While I might be using the term sport compact a little loosely here, I thought all these cars were wicked, so I was able justify shoehorning them into this category. Sue me. Anyway, I’m a sucker for an old-school VW, so I loved Paul Newman’s 351-powered Beetle, and I was really impressed with Rhys Millen Racing’s mid-engine Genesis Coupe, the Fiesta—stock, but awesome—in the Ford booth, the ferocious Fiat 500 and the Scion xB that won the Tuner Challenge. Vote for your favorite below!

Over the weekend we heard unconfirmed rumors that Chris Rado had driven his Scion tC into the 6’s at Pomona, making it the first front-drive drag car ever to do so. There has been a little discrepancy regarding the time, but I just got off the phone with Chris who gave me the the quick rundown of what happened. With the car running faster than ever, and a solid coating of rubber on the track Chris laid down an astonishing 6.97 second ET during eliminations.

Unfortunately the incredible traction that the car had off the line caused the timing beams to misread the 60-foot time, technically making the ET “unofficial”. Nonetheless, the complete 1/4 mile time is still legit by all accounts.

By Mike Garrett

Ah, motorsports–it’s so much more than racing these days. The motorsports contingent is always huge at SEMA, and it’s one of those categories that can literally go from A to Z: there are so many variations on automotive competition that there’s no way you can expect to capture a representative cross-section. That’s okay–it just allows us to focus on what we find cool, with shameless subjectivity. In the interests of inclusiveness, we’ve tried to hit as many of the hottest motorsports series as our five entries will allow. NASCAR is represented by the new Nationwide Series Mustang, running Ford’s all-new Roush Yates FR9. Then there’s the 2010 Camaro’s debut entry in Formula Drift, which will definitely be on our radar in the coming season. Chris Rado’s insane Time Attack Scion carries the torch for that genre. SCCA is represented, albeit in vintage form, by Bob Boileau’s multiple-championship-winning Civic. And the Traxxas short-course race truck rounds out the motorsports fleet for off-road racing. Um, yeah, we totally skipped NHRA. And a bunch of other stuff. Oh well, time to hit the polls!

It seems like Scion’s booth gets better with each successive SEMA. This time around, it seemed to be scaled down a little from last year, but that made for a more efficient delivery–Scion’s offerings really were all fun, no filler. Every single vehicle present had undergone extreme modifications, like the roofless Cartell Customs tC below the jump, or was being used to showcase some visionary over-the-top concept, like the “mobile kitchen” xB, the wood-bed pickup conversion with the moped in the back, or the “DJ 2.0″ by Five Axis–complete with lights and disco balls, a monster Pioneer sound system, and a mini dance floor. A trio of rides from Scion’s xB Tuner Challenge rounded out the fleet, including this turbocharged xB by Peter Colello. The theme for the booth was “Become One Of Us By Becoming None Of Us,” in keeping with the brand’s emphasis on individualism and transformation. Follow the jump for more pics and a video tour.

Video of DJ 2.0 xB:

Walkaround of Scion booth:

So, into to Vegas I’ve come for COOL CAR SMACKDOWN!

Snuck in to see some of the best rides up close without the crowd since the show opens tomorrow. They weren’t gonna let me in until I told them who I was. Then, they DEFINITELY didn’t want me to come in. So, I jumped the fire encrusted SEMA fence and was nearly captured by vicious cockerpoos. Whew… The first non-surprise is that there was 250,000 Camaros everywhere. Lame. I mean, if you’re going to SEMA, and you want to stand out, then get the car that EVERYONE else will have. Make sense? Not.

But here’s a sneek anyway for what’s coming this week. So far, the rides are smolderin.’ From cool SCIONS from 5Axis to a Nasty Chrome Green FORD FOCUS from ma buddy Gary Watson at CNC. Nice job, G.

Old school, new school, and Detention. Yea.

The fourth round of the 2009 Formula Drift Championship is in the books and what a scorcher it was. I think I’m supposed to write some sort of witty quip about the triple digit temps here, but truth be told my brain is still somewhat melty. And not from the heat, but rather the stunning points shakeup that went down in Vegas. Coming into Sin City Darren McNamara was leading in points but a mechanical with his Falken Tire Sears Auto Center Sky finished his weekend before it even started. Another shocking DNQ was that of 2005 champion, Rhys Millen. Just when we thought the points chase couldn’t be flipped any more Tanner Foust goes in it to win it after a rare DNQ at round three. Hit the video to see it all. And no matter what Tanner and Stephan may say, I am not a pussy, their NASCAR V-8 just happens to scare me a little bit, that’s all.

If you’ve spent even a small amount of time on CarDomain, you’ve most likely crossed paths with Dawn’s Scion tCat some point. Her matte black, murdered-out tC has been attracting a lot of attention around here lately and she’s already won Showoff of the Week, surpassed the 100,000 views mark and received nearly 8,500 comments from interested CarDomain members. Why has her car gotten this attention? Well, she didn’t drop six figures on it and it hasn’t been in any magazines, like some popular cars on here. Nope, it’s just because her tC is a cool car driven by a cool girl that’s very in tune with the automotive ccommunity. She’s a very nice person who knows what she’s talking about when it comes to cars, and as we’ve found in the last couple months, that’s more than enough to win over the heart of the CarDomain ccommunity. Dawn always has stuff planned for her beautiful tC and she’s even looking at getting a new, better paint job (as if it could get any better), so make sure that you stop by and check it out. Trust me, it will be hard to resist adding this perfect combo to your favorites.

Many people were shocked to hear that Tanner Foust would kick his old Nissan 350Z to the curb and take on a unproven platform like the Scion tC, but I think this past weekend showed everyone including myself that the guy knows what he’s doing. At the Formula D season opener Tanner was able to pull a third place finish in his brand new car. As for the car, it’s got a pretty decent build, including a 358-cubic-inch V8 from a former Busch Series NASCAR. The engine is rated at 650 horses with 450 ft pounds of torque. He’s running a four-speed G-force dog-engagement gearbox and Toyota Supra rear differential and rear suspension.

So what do you think of Tanner Foust’s new Scion Racing tC? More pics after the jump!

I just came from the Scion press launch of their new concept micro car, the IQ. I have to say that generally I am not overly enthralled with microcars, but this little sucker was cool. Kind of like a smart car on steroids, the IQ definitely appeals to teenager in all of us and at first glance it actually gives the appearance of being much larger than it actually is.

With techno blasting in the background, the little IQ was lowered into the crowd with oohs and aahs from photographers and journalists. There is a good reason for this, too. You see, the IQ is cool. Macho fender flares and 18″ wheels hide massive rotors and nice two-pot calipers. The paint is called “Radioactive,” and has some iridescent qualities and shows yellow or green depending on the exterior light.

Interior appointments are typical Scion, meaning they are youthful. Scion, as I see it, has become a master of dressing up inexpensive materials to appeal to a much hipper audience–and it works. Funky honeycomb seat and door inserts help offset otherwise drab gray vinyl. Combine that with a massive 10″ pop-up monitor and for watching DVD’s (when you’re parked) make for a cool little micro that you wouldn’t mind just hanging out in.

The ultra-compact Toyota iQ has long been rumored to become part of Toyota’s US lineup, and it looks like we might be getting some official word on this at the New York Auto Show next month. The iQ won’t actually be sold in the United States as a Toyota, but as the latest addition to the Scion line. Scion hasn’t released any specs on the USDM version of the iQ yet, but their press release says they will be showing a “micro sub-compact” concept, which is exactly what the iQ is. According to Scion’s press release, “the concept reflects Scion’s youthful image and represents a new segment for the brand aimed toward the growing urbanization trend”.

We will find out next month at the New York Auto Show exactly what Toyota and Scion have in store for the US-spec iQ.

By Mike Garrett Source: World Car Fans