Tag Archives: scion

In its 26th year, Toyotafest is still going strong — a brief history of TORC, the Toyota Owners and Restorers Club

We’ve been attending Toyotafest every year since JNC started in 2006, and it’s consistently one of our favorite events. Last year was the 25th Toyotafest, which means the show itself is now old enough to wear historic plates, buy collector … Continue reading

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Toyotafest is happening but everyone, including spectators, must pre-register

Great news! The City of Long Beach has given Toyotafest the green light, meaning the year-long nightmare of no official car shows may soon be over. However, there will be some major change that will affect everyone who attends, so … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Petersen Museum Cruise-in, Part 01

Last weekend the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles hosted their annual cruise-in for Japanese cars. J-tin of all eras and styles flocked to the museum’s parking structure at the corner of Fairfax and Wilshire Boulevards on a sweltering LA … Continue reading

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NEWS: Toyota and Subaru have begun work on the next-gen 86 and BRZ, and they’re putting a bigger engine in it

Toyota and Subaru have reportedly begun development of the next-generation 86 and BRZ models. The lightweight FR twins are currently in their sixth model year, and have remained essentially unchanged since 2013. Addressing one of the most persistent critiques of the current model, the … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2017 All-Toyotafest 2017, Part 01 — New Digs

Like RAV4 sales numbers, the number of cars at Toyotafest is ever-expanding. Now in its 22nd year, the country’s most comprehensive Toyota, Lexus and Scion car show has outgrown its home at the Queen Mary. This year, organizers from the Toyota Owners and Restorers Club … Continue reading

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MINICARS: All the Japanese cars in the 2017 Hot Wheels mainline

Mattel has released the complete 2017 Hot Wheels mainline list, and it includes plenty of things for collectors of Japanese cars to get excited about. Old castings make a return, while new ones continue the trend. Here’s a complete rundown on … Continue reading

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NEWS: Scion brand name revived… as Trump hotel

Toyota had always described their Scion brand, which was axed earlier this year, as not just a car marque but a “lifestyle brand.” People seemed to either lament its passing or thought it was a horrible idea to begin with. As it turns out, Trump … Continue reading

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EVENTS: AE86 Nights 9th Anniversary

What started as a small gathering of enthusiasts of the last RWD Corolla eight years ago has grown into a gathering that attracts hundreds of cars from all over southern California. It all started with the beloved Hachiroku, and the types of … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2016 All-Toyotafest, Part 01 — A preview of what’s to come

Now in its 21st year, the All-Toyotafest has become quite possibly the most popular Japanese car show in southern California. How popular? Online registration for the 2016 gathering — all 450 spots — sold out just eight hours after going … Continue reading

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REMINDER: Toyotafest 2016 is this Saturday

Just a friendly reminder. The 21st annual Toyotafest is this Saturday, May 7. The celebration of Toyota, Lexus and Scion cars returns to the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. Gates open at 9 am and close at 3 pm, and admission is … Continue reading

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NY Auto Show: First in-person look at the 2017 Toyota 86

We got our first glimpse of the 2017 Toyota 86 at the New York Auto Show today, and we were wrong. When Toyota first released images of the facelifted neo-hachiroku, we implied that the “86” badges, once displayed prominently on the fender … Continue reading

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NEWS: Toyota 86 to get facelift with new name

In addition to a new (yet old) name, the lightweight sport coupe formerly known as the Scion FR-S will get a facelift when it transitions to the Toyota marque this fall. Meet the 2017 Toyota 86.

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QotW: How will Scion be remembered in 25 years?

The demise of Scion last week caught many, including us, by surprise. Though the Toyota offshoot lasted only 13 years, it left a strong mark on the automotive community. Be clear, we are talking about the automotive community, not necessarily the … Continue reading

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“Iron, Lion, Scion” — Bob Marley

The news that Scion was dead leaked Tuesday night. Few outlets dared report it because it seemed too crazy to be true. At every single auto show last year, representatives continued to reassure the press and public that they were doubling down with new … Continue reading

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NEWS: RIP Scion, 2003-2016

Scion is dead. After 13 years, Toyota announced this morning that the alternative, youth-oriented, no-haggle brand would be killed off and most of its products — some very recently launched — rolled under the Toyota marque. 

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NEXT VERSION: Can you name these classic Toyota racing liveries?

In preparation for the upcoming Goodwood Festival of Speed, Toyota UK has prepped six GT86 (known here as the Scion FR-S) sport coupes in racing liveries from the company’s past. Can you name them all (answers below, no peeking!)? 

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EVENTS: Petersen Museum Japanese Car Cruise-In

There are many things to hate about Los Angeles, but its car culture isn’t one of them. As the trendsetting capital of the custom automobile, it holds the motorcar in such high regard that there’s a shrine to it located smack … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2015 All-Toyotafest, Part 02

Registration for over 400 Toyotafest spaces sold out in under 24 hours this year, a new record. Perhaps it was the fact that it was the show’s 20th anniversary, or that in Japan it was already May 3, Akio Toyoda‘s birthday, or … Continue reading

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REMINDER: 2015 All-Toyotafest, May 2, 2015

Toyotafest is less than 48 hours away. This year, the show will be celebrating its 20th anniversary. All Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles, old and new, will be welcome. The show begins 9:00am on Saturday, May 2, 2015, at the Queen Mary in … Continue reading

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NEWS: Subaru BRZ STI Concept

Ever since the debut of the Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT86/Scion FR-S, people have been positively begging for a steroid-injected version. The best hope for a pumped up version of the joint Toyota-Subaru neo-hachiroku seemed to lie with Subaru’s boxer engineers, specifically STI, who could … Continue reading

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