Hello gang...5 minutes ago I was just watching 'The Today Show' and they had a news blurb about the IIHS new ratings of small cars and I was shocked that FOUR YEARS after its first release...people still don't understand about the Scion brand.

They said that the "Toyota Scion xB" was rated marginal/poorly.

Find the video clip here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032633/ (click on "Small cars popular, but are they safe?")

I'm going to write to the show at today@nbc.com and try to school them...you should too and maybe they'll get it!

 

Yeah I saw it too, what dorks!

 

I think from now on we need to just start calling other cars by their manufacturer too...Ford Lincoln Navigator, GM Chevy Tahoe, and Honda Acura RL...then maybe people will finally get how rediculous it sounds to call it a Toyota Scion xA/xB/tC.

 

Umm, The xB did do marginal/poorly at those tests. It's not missinformation, they aren't bad cars, it's just they aren't the safest.

http://www.autoblog.com/2006/12/19/i...b-not-so-much/

 

Oh...I'm not saying that it didn't do poorly...I'm saying its not a 'TOYOTA SCION XB'. News stories are constantly referring to Scions at 'Toyota Scions'. This is a learning curve on a new brand.

CNN & Autoblog are reporting it correctly. MSNBC/Today Show are reporting it incorrectly.

 

It's Toyota brand marketing, you'd be amazed at how many poeple still don't know what Scions are, nobody cares about some little no name cars, but when they figure out it's not a nobody car and actually Toyota, then they start caring.

 

Here we are with an unsafe vehicle and you want to gripe that people still call it a "toyota scion". How about we call toyota and demand side air bags? It would be a better use of time than calling the today show.

It took time for people to stop saying "Toyota Lexus" too.

 

See if you read about it on an car blog such as autoblog they'll call it simply "Scion", that's because the audiance that reads there news are car enthusiasts who know what a Scion is. But when you read about it on a big News blog majorly accessed by the general public who aren't in the know when it comes to the auto world, they won't care about a car make they've never heard of, but if you tack on Toyota they'll actually pay attention. I wouldn't be suprised if it was Toyota pushing to have that name added so they could market themselves more widely.

 

It all depends on how you get hit. Check out the heavy hitter of suburban safety.

 

Did anyone really believe we were safe from a Hummer slamming into the side of the car? Duh! The car is not "unsafe" it will protect you in just about any real world situation. Especially with the VSC keeping you on the road and TCS and ABS in bad road conditions. If a huge SUV is barreling down on you from the side then get out of the way!

 

curtydc - Toyota is not actively marketing it as a 'Toyota Scion xB'. I don't know about the midwest but on the West Coast they are not some little "no name car" (there are 30+ in my housing development alone). They don't need "Toyota" just to sell the car (just look at their sales figures!).

mfbenson - In the PNW we have corrected news media outlets who do call it this. I don't see why education from the entusiast community shouldn't be done.

And if you want to call Toyota and demand side airbags, feel free. My 2005 BSP xB was rear ended/clipped at 65 mph on the freeway and it came out with no injuries of anyone involved and no flipping after spinning 540 degrees (gotta love vehicle stability assist and traction control). I wish that I had side impact and curtain airbags similar to my other cars ('01 Accord, '01 Jetta) and I'm willing to ask Scion for that but my complaint at this time is not the safety of the car but correcting the reporting of this WONDERFUL brand!!!

 

Not to support the H2, but it looks fine to me, the Cabin is completely intact, I highly doubt any leg room was lost either in that specific collision, that's just an extremist hater's add, a stupid one at that because it doesnt accomplish the point it's trying to make. That's an awefully large truck it collided with also, which looks quite intack too. I love Autoblog.com's comment on the xB "The IIHS said that during testing, the xB's dummy's head actually struck the crash barrier. That's gotta hurt."

 

I am sure no one got hur because this was like a clash of giants. My point is that you are only as safe as what you colide with. I'm sure you don't drive around worrying about the crash barrier in your xb do ya?

 

What does it really matter? It's 100% Toyota, Scion is a little badge added on right before it leaves Japan, and aren't they sold in Toyota dealerships? What an atrocity for something built in a Toyota factory, with Toyota Engines, Toyota Frames, Toyota etc... Originally sold as Toyota cars in the rest of the world (except for the original tC, oh wait, it’s also built from a Toyota sold in other parts of the world). And aren’t these cars being sold for the soul purpose of raking in more sales for Toyota? So that people will gradually get closer to owning the bigger better versions sold as Toyota or Lexus cars. Are you arguing that you don’t want your car associated with a larger (better) more widely known name? Maybe your not, but that’s what it’s coming across as. Toyota Scion is not incorrect, Toyota Lexus is not incorrect either, there is no such thing as a Lexus or Scion badged engine as far as I know.

 

I'm not arguing at all, rather I try to be a Scion ambassador and I'm alerting my local friends about the issue. I'm just trying to clear up what amounts to a "typo" by the news media. While the engine may be Toyota, people go out to buy the BRAND...Lexus, Toyota, or Scion. And thusly, the public needs to understand that Scion is not a "Toyota" but is an independent brand line.

If you want to keep this going feel free. For those who want to clear up the media, they may. For those who want to debate the minutia of whether this is a Toyota or whether it is a Scion...take it to the national threads and a more appropriate place.

 

I agree totally. As one of your little green brothers in arms I will argue my point that scion (no matter how you pronounce it) is one of the best cars for the money on the road. curtydc must not have a point to make since he invades our forum as a non scion owner or atleast he is not proud of what he drives.

 

FYI you can get the tC with side curtain airbags if i'm not mistaken. All I gots to say is wow....

I would just settle for people pronouncing Scion correctly!

 

I know that we paid for the side impact airbags for the Azure tC but I didn't think that they had curtain airbags available...but like it says on the other SL thread...

 

My bad thats what I meant, side impact airbags, not side curtain...Besides if I was totally about safety i would either get a cage or a Ford-Volvo!

 

to lighten the mood... what the heck are we supposed to call the pontiac vibe then?

the GM modified toyota rear end toyota drivetrain but still GM pontiac vibe?

and while your at it can anyone give me a good reason why the crappier of the two (matrix and vibe) can possibly cost on average 3k more... i hate GM. hate em hate em hate em!!!