Posted on 02/03/2016 8:46:26 AM PST by C19fan
Toyota is committing corporate filicide.
The automaker has announced that it is killing its youth-oriented Scion brand and transitioning the models currently sold by the division to Toyota in August.
Scion was launched in 2002 in an effort to attract younger car buyers to the Toyota fray, and was successful at that. Its average customer age of 36 is the lowest in the automotive industry, but its overall sales peaked at 173,034 in 2006 and were just 56,167 last year.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
gee... first of all they’re ugly. they look like cinder blocks on wheels. second, they went with a ghetto rat (literally) advertising campaign...what could have possible gone wrong?
Ugly vehicles that only a hipster could love. Funny seeing those things around town with the Bernie sticker on the paint of the hatch.
Into the dustbin of history, like so many storied brands, but without the long history.
A pity nonetheless, they were an interesting take on the modern automobile.
Exactly
These vehicles might sell well in India. The Scion xB was sold as a “fun” car, much like the old Volkswagen vans, and may well develop a cult lasting long beyond their last date of sale. Boxy to the extreme, it was never meant to be a “high-performance” vehicle, but it had a “cuteness” factor shared by others like the Nissan cube or Kia Soul.
But they were always city vehicles.
I kind of liked the xD, which they discontinued a year or so ago. I never drove one. I didn’t care for the xB, which to me looks like a shoebox on wheels.
Where will all the Bernie bumper-stickers go now?
When youth can’t get jobs to buy cars, small cars will not sell.
Oh, I dunno, I thought the FR-S was pretty sharp.
I wouldn’t worry About Toyota too much, the Corolla has been around since what, 1972 or something like that? They’ve has other sport models come and go after a brief lifespan, the MRII comes to mind.
Youth gotta be able to afford the damn thing and 36 aint youth:-)
They killed the FJJammer and that was a mistake. I have one and it is beyond awesome.
The FR-S was the rebadged Subaru.
Working young folk are saddled with overwhelming education debt and can’t afford new cars.
That is DUMB. I have an xA, which I swear was designed and made for me. It is small and I can shoehorn it into the smallest space. Lay down the back seats and you have 60% interior cargo space. It is fun to drive and has given me virtual no mechanical problems in the 10 years I have it. LOVE my xA. What would I ever replace it with?
Wasn’t there a report that said most people under 30 aren’t bothering with getting a driver’s license? If so, the Scion brand was following a poor business model.
You are confusing the “rat” advertising with Kia.
Some of the Scion Models have nice styling. I have two Friends with Scion’s and they love them.
Meh, I’m waiting for the 2018 Supra.
I had a Flex. They look nice, but have some significant flaws: For one, they’re notorious for eating wheelbearings. I bought mine with about 60k on the odometer, and had to replace three of the four, and one had to be done again within 7000 miles. It’s a heavy car, so it really stresses the driveline. It also has a habit of warping brake rotors for the same reason (weight). The non-Ecoboost engine (standard option) is sluggish due to pushing all that weight. Road noise is an issue even with the smallest-diameter wheels, and I suspect the “premium” wheels would make the car sound like a skateboard. Despite the size, they’re somewhat cramped inside. If you opt for the all-wheel-drive option, you have to be meticulous with maintenance. The “transfer case” holds barely a pint of oil, and has a nasty habit of losing seals, so you either evacuate all that oil onto the highway, or worse, into the transmission where you don’t know it happened.
On the plus side, it’s a great car if you live fairly near a city. It’s great on “good” roads, and with the AWD it’s quite sure-footed in snow. Gas mileage is tolerable; I saw around 18-19 in mixed driving, and managed 20-21 in mostly-highway usage. The gas tank capacity is small for an almost-SUV though, only 15 gallons, and it’s split into two 7-gallon saddle tanks (and there are reports of the transfer system failing, so you only get 7gal of use out of it before your “low fuel” light comes on).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.