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Scion iA and iM get wide bodies and whitewalls... thanks, SEMA

Scion has a quartet of customized vehicles on the way to this week's SEMA show in Las Vegas, two iM hatchbacks tuned as part of its Annual Scion Tuner Challenge, two iA sedans whipped up by the brand's lifestyle partners. Streetwear brand Crooks & Castles went with the widebody style that Japanese tuners RWB have been grafting onto Porsches and Liberty Walk has been bolting onto exotics for a few years now. Underneath the punched-out flares there's an air suspension that'll put one of those custom mesh wheels in the air, while the iM's insides are draped in black-and-white leather. Fellow streetwear brand illest worked up another iM in the manner of Japanese VIP cars, with 19-inch wheels outside and suede and leather inside. In the other corner, Eddie Huang, he of the TV show Fresh Off the Boat, took the lowrider route with his iA. The Scion boasts a mural-emblazoned metallic yellow paint job and root beer accents, chain-link steering wheel, and gold-dipped wire wheels and grille. Skybound Entertainment, the entertainment company that brings shows like The Walking Dead to life, forsook zombies for demons with its iA, cued off the theme of graphic novelist Robert Kirkman's latest book Outcast. You can read more about all four cars below, and we'll have live images from the SEMA floor soon. SCION SHOWCASES FASHION AND PASSION TORRANCE, Calif. (Oct. 29, 2015) – Creative visions of the Scion iM 5-door hatchback and Scion iA sedan are ready for Las Vegas lights. The cars were previewed in the downtown Los Angeles' Arts District ahead of their debut at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas, Nov. 3-6. For the 11th Annual Scion Tuner Challenge, remixed versions of the all-new sporty 2016 iM 5-door hatchback were created by prominent streetwear brands illest and Crooks & Castles. Each received a Scion iM and a $15,000 build budget to put a unique spin on the car. Mark Arcenal, creative director of illest, drew inspiration for his iM concept from the Japanese VIP world, a clear departure from the race-inspired tC he built at the 2008 Scion Tuner Challenge. "With a background in motorsports, I went with familiarity for my previous Scion Tuner Challenge experience. I wanted to push the boundaries even further this time," Arcenal said.

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:

Scion pondering move upmarket?

Scion is simultaneously celebrating its ten-year anniversary with the 10 Series models and trying to figure out what to do with itself over the next ten years. Once a go-to consideration for young, first-time buyers who wanted something cool and different, in 2013 it has a model everyone is still talking about in the FR-S, a model few are still talking about in the iQ, and three models in between in the tC, xB and xD that make everyone wonder, "What happened?"
Automotive News spoke to Toyota's North American CEO, Jim Lentz - he was the VP in charge of Scion when it launched - about the options, and Lentz said one of them could be a move upmarket to challenge the established luxury brands that are moving downmarket. "There's going to be a big need in the $25,000 range for a fun-to-drive, nice-looking, value-oriented product," he said, and the FR-S, which starts at $25,255, could provide the platform for Scion to climb up a notch or two in price and perception. An idea like this could conceivably work in tandem with a proposal to move entry-level Scion products over to the Toyota brand - but remember, this is all just ideas on a whiteboard at the moment.
As opposed to an "entry-luxury fighter," the brand could swing back to the other option that was considered when it was formed, directly challenging the Korean makes that have usurped its cachet with first-time buyers. Lentz said Scion could go either way, and the tone of the piece seems to indicate that the final direction is still a ways away from being resolved.