Toyota killed the quirky Scion brand today. It joins the list of car brands that have been killed off, or just plain died, in recent memory: Plymouth Oldsmobile Saab Eagle Hummer Pontiac Mercury Saturn GEO Fisker I guess some of those are missed. Others? Not sure.
The only one that makes me sad is SAAB. General Motors dealt the death-blow to a brand that just 20 years ago had the same kind of loyal following that Subaru has.
Sales figures from September, and a bit more background of what led up to this. And the Second-fastest Growing Brand Is ... Scion? I didn't know they were struggling, I see Scions everywhere around here...
I don't know if "killing" is the right way to describe what they're doing - rebranding might be more accurate. They're not going to stop making these models completely, and since they just completed their take over of Daihatsu they're not getting out of the really small car market either. They'll all just be Toyotas from here on out......... But true, another brand has left the (US) market.
Apparently their effort to save the brand (in the states) with the FR-S failed. At least now a guy will be able to buy an FR-S with a Toyota brand on it and not a Scion brand.
Toyota brand and turbo'd I dig the FR-S's and BRZ's, but just too underpowered. They look cool for the most part, the rear seems unfinished.
It's because all of the Scion buyers (Hipsters) have moar spendable income and are attracted to the moar "Hipsterish" MINI and the direction the brand is moving towards....:idea:
Never really thought of Scion as a Hipster brand. I tend to either see teenagers or older people (over 50) driving them. I actually think they will sell more by dropping the youthful image and focusing on their true target audience as shown in this picture of the Toyota booth from the 2014 NAIAS.
At least one of the current Scion models is actually a Mazda in disguise, so if that model is retained, there'll be new Mazdas for sale at Toyota dealers, wearing a Toyota badge. Not too different from the Subarus, Daihatsus, and Chevrolets that wore Toyota badges over the years.
Yes, the old SAABs were great. GM gradually drove the elimination of the unique and sometimes quirky features of SAAB's design that were actually items of endearment to their owners, as it made their cars stand out from the commonplace automobiles designed to appeal to the masses. As the car became more mainstream and more in line with "committee" expectations, the once formidable SAAB brand identity gradually dissolved. Sound familiar?
Mmmm interesting. I read Toyota started the Scion brand because they were horrified to find out old folks drive Toyota's! Just Badge engineering at its best....reminds me of British Leyland, Rover etc
What I remember when Scion was launched was the rationale Toyota stated was that they realized their brand appealed primarily to mature, sensible buyers - there wasn't any enticing models in their line up to attract younger (I guess in this context, that would be "immature, un-sensible") buyers. Toyota wanted an entry-level brand, with the idea being that Scion buyers would eventually move up to become Toyota buyers, then perhaps Lexus buyers as they aged. The opposite seemed to happen as mature Toyota buyers started buying Scions, making it the favorite brand of fuzzy sweater-wearing cat ladies and recent retirees.
I think Toyota might have finally figured out the only way to move someone from a Scion to a Toyota down the road is to start them off in a Toyota. Do you really think any of the young people driving all the TC's and FR-S's have any idea that it has a connection with Toyota. The only reason we know is we're car people and most people on the road aren't. They don't read car magazines and are definitely not on a car forum of any sort..
Hey now! I've been driving a toaster for some time now and I don't have fuzzy cats in sweaters. But just like MINI they didn't understand their customers. We were moving down from a mini van when the kids got older and wanted better mpg. The xb worked great and can haul tons of stuff. Many of the scions went to grow ups instead of kids. Just like MINI sales. Mechanically it has been very reliable and needs almost no hand holding.
Good point. Sometimes it is difficult to remember and recognize that many, no most, people can't tell one model car from another, and are basically totally clueless automotive-wise. I used to feel vastly superior to those people and their vast automotive ignorance. Then.. my brother (who, back in the 90s thought newly-launched Lexus must be a sub-brand of Mercedes since the models looked just like a Mercedes ones) kindly pointed out that I know absolutely nothing about boats. Zero. Nothing about hull designs, company history, who manufactures pleasure craft, what the advantages and disadvantages are of different brands and models and power units. :frown5: That realization took me down a couple of notches.
Those are just old people taking a breather at the Scion booth because they have comfy cushions....Just resting their tired dogs because their bunions are screaming at them...
Yes, and. Who exactly goes to auto shows anyway? Mostly those sitting above. Absent of the New York Auto Show where there is a larger portion of young attendees. Who, by the way, don't take photos of the interesting cars on display there -- they instead take photos of themselves standing next to and sitting in the cars on display there.