type x nailed it, you need to use components from various models within other model lines to keep R&D costs down, but don't make them the same car.

the first gen xb and xa were different enough from themselves and the echo to make it work, the xd, yaris and matrix though enter into a very "grey" competition for the same perspective buyers.

 

its true they dont have to get bigger and more expensive but they usually do. no matter how much we love our imports they are being americanized, and just because they borrow parts doesnt mean that their free

 

I really hate it when Autoblog posts about Scion...

How many people drive a corvette only to get groceries? How many guys have Sti's and Evo's that will NEVER see a track, much less do rally? How many people buy SRT8 Chargers or other high horsepower domestics and then weight them down with huge tacky chrome wheels that decrease their horsepower by at least 50?

Point is, people outside of the target demographic for ANY car are going to buy them if they like the vehicle. Dumbest post ever.

The Scion xA was never really that popular, and while the xD has cooler styling, it's not going to be that huge either. The xB has always been a polarizing vehicle too. You either love it or hate it. The tC however, has a lot of mass appeal, which is both good and bad. I remember when I got mine and I felt like I was part of some cool exclusive club of people that waited almost a month for their car to get delivered.

Now a bunch of A$$holes who could care less about the community drive tC's. It's like the new Honda.

When Scion drops a new tC model with (hopefully) more hp, watch the sales sky rocket again.

I'll take autoblog more seriously when they can't manage a page full of posts without grammatical errors...

 

Would some of you agree that a lot of this is dealers fault. I went to look at my xB and was constantly persuaded to look at other cars besides the Scions. "Yea the Scions are cool, but have you seen the new Corolla?" stuff like that.

 

Potentially. I don't know what the extent of this is though.

That said, dealers only get about $100 or so per vehicle. They try to make the $ on accessories. So they'd rather sell you a car they can make some money on.

 

Complete opposite for me. I went to look at an xB2 and a Matrix, and the salesman was pushing the xB2.

 

The article is bogus. Of course sales are going to be low, what car brand has the same sales figures it had a year ago?

That having been said, what other brand has higher sales to its target demographic? Scion is still number one. It's like saying the Wii is no longer a money maker because it's not selling as many as it did it's first week. Market penetration!

Everyone and their mom seems to have a Scion now. When I got my tC, Scion hadn't even started airing commercials for it yet. No one knew how to pronounce "Scion", and people always asked if I was driving a new BMW or tripping out over my panoramic sunroof. Now, tC's are a dime a dozen, and most of the new owners have no interest in being a part of the new community.

Scion made the decision to switch from a lowkey underground, exclusive feel (which young people love), to a very commercialized and extremely profitable one. I can't fault them for wanting to make money, but Scion is definitely a different brand than it was back in 2005/2006.

 

im gonna go visit the scion site right now to help our cause. Because "I" can make a difference

 

i give up.

 

I miss those days.

 

they're pretty much putting that engine in everything anyways, right?

 

The dealers in this area rarely, if at all, mention Scion in their promotions. My local dealer just had a Scion car show and the only way I heard about it is thru ScionLife and Scikotics and they even have my email address. If you buy a Scion chances are you had your mind made up before you went to the dealer.

 

Yea i knew i wanted a tC the day it came out. I didnt care about a test drive i wanted it. Then when i was in a better situation money and vehicle wise i jumped on the tC. I was so happy i finally had a car i had wanted since its debut. I just loved the look and how it got good mpg and had a decent engine.

 

This sort of makes me want to bang my head against the keyboard, because DUUUUHHHHH. Not to be spiteful, but there are a fair number of us who have been saying this for the last two years.

"The economy" is no excuse for Scion's current lousy sales. Decent economy cars - which Scions are, in theory - are doing just fine. Hell, original xB's with 30,000 miles are on them are selling for MORE than they sold new.

The problem is, the new xB is no longer an economy car. It's a showy crossover Camry-wagon baby-Highlander thing. And it's certainly not edgy.

The xB is no longer polarizing. It USED to be polarizing, but as for the new one, I have yet to find a single person who doesn't think they're cute (excepting Gen 1 owners, of course). As soon as it got the Boomer stamp of approval, it was the Death of Cool...and there's a lot of competition for Boomers. With more money and significantly fewer stylistic requirements, Boomers can buy a whole crapton of cars - no wonder sales for any one of those companies (i.e. us) are down. Conversely, there was never anybody else that had anything like the Box.

And let's face it, Scion's "brand" really is all about the xB. We may sell 4000% more tC's, but the most visible example of what Scion is all about has always been the box. It was the most eyecatching, the most revolutionary, the most frequently associated, and the best symbol of "Look what we're doing! Your parents HATE it! They would be so ____ed if you BOUGHT ONE! Come on in and test drive!"

In any case, I hope smarter marketing theorists prevail, and Scion actually gets interesting again, because the inadequate Fit-Fighter and the BoomerMobile are sure as hell not going to keep our brand going. Thank goodness for the 14-million 16-year-olds who got tCs as graduation presents, or Scion would already be a lost cause.

 

Wow. Good points but someone vented a lil. LOL

 

The tc is keeping the brand alive. period. I think the yaris looks more like a scion than the xd or xb2.
stay under 20k, make em' unique and well built.


What I'd like to see replace the gen2:


rs2 mirrors/turn signals
taped off pillars from the gen2
smoothed out rear window from gen2
possibly a lil wider
slightly chopped top *2-4 inches
no foglight holes (have a lower grill option like the gen2)
5lug
tyc tails stock (those orig. stockies were so tacky)
6th gear
2 dome-lights
projector headlights

 

Dude thats pimp looking. Id buy that fo sho. Also make it a lil longer too.

 

There are a lot of really good points on here and it really made me see something, there are poeple that have very different opinions and their opinions factor out the other buyers.

Scion has sold cars to every demographic between their models and that is amazing. What they need to do is continue to market to all with a variety of cars.

Almost everyone is looking for a few things, good mileage, a quality car that will hold up, features that they value and a car that's affordable.

I am going to be so generalized from here on out that it's not funny but it's to get a point made.

tC girls-they like the sporty, accesories, mileage, parents buy them because they are safe, good colors, easy to drive and have nice features. A rear drive, faster car would go against this. They lose the ease of driving, the sporty feeling for something that actually becomes scary and dangerous and they lose the price and the predictable front wheel drive (real world conditions are sometimes slippery)

tC performance drivers-these are the turbo'd power hungry people who work on their cars frequently and have a desire to make them faster above usability and reliability (they can still be reliable but with power you always loose some). A rear drive Fuze might work well but what about the tunability that they have been developing for the TC-with a different motor and drivetrain they start over (people are still waiting for xD research and parts)

original xB people-we all want more power but we loose the mileage and the light weight features for it. They are unique and mod well but they are for most a very well built, affordable and unique vehicle. The Hako fits some of these possibly (given drivetrain) but mosy people think it to be ugly and that flat windshield just re-does one of the original xB's biggest problems. It also lost the cuteness and that is why a lot of people bought the original box.

2nd gen xB-there are a lot of people that went to it due to ride ability, still stylie and gets reasonable mileage. It is very affordable and it a well built car-if that is the first Scion you owned the 1st gen will ride bad, feel cheap and you will miss some features so they can't go back in time and undo a car that is a still a good car.

xA and xD-these are still quirky and I beleive the xD was a very good step away from the xA-still reasonably small, good gas mileage, distinct shape and cheap and unique.

This is all my opinion so no flaming-just what I think.

Build a unique, small car that reminds us of the gen 1 xB but offer peformance options, imagine a turbo charged Yaris 3 door with a 6 speed and some suspension and brake upgrades (mazda did this with the 323 in the late 80s with the GT version-it was fast, a total sleeper and still was small and economical to drive and buy)-just remember that it won't be a $15000 car with all of those options.

Keep the tC accessible and easily driveable so the regular people can have their sporty car but then offer the STi version (so to speak) with 4wd, turbo standard and a 6 speed paddle box. (this reminds me of the Matrix-4wd options, 6 speed options, more power option, etc)-but then again it won't be a $17,000 car with those options.

Keep the 2nd gen xB and xD-they ride nice, get reasonable mileage for vehicles with that capacity, and they have a lot of features while being really affordable.


Just as a side not-neither of the Scion dealers I have been to in the last month can keep an xD in stock and the one xB they get is usually gone within a week.

 

Greybox - you have a good point about keeping the tC "accessible", but it totally goes against how they market it.

It's one thing to advertise the Mustang GT and sell the V6 in volume, but Toyota pushes the tC as a sports car, when it's a chick/poser car. (and yes, I do drive one)

Let the people that want reliable transportation with a good level of equipment at a good price buy a Corolla. (though they need to un-cheapen that car ASAP..) The tC should be something more.

the first xB was a good car and people of all ages and demos recognized that.

 

Whatta mean? The xB2 console is centered, no one else has the steeply raked window sill with a high line and a single back-up light.

Dis dis dis. Whatever. The tC is getting too popular for its own good. The xB 1st gen was getting too popular as well - those are dime a dozen in my city. I like the xB2 being a low volume vehicle - I don't want to see a half-million others out there like me.