2014 Scion Xd Base on 2040-cars

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Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race Scion FR-S [w/video]

Toyota has been hosting its Pro/Celebrity race at the Toyota Grand Prix on Long Beach since 1977. The charity event, which has raised millions of dollars over the years, traditionally pits Hollywood celebrities against professional athletes (including race car drivers) on the full Grand Prix course in modified street vehicles. The short, sprint-style race is popular with the crowds as the amateur drivers race uninhibited - the result is an action-packed race with plenty of excitement and automotive... er... carnage.
Over the decades, the drivers have raced a variety of Toyota products including last year's front-wheel-drive Scion tC. But this year, Toyota announced at the Chicago Auto Show that the new rear-wheel-drive Scion FR-S would be stepping up to the plate. The good news only became better when Toyota Motorsports invited us out to Southern California's Willow Springs Raceway (the same circuit where the drivers train and practice) to be one of the first behind the wheel.
Driving Notes:

Evo pits Toyota GT86 vs. Mazda MX-5 Miata

The latest Deadly Rivals episode from Evo gets the Mazda MX-5 Miata and Toyota GT86 (our Scion FR-S) on track for a shakedown and a whole lot of drifting with Dan Prosser behind the wheel. The UK-spec coupes have slightly different power ratings than ours, but it's all close enough to be comparable. Their Miata has 158 horsepower (ours has 155), 148 pound-feet of torque, takes 7.3 seconds to run from naught to 60 62, and costs 22,695 pounds. The GT86, on the other hand, lists a 7.6-second dash to 60 62, and a base price of 25,000 pounds. The GT86 also weighs 400 pounds more than the Mazda. That's true in the States, too – curb weight for our MX-5 is 2,332 pounds, whereas the Scion FR-S comes in at 2,758 pounds. Both cars lauded for excellent shifting, but one of them has a better front end, a sweeter engine note, more controllable cornering behavior, and is faster by a tenth of a second around the test track. And Prosser doesn't mention it, but one has a lot more body roll. But it takes more than all that to make a winner, so check out the video above to see which is which. News Source: Evo via YouTube Mazda Scion Toyota Convertible Coupe Performance Videos toyota gt86 evo

Lexus tops JD Power Vehicle Dependability Study again, Buick bests Toyota

It shouldn't surprise anyone, but Lexus has once again taken the top spot in JD Power's Vehicle Dependability Study. That'd be the Japanese luxury brand's fourth straight year at the top of table. The big news, though, is the rise of Buick. General Motor's near-premium brand beat out Toyota to take second place, with 110 problems per 100 vehicles compared to Toyota's 111 problems. Lexus owners only reported 89 problems per 100 vehicles. Besides Buick's three-position jump, Scion enjoyed a major improvement, jumping 13 positions from 2014. Ram and Mitsubishi made big gains, as well, moving up 11 and 10 positions, respectively. In terms of individual segments, GM and Toyota both excelled, taking home seven segment awards each. The study wasn't good news for all involved, though. A number of popular automakers finished below the industry average of 147 problems per 100 vehicles, including Subaru, (157PP100), Volkswagen (165PP100), Ford/Hyundai (188PP100 each) and Mini (193PP100). The biggest losers (by a tremendous margin, we might add) were Land Rover and Fiat, recording 258 and 273 problems per 100 vehicles. The next closest brand was Jeep, with 197PP100. While the Vehicle Dependability Study uses the same measurement system as the Initial Quality Survey, the two metrics analyze very different things. The VDS looks at problems experienced by original owners of model year 2012 vehicles over the past 12 months, while the oft-quoted IQS focuses on problems in the first 90 days of new-vehicle ownership. Like the IQS, though, the VDS has a rather broad definition of what a problem is. Because of that, a low score from JD Power is no guarantee of extreme unreliability, so much as just poor design. In this most recent study, the two most reported problems focused on Bluetooth connectivity and the voice-command systems. The former leaves plenty of room for user error due to poor design (particularly true of the Bluetooth systems on the low-scoring Fords, Volkswagens and Subarus), while the second is something JD Power has already confirmed as being universally terrible. That makes means that while these studies are important, they shouldn't be taken as gospel when it comes to automotive reliability. News Source: JD PowerImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Jeremy Korzeniewski / AOL Buick Fiat Ford GM Hyundai Jeep Land Rover Lexus MINI Mitsubishi RAM Scion Subaru Toyota Volkswagen Auto Repair Ownership study