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Top Global Car Brands 2012: Toyota, Mercedes, BMW, VW, Honda, Ford & Hyundai

Interbrand has released its 2012 Top Global Brands rankings for 2012 with Toyota, Mercedes, BMW, VW and Honda the top four car brands. Last year, when we had the 2011 Top Global Brands revealed, Toyota managed to come at the top despite a year beset with the woes of the Tsunami. And for 2012, Toyota has hung on to its top automotive brand gong with a brand value of $30.28 billion.

MG Rover – Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to investigate

The Rover 75 Coupe - one of MG Rover's last big ideas before its collapse in 2005 MG Rover was bought from BMW for the princely sum of £10 after BMW had had enough of trying to make a viable company out of a business that was still undermined by the woes – and attitudes – of the British Leyland years. That £10 purchase price also came with £425 million in loans from BMW, so MG Rover had a chance. But the collapse, and the subsequent sale of the rights to the MG trademark to SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation), brought accusations that the ‘Phoenix Four’ – Directors and owners of MG Rover – has acted fraudulently when it was revealed they had acquired more than £40 million in pension rights, salary and assets in the intervening five years between purchase from BMW and collapse.

Peugeot 207 Economique – the 99g car

The Peugeot 207 Economique - guess what its CO2 is?! As you may well have guessed, this is another car maker rolling out the usual low rolling resistance, lowered suspension, gear-change-light, steel wheels version of their regular runaround to create a car that magically dips below 100g/km CO2. Of course it’s completely disingenuous, because unless you drive like you’re carrying the last live eggs of the Dodo all the time you won’t get the CO2 levels quoted, and nor will you get the headline economy.