Scion Aftermarket Customization (SAC): United States

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Toyota Putting the Brakes on Scion?

Toyota Regroups

I can't recall exactly where I read this but I recall seeing somewhere that Toyota was backing off of Scion new development and feels that the brand has begun to occupy the same market space as Toyota vehicles. This is the reason, so the logic goes, that Scion is not seeing any new vehicles being developed in the next few years and Toyota dealers are supposedly not being penalized if they choose to drop Scion.

What is the Truth?

Is there any truth to this? Is Toyota about to make the same kind of monumental mistake that Honda did when it try to re-brand Acura and killed the Legend, Vigor and Integra? I certainly hope not but all signs point to yes as Toyota struggles to re-invigorate itself at the expense of one of the coolest marque to come out of Japan in decades.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Scion - An Incredibly Brief History

Born from Toyota, Made for the Youth

Scion, as everyone knows, was a marque devised by the wildly successful Japanese automaker Toyota in order to capture the hearts, minds and checkbooks of today's youth. And, by every indication, they have succeeded. So it was that in 2002 Scion was born and has been producing heavy hitting, tuner-minded vehicles ever since.

New Models and Pure Prices

The first models fielded by Scion were the xB and tC (both originally conceived under much less attractive names such as the bbX and the ccX) and were soon follwed by the xA and the xD. Perhhaps one of Scions biggest marketing advantages is the "Pure Price" program which gives buyers the total price (includng title, tax and insurance) upfront so they can make a quick buying decision. In additon, the trim levels are incredibly customizable making each Scion a completely personalized car.

Onward and Upward

As Scion passed its first decade things were looking up for the company and they continue to put out amazingly well-designed and dependable vehicles. In fact, in some cities such as Chicago most of the taxi cab fleets are made up of dependable xBs with incredible carrying capacity and great MPG.