2012 Scion Tc Alloy Wheels on 2040-cars

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Cosworth announces Power Packages for Subaru BRZ, Scion FR-S with up to 380 hp [w/video]

Cosworth stands on the list of the most famous engine tuners in the world with its DFV engine engine dominating Formula One for a time in the '70s. So when it teases plans to take on the FA20 engine from Subaru and Toyota found in the BRZ, Scion FR-S and Toyota GT86 abroad, our interest is indeed piqued. Cosworth is promising to take the 2.0-liter, four-cylinder boxer engine from its current 200 horsepower all the way to 325 hp and even 380 hp in a future track version through a series of staged Power Packages. At the moment, only the first stage is available that takes the mill to a potent 230 hp.
Cosworth says that its new strategy is to offer its upgrades in kits rather than individually so that it can be sure that everything works and fits when owners receive it. The Stage 1 Power Package emphasizes helping the FA20 breathe better and includes a nearly complete replacement for the stock exhaust system. There is a sports exhaust with four-inch, diagonally cut, polished tips and Y-shaped muffler, an overpipe front pipe with a spherical resonator and a new manifold header that is 22 percent lighter the standard unit. In addition to that, the kit comes with a software reflash, low temperature thermostat, Cosworth badge and plaque.
The stage one kit is available now, and stages two and three go on sale later this summer, according to its website. Autoblog contacted Cosworth for pricing information for the kits. We will update this story, if we hear back. The company also released a video showing off the exhaust upgrades. Scroll down to watch it and read the full release, below.

Scion teases mysterious sporty iM concept for LA show

Thoroughly cleansed of our time at the 2014 Paris Motor Show, we can now start looking forward to the next big show on the circuit (with all due respect to SEMA), the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show. One of the earliest new cars slated for LA is this, the Scion iM Concept.
Now, these teaser images don't show us terribly much. We can see the headlights, foglights and wheels. The little information we can glean indicates that, based on the short hood and minimal space between the front door and front axle, the iM will be a very small vehicle. That said, a very low ride height (and Scion's own press release) claims this will be a rather sporty offering. The concept's nose and grille, meanwhile, bears some resemblance to Toyota's most recent stylings.
We'll have more when the iM Concept debuts in LA on November 19. Until then, check out the pair of teasers and the official press release, available below.

2014 Scion tC

Once upon a time, the Scion brand sought to bring more youthful buyers into the Toyota stable. In the early 2000s, Scion launched with its plucky xA and xB hatchbacks, and a lot of people bought into its affordable, customizable, funky lineup - myself included. I was once the proud owner of a 2006 xB, and though the box-on-wheels wasn't really a proper enthusiast machine by any means, I loved its unique driving dynamics, clever packaging and fresh style.
Following those two hatches, Scion released its tC coupe - a modestly sporty little thing that stayed true to the brand's core values of being affordable, neat-looking and endlessly customizable. People really dug the first-generation tC, and with good reason - it offered a bit more personality than a comparable Honda Civic Coupe, effectively the only other two-door compact then on the market from Japan. And for folks who wanted a sporty, low-cost two-door, the tC was a pretty decent buy.
But then Scion changed. The xA was killed and the comparatively frumpy xD bowed as its replacement. The xB was totally renewed, but it got bigger, heavier and less attractive in the process. And then after a few years of standing idle (will we ever see xD/xB replacements?), Toyota birthed the Scion FR-S - a properly sporty, enthusiast-minded rear-drive coupe created with the help of Subaru. I really dig the FR-S - if I had to buy something from the Toyota/Lexus/Scion stable, it's easily the car I'd want. But by offering a properly good two-door package with its new coupe, where has that left the older, front-drive tC?