If 2011 is year of the minivan, what about the mini-minivan?

Personal File: I've been hearing a lot of talk lately about how 2011 may be the year of the minivan thanks to the revamped or all news models from Chrysler/Dodge, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, and Toyota. I've personally never liked minivans but I cannot argue with their functionality and how much they have improved over the last few years.

And it seems the sub-compact car class is firing up for 2011 as well with Ford throwing down the gauntlet with the Fiesta and Mazda with the Mazda2. This got me thinking about what kinds of minivans exist in the North American market that are smaller than those listed in the first paragraph. The Mazda5 comes to mind immediately and I read recently that Ford is bringing over the C-Max microvan next year.

Not a lot of options but I wondered what Toyota might do in response if this segment would take off. Could they capitalize? They seem to offer vehicles in almost every possible segment. However, with vehicles like the Mazda5 and the (now defunct) Kia Rondo, the nearest competitor Toyota has to offer would be the Matrix 5-door or the Rav4 - not exactly apples to apples comparisons.

So I wanted to take a stab at rendering a mini-minivan that could slot in as a direct or even smaller competitor to the Mazda and the Ford offerings. Based on styling cues from the Sienna, but rolling on a stretched sub-compact platform, I call it the Toyota Previa - a name that should look familiar haha.

What do you think? Would Toyota ever consider something like this? Is there a market for mini-minivans?

All source photos copyright original owners

Scion tC Convertible Will Not See Light of Day

From Edmunds InsideLine: Earlier this year we suggested that the struggling Scion brand might try to get its groove back by expanding the 2011 Scion tC line to include a convertible. The size and shape of the redesigned tC would work well for a compact 2+2 droptop, we thought.

Click here to view this article.

---

UPDATE: The link to this article no longer exists as Edmunds' Inside Line was discontinued in 2013. Article is not available on the Wayback Machine.

---

Scion tC Convertible: First Look at the Youth Brand's Future Drop Top

From Edmunds InsideLine: TORRANCE, California — After a product drought that has lasted too long to be considered cool, Scion unveiled a redesigned tC coupe last month at the 2010 New York Auto Show. It's the first time the brand-leading coupe has been revamped since its 2004 launch. Now sources tell Inside Line that the tC lineup could expand to include a convertible model in 2012.

Click here to view this article.

---

UPDATE: The link to this article no longer exists as Edmunds' Inside Line was discontinued in 2013. You can still view the original article via the Wayback Machine.

---

First Look: Toyota FT-86 Convertible

From Edmunds InsideLine: Since rumors are already flying about the possibility of a Toyota FT-86 convertible, we thought we would give you an idea what such a vehicle might look like. Not bad eh?

Supposedly a Toyota official told someone at a Dutch website that the company would build such a vehicle "if there was sufficient demand." Well, given that the FT-86 was the unofficial star of the 2009 Tokyo auto show, we're guessing that an FT-86 convertible would create more than enough demand to justify its existence.

An FT-86 convertible would also do something that an FT-86 coupe probably would not -- that is, lure non-enthusiast buyers who simply want a stylish two-door that gets decent mileage. Makes for a much better business case, and the way Toyota's fortunes are going it could use a few hits.

Autotelegraaf via Autoblog

Click here to view this article.

---

UPDATE: The link to this article no longer exists as Edmunds' Inside Line was discontinued in 2013. You can still view the original article via the Wayback Machine.

---