Scion

What exactly was the point of this brand?

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to appeal to young car buyers. turns out old people want exactly the same thing as young people.

/thread

spot on.

they thought the toyota badge lacked credibility

>SCION
>SCI
>Z
>ZI
>ZION
jews

American obsession with brand identity. Apparently young people in the US are incapable of driving the same car brand as middle aged women.

>he wants to drive mom mobiles
Enjoy your """"""hot hatch""""""

See, that's what I meant.

>he UNIRONICALLY thinks his momcar is kewl

Nothing. That's why it's dead now.

It was intended for youth as a cheap, fun car that does what youth want.
ended up costing more that what toyota could make without doing anything better.
old people like it cause the Xb is easy for them to get in and out of.

A rebadged momcar isn't any cooler, that's the entire point. Scions were sold as Toyotas in the rest of the world. Same with Acura and Honda, and to some extent with Lexus and Toyota, and to some extent with Infiniti and Nissan.

To understand Scion, first you need to understand how Scion came to be In 1999, Toyota decided they needed to capture the hearts, minds, and wallets, of the youth generation. It all started with a cooperation of many Japanese companies, They came together for a brand of things specific to Japan that were to be marketed relentlessly to the youth under a brand called WiLL. There were WiLL refrigerators , laptop and desktop computers (made by Sony. IIRC, the US market equivalent was the Sony Vaio), cell phones, and of course, cars. Toyota made 3 cars for the WiLL brand (pic related), 2 were based on the Yaris (US market Echo), and the last was based on the Voltz (US market Pontiac Vibe). Pic related is the WiLL VS, based on the Voltz.

The WiLL project got Toyota inspired though. If this could work in Japan, there was a chance it could work more lucratively in the United States, their largest market. but first they had to find out what young Americans wanted.
This led to the start of Project Genesis. Genesis took 3 US market cars and advertised them different from the rest of the line up to find what clicked. While most of Toyot'as line up were advertised for their practicality and reliability, these 3 cars were marketed as fun, and fast. The 3 cars were the Toyota Echo, the Toyota Celica, and the Toyota MR2 Spyder.
>continued next post

Project Genesis ended in 2001 and was branded a huge failure, but one they learned from.
The Echo wasn't quirky or unique enough to capture their imaginations.
The MR2, though desired by many young Americans, failed because dealer markups (because sports car) pushed the price of them out of the range of the intended market.
The Celica caught on though. It was unique enough to capture imaginations. It was sporty enough to not be a complete poser, and as a hatchback, it was practical enough for youth to use as a DD.
Project Genesis then led into Project Exodus, later renamed Scion. Exodus built on the lessons learned from Genesis, to great success. From the MR2, they learned they would need to employ the technique of no-haggle-pricing borrowed from GM's Saturn division (which had had success in the youth market). This kept the cars at sticker price. Dealers were not allowed to mark up or they'd lose the right to sell any Toyota products, period.
From the Celica, they realized hatchbacks made everything more practical for the youth and made cars usable for everyday driving. A Celica replacement was quickly developed for Exodus (The Scion tC).
From the Echo, they learned the cars needed to be interesting and quirky, with often controversial styling. They also learned they needed a new brand. Young buyers didn't want to own a car from the same brand with dull and lifeless products like the Camry and Corolla. A California ad firm was contracted to develop the brand, logo, and advertising. Scion was the result.
>continued next post.

>own a tC
>comfy
I don't care what you guys think

The only Scion I see on the road around here is that one car thats shaped like a box that also happens to be our local pizza delivery car.

Something else unexpected they learned from Genesis, from the Success of the Celica, was the importance of personalization. They noticed most of the Celica's had been modified and personalized. Ka-ching! Big opportunity there! This led to the Optomize Scion program. With the program, Toyota would foot the bill for other companies to develop bolt on aftermarket parts for Scion vehicles. These parts would then be made available at dealerships through TRD and wouldn't void the warranty. This would be a huge selling point for many buyers.
Scion got their own headquarters in California separate from Toyota and announced themselves to the world in 2002 with a few concept cars (the BBX and CCX) which previewed what their production cars would look like (the xB and tC respectively). Scion released the xA and xB to the public in 2003 in California only initially to troubleshoot any problems before rolling out the brand to the rest of the country. The xA and xB were both based on the failed Echo, but were much more interesting. Scion wasn't keen on the original xB, feeling the styling too radical, and predicted the more conventional looking xA would outsell the xB 2 to 1. They were wrong. The xB's love it or hate it styling caught on in a major way, quickly developing a cult following. The were well-built, practical, attention-grabbing, and infinitely customizable. Advertising often touted the cars as a blank canvas

xb

this is really interesting, thanks user

mentioned advertising.
Genesis:
Echo-
youtube.com/watch?v=SFoJ_MWQb1Q
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Celica-
youtube.com/watch?v=ENgz5QbUROE
youtube.com/watch?v=8a2lcFMqHxw
youtube.com/watch?v=12CDQ5UlLGU

And then Scion.
youtube.com/watch?v=Z7E6RCcfEGg
xA;
youtube.com/watch?v=-WsCjMwvC04
xB:
youtube.com/watch?v=UrFoG_LSBUg
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tC:
youtube.com/watch?v=K1uwRJ1vpyQ
youtube.com/watch?v=pY2Haja1xps
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xB (second gen)
youtube.com/watch?v=JpQ0ygDlC8k
youtube.com/watch?v=a-Qrgb3HxOw
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xD (replacement for the xA)
youtube.com/watch?v=Set1KKd6HKM
youtube.com/watch?v=IL0075A4sbI
youtube.com/watch?v=Pv0SN3CMeGI
youtube.com/watch?v=0j6RoxNrDfg
tC (second gen)
youtube.com/watch?v=ZBuzWADYG4s
youtube.com/watch?v=YGPQPlqg2Ho

Scion is dead now

so that explains the fucking retards who drive around in a box car with >muh rims and fartcan exhaust. no seriously that car is popular with people who are total failures at life

Scion: Early adulthood brand
Toyota: Middle age brand
Lexus: End of life brand

Similar to Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln.

So they turned special snowflaking into a business

oversimplifying it, but yea.

The irony of this thread is that the same exact people that Toyota (and some people ITT) were trying to dissociate from through scion are the ones who BOUGHT Scion's for themselves. For a while, Scion's were ridiculed as being the official grocery-getter brand of 45+ year old women.

Never as embarrasing as when Honda made those civic nation ads

youtu.be/irTEq9Uf4OY

youtu.be/owEqEkYsyr0

My dad's had an 06 xb for forever. Driven it around a ton, and it's an amazing car, granted that it's a slow fwd, but still a ton of fun

>open up a brand aimed at the "cool kids"
>"should we make a modern cheapo rwd 'sports car' lineup? akin to nissans old S platform?"
>lol nah
>how about ugly riced out fwd shitbox? how about thats our entire lineup? just riced commuter cars?
>genius
FRS was exactly what the brand needed, and it was too little too late. Do you know how many of those things I see on the road now that scion is going out and toyota are trying to get rid of the stock by any means possible? A decade earlier at the equivalent of 25k today could have saved the brand so easily.

And the target demographic didn't have the money to spend on a brand new vehicle.

I've not seen one of these without rust all over it for decades.

>Name is pronounced zion
>No zaku
>No car named off zion mobile suits.
Missed opportunity.

Here's an iM

>owns a tC
>is actually a really decent car
>super comfy

I don't regret buying it. 8/10

At least with a Lexus you get rear drive and maybe a different platform, scions are identical fwd econoboxes the same as every Toyota that isnt a gt86 or a land cruiser

Very interesting read, makes me loathe Scion even more. Corporate products attempting to masquerade as a lifestyle choice are the most sickening and egregious cases of second-hand embarrassment I can feel. Bonus points if they add -nation to the end of their lifeless appliance.

Toyota for Millennials; enough factory rice to make a seventh gen Celica owner blush but no bite to back up the bark.

The brand could've been a way to bring in their Jap-exclusive stuff and fun models. It wasn't. The fast stuff all went to Lexus and only came in auto, and the FR-S (86 elsewhere) couldn't shoulder the weight of everything else.

btw, the other WiLL cars, if you're curious.
The retro-styled WiLL Vi.

...

and finally, the WiLL Cypha

...

and a WiLL refrigerator (thought I was kidding about that, didn't you?)

THAT'S NO ZAKU, BOY

Same here bro. One of the most underrated cars.

I always liked these cars, some of the few that didn't eschew radical concept stylings for conservative saleability and regulations.

Look at them, they're almost 20 years old yet they could have come out 3 years ago and everyone would think they're brand new.

and here's the backside of the WiLL VS

>look up tc mobile suit
>Get graze
>EB-06/tc Graze Custom
>Ibo appeals to younger audience
>Graze is just another au zaku
Like pottery.

I saw one of these a couple of years ago and didn't know what it was. For a long time I researched on Chinese cars but found nothing. Somehow, I stumbled upon a picture of the WiLL Cypha and I was mind blown. A Toyota. Wow. That thing looked like a toy on the street, and the baby blue color didn't help.

missed one.

Second gen Scion xB.
youtube.com/watch?v=BCQN9Zz5me8

Some idiot working for Toyota Motor NA decided that Americans would be excited for a new brand targeted at teenagers when in fact adults were the ones with money.

>isthistoyota.com
Why has Toyota always been insecure about itself in North America? Fucking dumb fucks leading their marketing dept. They have some of the best production technology in the world and they act like their dicks are 2 inches.

>Why has Toyota always been insecure about itself in North America?
Because when someone thinks of a fun or exciting or interesting car, Toyota is one of the last brands to come to mind. Hard to have self-esteem when everyone knows you for being boring and dependable.

Until they look at their bank account and stop caring.

>Because when someone thinks of a fun or exciting or interesting car, Toyota is one of the last brands to come to mind.
When there's an idea in the public's mind that you want to dispel, the last thing you do is subtly hint at it. Toyota is literally having sex while asking "is it big enough? can you feel anything at all?"

Who cares that the Camry is dependable and boring, Toyota has had (and will have, hopefully) their share of fun cars and fun cars breathe life into a brand. The only reason we know about the Mazda 6 (besides its excellent product name) is that the Miata and the 3 are fun and great. Meanwhile I think most of you would struggle to name any "boring" Buicks, Mercurys, or Lincolns because, guess what, those marques have ZERO exciting cars.

All of Toyota NA needs to be fired immediately and replaced with fresh minds.

>Tfw no manuel camry
>Tfw corollas are numb as all fuck because they're the official first car of american 20somes

I think if they updated the mr2 and brought over the sfr they could update their image pretty well in just a couple of years
4 fun sports cars (supra, mr2, gt86, sfr) all in their own pricing brackets, 3 of which have large fanbases and heritage

if they just stopped doing retarded shit like trying to paint their updated prius as "sporty" and "fun" and pulled their heads out of their ass, they could do a lot

Jesus, I can't handle Scion, they came out when I was in high school (like I was a marketable age group for them), and it was like, "what do youth want!?".........."108hp, new car sticker price, and edgy styling!!!!!!"...........I can't furiously pump out abortions fast enough.

>"should we make a modern cheapo rwd 'sports car' lineup?
Here's the thing, nobody really cares about drivetrain layout except Veeky Forums because Veeky Forums is autism.

She looks like she's got half Down's syndrome.

>nobody really cares about drivetrain layout except Veeky Forums
>that's why the best Lexuses (IS, GS, LS) all come in RWD

To sell funky/sporty Japanese cars that Toyota was too afraid of selling through Toyota.

Unfortunately, the only decent cars they had were the tC, xB, and 86. Everything else was discount Toyota except you couldn't even haggle AND they were old as fuck. Hell, they even fucked up the xB by turning it into a pigfat pseudo-crossover.

It should be telling that one of Scion's best selling cars right now is the iA (Mazda 2 Sedan), which is leaps better than the xA/xD(Yaris) ever was. This year is Scion's best year in a LONG time, and they're going out of business. Toyota just stopped caring.

Totally agree with you fellow tC bro

To worship Satan, like how Saturn did.

>15478978
>pic

Toyota for people who unironically use hashtags and Instagram and like taking selfies. They care more about having the latest iPhone than having a nice car.