Mass customization craze Optomizes Scion
Scion may
have forgtten the spellcheck, but its remembered to bring some excellent aftermarket suppliers for its customization
program called Optomize. The 150 possible parts (Alpine and H3R Performance among
them) can be added by dealers at the time of purchase, and are covered by the manufacturer's warranty, which is a
huge benefit over traditional aftermarket bits. Like many youth-oriented brands, drivers drop huge chunks of change on
profit-rich Scion add-ons, and Toyota is no doubt trying to perfect its product lineup to keep the cash in the hands of
dealers, not third party shops.
[Source: InsideLine]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
hj 8:39AM (5/03/2006)
The only people I see driving Scions (other than the TC) are middle aged - elderly people and the handicapped. The XB makes a great transport for the disabled.
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Dave 8:49AM (5/03/2006)
#1 -- that and people who don't realize the xA and xB are ugly as hell. The tC is nice though.
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William 9:09AM (5/03/2006)
I share the impression, based really only on my own direct experience, that Scion is mostly selling to over-30, and often over-40 year olds. Do you have any data that shows Scion actually succeeding in reaching a youth market?
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Big Daddy 9:30AM (5/03/2006)
Or people looking to double their gas mileage over the minivan they used to drive. My xB results in $150/mo savings in car payment, $50/mo insurance savings, and another $50-100/mo in fuel savings. I figure $300 avg savings per month and lessening my family consumption of oil was a great deal. The xB is surprisingly large inside and quite versatile. Now, if we could just get others to realize we all don't need huge vehicles to get around, it might make a dent in the current fuel issues.
And if you're looking to buy any Scion, look for the same parts online and do it yourself if you can. Unless it is something that will definitely affect the performance of the engine or major parts along the lines of potential failure (why would you do that anyways on a car that eeks out just over 100hp), you can save a ton of money. This includes everything that Scion offers, such as the fog lights, floor mats, radio choices, etc. The only benefit is the ability to spread the cost over the life of the car loan.
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me 9:32AM (5/03/2006)
What is Scion???? Youth-oriented brand!!! Ye wright!!! If youth have 80 years
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CoffeeJedi 10:20AM (5/03/2006)
i don't know where you guys live, but around me (North Carolina), most Scions actually ARE driven by males under 35, and some of them (mostly the tC, but a few xA's and xB's) are customized pretty nicely
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TJ 10:25AM (5/03/2006)
#3 Those figs seem a bit skewed. 50/month in insurance savings!? What in gods name were you paying before!!? I can't believe the difference in insuring a minivan vs xb would be any different. Not to mention an used minivan vs a new xb? Seems like you should be paying more for insurance. Secondly your monthly car payments. Well what about when you factor in the $$ lost do to depreciation of your minivan because you sold it? What about financing? RU financing at the same rate/time period!? Anyone can minimize monthly payments by extending their loan period. You should be going by net difference in ownership costs not savings in monthly payments. Finally theres gas mileage. The mileage of the xb at higher speeds (+70) is HORRIBLE due to it's unaerodynamic design. I'm sure when you factor in everything I mentioned above you payed a HUGE price to go from your minivan to the xb, far more than what you save in gas, insurance (which I flat out don't believe) and payments.
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Philbert 10:30AM (5/03/2006)
I don't think I've ever seen anyone under 50 driving one of those things but who cares if they're selling? All of the "young" 20 and 30 somethings I know think the xB is waaay too nerdy to be seen in.
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George 11:11AM (5/03/2006)
The Scion xA is being purchased by people like me, who drive 55 miles to work, and who don't care what a car looks like. I'm 37, married, and just want cheap, reliable, fuel-efficient transportation. Oh, and a back seat to strap the kids in, if the wife's minivan is not running.
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Daniel 11:16AM (5/03/2006)
Wow... not sure where you guys are... but here in Northern California I see nothing but teens, 20-somethings tooling around in xB's & tC's. Most do have some sort of modifications done to them.
xA's... well... seems most of those drivers are with George & his comments @ number 8.
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dave 11:46AM (5/03/2006)
Haha, I've been saying this all along, nice to see others catching on.
The XA and XB are economical transportation and smart buys. They're also stupid looking. That's two reasons for the older folks to like them, and zero for the kids.
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Takeo 12:12PM (5/03/2006)
Out here in California you see the xB used a lot as a company vehicle for Small flower shops, building contractors, and as small delivery vehicles. You can't go more than a few hours without seeing one with a car sized logo painted on it.
I agree with a comment already made: Who cares who's driving it, as long as they are selling?
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starlightmica 12:20PM (5/03/2006)
Saw an xB taxi last week - fine for the suburbs and probably a good deal even compared to the Escape Hybrid taxis in San Francisco.
Optomize, intentionally misspelled, is trademarkable, and goes with the "O" in Scion.
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John 12:22PM (5/03/2006)
Around here, So. Cal., 8 out of 10 drivers that I see driving xB's are under 35. On the other hand, 8 out of 10 xA's are driven by 50+.
So what! Okay, who cars if the intended demographic does not buy the cars, the bottom line is that it sells.
No matter what the automaker says about who they aim to sell these cars to, there will always be a group that will be the dominant purchaser.
If the car is reliable, economical and gets good mileage it is good for me for a commuter car. Even if it is ugly, it's just a commuter car.
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T. 1:41PM (5/03/2006)
ha, pretty funny, I bought my tC for exactly the opposite reason: all of the cool stuff was standard, and that, combined with their "customize" options meant that I was able to walk into a Scion dealership and pick a base model up for MSRP. good luck finding a base model of any of the other "hot" cars, as every Mazda3 I looked at had $3-4k worth of options already added on (18s, 6 disc cd changer, spoiler, ground fx, blah blah blah).
a coworker tried to buy a manual (new) civic. he was told by several different dealers that they'd have to order it special and wait for it to come in, so they wouldn't give him the same deal as they would on the automatics in the lot. basically a manual would've been $1-2k more expensive than the automatic.
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Finished.Law.School 2:44PM (5/03/2006)
I would not mind buying a tC just for the sake of the improved gas mileage over my SUV...problem is that I would probably put too much many into adding modifications to it...
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Joe 3:50PM (5/03/2006)
As an owner of a tC, i can say that I already did the only customization i needed already when i bought the factory upgraded stereo that has the iPod integration. Who needs the wings or body kits? All they do is collect more bugs and provide new crevices the sponge needs to make it under or into...
NOTE: I think Scion said they would be covered under the specific part's manufacturer in regards to any warranty claim...
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Reeking Havoc 9:29PM (5/03/2006)
I just got one today... I'm 53 and bought it for the gas mileage, the reliability and for taking elderly parents to the doctor, along with oxygen or a wheelchair. You don't have to drop down into a little bucket seat or climb up as with a gas guzzling SUV, instead you just swivel your butt right in! The stereo sounds great, too...
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Big Daddy 9:58PM (5/03/2006)
Looks like this has shuffled beyond the first page, so this is probably the last post, but indeed, I save about $50/mo on ins between the price over 9 mos of a Nissan Quest vs Scion xB. I had owned the Quest for nearly 2 years...$30k new with all of the options. The Scion, with the options I selected, was half of that. The Quest depreciates like crazy, I was lucky to trade in for 50%. The Scion depreciates very slowly and the high gas prices help out. Used xB's are being sold in Indianapolis area for near new pricing. Gas mileage, 35 miles roundtrip mixed (70% city, 30% hwy) was 19mpg at best in Quest (all hwy to visit Ohio was nice at 23mpg), but xB gets 31 mixed for me and better on the long trip to Ohio. I would say a change in driving habits (fewer trips, slower starts, etc.) helps as well, but I stand by the savings I stated earlier. People who care less about being seen in the biggest SUV or hottest cars are the ones buying Scions and, at least in my case, enjoying it all the way to the bank!
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Nate Wesley 10:37PM (5/03/2006)
TJ, comment #7: "The mileage of the xb at higher speeds (+70) is HORRIBLE due to it's unaerodynamic design."
If you're doing 70 in ANY car, truck, van or SUV, your gas mileage won't be good. Friction and weight affects everyone, regardless of aerodynamics. Duh.
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