Toyota’s hybrid technology is too expensive to be used in Scion models says brand VP Jack Hollis. In an interview with Ward’s Auto, Hollis explained that a hybrid Scion model would essentially be out of the price range of the brand’s target demographic. Scion works to keep all its cars at, or starting at, under the $20,000 mark.

Toyota’s youth-oriented Scion brand is open to the possibility of a pickup truck model says brand manager Jack Hollis. In an interview with Ward’s Hollis admitted that a compact pickup might fit well in the Scion brand, a reversal on previous statements that pickups are out of the question.

The pieces of puzzle are starting to come together and it looks like Toyota is planning on launching a hybrid version of the iQ mini-car in North America, branded as a Scion. According to a report by InsideLine, the a concept version of this car is the “dedicated hybrid concept” that Toyota will unveil at the Detroit Auto Show next week.

With its product offerings growing stale, Toyota’s youth-oriented Scion brand will introduce an all-new model at the New York Auto Show this spring. With Detroit’s auto show just around the corner, the New York show in late March/early April seems distant, especially with the Geneva Show seperating the two, but the debut is all part of Toyota’s plan to introduce 10 new or significantly refreshed products in 2010.

With no new models lined up in the production schedule, Scion has tossed together yet another limited edition Release Series version of its popular xB platform – the seventh no less. Dubbed the xB Release Series 7.0, like previous RS models, this car comes with a full package of aftermarket parts, including a custom paint color, and retails for a pretty reasonable price.

With no new models lined up in the production schedule, Scion is getting ready to once again debut a limited edition Release Series version of its popular xB platform. Dubbed the xB Release Series 7.0, like previous RS models, this car comes with a full package of aftermarket parts, including a custom paint color, and retails for a pretty reasonable price.

It wouldn’t have been our choice, but a panel of judges awarded the team at Mummbles Marketing as the Scion Tuner Car Challenge winner for their Teal Blue Pearl xB. Looking more like something we might have seen at SEMA in 2003, the Mummbles xB features a 9-piece widebody kit from BRS Autodesign with  shaved door handles. Seibon provided plenty of carbon fiber bits outside, while NRG has outfitted the interior with new seats, harnesses, a steering wheel, shift knob and parking brake lever. Under the hood, there’s a powerful Descendant turbocharger system.

Having already been privy to all the info on Scion’s SEMA Show cars, we can now bring you full photos of each custom vehicle ahead of their debut at the 2009 SEMA Show in Las Vegas.

Later today Scion is planning to display a selection of its 2009 SEMA Show cars before they hit the convention center floor in Las Vegas next week. But if you can’t wait until later today, let alone next week, we have a sneak peak at just what modifications each car will receive. We already reported on which shops are planning to do what (see the Tuner Challenge cars here and the additional three cars here), but now our Scion source has leaked us the full specs on each car.

Toyota Canada has announced that it will expand its product offering significantly in Canada with the introduction of the youth-oriented Scion brand in September of 2010. The launch will be targeted at several major markets including Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. In total 45 dealers will be a part of the expansion.

The Scion dealers will operate as a “store within a store” and will be part of existing Toyota dealerships. There will be 18 Scion dealers in Montreal, 20 in Toronto and 7 in Vancouver.

“This is a great time to launch Scion in Canada,” said Larry Hutchinson, Director of Scion in Canada. “As the auto industry emerges from recession, one of the largest and youngest demographics will be entering the marketplace. Young buyers will be looking to the ever-growing small car market. They are not only looking for a safe, high-quality and fuel efficient vehicle, it is important to them that the vehicle reflects their personality and lifestyle, and the stylish and trendy Scion brand will be there to fulfill that need.”

The launch of Scion in Canada will start with three vehicles, all of which are currently offered in the U.S. (Scion’s only other market). The vehicles include the sporty tC, the funky and functional xB and the sub-compact xD. Scion is also expected to deliver new models in the near future, with one possibility being a version of the Toyota iQ mini car.

For a full list of Canada’s Scion dealers, see after the jump:

The rumors about the Toyota FT-86 Concept’s production name are as numerous as the theories, with reports pointing in all sorts of different directions. According to the folks at the U.K.’s AutoCar, the car is likely to be called the Celica. The name is apparently being considered because it has a long history and resonates with consumers. However, most younger buyers (at which the car is aimed) are more likely to remember the Celica as the front-drive model that never quite lived up to the Acura Integra/RSX competition. And if Toyota truly wants this car to represent a new direction for the company, it would be best to go with something original.

Along with three xB Tuner Challenge Cars, Scion will be bringing a trio of additional custom creations to the 2009 SEMA Show. The three cars include a tC, xB and xD, created by Cartel Customs, Five Axis Design and 0-60 Magazine.

At this year’s SEMA Show Scion will once again be showcasing the creative energies of three companies in its Tuner Car Challenge. Like last year, the Scion xB is the canvas of choice, for the tuners, artists and marketing experts to express themselves.

The Scion brand is all about being youthful, modern and relevant. But apparently no one told that to the tC. Once a rival to Honda’s Civic Coupe, the tC has outlived its stay with (so far) a six year production cycle. As the brand’s flagship it has even been surpassed by the edgy xB.

First shown as a concept (above) at the New York Auto Show earlier this year, Scion will reportedly bring the iQ to market by the Fall of 2010.

Toyota will bring its iQ city car to North America by 2012, badged as a Scion model. Scion debuted a concept of the iQ (shown above) at the New York Auto Show this year. When it does launch, however, expect it to look significantly more tame.

One of the last things Shoichiro Toyoda did as honorary chairman at Toyota Motor Corp., was to assemble all of the company’s executives and give them a tongue lashing. Toyoda even called out president Katsuaki Watanabe and blamed him, as well as those other executives in charge of the Japanese automaker, for leaving behind the company’s long-standing business practices to chase the quick-buck. He said they followed the lead of now-bankrupt automakers like GM and Chrysler, a path that has put the company in a serious financial bind.

Scion has added yet another product to its already extensive list of dealer-offered accessories – a Kenstyle aero kit for the xB model.

Scion has just rolled out its final special edition model for 2009, the xB Release Series 2.0, starting at $14,650 – just $1,270 over the base price.

Motorsports is all about bending the rules. And as they say, if you’re not cheating, you’re losing. Chris Rado and his World Racing Scion tC are not losing.

A day after GM posted yet another staggering quarterly loss, Toyota has released that it expects to lose $8.6 billion during this fiscal year. The loss was mostly driven by Toyota’s Q4 results, which just came in at negative $6.9 billion.

The original xB had an edgy hip-to-be-square savoir faire. It was a full backhand to the face of conventional aerodynamic styling, which says a car must be wind-carved in order to offer useful fuel economy. Esoteric and functional with a minimalist bent, it’s been marketed by Scion as a broad tableau on which to project each owner’s taste in styling. Would Toyota be able to infuse xB 2.0 with the same verve?

Scion wowed the audience at the New York Auto Show with its radioactive iQ Concept. The micro-car, which is based on the Toyota iQ currently on sale in Japan and Europe, got some SEMA-style with 18-inch wheels and a widebody designed by Five Axis. 

We’d like to say this vehicle will make it to market but considerng Scion’s track record of continuously debuting concept cars while key models in the company’s product range (cough… tC… cough) grow old, it’s anyones guess.

The iQ Concept is designed for urban youth and is roughly the size of a SMART car, making it about two feet shorter in length than a Yaris.

Inside the iQ gets plenty of high-tech gadgetry with a 10-inch LCD screen that flips out of the center console. This screen is used to operate all of the vehicle’s entertainment functions and doubles as a DVD player when the vehicle is in park. And when not in use the screen folds flat to deliver a screen-saver-like light show.

Powered by a 93 hp 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine, the iQ is already efficient, but to help driver’s get the most out of their micro-compact, the iQ comes equipped with an “eco lamp” that lights up under efficient driving.

In terms of safety, the iQ Concept has all the modern safety features you might expect as well as a few surprises. In total, the cabin has nine airbags, including a world’s first rear curtain airbag.  

“We believe the Scion iQ micro-subcompact concept is the future of  transportation,” said Jack Hollis, VP at Scion.  “If it should join our future line-up, I think it could reach iconic status like our xB. Its styling will attract attention and if it’s a Scion, you know it’ll be easy to personalize.” 

More on the Scion iQ Concept after the jump:

*** UPDATE *** Scion has announced that it will bring a new micro-compact car to the New York Auto Show, which will most likely be a Scion-branded version of the Toyota iQ. Most likely this SMART-sized vehicle will use Toyota’s new 99hp, 1.33-liter four-cylinder engine that made its debut at the Geneva Auto Show.  *** UPDATE ***

Unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show, the 2009 Scion tC Release Series 5.0 is all “murdered-out” thanks to some sleek black paint and matte-black 18-inch wheels. Those rims do, however, have a little color and feature a red trim around the outside.

This special edition tC (of which only 2,000 will be built) has a TRD (Toyota Racing Development) theme and comes with a long list of TRD performance parts. Red TRD lowering springs help give the tC RS 5.0 a more aggressive stance, and when combined with a red TRD rear sway bar give the sport compact better cornering abilities.

A TRD sport muffler gives the car a sound all its own.

Other exterior highlights include an optional rear lip spoiler (a $285 option) and TRD badging.

Inside, the tC RS 5.0 gets black seats with red accents, a black leather steering wheel with red stitching and TRD floor mats. The car will also feature an individually numbered badge.

The tC RS 5.0 will go on sale in March for 19,300 for the manual transmission and $20,100 fr the automatic – $2,300 over the standard tC.

Official release after the jump:

According to a report by Automotive news, Scion is looking to add a fourth model to its lineup. The media outlet quotes Scion VP Jack Hollis as saying, “We think there are a lot of opportunities for a [second] coupe. We think there is room for a bigger sedan and smaller vehicles. We think there is even a possibility for a truck-based vehicle with an open bed.”

When I first saw the Black Scion xD I’d be spending the next few days with, all decked out with 18-inch flat black TRD wheels and a few other TRD accessories, it was impossible not to smile. For a small front-wheel-drive economy-class vehicle, this 5-door hatchback makes a truly bold statement. I half expected a fedora-wearing, cigar-chewing gangster to jump out and gruffly tell me to “get in.” This is one tough looking compact.

Since it’s debut as a 2005 model (in June of 2004), Scion’s tC sport compact coupe has been a huge marketing and sales success. With a starting price of just $17,670, the tC represents a tremendous value given its long list of standard features, torquey 2.4-liter engine, and sporty handling. But just as importantly (to the execs at Toyota, at least), the tC has functioned as a kind of flagship for Scion’s philosophy – affordably priced, single trim level vehicles that offer young buyers a wide variety of accessories and upgrade options so that they can personalize and customize them to their own needs and taste.

Scion will have on display a limited edition version of its popular xB at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Called the xB Release Series (R.S.) 6.0, just 2,500 of these vehicle will be sold and all of them with a bespoke paint color called Absolutely Red.

Eight years after the Scion brand was launched in the U.S., Toyota’s youth-oriented offshoot will open dealerships in Canada in 2010. With a dealership-within-a-dealership approach, Scions will be available at several Toyota stores in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Expansion to other urban centers (or “centres” as they say in Canada) is expected but not yet official.

Scion will enter the Canadian marketplace with all three of its vehicles, the tC sport coupe, the xD five-door hatchback and the cube-shaped xB five-door hatchback.

And of course, all Scion models in Canada will be available with numerous accessories and upgrades, from wheels to shift knobs and from stereo systems to TRD (Toyota Racing Development) performance parts.

“Scion is a unique brand, yet still a member of the Toyota family so it benefits from the same high standards as our Toyota and Lexus lines,” said Larry Hutchinson, Director of Toyota Canada Inc., commenting that in the U.S. 70 percent of Scion buyers are new to Toyota, and over fifty percent of Scion owners migrate to a Toyota vehicle as their needs and wants evolve.

For more information on Scion Canada visit: www.scionnation.ca

Official release after the jump:

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