Scion TC-Why is this car...

wow...

part of me wants to give them mad ups for being the chaparral of their time.

the other half of me wants to vomit.

I owned a TC for a short time and for some reason my engine blew at 14K miles.....I don't think it had anything to do with being on the rev limiter sliding the car on a twisty uphill road........you know maybe it was the sunroof...........hard to tell...

jcanracer wrote: as with 95% of all scions, their owners are more interested in "show" rather than "go"

Yeah, still kinda NEWISH cars so your not picking them up super cheap... and they are sold as some kinda "Make it your own tyte whip" car.

Marketed well to the crowd who wants a sports car with out all that performance.

The weight distribution is not a legitimate excuse. Mini's, Honda's etc have the same and they handle pretty well. Even Neons.

Strizzo wrote: In reply to andrave: apparently it set some kind of record at a time trial a couple months ago

Yup, fastest lap time in the front wheel drive class at the Redline Time Attack series at Willow Springs.

http://www.hrsprings.com/press/chris-rados-front-winged-scion-tc-breaks-lap-record-at-willow-springs

iceracer wrote: The weight distribution is not a legitimate excuse. Mini's, Honda's etc have the same and they handle pretty well. Even Neons.

It's not a legit excuse if it's the only excuse.

Bobzilla wrote: Simple reason: I don't know that many females that auto-x. No lie, 90% of the tC's I see here are driven by late teens early 20's females.

Haha its the same deal in my area, most of the TCs are driven by females. In fact my good friends girlfriend drives one!

I Auto X my Tc for years! Never a problem. Be non- imagitive like every other sheep and buy a EVO or STI!

Yeah, you're talking to a bunch of guys (and gals) that autocross rarities including Hyundais, Volvos, Yugos, P71s, full size Ford wagons and whatever else we can pick up for $500.

You might be talking to the least non-imaginative sheep collection in motorsports.

SCIONTCTUNER wrote: I Auto X my Tc for years! Never a problem. Be non- imagitive like every other sheep and buy a EVO or STI!

One quick lesson, we buy Miatas

THIS IS THE ORIGINAL QUESTION!

"Scion TC-Why is this car so seldom seen at autocrosses and Road Racing events?"

Don't follow these sheep,I see the same cars at every event,VW GTI, Mini's and so on. I'm speaking of your daily driver, not some purpose built weekend race car. How can they or anyone comment on a vehicle that they haven't Auto x. the Tc does just fine in STS class.

Too bad the tC can't compete in STS. It would be an ST car. And it goes back to the high curb weight and the low power with small tires.

Calling me a "sheeple" is hilarity at it's finest. I spent my first two years in a lighter than the TC Elantra with 140hp in ST. Got smoked for 2 years by the realyl fast guys. Did ok against the non-EF's. Spent this last year in a 1994 Suzuki Swift GT. That's about as far off the grid as you can get.

Get a grip and stop being a troll.

Looking at the specs on paper, I would expect the TC to be very close competition for the 2.3 Mazda 3.

And then reality hits.

We lost the Celica All-Trac, MR2 and the Turbo Supra... And THAT is what Toyota calls a performance car?

SCIONTCTUNER said: There is a lot of haters out there! You just need to find the truth.

I realize you have probably spent your entire internet life over at tuner forums, however, people here are anything but "haters"...except P71...

A tC won the Performance Touring C title at NASA Nationals this year:

link

Apparently it's one of their project cars too. They're slowly backfilling articles so we can see what they did.

Just realized that they also were first at Nationals last year as well.

I'm sure they handle well. I mean most modern small cars with decent suspension will handle pretty well given enough rubber.

It's everything else that detracts from the experience.

My step-father has a TC, and while he is happy with it, he admits that he'd rather have a Miata or something more sporty and RWD.

MCarp22 wrote: Looking at the specs on paper, I would expect the TC to be very close competition for the 2.3 Mazda 3.

Having driven a friend's TC several times (when my car was in the shop), and having owned a 2.3 Mazda3 (my wife's for 2 years), I can honestly say that the 3 is superior to the TC in virtually everything, especially handling balance......

Whether that is because of suspension geometry, tires, weight distro, or whatever I can't say...I never looked into it further. But the 3 was clearly a superior handler, and there are always a few 3's (2.3 and 2.0s) at local autocrosses around here, and rarely a TC.

On a side note, two women I work with who own TCs have been in significant accidents in them, and neither one is an aggressive driver by any means. Both lost the rear end....one on the highway in the rain...going straight! The other in the dry...

I'll also note that in this area, TCs are driven mostly by 20-something girls and teenage guys (equal amounts, from what I can tell). I think of them as the "new civic" in terms of being the trendy car for high school guys to get because 1. they "look" relatively fast 2. they are inexpensive compared with the other trendy teenager car around here, the GTI.... 3. parents like that they're toyotas, so reliable 4. alot of TRD/Toyota aftermarket parts covered under warranty = mom and dad let you mod it since warranty is still good 5. apparently the civic isn't really trendy for the teens anymore like it used to be...

Near as I can tell, Toyota is just badging what would be the coupe and wagon versions of the Corolla as the tC and the Matrix.

While I wouldn't mind one of the 1.8L (2ZZ-FE) Corolla XRSs, Corollas haven't been exciting in any way shape or form since the AE92.

irish44j wrote:

MCarp22 wrote: Looking at the specs on paper, I would expect the TC to be very close competition for the 2.3 Mazda 3.

Having driven a friend's TC several times (when my car was in the shop), and having owned a 2.3 Mazda3 (my wife's for 2 years), I can honestly say that the 3 is superior to the TC in virtually everything, especially handling balance...... Whether that is because of suspension geometry, tires, weight distro, or whatever I can't say...I never looked into it further. But the 3 was clearly a superior handler, and there are always a few 3's (2.3 and 2.0s) at local autocrosses around here, and rarely a TC. On a side note, two women I work with who own TCs have been in significant accidents in them, and neither one is an aggressive driver by any means. Both lost the rear end....one on the highway in the rain...going straight! The other in the dry...

I don't agree. I hope that I continue to not see TC's in H Stock.

SCIONTCTUNER wrote: In reply to Bobzilla: Wow That is riveting! Buttzilla!

Really? Are you twelve? I call Spam on this one.