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Scion officially opens its doors for business in Canada

Filed under: Car Buying, Scion, Toyota, Canada

Scion to be sold in Canada

2011 Scion tC – Click above for high-res image gallery

Scion is a youth-oriented brand that was developed by Toyota to capture a younger North American demographic. By “North America,” Scion was referring to the United States – until now. Happy Youth-Oriented Car Day, Canada! Scion has just announced that the brand is hopping the border and ready to be purchased by “young, style-conscious Canadian drivers.”

The initial roll-out is set to take place in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. Scions will be available through 45 dealerships spread between those cities. As the brand builds strength in the country, more dealerships and locations will be springing up.

A full list of the original 45 dealers can be found at ScionNation.ca/scion/dealers. The full 2011 lineup is available, including the recently-driven 2011 Scion tC. Thanks for the tip, Paul!

Gallery: 2011 Scion tC: First Drive

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Scion officially opens its doors for business in Canada originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scion tC to get TRD performance version?

Filed under: Coupe, Budget, Performance, Japan, Scion, Rumormill

2011 Scion tC

2011 Scion tC – Click above for high-res image gallery

This is interesting. The JDM-obsessed crew over at 7Tune seem to believe that Toyota is planning a more sports-oriented version of the 2011 Scion tC. At first blush, the car reads like little more than a best-of list of parts from the TRD catalog. The word comes courtesy of none other than Toyota’s Chief Engineer, Masayuki Nagai, who says that the car will boast all-new bodywork, a revamped suspension and a free-flowing exhaust for a little more pep. Supposedly the whole package will hit the wallet at a little more than $18,000. If that’s true, the new package could be a performance steal.

Unfortunately, this rumored sharper tC isn’t slated to hit showrooms until the 2012 model year, which means that buyers will be only have its more prosaic iteration to pick over for a full year before its meaner brother comes along.

Of course, we have to wonder exactly how many people are buying the tC because they want to scoot around a track faster than the competition – not too many, we’d fathom. But with Toyota apparently keen to gain a stronger male demographic for the tC, this is probably as good a place as any to start.

Gallery: 2011 Scion tC: First Drive

[Source: 7Tune]

Scion tC to get TRD performance version? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 13:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ward’s: Scion tC derivatives possible, including five-door

Filed under: Coupe, Budget, Scion

2011 Scion tC

2011 Scion tC – Click above for high-res image gallery

Toyota’s MC platform supports a range of the company’s models from the Corolla to the Venza, and it also does duty under the Scion tC. With Scion having just introduced the new 2011 tC, it looks like the company might also want to do more with it. Scion vice president Jack Hollis told Ward’s Automotive that a Tc with five doors is “possible.”

It would make sense to provide a Tc with more doors. After all, Scion is designed to be a feeder brand that encourages owners to eventually move into Toyotas. The tC coupe is important, because it draws customers with Scion’s youngest average age: 26. Giving them another point of entry into the brand, and offering those with bigger needs a sporty four-door (neither the xB nor xD fit that description) would not be a bad thing.

At this point it’s all merely talk, but it’s talk that makes sense. And if Scion isn’t going to daringly style its way to a new customer base, more doors on a proven, flexible platform might be the next best thing.

Gallery: 2011 Scion tC: First Drive

Photos copyright (C)2010 Jeremy Korzeniewski / AOL
[Source: Ward’s Auto]

Ward’s: Scion tC derivatives possible, including five-door originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 22 Aug 2010 10:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pickup, crossover and RWD coupe being considered for Scion?

Filed under: Coupe, Budget, Truck, Crossover, Hatchback, Scion, Toyota

Toyota A-BAT Concept – Click above for a high-res image gallery

Scion is about to expand its initial three-model lineup with a rather intriguing new vehicle that’s set to take on the Smart Fortwo as the microcar of choice for those looking to downsize as far as humanly possible. While the upcoming iQ is a pretty nifty machine, it won’t be quite practical for a large number of drivers here in the United States.

Hence, it’s not entirely surprising that Scion is reportedly considering a possible fifth, sixth or even seventh model. As before, talk of a small pickup truck is apparently on the table. Interestingly, Scion vice president Jack Hollis suggests that something like the Toyota A-BAT concept could be revived in Scion guise.

Another possible Scion model could be based on the love-it-or-(more-likely)-hate-it Hako Concept from the 2008 New York Auto Show. Finally – and certainly most interestingly for enthusiasts – a small, rear-wheel-drive sport coupe is also on the table for consideration. We know where we’re casting our vote…

Gallery: Detroit 2008: Toyota A-BAT Concept

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]

Pickup, crossover and RWD coupe being considered for Scion? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Team Need for Speed racing team adds Time Attack 1,100-HP Scion TC

Filed under: Motorsports, Scion, Racing

Chris Rado’s Time Attack Scion AWD – Click above for high-res image gallery

Chris Rado has added another car to Team Need for Speed: an 1,100-horsepower all-wheel drive Scion TC taking aim at the Time Attack series. It’s taken a few years to take the idea from concept to reality, and pictures of the build make it clear why. The zebra-marked tC with gold-plated bulkhead and hood-exit exhaust made its debut last weekend at Road Atlanta, and for some reason – maybe the snowplow? – we wouldn’t be surprised to see it on a mountain in Colorado someday. Have a closer look at it in the gallery of high-res photos below.

Gallery: Team Need for Speed Time Attack Scion

[Source: Speedhunters via Designlenta]

Team Need for Speed racing team adds Time Attack 1,100-HP Scion TC originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2011 Scion tC to start at $18,275*

Filed under: Car Buying, Coupe, Budget, Scion

2011 Scion tC – Click above for high-res image gallery

In case you missed it, Scion tossed us the keys to its new 2011 tC coupe and we dutifully put it through its paces out in San Diego and wrote up a First Drive report. You should read it. But if you won’t, here’s one salient bit of data that we thought was worth sharing again: $18,275.

Yep, you guessed it. That’s the starting price of the 2011 Scion tC, and don’t forget to tack on another $720 for destination. Buyers who’d rather let the six-speed automatic do the shifting for them will need to shell out an additional grand over the standard six-speed manual. We’d advise sticking with the manual, but we know 70 percent of buyers will disagree…

Want one? Scion promises the 2011 tC will hit dealerships on October 1st, so you’d best start saving your pennies now.

Gallery: 2011 Scion tC: First Drive

[Source: Scion]

2011 Scion tC to start at $18,275* originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Drive: 2011 Scion tC is a bolder swipe at Generation Y

Filed under: Coupe, Budget, Hatchback, Scion, First Drive

NOTE: Our first drive report of the 2011 Scion tC was originally published at 9am EST when Toyota’s embargo lifted. We didn’t want you to miss it, so check it out below.

2011 Scion tC – Click above for high-res image gallery

There’s no demographic that’s targeted more often than young, affluent males. Though these buyers may not have quite as much expendable income to throw at new car purchases than say older, affluent males, automakers are still very keen to cater to the needs of Generation Y with the hope of earning a customer for life.

The tC is Scion’s most important product.

Toyota is no different than any other automaker in this regard; perhaps even more so as the Japanese giant’s customer base is just about as old as that of Buick. To resolve that issue, Toyota created the Scion brand in North America back in 2002 and has been marketing the heck out of its up-and-coming feeder marque ever since.

The ploy has mostly been successful. Toyota merrily points out that Scion has the youngest average customer in the industry and that 71 percent of all 800,000 or so Scions have been sold to buyers who are new to the Toyota family. Interestingly enough, with a median age of 26, it’s the tC coupe’s 310,000 total sales since 2002 (accounting for 41 percent of all Scion production) that manages to attract the youngest customers of all.

In other words, while the funky xB may be the most recognizable, it’s actually the tC that is the brand’s most important product. Therefore, Scion absolutely needs the new 2011 tC to be a runaway hit. Especially since the second-generation of the xB has, by many measures, failed to live up to the success of its straight-ruled predecessor.

So does the new tC pass muster? We set out to answer that very question when we grabbed the keys in sunny San Diego. Read on to find out what we learned.

Gallery: 2011 Scion tC: First Drive

Continue reading First Drive: 2011 Scion tC is a bolder swipe at Generation Y

First Drive: 2011 Scion tC is a bolder swipe at Generation Y originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 12:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scion iQ to hit dealerships in March 2011

Filed under: Coupe, Scion, Toyota

2011 Scion iQ – Click above for high-res image gallery

We’ve all heard the rhetoric about how small cars are primed to be big sellers over the next few years, and nobody seems to be responding to that direction sooner than Toyota. The Japanese automaker is getting ready to challenge the diminutive Smart Fortwo here in the United States with the Scion iQ, and we’ve just been told by Toyota representatives to expect it to hit dealer showrooms around March of next year.

Unlike its main competitor, the iQ sports a unique 3+1 seating arrangement that will allow three real-sized human beings to fit in the car with an extra spot for a munchkin or car seat. Scion also promises that its micro car will boast real storage capacity, which is an important factor if people have any inkling to use their urban runabout as a second car.

Expect a price somewhere in the vicinity of the Fortwo when the iQ hits the streets early next year.

Gallery: New York 2010: Scion iQ