dude you need a hobby or something, maybe get out more....when you have such strong feelings about a thread.....

 

Well, since this thread as been brought back form the dead, I'll post up. I think 2 versions of the Box would be great.

I bought the xB because I really liked it, not because money was an inssue. So I would have gladly paid another $1500+ for a "premium" version.

It would have the following upgrades from the factory:
-More sound deadening
-Rear disc brakes
-Cruise control
-Adjustable int. front wipers and int. rear wiper
-More interior lighting
-130hp 1.8L 1ZZ engine (from the Corolla/Matrix) with a 6spd manual transaxle

 

Read the first few pages. This "torneodude" guy will make you want to bang your head against the wall.

 

I'm amazed someone didn't contribute that the scion brand, in addition to having a specific "image" associated with it, has the interesting feature of being limited production/high demand. Part of the appeal is that regular toyotas are a dime a dozen, but scions are hard to get and it's a bit of a gamble to get one.

That appeals to some people. Being unique is a feature in a car for some people. Toyotas are not really considered unique cars. I looked at the corolla and it was just so BLAND after seeing my xA.

Mainstreaming these cars as toyotas and mass producing them (since toyotas don't have limited production...they make as many as they think they can sell, whereas scions are produced in set quantities of colors and models) would lose the uniqueness factor both of the funny little utility box and the scion brand. Additionally, it would involve stripping out a lot of the features that we all really enjoy, then adding them as priced options (since that's the toyota buying model- a lot of the cars are "strippers" in their base form) would jack up the price of the car.

I really think that would lose sales. the monospec feature of this car appealed to me, as did the no hassle buying experience.

having a scion is in some ways more than owning a car- it's an experience from the moment you walk into the dealer. You can choose to enjoy that experience or not- but understand that the whole thing would be very different if the car was toyota. Gone is the ease of purchasing and the comfort of knowing exactly how much your car will cost you. Instead you can get locked with a dealer battling over price for hours, probably only to get the car at the cost of the scion you "didnt want."

The whole experience would change- making it "just a toyota." The interest in the scion brand is because it is new, almost a limited edition version of a toyota that is less...boring to own and drive. Throwing that out, and you have a box that a lot of older people will think is kinda ooglay. I know i am not particularly fond of the xB styling.

We buy what we like, but the idea of making a scion a toyota (and wasting money on a dual-brand model) seems stupid. I think toyota would lose as much as they gain if they did that- and clearly they don't plan to.

also, just for the record, putting a honda name badge on a scion is uber rice and it makes me want to stab myself in the eyes

This guy clearly is so concerned with his rich clients and what they think of his car that he can't enjoy it. Personally, if someone drove up to my house in a weirdly badged car that I knew was something else, with crazy lights going on in the grille, I would be more concerned that if the car was plain. To me the plainer look is more mature. Anyway, rebadging the car (badly) just screams "I am not comfortable with my purchase" since it's not a JDM conversion, it's just a bunch of badges on there that say anything but scion.

 

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! After 5 pages and 1.5 hrs of detailed reading you hit the nail on the head...

He's so concerned that he wants Toyota to validate him by creating an xB with Toyota badges right from the factory! hmm... I wish you'd said earlier in the thread

 

To go back a few posts (Yes, I did read the entire thread) there is a Toyota for grownups as mentioned before. Lexus, SUV's, Camry's etc.

What I really worry about is the gentrification of the xB. Anyone else remember when the PT Cruiser came out? It was the hot new thing, all the cool kids had to have one. Now what is it? A boring wagon owned almost entirely by the aging/retired set and fleet vehicles. How about the new Beetle? It's trying to hold on to people under 40, and not doing so well. It may well have been the respective companies' goal to get younger people into the fold and it worked for a little while. There are probably other examples too. Now no one would be caught dead in one. I really worry about it happening to the xB as it looks like it is already happening.

And on a second note about Honda's popularity with young people, the availability was a good point but I think slightly missing it. There are tons of used Honda cars around because they upgrade/trade in. What do Toyota people do? Buy a car and run it to death. They're both great brands, but one will have more cost-conscious people buying, and one will have 40 year olds with a 200k mile Camry.

 

No they shouldn't change/rebrand the Scion. Plain and simple. Nuff said. (Except I never stop there. Try to stay with me here, ok?)

There is a trend toward "generic" in the US. We have the generic US smile. Perfect teeth. Abnormally white ( for most skin types anyway ) and symetrical, etc. We have the generic trophy wife. Tall leggy blonde with size 32 minus AA bra size. And the Trophy Husband that gets his hair done at the same place you do and dies his hair one shade lighter than yours. And then the cars all start to look alike too. Curved, rounded, aero-dymanic look a like (on the outside anyway) clones. The budget car is shaped to look like the sports model etc etc.

I've always had trouble identifying cars because I am not a "car person". You don't want ME to witness a getaway car. But I always know the difference between a VW Beetle and say a "big blaok long truck looking car". The cops can count on me for that description every time.

We are all told what we "want" all the time. Most of us conform if truth be told. When we "rebel" we do it in ways that cause the least bit of disruption to our lives, usually. That is when you buy a SCION!!!!

The Scion is "different". It's got a stub nose. I mean "HELLO PASSENGERS", the thing HAS no front end. Aerodynamic or NOT. Not exactly "ugly". Just different and unexpected. It SCREAMS at you in a sea of rounded front ends.

Buying a Scion is like taking the step that the man that marries a little sawed off short girl with curves, intstead of the wife all his co-workers expected he was equipped to go after and get takes.

A Scion is an 'expression" for those that rebel. I don't CARE if somebody tells me that leather seats and fanny warmers are a measure of my success. I simply KNOW that LED light enhancements are what life is "all about'. (And I'll bet my kids are BETTER than THEIRS).

There are enough of us out there to make Toyota happy, I'll bet. VW made a killing off the same folks.

 

The xB "is" for grown-ups. Most just don't realize it, which is good. You want the fannywarmers. That can be mod # 82. Never really had an interest in the warmers. But I am working a mod to make the xB quieter on the inside. I may like the music loud sometimes, but if no music is on, and a conversation is about to take place I want to be ready for it, and be able to hear it clearly. Modify it if you want, but leave it a Scion xB. Unique is good. Don't think another manufacture will copy the xB very well. HHR's, PT's, Elements are as close as they will come to the "Box". At least that is what I hope. Stay unique, drive a modded box: your modded box.

 

there's a lot of interesting discussion here.

TorneoDude - In a nutshell, I think that you fell into the real allure of the 'toaster' despite yourself. To me, young or old, VIP or woody, the allure of the xB is being able to take something and make it your own. It's ironic to me that you have attempted to distance yourself from the F&F crowd by way of modification.

Here's another irony I see - one of the major thoughts behind the marketing of this particular brand is that the target audience is jaded and resistive to overt marketing efforts. Is not your own reaction to the marketing of this brand typical?

I'm glad you posted this up, and I'm glad you enjoy your ride. At the end of the day, I think we all selected the car for the same reason: we identified with at on some level.

 

What is it - is it one of these?
http://www.quietcoat.com/?google2
http://www.dynamat.com/products_auto...roduction.html

 

I've been following this thread with some amusement, 'cause it never seems to matter what other folks think of the vehicles I drive; if it's a practical vehicle, reasonably priced, and one that I can enjoy, I'll buy it. The xB fits that the best of any car I've ever owned....

BUT, I was wondering if I swapped Toyota and Scion badges between my '06 xB and my '05 Camry SE, what would happen?

Scion is the "hip" brand, so when I drove the "Scion Camry SE", would I become a young hip kewl d00d?

And Toyouta is the "old" brand, so when I drove the "Toyota xB", would I become an old crotchety out-of-it fuddy-duddY??


Hmmmmm . . . maybe I don't have far to go for the second option (and no, I'm not going to rebadge anything; that would be st00pid).

 

I used RAAMMat and ensulite based on this study:
http://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com/
This site was presented in a thread on scionlife. There are several threads out there that have comments on sound deadener (I used search). Most posts are dealing with it in the "booming" stereo area to keep panels from vibrating. I have the stock radio (with XM) and just want a quieter ride. I took db readings before and I still have to remove the stock carpet and padding and install RAAMMat / 3/8" jute padding (more durable I believe than the foam)/and new thicker carpet, and then I will see how the db readings change. With it on the doors/floor in hatch area (even under rear seat) and the back hatch, I do not hear the exhaust any more, just the engine noise. The doors sound different (more solid) for sure. If you are interested in more information, you can PM me. This Box can be a quiet ride I believe, and I hope only gain about 100 pounds. And I can make up that gain in weight with a light weight pulley.

 

If I were a betting man, I would lay it on the line that you were a "sawed off short woman with curves."

Not that there is anything wrong with that. My wife's got curves, and sure ain't 6'.

 

You have obviously not taken a ride in a VW bus lately...

 

Ok, this thread is officially STUPID!

NEW TOPIC: Long live "little sawed-off short women with curves" !!!

They rock!!

 

Hear! Hear! :D

 

Well, I'm short, yes. When he was mad , my brother in law refered to me as "that sawed off little **#$ one time, to my sister." I always thought that was funny.

Not sure I qualify as curvy. And I haven't suprised anybody by getting married to a tall "achiever".

But, as I've said before, I DID suprise folks with the SCION.

 

Sorry to have risen this thread from the depths, but The poll at the top is interesting to me. I think that this, and the xB itself is a good example of how Something can sell because its as good thing. People put so much value on the marketing...but sometimes things sell or don't sell based on its own value.

They could have named this thing the bB and called it the "bingoBOX", and marketed it towards elderly people who only go out for bingo every other week...and I think it would have sold the same as it has.
If anything, I'm turned off by scion's whole intro marketing thing for the xB. The whole image of the goofy looking spinach-chin goatee guy, who looks like he hasn't had a proper bath in a month, with the five layered shirts, sitting in a coffee shop, sipping a latte with a laptop in front of him- and you see his Xb outside the window (yes, this was the main picture on the scion.com website a couple years ago) made me sick. I was interested in the car after I saw one on the road, not because of the person behind the wheel- or how it might look parked outside a starbucks.

The car sold me on itself. Not the coffee arthouse guy, or the techno underground trance hiphop dirty urban CG under the Ltrain transformer image. People will buy the car despite the marketing.

 

I'm 48 and bought my bright yellow xB because I like the room in it. I got it when I decided that I would need another car for running around, and I wanted one I could tow with my motorhome. I think toyota did miss the mark the way they marketed this car. I see as many "old" people driving them as I do young people.

My Wife fell in love with the xB and has basically abandoned her Eddie Bauer Expedition for it. The room in the xB is better than the Expedition, and we don't even need to talk about the gas milage.

 

I am 56, a professional truck driver and I bought it because it is cheep,roomy, good gas mileage, and does the job needed...and really screws the minds of all who know me..
now if I could find an emblem that says "LIL TOASTER"
I would be set..

still looking for "Laker Pipes and Baby Moons on painted steelies"