The 2014 Scion tC is coming into an extremely competitive market, but with the updates and refreshes, it should be a contender. It also starts at $19,210 to help sway the budget minded driver looking for a cute little commuter coupe to hit the streets in. The handling has been improved which also gives a more comfortable driving experience and some high tech upgrades including a 6.1-inch touchscreen, Bluetooth, HD radio and steering wheel-mounted controls have been added.

Here is the breakdown according to the press release:

Scion 10 Series 2014 tC

The tC comes with premium stitching on the steering wheel and seats, projector-beam headlights, LED accent lighting, 18-inch gloss dark gray alloy wheels, an electroluminescent panel above the radio, and front and rear locator badges that light up when the car is unlocked. A side skirt with a Scion badge is included, along with a solar-powered illuminated shift knob and front, rear and cargo Scion carpet mats. The MSRP for the Scion 10 Series tC will be $22,440 for the automatic transmission and $21,440 for the manual transmission.

Scion 10 Series 2014 iQ

The iQ comes with projector-beam headlights, 16-inch graphite gray alloy wheels, two electroluminescent panels on the center console, front and rear locator badges, a solar-powered illuminated shift knob and Scion carpet mats throughout the car. The MSRP for the Scion 10 Series iQ will be $17,850.

Scion 10 Series 2013 FR-S

The FR-S comes with dual auto A/C, HID headlights, LED DRL accent lighting, 17-inch standard wheels, a frameless rearview mirror, a dashboard electroluminescent panel, front and rear locator badges, a solar-powered illuminated shift knob (only available on the automatic transmission model) and a Scion carpet mat in the cargo area. The MSRP for the Scion 10 Series FR-S will be $28,675 for the automatic transmission and $27,425 for the manual transmission.

Scion 10 Series 2013 xB

The xB comes with projector beam headlights, LED accent lighting, 16-inch graphite gray alloy wheels, a dashboard electroluminescent panel, front and rear locator badges, a solar-powered illuminated shift knob and Scion carpet mats throughout the car. The MSRP for the Scion 10 Series xB will be $20,160 for the automatic transmission and $19,210 for the manual transmission.

Scion 10 Series 2013 xD

The xD comes with premium stitching on the seats, multi-reflector halogen headlights, 16-inch graphite gray alloy wheels, an electroluminescent panel above the radio, a rear vehicle locator badge, a solar-powered illuminated shift knob and Scion carpet mats in the front, rear and cargo areas. The MSRP for the Scion 10 Series xD will be $18,955 for the automatic transmission and $18,155 for the manual transmission. Scion MSRPs do not include a $755 delivery, processing and handling (DPH) for all Scion models. The DPH fee for vehicles distributed by Southeast Toyota (SET) and Gulf States Toyota (GST) may vary.

In order for Consumer Reports to come up with their top picks, they literally picked apart over 280 different vehicles to come up with the best of the best, separated them into domestic or foreign origin vehicles and chose the autos that had the highest markets for reliability, safety, performance and handling, price points, fuel efficiency and just about every other test you can think of to make a car prove it’s got what it takes to become a “Top Pick.” Here is how it turned out for the foreign models:

2013 Top Picks

• Midsized sedan: Honda Accord
• Sports cars: Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ
• Budget car: Hyundai Elantra
• Green car: Toyota Prius
• Compact car: Subaru Impreza
• Luxury car: Audi A6
• Small SUV: Honda CR-V
• Midsized SUV: Toyota Highlander
• Sports sedan: BMW 328i
• Minivan: Honda Odyssey

You can compare this list with the American made automobiles. The 2013 Top Picks that came from the United States automakers also lists if the testing criteria was met, and who got the top score(s) from each class while the foreign picks didn’t offer that information. We can assume that these vehicles were the top scoring and met at least enough of the criteria to have made it out of the heap of almost 300 vehicles to make it as a top choice for consumers.

Now that you are armed with the Consumer Reports Top Picks for 2013 you can choose exactly the right vehicle that not only will fit your needs, but will offer the reliability, safety and economical features that will make your ride one you can count on for all your daily commuting needs and road trip pleasures.

Source Consumer Reports

The race is on to see what vehicles will make it into the spotlight at the 2013 World Car Awards. The cars that are eligible for this prestigious award must be introduced and available for sale in at least one major market area between January 1, 2012 and May 30, 2013. While that gives quite a few models a chance for glory, the vehicles waiting for their debuts at the upcoming Chicago and Geneva auto shows might not make the cut unless they get to the dealers pretty darn fast after the coming out parties. The top ten finalists have been named though by the 66 journalists from around the world. The top three winners will be revealed at the Geneva International Motor Show on Tuesday, March 5th, 2013.

The journalists involved in the panel to choose the 2013 World Car winners are chosen based on their experience and professional work. It is a balance that is made sure to balance out representation from Asia, Europe and the U.K., North America, Russia, as well as other parts of the world. Their ballots are secretly cast.

The 2013 World Car of the Year Top Ten Finalists:

• Audi A3
• Land Rover Range Rover
• Mazda6
• Mazda CX5
• Mercedes-Benz A-Class
• Peugeot 208
• Porsche Boxster / Cayman
• Scion FR-S / Subaru BRZ / Toyota GT 86 / Toyota 86
• Volkswagen Golf
• Volvo V40

The Top Ten 2013 World Performance Finalists:

• Aston Martin Vanquish
• Audi RS 5
• BMW M6 Coupe / Convertible
• BMW M 135i
• Ferrari F12 Berlinetta
• Mercedes-Benz SL 63 AMG
• Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster
• Porsche Boxster / Cayman
• Renault Clio Sport
• Scion FR-S / Subaru BRZ / Toyota GT 86 / Toyota 86

Best of luck to all the finalists. We’ll be sitting on the edge of our seats waiting to hear which models make it into the top three.

Source World Car Awards

The automakers who won the hearts of America’s Car Brand Perception know how to keep a good thing going and this latest Consumer Reports survey proves it. The top six brands from last year are the top six brands again for this year. This survey goes across the country to poll drivers about what they think of the available brands in seven categories including quality, safety, value, performance, design/style, technology/innovation and environmentally friendly/green. All these scores are added up together and the car with the most points wins.

While the top six from last year held their spots, not all automakers lived up to expectations though. “This past year brought stability and increased sales to much of the automotive industry. Yet, the brand awareness scores for some like BMW, Buick and Hyundai have declined,” said Jeff Bartlett, deputy auto editor online, Consumer Reports. “The data shows that it has become harder for companies to compete for share of mind. Consumers are not seeing as much differentiation between brands as they have in the past.”

Best Overall brand perception Ratings:

• Toyota: 133
• Ford: 118
• Honda: 114
• Chevrolet: 94
• Mercedes-Benz: 77
• Volvo: 77
• Cadillac: 66
• BMW: 66
• Dodge: 56
• Tesla: 55

Worst Overall brand perception Ratings:

• Scion: 6
• Mitsubishi: 6
• Ram: 7
• Fiat: 8
• Mini: 10
• Land Rover: 11
• Jaguar: 15
• Mazda: 16
• Jeep: 16
• Porsche: 21

The survey also proved that quality and safety are the most important considerations for how drivers choose their new vehicles. Next is value and performance. Environmental factors while nice for everyone to talk about, boils down to what is going to help save money versus what will help save the planet, but if a car can offer both, then it immediately ranks higher in popularity.

Source Consumer Reports

Car and Driver released their top ten picks for the Best New Cars for under $80,000. While they chose some great vehicles, no one agrees with them about their picks and some have even mentioned that since many of these same cars were listed in last year’s top ten that perhaps Car and Driver is becoming a bit too preferential to offer a truly unbiased opinion, but you can see what you think for yourself.

The criteria are a car has to be new for 2013 or have substantial updates for the new sales year.

Here are the cars that are eligible for this year’s top ten, under $80,000 range:

• Acura ILX
• Audi Allroad
• Audi A6/A7
• Audi A6 2.0T*
• Audi A8 TDI*
• Audi A8 3.0T
• Audi RS5
• Audi S5
• Audi S6/S7
• BMW ActiveHybrid 3*
• BMW ActiveHybrid 5
• BMW X1
• BMW 135is*
• BMW 3-series
• BMW 528i
• BMW 640i coupe/Gran Coupe
• Buick Verano 2.0T
• Cadillac ATS
• Cadillac CTS-V
• Cadillac XTS
• Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
• Chevrolet Corvette 427 Convertible
• Chevrolet Impala*
• Chevrolet Malibu
• Chevrolet Spark
• Dodge Dart
• Fiat 500 Turbo/Abarth
• Ford C-Max hybrid
• Ford C-Max Energi*
• Ford Focus/ST/Electric
• Ford Fusion
• Ford Mustang GT/Boss 302
• Ford Shelby GT500
• Ford Taurus EcoBoost 2.0
• Honda Accord
• Honda Fit/EV
• Hyundai Azera
• Hyundai Elantra coupe/GT
• Hyundai Genesis coupe
• Hyundai Veloster Turbo
• Jaguar XF*/XF 3.0*
• Jaguar XJ 3.0
• Lexus ES
• Lexus GS
• Lexus LS*
• Mazda MX-5 Miata
• Mercedes-Benz C350
• Mercedes-Benz E350 BlueTec/E400 hybrid*/E550 coupe
• Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG
• Mini Cooper Roadster
• Mitsubishi i-MiEV*
• Nissan Altima
• Nissan Sentra
• Porsche Boxster
• Scion FR-S
• Scion iQ
• Subaru BRZ
• Subaru XV Crosstrek
• Tesla Model S*
• Toyota Avalon*
• Toyota Prius C/V
• Toyota Yaris
• Volkswagen Beetle convertible*
• Volkswagen Golf/ GTI/Golf R
• Volvo S60 T5 AWD*

Here is what Car and Driver Chose:

• Audi A6/A7/S6/S7
• BMW 3 Series
• Ford Focus/Focus ST
• Ford Mustang GT/Boss 302
• Honda Accord
• Honda Fit
• Mazda MX-5 Miata
• Porsche Boxster
• Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ
• Volkswagen Golf/GTI

While these are all great picks and deserve to be congratulated, we’ll be looking forward to what others choose for their top ten.

Source Car and Driver

With all the hype about the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ, everyone is wondering how they are stacking up in class. Consumer Reports decided to put them to the test to save consumers some time and headaches. The FR-S and BRZ are both under $30,000, but how do the stack up against the Ford Mustang, Hyundai Genesis Coupe, Mazda Miata, and VW GTI? Considering each one of these have their own claims to fame and are each considered affordable in their own rights.

First up was the 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe R and from all the reports from multiple testers, this version isn’t really any different than the last version. It still has some manual gearbox issues and the shifter is described as “vague” which ends up causing drivers to hang a gear between gates. Tester Benson Bong says, “Peaky power delivery. it feels like there are severe induction restrictions as the boost builds.” It does offer 274 horsepower and 533 pound feet of torque.

The 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe R Spec Engine Cover was next up and finished sixth place overall, but one tester, Pobst put it in fifth place. His comments were, “Way more controllable and sportier-feeling than the Mustang. Good high-speed car — not a lot of body roll. And the shocks do a great job on the bumps, so the car is stable. From a driver’s standpoint, the turbo gives it this surge of torque in the midrange. I said the other cars had good midrange? Nah. This car has the midrange when the boost comes up.”

The Volkswagen GTI that did come in fifth place, other than one tester’s opinion. It is being called “The Practical Fun One”. It’s known for being one of the roomier out of this collection and critics think it’s a blast to drive. Carlos Lago said, “The best grand touring car here. it would make many people happy for long distances and daily driving.”

The fourth place car in this group of tests ended up being the Ford Mustang V-6. It is the only American auto in this comparison as the 312 horsepower V6 Chevy Camaro wasn’t available although it has been getting plenty of good reviews on its own. The Mustang was ranked the highest of all the others in acceleration, turning and stopping, and was also the fastest. Tester Rory Jurnecka said, “Practical and fun. if you can’t handle something small like the FR-S, this makes a great sport coupe.”

The Mazda MX 5 Miata Grand Touring came in third, but critics are starting to complain because if feels “dated”, but this is the last version that is coming out how it’s made now, so we’ll have to see if Mazda creates a more updated feeling in the next version. Scott Mortara said, “This is possibly the most directly connected car on the road.”

The Scion FR-S came in at second place, and of course it would considering this is a comparison of the FR-S and BRZ against the other models in class. While the BRZ and FR-S are almost identical, the BRZ came in first place because it has more options, including a manual transmission and more interior extras to pick and choose through.

Source Motortrend