The new TRD wheels look sooooooo nice!!!!

 

Let's see if I can take this debate into a different direction.

The first gen xB (we have three of them) made much the same impact that the original VW Microbus did back in the 60's. It had a distinctive, if odd looking, profile that you either loved or said it was too square. It's had some odd noises and quirks. It generally held alot of "stuff" and it became, in many ways, the icon of the Hippie generation road travel and camping.

(I diidn't own one. I had a 75 Dodge van all decked out with a bed, frig and camping stove.)

The new gen xB is a wholly different car. Scion added more power, more gadgets, an aggresive (some say "angry" - I say "constipated") look in the hopes of appealing exclusively to the younger generation. (My generation of Baby Boomers took to the old gen xB as a flash back to the days of simple basic cars of the 60s like the VW and the Fiat 128.)

They missed a great marketing opportunity here. Instead of eliminating gen one and replacing it with gen two, they should have further developed both. Take the gen one and add about another 12 to 18 inches on the back for grocery shopping;power scootersetc
(If you think this sounds crazy, check out the Totya bB Japan site and see the special accesories such as handicapped and elderly access.)

Call the new one by a different name so the two generations don't feel they are connected to each other. Cater to both ends of the driving age spectrum and you have a double marketing success.

So, there really should be no debate of significance between the former and the latter xB - they are the same only in name, as similar as "George" Bush and "George" Forman.