2014 Scion Tc Monogram on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Toyota headed to New York with 2014 Highlander, revised Scion tC

Toyota has given us a look at what the company will bring to the 2013 New York Auto Show. Visitors will get to set their eyes upon the all-new 2014 Highlander, and while the automaker isn't saying much in the way of details, we do get the teaser you see above (click to enlarge) to ponder on until next week. The image shows little more than a headlamp and a bit of grille, but gives us the flavor of what the crossover will bring to the table.
Scion, meanwhile, says it plans to dust off the "new 2014 tC sports coupe." While we don't imagine the two door will have undergone a major surgery, we're interested to see what the automaker has cooked up. The tC last endured a redesign in 2011. Check out the brief press release below and look for the vehicles to bow on March 28.Y

2016 Scion iM shows some sharp styling from a frugal five-door [w/video]

Scion has been starving for new products for some time, and the entry-level brand has finally gotten two of them at the 2015 New York Auto Show. Of the duo, the iM is probably the more intriguing one because it brings a slightly retouched look for the Toyota Auris across the Atlantic from Europe. While nowhere near as aggressive as the concept from the 2014 LA Auto Show, the production iM is still a fairly attractive five-door. The front air dam features a stylish mix of gloss black and body color touches that look great, and the rear is dominated by a big set of wraparound taillights. It also wears an attractive set of standard 17-inch wheels with a layered effect for the spokes. Buyers have a single engine option, which is a 1.8-liter four-cylinder with 137 horsepower, but the mill can be linked up to either a six-speed manual or a CVT with a stepped-shifting mode. The iM should be easy on fuel bills too thanks to an estimated 37 miles per gallon highway from the most efficient version. Scion's new five-door hatch arrives at dealers this fall, and the brand expects prices to start at less than $20,000. Check out all of the shots in the gallery from the New York show floor for an early peek.

Weekly Recap: GM scales back as Russian auto market teeters

General Motors' extensive plans to scale back its Russian operations are the latest sign the automotive market in the former superpower is collapsing – and there are few signs of recovery. GM said Wednesday it will stop selling mainstream Chevrolets and shutter the entire Opel brand in Russia. The moves leave GM with a luxury-focused presence consisting of Cadillac and Chevrolet's Corvette, Camaro and Tahoe. The cutbacks will be completed by the end of the year. The automaker will also idle its factory in St. Petersburg and end a contract-assembly agreement with Russian manufacturer GAZ. "We had to take decisive action in Russia to protect our business," Opel Group CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann said in a statement. "We confirm our outlook to return the European business to profitability in 2016 and stick to our long-term goals." GM is the latest automaker to scale back in Russia as the economic conditions, volatile currency and uncertainty over the conflict in the Ukraine all have sandbagged new car sales. Last month, vehicle sales collapsed 38 percent in Russia to 128,298 units, according to the Association of European Business, which records sales. Joerg Schreiber, chairman of the AEB automobile manufacturers committee, didn't even feign optimism in a statement announcing the figures. "The market is entering a very difficult phase now, and February is only the beginning," he said. "Industry sentiment is the next few months will be extremely difficult and the market bottom has yet to be found." The dovetails with industry experts, who predict the Russian auto sector will remain in the doldrums. IHS said earlier this year it expects Russia's sales to slip to just 1.8 million units in 2015, which is a 40-percent drop from 2012. Other News & Notes Chief leads Jeep's Easter Safari stable Jeep is bringing seven attention-getting concepts to Moab for its annual Easter Safari off-roading celebration in Utah, but the Chief is perhaps the standout of the group. It salutes the 1970s Cherokee with a throwback appearance and surfer styling cues. The Chief has a custom modified razor grille made famous by the Wagoneer, and it rolls on 17-inch slotted mag wheels. The surf theme comes in with ocean blue paint, floral cloth and leather seats and a tiki-style shifter handle. Based on the Jeep Wrangler, the Chief has removable sides, a 3.6-liter V6 engine and a six-speed manual gearbox.