Scion was a great experiment by Toyota, to develop affordable, fun, and 'edgy' cars. For a few years it worked, but by the end they were more known as small, cheap, and boring.... what went wrong?
Da Wifey bought an '06 xB new. We kept that car for 12 years. We traveled with two small children for years. You really had to tetris your luggage in and yes, on the interstate, it was slooow and the opposite of nimble. I learned to draft semis to pick up speed. It was bulletproof, stupid simple to maintain and cheap to insure. We kept it as a spare for some years and ultimately sold it to a friend of a friend, who needed a car for work.
Great analysis. Scion was a great concept at first, but they eventually evolved into boring, uninspiring cars that were no less different than the Toyotas sold on the same lot.
My wife had a 2005 Stratus, my parents had a 2002 Stratus, and I had a 2004 Stratus at work. All of them were great cars. The fleet at work were all trouble free. When we had our first child, we felt we needed more room and bought a Durango. I regretted selling my wife's Stratus as the new owner pulled out of our driveway. It was such a good trouble free car. I still miss it. I've been associated with many K based cars. My parents had a 1989 Spirit and it was excellent. They had a couple Neons down the line and they were trouble free. My family has also owned a few Daimler era Chryslers and had good luck with them. I've had three work provided Avengers, which were widely panned, that have been great. I am driving one now. The whole fleet of those have been trouble free. I still don't understand why those cars were hated. We have a 2016 Caravan and my parents had a Journey they'd still be driving if that guy hadn't pulled out in front of my dad. My brother has a Journey now. I bought a 2019 Challenger 392 T/A and it is a wonderful car. I've always thought Chrysler did more with less. They always seemed to engineer great engines with a few exceptions. The bean counters made them put inferior head gaskets and transmission parts hurting Chrysler's reputation. I don't know if trucks are outside your wheelhouse, but I'd love to hear what you have to say about the T-300 (2nd gen. Ram) and its impact on Chrysler and the truck market. I bought a 1998 Ram SS/T brand new and still have it. That is my favorite truck body style ever and I still love mine.
I believe it was more the time and what was going on in the world more than the redesign I was obsessed with the first model fanatic over the second thing I was looking forward to the third design of the xB.
The Toyota Yaris which was a Scion iA was just discontinued last year. Toyota never really advertised the Yaris very much and small compact cars are not very popular in the USA anymore. It was actually a Mazda2 rebadged as a Toyota
It's funny that you took the words out of my mouth at the end. I've always felt like Scion was Toyotas Saturn. There was a new idea, it was implemented, it was a success. So what did corporate do? Did they follow the initial strategy? Stick with it? Go with what worked? Nope!! They watered it down. They made it more like the parent brand and the consumers rightly rejected it.
My wife got a 06 TC new. We loved it so much. Best bang for the buck at that time. It was a 5 speed and we put trd springs and exhaust on it. It was a hotrod to us. Then we planned on having kids and bought a 09 xb and was let down. Same quality but not nearly as fun and peppy to drive especially when it was the same 2.4 and 5 speed also. But we did stay in the Toyota brand we have a new 4runner and love it. Great video!!!!
This was so BEAUTIFUL Ly SPOKEN. I don't know much about cars. I actually wanted to cry.😂😂😂 Like listening to a documentary. KUDOS to your Charisma sir.👏👏👏👏👏👏
Add a Lexus Training Center when I was a technician in 2008, they said they missed the mark and it was the older generation 40s and 50s that were mostly buying the cars
Trying to market to young people almost never works. They always seem to get bought up by older people because they are lower priced and that is what they care most about. Young people tend to want something flashier...which isnt usually cheap. (side note): I rode in a first gen xB in 2012 one day and was shocked by the amount of room inside. I'm 6'4" and was sitting in the back comfortably. (the driver was 5'10"). I liked the roominess.
I love my 2015 Scion XB. The car gets 28 mpg. It is likely the 5 speed manual (and knowing how to use it) that is the reason. On the freeway I get 32+mpg. The compromise over the first gen is, IMO, way worth it. Its also substantially Safer. Very Good Crash Score, while first gen is Poor. Its quieter, and way better acceleration. It is peppy! It is funky and great for urban use. Easy to park. Nice quick steering. The gauges are so easy to glance at in the middle. Big Fan. Cool Factor? A Kia? I checked out the Soul. It was not as torquey. Did not feel as well built. They won’t hold up like an XB. Yeah, many older folks drive both gens. Its so easy to get in/out of. Crazy head room and legroom makes it perfect fir tall drivers and passengers. Its built better than the earlier models. I love both, but very much prefer the last model year (with a stick).
i got a 2006 scion xb, so far 381k miles, it has all the original parts, no engine swaps, no transmission replacments, basically the engine was the same. she runs good after 15 years.
I have an '08 XB because I got a good deal on it. Manual transmission. I like it. I can fit so much stuff into that thing with rear seats folded down. Great work vehicle. I guess mine is after they changed and weren't as much fun. Now I want to drive an OG XB. I can't speak for the automatic transmission ones, but I zip around in my chunky '08 XB.
My grandparents were Canadian, and I think most of you look at us in 'the south' with curiosity. As in "What are they doing now?" :) Thanks for being here!
I think Scion was somewhat like a revival of Nissan's Datsun, which I understand is a name that was used somewhere outside the U.S.A. until recently - i think India and indonesia. I'd welcome a low priced low-feature Datsun, but low production volume entry priced cars became anathema to most manufacturers because the high cost of regulations mean skimpy profit margins, and the cheap cars mostly compete against higher priced cars sold by the same dealers. So called 'cheap' EVs could revive the budget entry price market because, in theory the costly emissions regulations costs would be eliminated.
The Kia Soul is the only car left out of the scion XB ,Honda Element with the as I call it shoe box cars but Kia did advertising right they packaged the different trim levels right and gave you a lot of features for less money so it’s no surprise the soul lives on
@@wescam2958 I forgot the cube to be honest with you but then again I don’t really see so many cube’s as I do soul’s I see more Honda’s shoe box car then I do cube’s so that’s how I forgot about it
I loved the Cube! When it came out, I came very close to trading my car in for one, but finally decided a car payment wasn't what I wanted. Somedays I wish I had.
This was Toyota's version of a Geo line. It was a good idea at the time since the Toyota Echo and Corolla(which should have been for young people) was being bought by older people.
Toyota could have styled the Scions better after what I did to my 2006 Scion XA. They still call it Toyota in Japan. All the older small Toyota cars could have had potential to be part of the US Scion brand such as a Scion Echo or a Scion MR2. It was very convenient to drive around too. Maybe Toyota did miss a big sales opportunity after all in the US.
This was another great topic. Really enjoy your videos. Even though I was well outside their target group I really thought the TC was a great little sporty car at a reasonable price. It reminded me of 240Z of its day. The rest of their line were pretty generic looking tiny cars and I believe you are right in that Kia kind of snuck up on them and stole their cheese. With a better marketing plan they were really the new kid on the block not the company that made your Dad’s Camry.
Thanks for the kind words! I liked the TC as well, and seriously considered an xA (because I love dorky little hatchbacks), but later cars were just boring. Scion went from being the cool and funky brand to the "cheap and small" brand really fast.
Scion last hundreds of milleage now a days they want cars that don't last..no business for them...i love my xb scion 2013 with 65 000 my drives 70 -75 mph on freeways no problem no shaking stability is super good!! wonder if they'll put a newer model ..I am upset they discontinued ..don't know what I'll buy in the future.
I was in the catering business at the time the xB came out. When you put a corporate wrap on it well there was no better attention grabber. Talk about misunderstanding your market but falling assbackwards into money.
It always makes me laugh when companies market boring stuff to young people as "cool" and "exciting". Nobody I know thought a Scion was cool or exciting. Well, at least the ones who even knew what a Scion was.
![[MV] A leap of faith...ความเชื่อใจครั้งสุดท้าย (From "Petrichor the series")](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/U1piZH2CNXA/mqdefault.jpg)
Scion was a great experiment by Toyota, to develop affordable, fun, and 'edgy' cars. For a few years it worked, but by the end they were more known as small, cheap, and boring.... what went wrong?
Definitely a brand I miss the most
Da Wifey bought an '06 xB new. We kept that car for 12 years. We traveled with two small children for years. You really had to tetris your luggage in and yes, on the interstate, it was slooow and the opposite of nimble. I learned to draft semis to pick up speed. It was bulletproof, stupid simple to maintain and cheap to insure. We kept it as a spare for some years and ultimately sold it to a friend of a friend, who needed a car for work.
Great analysis. Scion was a great concept at first, but they eventually evolved into boring, uninspiring cars that were no less different than the Toyotas sold on the same lot.
My wife had a 2005 Stratus, my parents had a 2002 Stratus, and I had a 2004 Stratus at work. All of them were great cars. The fleet at work were all trouble free. When we had our first child, we felt we needed more room and bought a Durango. I regretted selling my wife's Stratus as the new owner pulled out of our driveway. It was such a good trouble free car. I still miss it.
I've been associated with many K based cars. My parents had a 1989 Spirit and it was excellent. They had a couple Neons down the line and they were trouble free. My family has also owned a few Daimler era Chryslers and had good luck with them. I've had three work provided Avengers, which were widely panned, that have been great. I am driving one now. The whole fleet of those have been trouble free. I still don't understand why those cars were hated. We have a 2016 Caravan and my parents had a Journey they'd still be driving if that guy hadn't pulled out in front of my dad. My brother has a Journey now. I bought a 2019 Challenger 392 T/A and it is a wonderful car.
I've always thought Chrysler did more with less. They always seemed to engineer great engines with a few exceptions. The bean counters made them put inferior head gaskets and transmission parts hurting Chrysler's reputation.
I don't know if trucks are outside your wheelhouse, but I'd love to hear what you have to say about the T-300 (2nd gen. Ram) and its impact on Chrysler and the truck market. I bought a 1998 Ram SS/T brand new and still have it. That is my favorite truck body style ever and I still love mine.
Love my first gen Scion xB. Bought in brand new in Dec 04. Sill driven daily. Perfect commuter car
How many miles do you have on that ?
If they put the 2.5 180hp motor in the xB it still would be in the Scion lineup today and Scion would still be going.
The first Scion xB is the vehicle that I want! It's tall enough for my tastes! You can always add a turbo kit to the engine if you want to!!!
Very good video Jon! And thank you very much for all the information. Keep up the good vids!
Thanks, will do!
I believe it was more the time and what was going on in the world more than the redesign I was obsessed with the first model fanatic over the second thing I was looking forward to the third design of the xB.
The Toyota Yaris which was a Scion iA was just discontinued last year. Toyota never really advertised the Yaris very much and small compact cars are not very popular in the USA anymore. It was actually a Mazda2 rebadged as a Toyota
It's funny that you took the words out of my mouth at the end. I've always felt like Scion was Toyotas Saturn. There was a new idea, it was implemented, it was a success. So what did corporate do? Did they follow the initial strategy? Stick with it? Go with what worked? Nope!! They watered it down. They made it more like the parent brand and the consumers rightly rejected it.
My wife got a 06 TC new. We loved it so much. Best bang for the buck at that time. It was a 5 speed and we put trd springs and exhaust on it. It was a hotrod to us. Then we planned on having kids and bought a 09 xb and was let down. Same quality but not nearly as fun and peppy to drive especially when it was the same 2.4 and 5 speed also. But we did stay in the Toyota brand we have a new 4runner and love it. Great video!!!!
This was so BEAUTIFUL Ly SPOKEN.
I don't know much about cars. I actually wanted to cry.😂😂😂
Like listening to a documentary. KUDOS to your Charisma sir.👏👏👏👏👏👏
Add a Lexus Training Center when I was a technician in 2008, they said they missed the mark and it was the older generation 40s and 50s that were mostly buying the cars
Trying to market to young people almost never works. They always seem to get bought up by older people because they are lower priced and that is what they care most about. Young people tend to want something flashier...which isnt usually cheap.
(side note): I rode in a first gen xB in 2012 one day and was shocked by the amount of room inside. I'm 6'4" and was sitting in the back comfortably. (the driver was 5'10"). I liked the roominess.
I love my 2015 Scion XB. The car gets 28 mpg. It is likely the 5 speed manual (and knowing how to use it) that is the reason. On the freeway I get 32+mpg.
The compromise over the first gen is, IMO, way worth it.
Its also substantially Safer. Very Good Crash Score, while first gen is Poor.
Its quieter, and way better acceleration. It is peppy!
It is funky and great for urban use. Easy to park. Nice quick steering. The gauges are so easy to glance at in the middle. Big Fan. Cool Factor? A Kia? I checked out the Soul. It was not as torquey. Did not feel as well built. They won’t hold up like an XB.
Yeah, many older folks drive both gens. Its so easy to get in/out of. Crazy head room and legroom makes it perfect fir tall drivers and passengers.
Its built better than the earlier models. I love both, but very much prefer the last model year (with a stick).
💯 I got a 2012 9.0 RS Scion xB. Very good car- and snappy.
@@oreally8605 the Gen 2.5’s are the best of the bunch! So much better (and substantially safer) than the Gen 1. As much as I like those, too.
i got a 2006 scion xb, so far 381k miles, it has all the original parts, no engine swaps, no transmission replacments, basically the engine was the same. she runs good after 15 years.
I always wondered what happened. Never seen Scions on the road anymore. Not sure why.
Mine had over 300,000 miles ran great cold AC until I wrecked it,,,I loveddddd that toaster....
I have an '08 XB because I got a good deal on it. Manual transmission. I like it. I can fit so much stuff into that thing with rear seats folded down. Great work vehicle. I guess mine is after they changed and weren't as much fun. Now I want to drive an OG XB. I can't speak for the automatic transmission ones, but I zip around in my chunky '08 XB.
Canada viewer here. Scion was mostly a curiosity to the south for us.
My grandparents were Canadian, and I think most of you look at us in 'the south' with curiosity.
As in "What are they doing now?" :)
Thanks for being here!
Today I found a scion keychain that I got from the auto show and I was like what happened to that car company.
I think Scion was somewhat like a revival of Nissan's Datsun, which I understand is a name that was used somewhere outside the U.S.A. until recently - i think India and indonesia. I'd welcome a low priced low-feature Datsun, but low production volume entry priced cars became anathema to most manufacturers because the high cost of regulations mean skimpy profit margins, and the cheap cars mostly compete against higher priced cars sold by the same dealers. So called 'cheap' EVs could revive the budget entry price market because, in theory the costly emissions regulations costs would be eliminated.
Wish I could buy another one. I had an 06 and an 04 EB. Loved it.
The Kia Soul is the only car left out of the scion XB ,Honda Element with the as I call it shoe box cars but Kia did advertising right they packaged the different trim levels right and gave you a lot of features for less money so it’s no surprise the soul lives on
@@wescam2958 I forgot the cube to be honest with you but then again I don’t really see so many cube’s as I do soul’s I see more Honda’s shoe box car then I do cube’s so that’s how I forgot about it
I loved the Cube! When it came out, I came very close to trading my car in for one, but finally decided a car payment wasn't what I wanted. Somedays I wish I had.
Kia's junk.
Kia soul is a piece of crap tho - catches on fire 🔥 the whole lot.
This was Toyota's version of a Geo line. It was a good idea at the time since the Toyota Echo and Corolla(which should have been for young people) was being bought by older people.
Toyota could have styled the Scions better after what I did to my 2006 Scion XA. They still call it Toyota in Japan. All the older small Toyota cars could have had potential to be part of the US Scion brand such as a Scion Echo or a Scion MR2. It was very convenient to drive around too. Maybe Toyota did miss a big sales opportunity after all in the US.
Our local Toyota dealer no more than got the Scion sign up on their dealership than Toyota cancelled it.
I miss the FRS. R.I.P Scion
Your points re the xB are how I perceive the future of the VW electric bus. All the charm is gone, and it got fat.
I always see older people in scions now. And younger people in Corollas
This was another great topic. Really enjoy your videos. Even though I was well outside their target group I really thought the TC was a great little sporty car at a reasonable price. It reminded me of 240Z of its day.
The rest of their line were pretty generic looking tiny cars and I believe you are right in that Kia kind of snuck up on them and stole their cheese. With a better marketing plan they were really the new kid on the block not the company that made your Dad’s Camry.
Thanks for the kind words!
I liked the TC as well, and seriously considered an xA (because I love dorky little hatchbacks), but later cars were just boring. Scion went from being the cool and funky brand to the "cheap and small" brand really fast.
Don't forget. The CH-R was supposed to be a Scion initially. I think it fits the Scion model better than being a Toyota.
Scion last hundreds of milleage now a days they want cars that don't last..no business for them...i love my xb scion 2013 with 65 000 my drives 70 -75 mph on freeways no problem no shaking stability is super good!! wonder if they'll put a newer model ..I am upset they discontinued ..don't know what I'll buy in the future.
Great topic
Thanks!
I always wanted to know what happened to them
sounds a lot like what happened to Saturn at GM.
I mentioned that near the end of the video. Looking into what happened to Scion gave me a sense of deja-vu for Saturn.
Saturn was piece of crap tho
I was in the catering business at the time the xB came out. When you put a corporate wrap on it well there was no better attention grabber. Talk about misunderstanding your market but falling assbackwards into money.
Scion was meant for young drivers (18-35), but older drivers were buying them. Scion didn't have price negotiation. The price shown is what you pay
Probably because toyota took the big turn too quick on redesigning the cars, really.
Thought they were not that great
The Scion iM became the Corolla iM and for 2020 it was replaced with the redesigned Corolla Hatchback
It always makes me laugh when companies market boring stuff to young people as "cool" and "exciting". Nobody I know thought a Scion was cool or exciting. Well, at least the ones who even knew what a Scion was.
Until recently, Toyota's (and Scion) have been boring cars as Toyota is a conservative company. I recently saw an old lady driving at Toyota Corolla