Like ScionBandit mentioned above, this car is probably geared toward those who are building a show car or something similar. Since there is going to be a low production number and you have to request the car from Scion (in other words they're not going to be sitting on dealer lots anywhere) there won't be too many of these rolling around. Either that or you won't be able to recognize them because they'll be heavily modified.

 

Didn't the acr cost more then the base model? It had beefed up suspension/etc. My previous car was a neon, and I wanted the acr version but could not find one for cheaper then a base model.

 

Wack Idea. i hate Scion for this. It has good intentions, but if they don't control it right and be very strict about who gets these, its gonna turn into crap Echos. Buncha cheap peeps out to save a buck. Less weight! hah! 1 single pane can't be that much lighter than 2. Especially when its the same size!! Whatever, Poo on this subject!

 

i can see where this can be an open door for ricers, but keep in mind:

1) There aren't going to be a lot out there. And if there are, they will make our tc's look a hell of a lot better

2) Whats wrong with someone trying to buy a good car without the extra stuff that jacks up the price? I mean, there are a lot of people who are going to love this just because they can get a real good car new for a good price.

Granted, this goes without saying.....ricers will have fun with this - which is why i'm wishing to get a G35 coupe in the future, i still love my tc though

 

I don't see how it could be a bad thing. A lighter-weight, un-optioned, cheaper version of the car, so that people can make it into what they want. Personally, I would rather have the spec version, and save the $1,500 for suspension and power mods. I'm sure the lack of the power sunroof is a weight difference, and who would keep the stock steeiles anyway?

I think it is a good idea, and I wish Toyota had offered a "spec" version of the Celica GTS, because I would have bought one of those SOBs faster than you could blink.

 

I'm surprised they went with a glass roof rather than an all-metal roof. I'd think that would've been even cheaper.

 

Lightweight version of the tC? At most this "stripped" version of the tC is going to weigh 50-70lbs less, on top of that it still has a solid glass roof which in return means, top heavy..Although its fixed, i.e no motor for the moonroof it still weighs quite a bit. This version of the tC wouldn't be better in autocross than the current one, not without still a bit of work to compete with the lighter cars.

You'd still need to strip quite a bit of things out of the tC if you want it to really be light weight, so i seriously doubt this is going to attract racers anymore than it does already. As for the ricers, the Scion line is already a rice-wonder. I've seen a ton of riced out Scions on the street and online. This "Spec" model isn't going to change anything, better or worse. And before you guys start bashing me for calling the Scion line rice worthy, look at how many people on here bash others for underglow lights, graphics, wings, body kits, and so on with other cars. Look at how many people that bash those cars, have that kind of stuff on their own cars. I agree, there are a bit of nice cars here, but seriously if you think the Scion line doesn't attract ricers your oblivious. Any car will fall in the "rice scene" if its cheap.

 

They don't have a metal roof, therefore they would have had to fabricate one, and then engineer an assembly technique. re-engineering = expensive, taking out the tracks and motors = cheap.

 

Pardon my ignorance, but does the standard tC roof have the panoramic sunroof or do some come with the single glass pannel?

Is the spec roof simply going to be an inoperational glass sunroof?

 

All come with panoramic moon roof.
correct.

 

[quote]
Whats wrong with someone trying to buy a good car without the extra stuff that jacks up the price? I mean, there are a lot of people who are going to love this just because they can get a real good car new for a good price.

Umm, that's an interesting idea. Why not just buy a Nissan Sentra? I would love to have a stripped down version of a Lexus IS for $25,000 but that wouldn't make much sense now would it? I'm talking about brand image!!! If the whole idea is to create your own pimped out ride, how cool is your Scion going to be if it doesn't have a sunroof, cruise control, and audio controls on the steering wheel (I have an 05' TC boo). Other Tc tuners are going to look at your car and know right away that you have the Ghetto "cheap" Tc. I like the idea, but not on a Scion. Just spend the extra few thousand and buy a "real" Tc.

 

The potential for... to be euphemistic... "distasteful" modification is rather frightening with this deal, but I'm also interested just to see the thing. In the right hands it's a great idea, but I don't Scion looked at the ramifications of putting this car in the wrong hands. I'm glad that NBM isn't a color option for these, so that whoever sees me will at least know I'm not a spec'er.

 

[quote="froggy780"]By the sound of it, you are talking about the non-performance aspect of tuners. The Spec version isn't a ghetto version of the tC, just a lower trim level of it. Personally, i think its a waste of time because its not "stripped", it just has different wheels and no motorized moonroof, and people think thats stripped?

What i find amusing is the fact people are saying how weightless this car will be. As i said in my last post, at most its going to be is 70lbs lighter, with a driver your still going to be right at 3,000+lbs with a driver. Wow, so light weight. And lets not forget, as i said before, it still has a glass roof..Which in return means its still top heavy.

Its a good idea, i like the fact it has steel wheels. Its a good concept, but if they really wanted to make a true performance aspect of the tC... A/c should be optional, no glass roof, steel wheels or smaller alloy's, performance suspension standard, bucket seats in the front, and some how knock a few more lbs off of it. That would be great, although the 2az isn't my idea of a performance motor, its still falling on its face the n/a route, and many boosted guys are having issues. S/c and t/c alike. However, at least it would be a true performance oriented car. Hell, make it to where it can compete with honda's type r class. Maybe then honda could bring the type-r back over here and i could get the type r.

Most of this post is my opinion, but the fact its light weight just without a motor for the roof and steel wheels, please.

 

i for one like the idea, i wish there was a cheaper version made when i got mine, well something without the rims, so it would have been easier to pawn off my stock wheels to say something with "hubcaps" too bad i'm selling my tc

 

What is this a Ferrari...they don't want "undesirables" to drive around and dilute the brand? I want one so I can tell people I drive a car so cool I had to be "approved" to drive it.

This is for people to make trailer queen show cars with $30,000 stereos and 18 tv screens in it.

Anybody serious enough about racing that they are willing to gut the interior and turn it in to a hardcore track car is not going to buy this - there are better cheaper cars out there to use a s a dedicated racer...ones that are lighter, faster and handle better.

 

ill have to disagree, everyone has their own preference. honda's and acura's are not the only thing people use to build street cars. There are people out there that one to do something a little different then anyone else. so i'm sure there's many interested in getting something like this, for whatever reasons including building a race car

 

Oh? And whats different about it? The fact Scion markets the cars as a tunable car, full of accesories from the dealership and the fact they also market the car as, make your own? I have news for you, Scion cars are no different than any other car that is modified. Yes, the brand is unique in the sense its the first manufacture to actually sell the car for those into the markets. However, is it really that unique? The tC looks like many cars put together in one idea, it blends pretty well with traffic. How is it a little different? Toyota's aren't new to the world of tuning, a Scion is a offbranch of toyota. Sure, all three models have standard features you usually don't find in our price bracket, and the Xb does look different than many other cars. However, thats not what i'm talking about. The idea of modifying a Scion isn't different than the idea of modifying a Honda/Acura/Nissan/Toyota/Lexus/Ford/anything else you can think of. The only difference is how the car is sold.

I hope this makes sense. I'm not trying to put down scions or anyone here, just trying to make a point.

 

Forgot one more detailed note, the tC is one of the most unlikely cars to built for a actual track car. Drag is its best bet, however someone that dedicated into racing, probably isn't going to use the 2az for multiple reasons. And if they do, by the time they are done with it maybe 10% at most is left of an actual 2az. With track environments like autox, road course, time attacks. The tC can hold its own with a lot of work, but to make it competitive there would have to be some drastic changes to the body, interior, and so on to make it worth while. And by the time your done, you could have bought a car more suited for the track than the tC. Because it has so many faults. Its a nice car, and definitely can make power. Can it last? So far i haven't seen anything to prove it can, infact theres much out there that suggests otherwise. (i know thats a touchy subject) But, just because a car can make power doesn't mean it can perform in all aspects of track. Like i said, it can hold its own. But competitive? I doubt it, not without some serious $$.

 

hmm, the problem with writing things down not sure if what i said was understood... And yes if someone did fix a scion tc to be a street car or run on the track. would be different from the millions that have used an acura or honda since the whole import racing scene took place... for every tc thats on the track, there's probably 1000 hondas or acuras,

 

Truth, but you also have to remember that honda/acura has been under the market's radar for years. I also happen to see, in my area at least, more tC's than any other car on the road.

Honda has won many years oversea's with their typer's, beating cars that even hardcore honda fanatics thought would be something near impossible. Beating rwd cars, fwd cars, awd cars. Nsx-r has beaten anywhere from corvettes to exotic ferrari's. This carried over to the us and all of a sudden honda and acura were in, still "in" as far as the scene goes. Sure, you see a ton of riced out hondas. But it happens with any car that you can buy under 20,000... People tend to forget that.

But i still don't see how this makes the tC different. Because it doesnt. Last year i went to 8 autocross events. I saw, ran against, more toyotas, nissans, fords than i did hondas. Am i saying there weren't honda's there? Sure there were, but they were by far dominating. I've ran against a few hondas, as well as a few Scions. Most of the honda's that were in the events were in different classes than i but yeah, overall i'd say they didn't dominate the track. Of course, this is one area and just 8 events compared to 1,000's nationwide each year. But the point i'm making is, its not something new for a Toyota to be modified. tC is a toyota, therefore in my eyes its nothing new or nothing different. Sure, it might be a little rarer in terms of how many are actually doing that. But different?