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Robert O @ Mar 3rd 2008 7:05PM
They took a cool concept: a no-frills, funky, simple, convenient, useful, efficient, reasonably-priced vehicle (the XB) and made it an entirely different vehicle. There's no mystery here, Toyota just screwed up a good product, proving that U.S. manufacturers aren't the only ones capable of ruining a good thing.
Justin @ Mar 3rd 2008 7:07PM
I have nothing to add. This is spot on.
Chris K @ Mar 3rd 2008 7:12PM
pretty much true. If only they sticked to the original concept.
Talisman @ Mar 3rd 2008 7:15PM
I completely agree with Robert O. They killed all of the cars charm.
James @ Mar 3rd 2008 7:29PM
Although you can say the 1st gen xB wasn't all that efficient - 30mpg in mixed conditions is hardly much to write home about
Seminole @ Mar 3rd 2008 8:56PM
I like the xB's looks (Go ahead and flame me, something about it makes me like it), but like a lot of Toyota's I've noticed a big bump in price. C'mon, $17,900 and you get steel wheels? A four speed auto? Add the options on and your looking at $20 grand or more. Another example is the new Matrix, the XRS starts at $21,500ish, while a Pontiac Vibe GT loaded with all the same stuff just only breaks $20,000. Add a sunroof and upgraded stereo to the Matrix and it comes to $24,000ish. FOR A MATRIX! Same thing with a new Corolla. I don't know what is going on at Toyota but they need to be competitive with their prices, when $24k gets me a Civic Si with Navi or a Corolla XRS with a sunroof, I'm going with Civic every time...
slim @ Mar 3rd 2008 9:01PM
the current xB looks like a first gen that sat on the couch and ate to many chips. disgusting. what a crime.
psarhjinian @ Mar 3rd 2008 9:31PM
The mistake Toyota made is the same one that a lot of manufacturers make when they go and chase the mass-market. Mazda made it, and has spent the last eight years unmaking that mistake; Mitsubishi and Saab still haven't quite figured it out. Porsche and BMW look ripe to screw up the same way.
The error? Listening to customers.
It's actually sort of perverse: Toyota probably did the market research and determined that people were turning down the first-generation Scions because they were too small, to underpowered, too funky. So they listened, made changes and lo, and behold, they not only didn't get new customers, they alienated their existing ones.
Any Saab fan who remembers the introduction of the (sedan-only) 2003 9-3 knows exactly what I mean.
If you wanted a CRV or RAV/4, you'd buy a CRV or RAV/4; you wouldn't even bother with Scion. If you wanted a Scion xB, and all they had was a RAV/4 in new duds, you'd probably walk over to Honda and buy an Element SC, get a used 1G xB, or cross your fingers and wait for the Nissan Cube.
Niche brands cannot go mass-market without abandoning their core buyers. Honda is probably the only brand that survived the transition (though Acura is limping a little) and they did it by making some unfailing excellent products. I'm suprised no one learned from Mazda's mid-90s implosion: remember the softened 626, the death of the 929 in favour of the "meh" Millenia and the loss of the RX-7? Mazda chased Toyota and lost (Honda didn't, but that's because the Accord never sucked like the 626 did). Now they've retreated, carved out a (very profitable) niche and hopefully will learn to value steady revenue rather than quarter-over-quarter growth.
Toyota already had Toyota as it's mass-market brand. Why they felt they needed to pull Scion upmarket is a mystery--it's the kind of mistake GM would have made, has made, and still does make today--and typically Toyota doesn't take hits from the GM crack pipe. Scion was supposed to bag those customers who would never have set foot in a Corolla; those customers who might normally be lost to Honda, Mazda or VW.
Why they felt they needed to chase customers they already had with Toyota is just dumb.