in that it could be called a microcompact–aimed at giving city dwellers a funb-to-drive, easy to park and manuever set of wheels.  Of course, timing couldn’t be better given the gas price hikes we all are dealing with.
The iQ is an all new “premium micro …

In my driving career, I have hit three deer. The first was in my full-size van and the deer totally disabled the van by puncturing the radiator and breaking the battery. The second was in a Saab, and the deer only succeeded in breaking the grille away from its supports.

The third was in the Mini Cooper Clubman. I gave the deer a pretty good whack, but the only damage was a small dent under the right headlamp and a small …