2005 Scion tC
Toyota's Scion division revealed its third product at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the tC coupe.
Based on the JDM Avensis and Caldina, the tC has been conceived strictly for America. "We picked that platform for its double-wishbone rear suspension," explains Gary Boler, Scion's senior manager of sales marketing and product planning. "No other American Toyota model has that. It's something typically found on more expensive Lexus products."
At 106.3 inches, the tC's wheelbase is just 0.8 inches shorter than that of the 2004 Solara. However, the tC stretches 174.0 inches overall, which is a full 18.5 inches shorter than the Solara and 3.5 inches longer than a Celica (which has a 102.4-inch wheelbase). That gives the tC a taut, athletic appearance with the wheels pushed to the corners of the car; something like an Acura RSX with more curvaceous flanks and a more distinctive nose.
Power for the tC will come from the Camry's super-familiar 2.4-liter, DOHC, VVT-i, four making 160 hp feeding either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic front-drive transaxles. Seventeen-inch wheels, P215/45R-17 tires and four-wheel disc brakes are also part of the package. The rear suspension may have a double-wishbone design, but the front is, yup, MacPherson struts. All tCs will be made in Japan.
When the tC goes on sale in June (with a base price well below $20,000), Scion will already be supporting it with a range of performance and appearance items. That includes body pieces, lowering springs, wheel and tire packages and such vital components as shift knobs. But a few months later, the most interesting dealer-installed package will arrive: A new TRD supercharger system.
Unlike previous TRD blower systems, which were built around the Eaton roots-style blower, this new one will use a Vortech centrifugal supercharger. "We investigated various solutions and this was the best one," Boler tells us. "TRD is doing the development with TMS and TMMC and the supercharger's casing will be a little different, but the rotating components are common with other Vortech blowers. The Vortech is well known to us and is a good-quality unit." The Vortech's most significant advantage, Boler adds, was that it fit nicely in the tC's tight engine bay. A full 200 hp is the goal for the blower installation. If the blower is as keenly priced as the tC itself, Scion may, in fact, have produced a car a young person will crave.
Detroit Auto Show
Acura TL A-Spec ConceptIf the Acura TL is good (It is.) wouldn't a wider TL be even better? That's about as profound a question as Acura's TL A-Spec Concept is capable of mustering. Shown at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the A-Spec Concept is obviously based on the 2004 TL and features a 42mm wider track with fenders swollen to cover it, 21-inch prototype wheels, 15-inch diameter Brembo disc brakes clamped by eight-piston calipers, a panoramic glass roof that virtually replaces the metal between door tops, tweaked front and rear fascias, and a three-stage Mica Pearl paint so lustrous it could have been yanked out of an oyster.
Power for this concept comes from a modified version of the TL's 3.2-liter V6 that, Acura says, wallops out 300 hp and feeds it to a six-speed manual transmission and limited-slip differential. That's nothing much different than what's in today's TL.
The crowning glory of the A-Spec Concept is the interior, which features open-faced seats done in matador red leather with built-in heating and cooling ventilation-critical for those of us cursed with a butt that turns to ice in the winter and boils in its own juices during the summer.
As close as it is to the production TL, what this car really showcases is the potential of the TL as a tuner car. Anyone out there want to take up Acura's challenge?