Four years after it first hit showrooms, the Scion tC will finally make a showing in a professional road racing series. And no, factory optioned and equipped vehicles being tossed around Long Beach by B-list celebrities cannot be considered professional. A tC has already been heavily modified to compete in the Formula Drift series, but the peppy compact's road race profile, outside the annual celebrity race of course, has been relatively low. This weekend though, Toyota's sporty little coupe will be moving up from amateur abuse to make its big time debut in Grand-Am's KONI Challenge Series. This week's race will take place at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, OH and the tC will be part of the ST (Sport Touring) class.
The Scion's venture into the KONI series is being fueled by communications firm Jackson-Dawson, TRD and BGB Motorsports. Driver and team manager Dan (pronounced Don) Gardner has taken his Scion's setup through the NASA club ranks to prove its worth. Having already tackled that territory, moving onto a production-based national series is the next logical step for the team. In the KONI Challenge ST class, Dan and his tC will face formidable foes such as Mazda RX8s, BMW 330s and Acura TSXs. While Toyota may be competitive on the ovals, hopefully this one can do better on the curves than the company's F1 effort. Check out the gallery below for snap shots of the Jackson-Dawson Scion tC and hit the jump for the full press release.
While the Scion tC Release Series 4.0 is little more than a body-kit and a paint job for a sporty two-door in need of a redesign, we imagine that a few more of them could move off the lots with cool advertising like you see in the video pasted after the break. This type of interactive advertising is pretty cool, in a Minority Report sort-of-way. If we are going to be continually bombarded with billboards, they may as well be cool to look at and interactive. From the looks of things, the game-like display that Scion and InWindow teamed up to create is rather attention grabbing. Click after the jump to view for yourself.
click above to view more live high-res pics of the Scion tC Release 4.0
If you saw our preview of the Scion tC Release 4.0 and want more, you're in luck 'cause we've spotted it here in Chicago. We already knew pretty much all there was to know about the machine, including the DAMD body kit and Galactic Gray Mica paint. As is often the case, though, live photos seem to show more detail than official pics from the manufacturer, so be sure to check out our live photos in the gallery below. If you like what you see, perhaps you should act fast, only 2,300 of the 4.0s are going to be built. We're sure that Scion will sell all of them, but we think the tC is in need of a bit more freshening than this version 4.0 offers.
Toyota won't be having much in the way of new models at next week's Chicago Auto Show, but its hip urban sibling will be showing off a new version of the tC. The Scion tC Release Series 4.0 RS (whew) ups the style quotient of the base model with a DAMD body kit, new upper grille and rear spoiler, all coated in Galactic Gray Mica. The interior benefits from a leather-wrapped steering wheel, black leather and dark wood RAZO shift knob and gray and black seats swathed in Alcantara with "tC RS 4.0" embroidered into the front and rear seats.
All that extra kit comes at a $2,700 premium (an extra $285 if you want the spoiler too), with the automatic model coming it at $20,500 and the manual-equipped version for $800 less. Both prices don't include the $620 destination charge. Only 2,300 examples will be available when sales begin this March.
Toyota's press release is available after the jump.
Monterey is fast approaching and we're getting geared up to cover all of the excitement for you. The combination of classic cars and legendary drivers at such a scenic venue makes the Monterey Historics like nothing else in the world. Visitors to this year's 34th installment of the (deep breath here) Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races will get to take in an all-new attraction. The inaugural Race of Legends will take place on Saturday, August 18 at Laguna Seca Raceway. The race will be presented by Toyota, and will feature nine legendary drivers in an eight-lap charity competition. While we'd love to see the drivers using something a little older, in the interest of fairness, the supercharged Scion tCs will probably do.
Something like the Pro/Celebrity race at Long Beach each year, this race has a twist. Rather than using celebrities plucked from the entertainment field, the Race of Legends will feature some of racing's greatest names. The drivers are former winners from Formula One, CART, the Indy 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Take a look at this roster: Bobby Unser, Al Unser Sr., Johnny Rutherford, Bobby Rahal, Parnelli Jones, Emerson Fittipaldi, Vic Elford, Derek Bell and Ove Andersson. While we know this is a charity event, most of these guys are still quite competitive and should make it interesting. A top prize of $25,000 for the winner's favorite charity is being put up by Toyota, which is celebrating 50 years of motorsports heritage this year. We'll try to get some photos to you as soon as the checkered flag falls.
Full press release with driver bios after the jump.
When Toyota's youth brand was born, there was an unwritten rule that it wouldn't grow beyond three models. Years later, Scion is an unqualified success having sold 170,000 units of the xA, xB and tC last year, which has Toyota execs wondering if just a few more units could be sold with a fourth model. The Car Connection got Scion's corporate manager Steve Haag to admit his brand does need to expand. Haag told TCC, "We have to offer more products, (though) we want to remain small."
Though a fourth vehicle, if produced, would still have to be an entry-level model to be called a Scion, Haag hinted that it would likely be something bigger and more expensive than what Scion currently offers. Haag also acknowledged that despite the green image of parent company Toyota, Scion models aren't fuel efficient enough to attract environmentally conscious car shoppers. As such, Scion could get its own hybrid as a fourth model.
The question is can Scion sell 200,000 units a year with its current three-model lineup, which includes the redesigned xB, all-new xD and tC, or will a fourth be needed to break through the ceiling? What type of model do you think Scion should sell next, or should it nix a fourth car and concentrate on improving the three it currently sells?
We're not too concerned that we'll need a spoiler alert on this one, but just in case, consider yourselves warned. The 31st installment of the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race was run yesterday, and it was another smashing success. Perhaps better known for its high-profile crashes than the more deserving close racing action it usually produces, the event always manages to get the crowd on its feet along Shoreline Drive. Blending an assortment of celebrities with a few charity drivers and a couple of professional racers, the race is always entertaining. This year's Grand Marshal was Hugh Hefner, which confirms right away that this is more about fun than real racing. The celebs do take the racing seriously, however. They spend a couple of weekends over the preceding months learning to drive the proper race line, and once strapped inside their identically-prepared Scion tCs, they unleash their inner Schumachers. Or Danica Patricks, considering that this year, there were eight women and six men in the celebrity field, tipping the balance towards the fairer sex for the first time in event history.
Polesitter Dave Mirra, pro BMX rider with fourteen X Games medals to his name, led the field from the green flag and held on to win the crash-shortened race. It wasn't exactly a walk in the park for Mirra, as tennis legend Martina Navratilova and actor Joshua Morrow were nipping at his heels until the yellow flag came out. That flag turned red as the course was, at that point, sufficiently messed up to warrant some major repairs to the tire barriers. That damage was caused when George Lucas and charity ride winner Annamarie Dean collided going into turn one. Although both were uninjured, the force was definitely not with them, nor with NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Mike Skinner. One of three professional drivers in the field, Skinner had started 20 seconds behind the celebs but had managed to work his way up to fourth, just behind Morrow, when the accident occurred. So, Mirra gets the win with an assist from Skywalker. Official results are pasted after the jump and a big high-res gallery of the cars from Friday's practice session is available by clicking the image above.
For the first 255 days of 2006, Scion sold more than 151,000 cars. Next year, the youth-oriented brand plans to sell even fewer. The Wall Street Journal reports that Toyota plans to limit its youth brand's sales to a year-long total of only 150,000 vehicles next year. Toyota hopes that by keeping Scion a hard-to-obtain product, the brand can retain some of its underground coolness. Hmmm... that's the same kind of strategy used by brand's like Bentley to keep its car's ultra exclusive.
Limiting sales is a pretty big gamble for any brand, but is an especially big gamble for one selling essentially economy cars that most other carmakers sell at a loss. Add in the two new models Scion will have on lots next spring, and the stakes climb even higher. Only a company with pockets as deep as Toyota could run such a marketing experiment without much trepidation.
To further enhance that can't-have-it appeal, Scion is expected to move away from advertising on the "too mainstream" MySpace and instead focus its online efforts on Secondlife. Scion may also totally shun TV advertising, though its TV presence was limited to begin with. It's a novel way to pitch cars to the ever-elusive youth crowd that could just be crazy enough to work.
Toyota's 'youth' division seems to be suffering the same recall woes as its parent company, which now includes 30,000 Scion tC coupes. It seems that when the key is in the 'ON' position or was removed within a minute and half, and the door is slammed shut, the side airbags may deploy.
The recall includes models sold between March of 2004 and March of 2006. At this point, only 17 vehicles have suffered from this anomaly.
Per usual, owners of the affected vehicles will be sent a notice in the mail and the cost of the repairs will be covered by Toyota.
The full TSB can be viewed after the jump. Thanks for the tip, Yvo.
Scion, Toyota's "youth" division, was launched three years ago this June, and the brand has much to celebrate on its third birthday. By offering up three cars that all start off under $17,000, Scion has gone some way toward redefining the term "entry level." Given parent Toyota's marketplace might, the upstart marque has gone to great lengths to associate itself with all things trendy and customizeable, resulting in a combination that garnered sales of 150,000 units in 2005 alone. Having a marketing arm employing what many in the industry have referred to as a "brilliant" viral marketing strategy seems to have worked wonders.
So... does Scion's combination of inexpensive wares and funky marketing rub you the right way? Have your say in 'Comments.'
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