Scion is done

[number six]

TORRANCE, Calif., Feb. 3, 2016 – Scion, established as a separate brand in 2003 as a laboratory to explore new products and processes to attract youth customers, is now transitioning back to the Toyota brand. Scion achieved its goals of developing unique products and processes, and bringing in new, younger customers to Toyota. With more than a million cars sold, 70 percent of Scions were purchased by customers new to Toyota and 50 percent were under 35 years old.

“This isn’t a step backward for Scion; it’s a leap forward for Toyota. Scion has allowed us to fast track ideas that would have been challenging to test through the Toyota network,” said Jim Lentz, founding vice president of Scion and now CEO, Toyota Motor North America. “I was there when we established Scion and our goal was to make Toyota and our dealers stronger by learning how to better attract and engage young customers. I’m very proud because that’s exactly what we have accomplished.

“We could not have achieved the success we have had without the incredible support of Scion’s customers, dealers and team members, so supporting them throughout this transition process will be one of our top priorities,” said Lentz.

Toyota’s decision was made in response to customers’ needs. Today’s younger buyers still want fun-to-drive vehicles that look good, but they are also more practical. They, like their parents, have come to appreciate the Toyota brand and its traditional attributes of quality, dependability and reliability. At the same time, new Toyota vehicles have evolved to feature the dynamic styling and handling young people desire.     

Whatever. Every time Scion ended up with a good car it was cancelled or hobbled.

I'd buy a new xB in a second.. if it was like the 2006 model I have now. Was at the Scion dealership last week and asked what they had that was comparable and they just shrugged and pointed to whatever shitty hatchback they were trying to sell. Sad, really.

[lordtakuban]

It's too bad this didn't happen before 2012 so my FR-S could have been a proper Toyota 86.  Scion has always had the "Cheap Kid Car" brand stigma and it was actually a struggle to go in and buy one, but damn, that car is a fantastic daily driver.  And has tons of room for modification to really make is something special.

Anyway, I won't miss the brand at all.  It just means that those smaller models will be branded as Toyota and maybe cost a little more but not be stripped down from their over-seas counterparts.

[funky49]

Scion has always had the "Cheap Kid Car" brand stigma

At the time the demographics of Toyota showed they had some of the oldest customers. People die. Scion was created for young and younger thinking people to get them into the Toyota family.

[lordtakuban]

At the time the demographics of Toyota showed they had some of the oldest customers. People die. Scion was created for young and younger thinking people to get them into the Toyota family.

Yep.  The funny thing is that they were mostly purchased by older people.  Likely for the value offered at the price.  It probably seemed like a very plausable strategy when they started it.

[TimothyC]

The wife and I loved our 2006 Xa right up until the moment it was totaled last summer :/.  It was a problem free car for the 115K that we had it and we're still pissed it's no longer part of the family.  It was great on gas though admittedly space was limited once we had a kid...

[k7]

i'll have a TC one day. will turbo the crap out of that little sport coupe.

[number six]

The xB we have is pound for pound the best car I've ever had for the money.

When I originally bought the car I was in their 'under 30' demographic but I had written the cars off as being punk ass cruisers. All of the advertisements centered around how you could get them with all these factory installed ricer options which completely turned me off.

Then I sat in an xB at the car show and was impressed with what it offered, the price and its practicality as a daily driver.

End of day I think they just couldn't figure out what they wanted the car to be. If they were going after the ricer market some of their cars didn't make sense.. then the cars they had that were kinda JDM looking they ditched. It eventually became a watered down and bland line that didn't really offer anything special other than it being somewhat cheaper than its Toyota sibling.

Oh well.