Filed under: New York Auto Show, Coupes, Economy
Scion to debut all-new Sports coupe at NY Auto Show
Toyota has announced that Scion, its hip-urban-street-youth brand, will reveal an all-new Sports coupe at the 2006 New York International Auto Show in mid-April.
Scion has surprised us with this announcement, as the only news from the brand in recent months revolves around how much its bB microvan sold in Japan will resemble our next generation xB.
Whether or not the coupe slots above or below the tC remains to be seen, although we’d venture to guess it’ll be positioned a bit upmarket from the tC as a more proper Celica replacement.
We’ll of course be front and center at the press conference when Scion’s “all-new Sports coupe” is revealed in NYC.
[Source: Toyota]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Peter W. 7:46AM (3/15/2006)
"although wed venture to guess itll be positioned a bit upmarket from the tC as a more proper Celica replacement."
The Celica seems like it has been a 2-door corolla with a slightly bigger engine in the GT model since the 1990's. I'm not sure how 'upmarket' that can be taken.
I hope Toyota does something interesting with the drivetrain (like *gasp* RWD)... I'm not sure the world needs another entry into the FWD Compact Horsepower wars next to the Civic Si, Supercharged tC, SRT Calibre, and Mazdaspeed3.
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DT 7:55AM (3/15/2006)
Scion has always said they will replace their existing models with entirely new ones. This wouldn't be slotted above or below the tC it would be the replacement.
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x23 8:26AM (3/15/2006)
i would also be quite interested if it was RWD. if it's just another corolla/echo/whatever-based front driver... no thanks.
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Esemtee 9:48AM (3/15/2006)
Since I am a tC owner(and loving it), I hope this new coupe is NOT a replacement. Adding another model to the mix will only give more options for buyers, as long as the addition is at least somewhat different from its' brothers.
Styling, fun options, and a great sticker price is what jump started Scion to what they are now. As long as that is kept in mind, everybody wins. Bring it on, I'm dying to see it!
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SRTFAN 9:50AM (3/15/2006)
Its a toyota, they've been pretty lame lately. Do you really think its gonna be RWD? No. Unless they are trying to scare away all the old people that keep buying the xA and xB.
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Hemidakota 9:58AM (3/15/2006)
Hopefully it is not another lame attempt as with the tC in regards to other listed Sport Compacts.
However, to snicker at Toyota now, Chrysler is in the works with a smaller RWD coupe than the Challenger.
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Christian J 10:00AM (3/15/2006)
Likely it'll be some ill-conceived quik-buck junk like the other products. I.e. a rebadged Corolla or a massaged Celica/tC. Maybe a MR2 version? Having perused Toyota's Japanese site a couple weeks ago, they don't even have anything suitble as a platform other than the aforementioned models. They are not gonna debut a new car/chassis on this product line.
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bhtooefr 10:02AM (3/15/2006)
FWIW, what I want to see happen is someone bring a wrecked Toyota Avensis D4-D here into the US, and get a Scion tC that for some reason has had an engine failure.
The tC is merely a sports compact based upon the Avensis (which is Toyota's direct competitor to the Passat in Europe).
Of course, in a couple years, my first real project car (not counting my drive-while-fixing 1985 Jetta diesel) will be a Corrado TDI. Corrado G60 with a blown engine (not hard to find), B4 Passat TDI that has been in a rear-end collision, is the idea.
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Presto 10:29AM (3/15/2006)
All-new Scion coupe = tC replacement
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dude 10:35AM (3/15/2006)
First of all, the 2005 tC did 0-60 in the exact same amount of time as the 2005 Celica GT so clearly the tC has been the replacement for the Celica if not in name then in body type and speed.
Secondly, I find it highly doubtful that Toyota would release another 2 door sports coupe under the Scion name. Rather, I agree with the other poster that said it would be the redesigned tC.
Thirdly, all you rear wheel drive gearheads forget that over half the country lives in the Northern half of the country where it snows. RWD is hell in the snow. I will gladly take a little front wheel drive torque steer in exchange for easily being able to drive in the snow.
Lastly, to those that criticize the tC. If you can find a 1)hot looking car 2)that does 0-60 in 7.5 or less 3)comes with a standard dual panel moonroof/sunroof, 4) has Toyota level reliability and 5)costs only $16,840. Please list them below...
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Peter W. 11:02AM (3/15/2006)
dude: Lastly, to those that criticize the tC. If you can find a 1)hot looking car 2)that does 0-60 in 7.5 or less 3)comes with a standard dual panel moonroof/sunroof, 4) has Toyota level reliability and 5)costs only $16,840. Please list them below...
Well, you've listed too many of the Scion-only gimmicks to make any real comparison...
...But the Mazda3 is pretty much it's direct competitor, giving up some horsepower for agility and mileage... and it still has competitive track times due to lighter weight. It may not be a coupe, but people seem to like the idea of not having to force their friends to maintain a battle with the A-pillar to navigate the back seat.
The mazda3 also has better options and they keep outselling tC's because car shoppers are actually allowed to haggle them down below the tC's frozen prices.
The tC is nice... but I've always seen it as more of a Euro-Solara than a Celica.
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Sean 11:03AM (3/15/2006)
I've owned a tC since they came out... and it's probably the best car I've owned. More than enough power, lots of room, good gas mileage, not a ton of them on the road, so I still get looks.
It's a compact/econo/sporty car, not a straightline Fbody wanna be. Toyota doesn't do RWD, so I'm not sure what all the RWD comments are for?
There're two things I would want: 6 speeds and lsd. Well a third would be a dealer that doesn't suck monkey nutz (but that doesn't really have anything to do with the car).
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djSyndrome 11:14AM (3/15/2006)
"Toyota doesn't do RWD"
No, but they used to, and they were pretty good with it (see Supra). That's what's dissapointing.
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overtorqued 11:24AM (3/15/2006)
We're talking about a ~160HP car here. No need for RWD or a 6-speed tranny. This is a budget car and will be for the forseable future.
That said, I'd love to see the improvements include a slightly larger engine with ~180-190 horses, a LSD to deliver it to the road, and shed a couple pounds.
The current tC looks good, but Scion needs to stay a step ahead of the game in terms of styling to keep their current demographic. The worst thing they can do is make it look like a Toyota. This is a brand that needs to appear very different from it's parent company.
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UltraP 11:48AM (3/15/2006)
"Toyota doesn't do RWD"
Sure they do. The Altezza (IS250) is RWD. I agree that an RWD tC is unlikely but there's always hope.
I've been looking for a replacement for my '93 Ford Probe GT but both the tC and the Honda Si are a big disappointment. Both are way too small for my 6'2" figure.
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Takeo 12:29PM (3/15/2006)
Toyota RWD? Two words (Actually a number)= Hachi-Roku!
Who wants a new version of that car? Me! I'd take one in a heartbeat.
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Scott 12:50PM (3/15/2006)
"Thirdly, all you rear wheel drive gearheads forget that over half the country lives in the Northern half of the country where it snows. RWD is hell in the snow. I will gladly take a little front wheel drive torque steer in exchange for easily being able to drive in the snow."
That's what winter tires are for. They have come a long way towards solving this problem.
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Aki 12:57PM (3/15/2006)
UltraP: I'd suggest the VW GTI then--has a lot more headroom, and the DSG is a blast to use.
Actually not all FWD cars have torque steer. The 06 Si (which is what I drive) has zero torque steer even when flooring it at 1st gear. Love my car. A RWD Tc would be *awesome*, but since Toyota always has the 50 yr old granpa in the back of their minds I doubt it.
Shame, considering kiddies hold the AE86 in high regard just for being RWD.
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FM 1:12PM (3/15/2006)
It's a concept. And it may or may not be RWD.
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RayRay 1:36PM (3/15/2006)
I hope this upcoming coupe is lighter and lower than the current TC. This is the reason why I chose the '06 Civic EX coupe over the TC. Sure the TC has the bigger engine, but with the 3,000lbs it needs to pull... it feels a bit more sluggish than my 2,700 Civic. TC brakes are a little unresponsive, and the interior looks like any other Scion models. It's an overall nice car for the price, but it has a lot of room to make the "sporty" coupe sportier.
RWD would be nice, I miss the days of the cheap RWD sporty coupe Corolla GT-S, infamous for its lightweight sporty agility. Gas-mileage is also an issue; I wouldn't call the current TC gas-mileage good. With 2.4L topping off the hwy gas-mileage at 30mpg is little bit disappointing, whereas the similar sized engine on the more powerful 4-cyl Honda Accord topping off at about 34mpg. #12, this may be the car for you.
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