Scion brand manager Jack Hollis tells the WSJ [sub] that

The sales are nowhere where they should be and they will never be this low again

And with only 29,672 units sold through 2010, he ain’t kidding either (well, except for maybe the last part). Meanwhile, with the Yen headed up, profits on Scion’s small, Japanese-built offerings aren’t in great shape either. In short, it is with good reason that Scion is the subject of the most-recent TTAC Deathwatch. Meanwhile, Scion’s bid for renewed relevance hangs on the success of two cars: the neo-Corolla Coupe tC, and the A-Segment Scion iQ three-seater. TTAC will have an early review of the tC before the end of the week, but before we get into the specifics of that vehicle, let’s ponder the wider question of Scion’s viability. Will these two cars bring back Scion’s sales to their previous levels? Let’s take a look at Scion’s historical sales for answers…

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At $103,100, the just-announced Porsche 911 Carrera GTS costs $12,600 more than a Carrera S. With only 23 horsepower more than the S, the GTS’s premium works out to about $548 per horsepower. Or $6,300 per letter on the badge. Sure, you get a rear-drive version of the Carrera 4 body, an option that’s only been made recently available on the über-priced 911 Sport Classic, but other than that (and a claim to the title of fastest Carrera-badged 911 ever built), the GTS doesn’t appear to bring all that much to the table. And though the lightened, more powerful GT3 costs $25k more than the Carrera S, its extra power brings the per-horsepower premium to a more value-oriented $503. On the other hand, a Corvette ZR1 offers 200 hp more than even the GT3 for less money. As has always been the case, if dollars per horsepower is your game, you’ve still got to go to Detroit.

Several weeks back, Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann was hinting to Forbes that weight loss would be crucial to the Lambo future (he also revealed that the brand’s best-selling colors “are white, black and the grey tones”). As the hype builds towards the release of the new Murcielago-replacing Jota, Winkelmann has released a “manifesto” that he says will guide Lamborghini into a sustainable future.

Alternatively, it could also be seen as an after-the-fact justification for Lamborghini’s decision to ditch the V12. After all, the Jota teaser image released with the Winkelmann-ifesto hints very strongly at a ten-cylinder drivetrain… which means the era of V12-powered Lamborghini flagships is probably about to end. Can one little manifesto really explain that kind of brand-defying break with tradition? Hit the jump to judge for yourself. (Read More…)

This is the interior of the forthcoming Fiat 500 Sport, built in Mexico for the US market [UPDATE: Fiat’s PR team insists that this is not the US-market version… we will revisit the story when real photos come out]. After the jump, you can find a photo of the Italian market Fiat 500’s interior. Spot the differences (there’s one big one we’re thinking of) and win the respect of TTAC’s Best & Brightest. Help us understand why these changes were made, and you’ll be well on your way to becoming the next TTAC comments section superstar.

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In the second bit of bad news for Toyota to break today, Corporate Counsel reports that former Toyota lawyer Dimitrios Biller has been cleared by an arbitrator to present evidence that Toyota claimed was protected by attorney-client privilege. That evidence reportedly proves that Toyota concealed safety information, although its value has been hotly debated. The evidence will be presented in Biller’s civil RICO suit against Toyota now that the arbitrator in that case has ruled that hey are not protected by attorney-client privilege. Biller tells CC

Attorney-client privileged information almost never gets to the finder of fact to determine the merits of the case. I am halfway there. The burden is now on Toyota to prove me wrong

But for full context, a retired federal judge clarifies that

The Arbitrator does not rule that a crime or a fraud has taken place. The ruling is simply that a prima facia showing has been made, so otherwise-privileged materials may be used in discovery and arbitration.

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With 15 “new or refreshed” Chrysler Group products launching over the next 4 months [complete product plan in PDF format here], we’re about to find out definitively if a company’s product can be turned around in a little over a year. Given how complex automobiles are, and how deeply uncompetitive many of Chrysler’s products have been, the odds are obviously stacked against Auburn Hills… and Chrysler’s $50m loss on the Grand Cherokee launch is a sign of how scary things can get in a product blitz. But the real question here isn’t how many recalls Chrysler is risking, or how much money it could lose on launch costs and “associated industrial inefficiencies” but whether consumers will actually notice a difference.

The “mid-cycle refresh” is a familiar phenomenon for the American consumer, and few of them fundamentally change the character of a car. Though Chrysler is doing “deep refreshes” on cars like the 200 (neé Sebring), reworking the body, drivetrains, suspension and interior (also, the Durango, 300 and Charger will be “all new”), a number of the new launches will be of plain-old refreshes… like the 2011 Town & Country pictured here. Will the deep changes to some vehicles be lost in the flood of refreshed Chrysler Jeep and Dodge vehicles? More importantly, will refreshes like this one convince consumers that Chrysler has really changed?

Via Chrysler’s Facebook page come these first images of the “heavily refreshed” 2011 Chrysler Sebring, which will henceforth be known as the 200.

This is the Hyundai ix20, a a European-style subcompact MPV in the style of Honda’s Fit. Or, more precisely, in the style of Kia’s Venga. In fact, the similarities between the new Hyundai and its Kia-branded predecessor are strong enough to hint at a future of GM-style brand differentiation issues for the Korean concern.  And here’s the real irony: both cars share a platform with the Kia Soul, an American-style B-Segment MPV (possibly the only car to fit that description). Couldn’t Kia have rocked the Soul and left the ix20/Venga segment to Hyundai? Or was the Venga simply too good-looking to die? Either way, these two taught twins are a bit close for comfort.

Just weeks ago, Amp Electric Vehicles CEO Steve Burns told the New York Times

G.M. doesn’t know if we are friend or foe… They’re trying to figure it out.

What The General was trying to figure out was whether allowing Amp to sell $50k electrified versions of its Chevrolet Equinox is a good or bad thing. After all, if BMW can charge $800 per month for EV-anxious consumers to test its disappointing MINI E, why shouldn’t GM get in on the early adopter-scalping game? Two weeks ago, GM spokesfolks said

We’re pro-E.V., and it’s a good thing that there others out there moving the electric vehicle market forward.

Today, Amp is announcing that it has signed an agreement with “a major OEM” to electrify one of its SUVs… within  60 days, no less. Though the press release doesn’t specify which OEM is sponsoring the project, the fact that AMP exclusively electrifies GM products and hires former GM consultants should speak for itself. And with Tesla prepping an EV RAV-4 for Toyota, would it be shocking to find out that GM is playing the me-too game by commissioning an EV Equinox? On the other hand, maybe we should take the “SUV” label seriously and consider the possibility that Amp is electrifying a full-size GM ute? Either way, the trend towards rapid outsourced development of EVs is seriously starting to take hold…

Over the long haul of the Pony Car Wars, Ford’s Mustang has set the standard to which all others aspire. Having handily outsold the old F-Body Camaros (to say nothing of the nearest import-equivalent, the Nissan Z), Ford reigned alone over the declining muscle-coupe segment for much of the last decade. But the Pony Car cannot thrive alone, and the Mustang couldn’t keep its sales from sliding ever further… it needed some competition. Now, rather than fighting for pieces of a shrinking segment, the Camaro, Challenger and Mustang have been able to grow their sales together, revitalized by the renewed Pony Car Wars. Though our simple volume projection shows the Camaro on track to take the Pony Car crown from the Mustang, the short-term trends indicate a close battle to the finish this year. Hit the jump for summer sales comparisons…

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Over the last 24 months, the Mercedes R-Class has motivated a mere 6,469 Americans to plunk down $50k+ for a Mercedes-badged non-minivan. Now that it’s received a much-needed facelift that removes most of the slug-inspired design cues, will it sell any better? From the ash heap of history, the Chrysler Pacifica has recorded a “no” vote. What say you?

Confused by the EPA’s proposed letter-grade system for fuel economy labels [proposed rule in PDF format here]? Check out the letter grades given to the top-selling cars in America [via Automotive News [sub]].

Remember the Saturn Vue? It’s back, baby, and more cannibalistic than ever. Starting in 2011, the refreshed Chevrolet Captiva will be undercutting Opel’s Antara, itself a rebadge of the same Daewoo Winstorm. Because what Opel needs right now is to prove that sometimes it’s worth paying a little extra for a German brand on your rebadged Korean Crossover. That’s what you call giving a brand a sense of purpose. Meanwhile, does anyone out there actually miss the Vue?

First of all, TTAC doesn’t exactly hate Suzuki. The SX4 and Kizashi are fun little cars that don’t generally get the cred they deserve. But Road & Track’s assertion that

Suzuki’s huge success following the introduction of the Kizashi this past year should only get better in 2011

is about as misleading as they come. Even by the most generous measure, 15,331 total brand sales over eight months does not equal “huge success.” In fact, R&T’s blatant Suzy-boosting has given Autosavant‘s Chris Haak pause to reconsider the way things work at the Buff Books. He writes

Call it naïveté, call it giving folks the benefit of the doubt, call it whatever you want to.  But as a long-time buff book reader (I subscribed to Motor Trend continuously between 1987 and July 2010, or about 23 years), I never paid much mind to critics that accused media outlets of providing favorable editorial coverage for certain manufacturers and vehicles in return for advertising dollars.  Is the Motor Trend Car of the Year award driven by the best car, or by the best advertiser?  I’d always assumed that these magazines would take the high road and provide a fair and accurate description of the industry and its vehicles so that their readers could make informed choices when considering how to part with their hard-earned money.

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