Pulled Ahead? Scion dealer reportedly says iQ headed for U.S. in 2010 [w/POLL]

Last we heard, Toyota was planning to bring the diminutive iQ to the American market badged as a Scion in either late 2010 or early 2011 as a 2012 model. According to AutoWeek, that date may have been moved up a few months as a major Scion dealership (which declined to be named) has confirmed the car for next September or October. If true, that could mean that the car will carry a 2011 designation, and might also pull the iQ ahead of the replacement for the tC coupe, which was previously said to be the next Scion in waiting.

It's no secret that the Scion brand has been hit harder than most in the face of the worst economic downturn in recent memory (down 57.8 percent for the year through July), and it's apparently thought the 66-mpg Smart-killing iQ is just what the doctor ordered to spruce up the automaker's lineup.

Speaking at the iQ's debut in Scion drag at the New York Auto Show, company Veep Jack Hollis said that "the interest was so high that it would be silly for us not to fight for [the iQ], but the next-generation tC is our top priority now." That next-gen tC is rumored to drop sometime in mid-to-late-2010 with more aggressive styling and a 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine with 200 horsepower. Armchair quarterback time: which new model is more important for the Scion brand, the iQ or the tC? Click past the break to take part in our poll.

[Source: AutoWeek]