Year of Scion tC

Scion tC is a compact car introduced by Japanese automaker Toyota in 2004 as a concept car under its recently introduced Scion brand name. The Scion tC was designed to appeal to the Generation Y market. They hoped to do so by making standard features numerous and optional features extremely easy to add. The Scion tC is generally considered Toyota's successor to the Celica whose production ended with the 2006 model year (2005 in the United States).

Toyota debuted the Scion at the 2004 NAIAS in with sales beginning in June 2004.

The Scion tC uses the chassis of the Avensis which is sold in the European market, and the Camry's 2.4 L 2AZ-FE I4 engine. Its low price (base MSRP of US$17,000 for the 2008 model) is a major feature, as well as the pure pricing marketing style that Toyota has adopted.

The name tC does not fit in with its stablemates the xA, xB, and xD, because the name xC has already been taken by Volvo for its XC60, XC70 and XC90 models. According to Scion, tC stands for "Touring Coupe."

The Scion tC received a subtle makeover in 2008, with changed front and rear lights and enhancements to the interior. The grilles changed from a honeycomb style to a metal drill out style on top and a three line plastic bar style on bottom. In the interior the seats changed to an all black instead of a black with a slight blueish gray. Also the L.E.D's changed to a brighter orange color

Specifications (2009 model)

• Engine: 2.7 L Dual Overhead Cam (DOHC) 16-valve 4-cylinder with VVT-i, compression ratio of 9.8:1.
• Power: 173 hp (130 kW) @ 6,000 rpm / 200 hp with TRD Supercharger
• Torque: 168 ft·lbf (220 N·m) @ 4,000 rpm / 185 ft·lbf with TRD Supercharger
• Transmission: Standard 5-speed manual transmission or optional 4-speed electronically controlled automatic transmission
• Highway fuel economy/ consumption: 25-30 mi/ U.S. gal (8.1 L/ 100 km) (automatic); 28-32 mi/ U.S. gal (7.8 L/ 100 km) (manual)
• City fuel economy/ consumption: 23-28 mi/ U.S. gal (10.7 L/ 100 km) (automatic); 24-29 mi/ U.S. gal (10.7 L/ 100 km) (manual)
• Fuel tank: 14.5USgal (55L; 12imp gal)
• Brakes: 4-wheel disc brakes with anti-lock braking system
• Curb weight: 2,970 lb (1,347 kg) (automatic); 2,905 lb (1,318 kg) (manual)
• Displacement: 2382 cc

Release Series line

Beginning in late spring 2004, Scion launched the Release Series (RS) line, limited quantities of their current vehicles pre-packaged with individual numbered badging, exclusive accessories, and other special features. Limited edition vehicles from a marketing standpoint were used to create a buzz for the brandname, with their exterior colors tending to be loud or bright hues (i.e. orange, yellow, red, blue, green). Because of the growing popularity of the Scion product line and the scarce production runs (most dealers only get 2-3 of each RS model), these limited edition vehicles quickly sell out. Preordering is available at each dealership on a first-come, first-served basis. To the customer's benefit, Scion's "Pure Price" MSRP bounds dealerships against market-demand vehicle mark-up. Naturally, resale values of Release Series vehicles command a premium because of their packaged options and scarcity.