What's with Scion?

[noginsk]

Scion has been available on the East coast for nearly a year now and I have seen very few of them. In fact, I have only seen one xa going the other direction on a highway. I have seen about four or five xb's. The thing that gets me, is that all of my previous sightings were from a distance. Yesterday, on my way to school, an xb pulled out in front of me at a light going the other direction. I got a good close look at it... and the occupants. It was being driven by a couple that had to have been in their mid 60's! Should car companies really go after the 17-25 year old age group? Do young people really go out and buy brand new cars very often? I mean who has all the money, the older generations right? Yes I am sure that many buyers of scions are in the right age group, but it kinda takes the fun out of driving/owning a car when you know your grandad/grandma is driving the same vehicle. I see the same thing with vibes/matrixes too. Usually older people driving them. No offense to any older person who may be reading this, please no hate mail.

[MJN2]

I kind of know what you mean. I had an Abyss Vibe pull up next to me the other day, and the guy driving it was roughly old enough to be my grandfather (and I'm 31 years old as of yesterday). We looked at each other's cars for a moment, and when the light went green, I jumped on it pretty hard. Checked my mirror and the guy in the other Vibe had a big grin on his face.

[Reynoma]

Let me start by saying I'm 35.My wife says that I'm an old guy driving a young person's car. I'm ok with that. Now more than ever do I understand why "old" people (guys in particular) buy Corvettes. I am looking forward to the day when my kids are out of the house and I can finally buy my sports car. Until then, I'll get as close as I can, and that, my friends, is the Vibe.

[Fformula88]

I think toyota was hoping to lower the average age of their buyers with the Scion, and they do that by targeting younger people. However, they do not expect only 17-25 year olds to buy it. Quite the opposite actually. I think the best cars on the market for lowest average age of the buyers are in the mid to upper 30's. Say 36 years. Obviously, they cannot be bought only by 17-25 year olds. But it is likely a paercentage of the buyers, maybe 10-15% are 25 or under, thereby lowering the overall average age to 36. Toyota now has an average age well in the 40's and simply wants some 17-25 year old buyers to drop that age some.

[joatmon]

I thought Scions were available on the west coast for a year or so, but they only started selling them on the east coast a couple of months ago.

[ragingfish]

Think about it guys.Target a car towards the 17-25 age group. Make it fun, hip, and exciting.People who are in the 60s, 70s, etc. are gonna want those cars. Everybody loves to feel like a kid again!Cadillacs, Buicks, and Olds (while it lived) aren't fun. Vibes, xBs, and Minis are fun, stylish, and exciting. Artificial childhood. What tops that?

[JustinVGT]

Yeah, that's what I thought as well. I actually saw atleast 3 yesterday on my commute home from work yesterday.

[MJN2]

Haven't seen any around here yet. Been seeing quite a few Honda Elements though.Honda Element: Power by Honda, Design by Tupperware

[kep427]

Quote, originally posted by joatmon »I thought Scions were available on the west coast for a year or so, but they only started selling them on the east coast a couple of months ago.thats right; they've been out here (west coast) for over a year now and sightings on the road are not too infrequent. We have an xB and an xA in my work parking lot (about 50 totoal cars). Bot drivers in their 40s (like me). I was looking at the Xa but thought the Vibe looked better Although the vibe is sporty looking it's no sports car. My real sports car is an 87 GT Fiero with 29K miles on it.

[AKLGT]

i'd be interested in their new xc coming out (or whatever it's called)

[OutLaW]

My neighbor owns a Scion.. He got 18" on it. Did you all know it comes stock with LED's under the dash and front seats(for the rear)? Looks good. Don't like the dash on those tho, the speedometer is in the middle of the car.

[GT_03]

The LED's are not stock, they are however a $295 option. My and my wife went to buy a xA last week, but we could not get what we wanted for a trade.

[MailGuy!]

Toyota opted to call the new coupe the TC. They wanted to call it the xc but Volvo already has that name registered.

[AKLGT]

oh, ok... i knew it had a c in there... lol

[Vibe Rater]

Can someone post pictures?

[AKLGT]

Quote, originally posted by ragingfish »yep. Scion tC. Looked nice actually.http://www.scion.com/drive/gal....html

[Pablo1669]

I think that xb is the ugliest thing I have ever seen on the road.

[Fformula88]

Quote, originally posted by joatmon »I thought Scions were available on the west coast for a year or so, but they only started selling them on the east coast a couple of months ago.That was the official word, but they must be rolling them out quicker than anticipated. They have been available here for a long time already (NY) at least since last fall.

[AKLGT]

Quote, originally posted by Pablo1669 »I think that xb is the ugliest thing I have ever seen on the road. no.... the honda element! i put them both in the same fugly category!

[MJN2]

Quote, originally posted by trdvibe »no.... the honda element! i put them both in the same fugly category! Like I said above..powered by Honda, designed by Tupperware (or maybe Rubbermaid)

[redlava]

Automakers should just drop the whole designing for a youth market routine. There are like 8 Vibes in Iowa City and 6 of them are driven by people over the age of 40. Most of the time people going through a midlife crisis are the ones buying the "sportier" cars. People are gonna drive whatever appeals to their emotions or practicality despite what the design intended.

[Fformula88]

Quote, originally posted by redlava »Automakers should just drop the whole designing for a youth market routine. There are like 8 Vibes in Iowa City and 6 of them are driven by people over the age of 40. Most of the time people going through a midlife crisis are the ones buying the "sportier" cars. People are gonna drive whatever appeals to their emotions or practicality despite what the design intended.It also seems that young buyers that can only afford a new car the price of a Scion, will more often than not buy a used car anyway, and get a bigger, faster, sportier vehicle. Buying a new car is nice, but if my chioce was between $15K on a Scion breadbox on wheels, or $15K on a 3 year old Celica GT-S, I think I know where my cash would be heading.

[JustinVGT]

Today was Mason day at my school, George Mason University. It's just a big event with bands, contests, and fun stuff to do. A local Scion dealer was there with two xBs and a xA. They are a little strange looking, but overall I think they are kinda cool. They were gaining a lot of attention. One xB was fully loaded with leather, a large 12" lcd screen folding from the ceiling, PS2, 2 sun roofs, pretty nicely loaded. They all had the TRD 18" wheels, with a low 35 profile. They still ride lower than our stock Vibes, but with that low profile, they seem to need to be lowered just a bit more. The xA doesn't look all that great stock, but in the brochure they show the SEMA models that look cool. I still like my Vibe GT soooo much better, especially after a student asked how much power they have and the salesman replied 108 HP. HAHA I have 180 stock, woohoo! I like their dash. The center gauge is a little wierd, but I think I'd get used to it easily. It was pretty roomy, but the trunk was a little small. I got two CD samplers. I'm skipping through one right now, mostly hip-hop/rap. I think Mike (Ragingfish) had one of these. So far it's not exactly my taste of music, but I do like how they are marketing these Scions, the brochure is cool and giving out free cds.Later,

[Jahntassa]

Yup, the gag with the Scions are that they're mostly infinitely upgradable. Toyota is putting a lot into them, and I believe you can get almost any upgrade for them.The xB is desirable for that reason, you can do ANYTHING with it. See as a reference, the Monster Garage tailgate truck...you could do that with an xB.They're pushing it for that age group because of the "hip" factor...and it mostly wins. Also, the price is great for nowadays. And granted, some people would rather spend their money on a slightly older, faster, used vehicle, there are a lot of people out there that want "New."Like me. I wanted a new Vibe, and even though it had 500 miles on it when I picked it up (50 of which were from driving from one dealer to another), it was still new. I loved it.Though, the xB is kinda fugly to me, the xA has some nice lines..

[noginsk]

I bought the vibe just before the scions were available in Virginia. The xA was on my shopping list for a while.

[Roadpig]

Cadillacs, Buicks, and Olds (while it lived) aren't fun. I agree, the above mentioned cars are boring. If I was in the age bracket that those cars target....it would be the last set I'd look at.

[AKLGT]

well, i found out we're getting a scion addition to our toyota/lexus dealership here in town this summer. i got to crawl thru an xa and xb at the car show today. they are rather cool... except the xb is still fugly.

[pwarren4]

Quote, originally posted by trdvibe »no.... the honda element! i put them both in the same fugly category! In the words of the great Frank Lloyd Wright:"Form Follows Function"

[CTSandVIBE]

Quote, originally posted by Roadpig »Cadillacs, Buicks, and Olds (while it lived) aren't fun. I agree, the above mentioned cars are boring. If I was in the age bracket that those cars target....it would be the last set I'd look at.I've got to disagree with the Cadillac statement. I own a 2003 CTS, which is a LOT of fun to drive. If you have a chance, take a CTS (or even better, a CTS-V) for a test drive. You won't be disappointed. Also, if you haven't looked at the XLR, it's another great addition to the Caddy line. Though I don't think a dealer will let Joe Sixpack off the street take a test drive in one.I can't say the same for Buick. I personally think that Buick should have been dropped by GM instead of Olds, but that's neither here nor there.Speaking of Oldsmobile, they looked like there were about to make a comeback before they got canned. The Alero & Intrigue were both great, fun cars. My parents own a 2000 Intrigue, and the V6 in it is a 6 cylinder version of the 8 cylinder NorthStar. The occasions where I get to drive it are a treat.But back to the topic: SCION!I find it funny that the xB and Element's shoebox design was made for 17-25 years olds, but managed to attract a more mature market. Goes to show how much marketing research is worth.The xA is bland, and is out-done by the Vibe & Matrix in everyway.But the tC, that **** is hot (for the price). It's like the po' man's Acura TL. I'm predicting good things here.

[AKLGT]

welcome to genvibe! glad you found us. and yes, i think the Tc or whatever they're gonna call it, will be a great hit! looks nice and would be lots of fun!