Autoblog

Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2008 Scion xB.

My older brother Brian drives a Scion xD. He's 39 years old, and probably considered anything but cool by 18-24 year-old standards. He bought his little xD because he was tired of filling up his AWD 2001 Chevy Astro conversion van, and he's gone from getting 12 mpg to about 30. While that's a big-time win for Scion sales, the brand's marketing arm has to cringe. Scion was built to be Toyota's youth-oriented brand, with cars that would finally bring younger buyers into the Toyota showroom. The early days of Scion were a boon, with 80% of Scion buyers having never shopped Toyota before. Young people were clamoring for the xB and tC, and 100-200k online shoppers flocked to the Scion site each month.

Only a year after the redesign of the xB and xD, the Scion site is seeing less than half the traffic. Overall, year over year sales fell for 17 strait months until March, when gas prices skyrocketed. Even then, sales were back down by June, which was the peak of high fuel prices. The problems began to surface when the redesigned Scions were little more than larger versions of their former selves. A larger xB became more attractive to the mother of two, while losing some of the edginess that made it a smash hit with teens and early-20-somethings.

Scion's leadership would like to turn the tide by creating a fourth member of the Scion family that exudes cool for under $20k. It could be an SUV or a hybrid, but Scion execs want it to be free from the grasps of the parent company. The current models also have to be refocused to once again attract the coveted 18-30 crowd. That's a tall order, and a lot of work for a brand that's only five years old.



[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

Scion owners recently submitted pics of their personalized vehicles, including tC, xA, xB, and xD models, to the company for evaluation. The loyal owners were participating in Scion's "United by Individuality" brand campaign, designed to put individuals' modified vehicles in magazines, on billboards, even projected onto movie screens. More than 300 cars made the cut, and they soon found themselves in the Nevada desert for a photo shoot that included racing, tuning events, and even music performances. Shown above is a stunning aerial shot of more than 200 cars parked – very well we might add – at the event. The ad campaign launches in movie theaters July 21, while the other media won't go live until August 4th.

[Source: Edmunds Inside Line]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Scion xD Release Series 1.0.

Scion seems to release more limited-edition models than we have fingers and toes to count, and it's continuing that tradition this June with the xD Release Series 1.0.

Scion's attempt to differentiate the xD RS 1.0 from its staid siblings includes a Hot Lava paint job, a DAMD four-piece body kit and a rear spoiler. The magma-themed exterior works its way inside with color-matching trim and seat inserts, while a RAZO shift knob, TRD lowering springs and model-specific wheel covers (wheel covers, really?) round out the poser package.

Scion is limiting production of the xD RS 1.0 to 2,000 units with an MSRP set at $1,999 over the standard xD's $14,550 base price (not including the $640 destination charge).

click either image to enlarge

Unlike the Dodge Challenger Midwest Regional Auto Show, Geneva's shaping up to be bursting with new-car debuts. Toyota will be in the thick of it, showing off the production-spec version of the iQ microcar, which the automaker debuted as a concept last year in Frankfurt and will be heading to the European market. The little runabout measures just under 3 meters in length, and it should be as wide and tall as a Yaris, if the iQ concept is an indication. As a basis of comparison, the smart fortwo is 2.5 m long. Unlike the smart, the iQ has seating for three adults plus a child or additional cargo. (And hey, depending on your darling little one's mood, he/she might seem more like baggage on some journeys anyway.) Over at AutoblogGreen, Sam suggests that the iQ could get a 1.0L engine with stop/start functionality. Whatever the company sticks underhood, we do know this: the iQ will go into production at the end of this year.

Joining the iQ will be the Urban Cruiser, which appears to be little more than a jacked-up Toyota ist (Scion xD). Earlier reports said that it would borrow styling cues from the 2006 Urban Cruiser concept, but clearly the only thing the production ride cribbed is the show car's name. Toyota hasn't released tech specs for either the iQ or Urban Cruiser yet, and we'll bring you all the news from Geneva as it happens early next month. It's worth noting that the JDM ist is available with optional 4WD, which would be in keeping with the Urban Cruiser's SUVish stance.

[Source: Toyota]

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) did its worst to the new Scion xD, and after performing both the frontal offset test and a side impact test with the standard front and rear head curtain airbags and front seat torso airbags, the xD came away with ratings from "good" to "average."

On the frontal offset crash, the IIHS found that the dummy's movement was well controlled, although the rebound caused its head to strike the roof rail. The possibility of injury to the neck and chest garnered an "average" rating, while the safety cage, foot protection and restraint system were all rated as "good."

The side impact test rated the Scion xD as "good" all around, save an "average" rating for the structure/safety cage portion. Although there's no IIHS data for the Scion xA – the model the xD replaced – NHTSA gave the old model four out of five stars.

[Source: IIHS]

Click the image above to view a couple of Scion's SEMA entries.

"These are our people!" has always been Scion's mantra at SEMA. Car customization and personalization is the cornerstone of Toyota's "youth"branded division, despite the number of retirees buying up xBs to shuffle between the doctor's office and the Elk's Lodge.

While there were a number of Scions adorning the show floor, the automaker's own booth only had a couple of vehicles worthy of our attention... and your time.

Two models, an xB and an xD, both featured chopped roofs and plenty of show-only go-fast bits. The latter, built by Team Koshak, featured a wet injection Nitrous Express system, Magnaflow exhaust, custom 19-inch rollers, and an Extreme Dimension body kit swathed in Samurai Green Tea paint. Inside, it's all about eye-grabbing accouterments, sometime at the expense of good taste. While the Status Racing seats blend a bit of functionality with an attractive design, the blue and green plaid upholstery apes the Mk V GTI in the worst possible way. You can check out the rest of Team Koshak's mods on their display plaque and peruse the gallery below to see both vehicles at the Scion stand.

Click image for gallery

The oddly-named JDM Toyota ist was formally introduced this week, and as was the case with the Toyota Blade Master, another new arrival in Japan's Toyota stores, a range of TRD accessories was announced very shortly thereafter. They do the job of dressing up the rather bland ist, which is Japan's version of the USDM Scion xD.

Naturally, there's a replacement grille, body kit, and new wheels. The look can be further augmented with branded scuff plates, TRD Sportivo suspension parts, and a TRD muffler. Hell, TRD even offers a red engine start button. The US-market Scions have always been pushed as being very customization-friendly, and really, it's no different for the JDM cars. The available accessories do a nice job of dressing things up.

[Source: Toyota via Carview]

The JDM Toyota with the most peculiar name (it's up against some pretty tough competition on that front), the "ist", had a face lift and heart transplant today.

Replacing the original 2002 model, which was sold Stateside as the Scion xA, the new car is still a front wheel drive hatchback, but has taken on distinctly crossover-ish dimensions, and comes with a choice of 1.5 and 1.8 liter motors as opposed to the 1.3 and 1.5 liter line up of old. Prices are a bit below the near-identical US spec Scion xD, starting at $13,800 for a CVT equipped 1.5 but rising to almost $16,000 for the 1.8 with an electronic four speed auto.

[Source: Toyota]

Don't forget about the destination charges! Those are an additional $620.

click on the above image to view more pics of the 2008 Scion xD

Scion has come out today and priced its new entry-level xD with an MSRP of $14,550 for one with a manual tranny and $15,350 for one with an automatic. The base MSRP of the outgoing xA is $12,780, so anyone interested in getting into a Scion as cheaply as possible better do so now, because the entry fee will be going up by $1,770 as soon as the new xD arrives. To be fair, the xD looks to be a significantly better car than the anemic xA. Whereas the xA came with a 103-hp (revised 2006 SAE number) 1.5L motor, the xD gets a four-cylinder with .3L more displacement, 25 more horsepower and variable valve timing. With a manual, the new engine will return 27 mpg city/33 mpg highway, which is average though not exceptional fuel economy for a car this size.

Read all the marketing mumbo jumbo on the new xD in the press release after the jump. Pricing can be found in the second last to paragraph, though no options were priced with the car at this time. You can also revisit the xD's debut in Chicago last February by flipping through the gallery below.

[Source: Toyota]

click above image to view XX high-resolution images of the redesigned Scion xB

Scion VP Mark Templin claims that his company is more in touch with its buyers than any other brand, and what xB owners wanted even more than another Toyota-sponsored group hug (or Second Life virtual conference) was a larger vehicle. The 2008 xB addresses this request with a foot more overall length and three more inches of width, while an inch decrease in height yields somewhat more traditional proportions.

With the expanded sheetmetal comes an upgrade in components under the skin, starting with a 158-hp, 2.4L DOHC inline-four. Under the larger standard 16-inch wheels lie a set of disc brakes that are a touch smaller than 11-inch, and anti-lock, stability control, and traction control are standard. Inside, the cargo area grows by nearly 40%, and a storage area is provided underneath the rear seats for laptops, cameras, and various other consumer paraphernalia. The still center-mounted gauge cluster includes what Scion refers to as a "combination meter", which offers up various information related to fuel economy and outside air temps, the Pioneer sound system offers up an iPod interface, and the driver now gets a spot to set his or her right arm.

Click on the photo above for live and studio shots of the production and customized 2008 Scion xB!