I am wondering what everyone thinks of Scion, Toyotas attempt at cashing in on Gen Y.
Do you like it, hate it, or don't care about it.
Do you think it will take off or be a flop.
And there is the ever popular "What the hell is Scion?"

Originally posted by cueball1029
I am wondering what everyone thinks of Scion, Toyotas attempt at cashing in on Gen Y.
Do you like it, hate it, or don't care about it.
Do you think it will take off or be a flop.
And there is the ever popular "What the hell is Scion?"

ok.....what the hell is scion

what the hell is gen y????

ok.....what the hell is scion

what the hell is gen y????


yeah what he said.:D

ibfubar2000 and y&y what are your ages?

I think Scion will flop badly. Nobody would take Toyota (or VW ;)) seriously as a luxury car maker so building a new nameplate (with new dealerships and service/support/training structure) to go up-market made sense and tons of money - Lexus has been the best selling luxury manufacturer in the USA for several years now.

But Toyota is already a low/medium-end car brand, why introduce a whole new nameplate that is barely cheaper and totally unknown (and ugly to boot). Better to just release some slightly cheaper vehicles with the highly thought of Toyota name behind it. Unless of course these new Scions will be of vastly lessor quality/reliability than current Toyotas and they don't want that stigma attaching to their main brand.

It's different than the Aztek, but in the same class of extreme ugly! It's cheap because they didn't have to pay a stylist. :eek:

Generation Y is the folks after Generation X. While it may sound unoriginal, the name was coined as a play on words: Generation Why. This due to the folks in that gen questioning EVERYTHING, which is not a bad thing...In other words, they think outside of the box, don't do things just because that's the way "we've always done it." They are inquisitive, even if sometimes challenging of authority, which can be difficult for parents (duh...).

Originally posted by B-Nez
Generation Y is the folks after Generation X. While it may sound unoriginal, ...

actually y is 2 gens after x. for some reason the one between was not named and has since been called "the lost gen" or "the forgotten gen" in several articles i have read. i'm Gen X. x= born in 60's lost =born in 70's y= born in 80's and sometimes includes those born in early 90's

Originally posted by zoom44


actually y is 2 gens after x. for some reason the one between was not named and has since been called "the lost gen" or "the forgotten gen" in several articles i have read. i'm Gen X. x= born in 60's lost =born in 70's y= born in 80's and sometimes includes those born in early 90's

LOL! You have no idea how true that is. I was born in '74, and could never figure out if I was Gen-X or Gen-Y. I guess I truly am lost! :p

Originally posted by B-Nez
Generation Y is the folks after Generation X. While it may sound unoriginal, the name was coined as a play on words: Generation Why. This due to the folks in that gen questioning EVERYTHING, which is not a bad thing...In other words, they think outside of the box, don't do things just because that's the way "we've always done it." They are inquisitive, even if sometimes challenging of authority, which can be difficult for parents (duh...).

This does not apply to you but I have noticed that a large amount of "Y's" seem to be lacking in the written language department. Maybe they should question that!

Originally posted by babylou


This does not apply to you but I have noticed that a large amount of "Y's" seem to be lacking in the written language department. Maybe they should question that!

Could you elaborate on that? I'm a curious gen y.

scion. The target audience (first time driver in high school) won't buy it. It's a fact that kids would rather follow the crowd and make as few waves in the culture they live in so there is less of a reason for other kids to make fun of them. The scion's are just sooo ugly. I think it will be the same result of the Echo. Build, designed, and marketed toward teens but average age of people that own one is like 40-50

Originally posted by zoom44
ibfubar2000 and y&y what are your ages?

37

Originally posted by ibfubar2000


ok.....what the hell is scion
Scion is a new brand of cars made by toyota. They are a very cheap and marketed toward the late teens early 20's. They will be sold in a Toyota dealership, but in a different seciton. Toyota is trying to get younger buyers into the fold. The currrent age of a toyota buyer is late 30s to 40s. The idea is that you will get the person at a young age into the toyota fold and they will buy toyotas for the rest of their life.

Originally posted by babylou


This does not apply to you but I have noticed that a large amount of "Y's" seem to be lacking in the written language department. Maybe they should question that!

Hey, I'm not a Gen Y!! :mad: ....... :D :D

Originally posted by fishsauce


Could you elaborate on that? I'm a curious gen y.

Hey Babylou!

Curious gen. 'why' Fishsauce is asking you why ask why!

wow:D It's true:D :D

Originally posted by Racer X-8


Hey Babylou!

Curious gen. 'why' Fishsauce is asking you why ask why!

wow:D It's true:D :D

It should be no surprise anyone would ask the question "why" when they are being generalized because of their date of birth. I'd just like the generalization to be justified, and not something that is blindly regarded as the truth.

As a side note: everyone asks "why" at some point, regardless of age (why do I have to go to bed; why does an apple fall to the ground; why do people have to die; why isn't my RX-8 here yet).

Originally posted by fishsauce


It should be no surprise anyone would ask the question "why" when they are being generalized because of their date of birth. I'd just like the generalization to be justified, and not something that is blindly regarded as the truth.

As a side note: everyone asks "why" at some point, regardless of age (why do I have to go to bed; why does an apple fall to the ground; why do people have to die; why isn't my RX-8 here yet).

So, by asking people in this thread, you were trying to put to sleep the concept of this "gen. y" thing. Gee, now I understand.:p

1) You don't have to go to bed, you can fall asleep anywhere you want (unless mom or dad tells you to... "honor thy father & thy mother", that ain't no joke, that's a comandment).

2) Just going back to where it came from.

3) Now you're getting deep. People don't die, just their bodies, if they confess. That's the truth and that's all I'll say about that here.

4) It's being made or shipped. Duh.;)

You're welcome.:D

xA

xB

oh yeah xB looks like milk carton on wheels. I wonder why toyota is doing this???

i saw a tarted up xB on the road yesterday and i must admit...it actually looked really nice...

Originally posted by Racer X-8


So, by asking people in this thread, you were trying to put to sleep the concept of this "gen. y" thing. Gee, now I understand.:p

1) You don't have to go to bed, you can fall asleep anywhere you want (unless mom or dad tells you to... "honor thy father & thy mother", that ain't no joke, that's a comandment).

2) Just going back to where it came from.

3) Now you're getting deep. People don't die, just their bodies, if they confess. That's the truth and that's all I'll say about that here.

4) It's being made or shipped. Duh.;)

You're welcome.:D

You misunderstood my original request completely. I wanted to ask why babylou thinks that "... a large amount of "Y's" seem to be lacking in the written language department. Maybe they should question that!"

Well...back to the main topic: I would not buy a car with a Scion badge. Like someone else mentioned earlier, Toyota should have just left a Toyota badge on those cars because I see nothing that would cause them to create a new name. Also, their appearance leaves much to be desired.

scion. The target audience (first time driver in high school) won't buy it. It's a fact that kids would rather follow the crowd and make as few waves in the culture they live in so there is less of a reason for other kids to make fun of them. The scion's are just sooo ugly. I think it will be the same result of the Echo. Build, designed, and marketed toward teens but average age of people that own one is like 40-50 Imho unless they can attempt to back up the *cough*styling with performance(even fugly cars can be made fast) I think Toyota is totally missing the target demographic in this project. Imho it will likely flop soundly, and their product planning/marketing execs should be strung up due to lack of vision and accurate youth market research. Introducing a new marquee with a blank track record can be suicide so expect a lot of cross-marquee references to acclimate people to what Scion is. What stands the Scion apart from other competitors other than glitzy media ads? They need to capitalize on the success of the Supra, promote/develop exciting performance cars, bring back the MR2, and maybe turbocharge/AWD the GTS affordably. Unlike Mazda, a return to "The Soul of a Sports Car" and their roots has been back-burnered. I'm expecting Toyota to undergo a complete shake-down soon if they intend to play in the performance/fun-car arena, or they will become an import Oldsmobile/Buick and lose the entire up-and-coming youth market who will never buy Toyota again. They have made incredible advances in hybrid green vehicles but are younger identity-seeking buyers ready to embrace them? I only hope they see the writing on the wall. What do you think of when you think "Toyota" lately? Dependability, Enviro-safe? Fun to drive?

With only 108 HP, it would take a heafty turbo to make them fun to drive.:)

sux . . . ugly, cheap looking. Maybe frugal though.

Bottom line is the cars for young people are used ones.

Maybe I didn't go to a "typical" high school, but with a car that was worth about $2500 I had one of the nicer cars in the parking lot. There were a few kids with new/newer cars, but these were generally low end Eclipses or a Wrangler.

We just can't afford $13,000 for a new car. If you can in high school, you aren't putting your money where it should be going (college).

Maybe there are other schools where parents will buy their kids these cars, but even then the targeted market isn't buying these things, its still the 45-50 year old parents who are buying them.

Sorry, but when you're young and poor (like me), you just can't afford a car like that in college.

I don't see the point. If it is a Toyota, it is in a Toyota dealership, why not call it a Toyota? Toyota's image problem doesn't come from its name, it comes from its cars. Boring Toyota cars with a Scion name are just boring Scions.

They may succeed with this, but it isn't going to be the young people doing all the buying.

I would PREFER to have a car with the Toyota nameplate on it instead of Scion. When I think of Toyota I think of quality and duribility, but when I think of Scion I think of a lame attempt to get younger buyers into the fold.

ibfubar2000 and y&y what are your ages?

I'm 24. dang nab it all this time I thought I was part of Gen X.:D

The Scion name is there so that when the market realizes that their cars are crap, Toyota's name is still clean :D

I think Scion will take off with the Tc model due in June. www.scion.com

I really like the XB, it's not for me but I think it's pretty... neat. It's got a ton of room it really looks different than most things on the road and it is what the Element should have been. The only stock one I've seen so far was at the autoshow, other than that 3 modded ones that looked pretty damn nice.

The Xb isn't my cup of tea, but it certainly looks way better than the Honda Element! What was Honda thinking? At least the xB design has been around Japan for quit some time and has earned its fans there (same goes for the xA)

Originally posted by Xyntax
The Xb isn't my cup of tea, but it certainly looks way better than the Honda Element! What was Honda thinking? At least the xB design has been around Japan for quit some time and has earned its fans there (same goes for the xA)

It's seems the only thing older than the people that drive Elements is Honda's marketing department that was stupid enough to think it would appeal to a young audience.

I think they're the ugliest things on wheels.

But...

My buddy has a kid who is going to get his license in about a year and he's lusting after one. Apparently they are built simpe and cheap and made to be modded. The kids seem to want them so that they can make it "their own" through personalized mods. It's the skateboard crowd growing up into car ownership.

I don't care the name on the badge, and in some cases ugly can be attractive in a 'different from you' way, or if in being ugly it is in fact practical. But most of all I'm for getting more small cars on the road again.

If Scion (aka Toyota) can sell these instead of Sequoias, Highlanders, and Land Cruisers - or Scions can reduce any other brands behemoths being sold... to any generation whos actual needs dictate such a car... more power to them.

Our roads are being over-run by people driving huge vehicles without any reason for them doing so, other than marketing, and the fact the have the disposable income to support them.

To that end I'm willing to consider one for myself (an older yuppie generation person) becuase it's practical, small, perhaps fun to drive, has room enough, reasonable to buy and maintain, and is made by Toyota (a quality company).

I'm rooting for them. :) Also http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18710

Originally posted by IkeWRX
I really like the XB, it's not for me but I think it's pretty... neat. It's got a ton of room it really looks different than most things on the road and it is what the Element should have been. The only stock one I've seen so far was at the autoshow, other than that 3 modded ones that looked pretty damn nice.
Coming from a Sub, anything would be pretty. :D
Jokes, apart, I also think they look nice for its class.

Lost generation? Never heard of it. My understanding is that Gen X goes through '81. Starting in '82 was the Millennium generation (came of age >= AD 2000).

Edit: Sorry, didn't see the really old dates on the original posts.

The marketing for the younger people is in the details. Base price is 14,000 but if you add on some options you can get the price up to 22,000 or so. What other car can you get from the dealer with vinals, crappy bazooka subs, and various other stupid non-performance options. Still 108 HP 4 in an ugly package. Seriously go their site and look at the list of options that doesn't include a larger motor or improved suspension...mostly a list of crap trinkets for the wannabe customizer.

It may just be a car that parents are supposed to buy for their first time driver (108 HP isn't too dangerous) and if the child agrees (who wouldn't want a new car) then they might be able to get a few nifty options and Mom/Dad are happy that their child has a Toyota? I really don't get it but if Kia can sell cars then there is obviously a market for cheap crap cars.

I hate the things but I have been seeing them on the road.

I think the Scion xB is the Fugliest thing on four wheels since the Yugo and the Pacer.

Gen Y??? who the F&^@ got to name it that!?? horrible just horrible.

ughh..

as for the scion yeah I see a lot more of them than 8's one the price second for some stupid reason kids just dig them. to me its the an even smaller version of the mini brinks security truck (the orignal was the element)

why on earth would someone want to drive something that ughly looking.. a freaking box on wheels..

i love the scion. its cute, cheap, and easy to mod. heck, you can order many mods straight from the dealer when you buy the damn thing. if/when the aftermarket scene jumps onto the scions, which is what toyota is banking on, they'll be pretty sweet rides. i like the xB, but the C is going to kick ass when it debuts.

as for the gen y thing... no one calls them that anymore, it got played long before it came to practice because every corporation in the world jumped on the term. besides, gen y is already predated to late 90's - and sounds pretty cheasy imo.

i was born in '77 and was always referred to as Gen-X...everytime i'd watch the news they'd refer to kids like me as Gen-X...never heard of Gen-Lost or whatever that is but i have heard of Gen-Y which are the current kids these days

ps...i think we all just wanna be X-Men...no one wants to be a "Y-Man", it just sounds goofy

theres the whole Generation "I" thing going around nowadays

generation Y kids rock at video games. I've always thought of myself as generation X (born in 81), but I have some of the characteristics of a generation Y'er.

Off topic: Born in 77. I am quite skilled at video games. I have no idea what generation I'm supposed to be...don't really care.

I've always felt a little lost between these generation definitions... being born in '69, the Baby Boomers were more like my parents and slightly older relatives, but I didn't feel that in touch with the Gen X'ers either being on the older side of them.

And to stay on topic, I think the Scion is damn fugly! :)

Originally posted by MTCD01
Off topic: Born in 77. I am quite skilled at video games. I have no idea what generation I'm supposed to be...don't really care.

Do you play counter-strike? I'm amazed at how young some of those good players are. I only see good younger players in first person shooters, where hand-eye coordination is everything. I don't see them as much in strategy games, such as warcraft 3. There, the really good players are always older guys (think late 20's). I loved video games as a kid, but I wasn't exposed to first person shooters until I was in my late teens (I was in 7th grade by the time Wolfenstein 3-D came out, which started the whole first person shooter genre). Cracks me up when I fire up counter-strike and I see a player dominating. Then when I die, I can hear them on voice comms and they can't be older than 11 years of age singing that stupid "Badgers badgers badgers badgers mushrooms mushrooms" song. (http://www.badgerbadgerbadger.com/)

And to stay on topic...scion is ugly as sin. Not quite as bad as the element, but still horrible in its own right.

Originally posted by Winning_BlueRX8
Not quite as bad as the element, but still horrible in its own right.

Agreed- I wouldn't be caught dead in the Element... I'd rather drive a rusted out Gremlin or Pinto.

No...no CS for me. I'm console based (and until I move I'm offline). My first FPS was N 64 Goldeneye. Currently the only FPS I play is HALO (still waiting for #2). There is also the Soul Calibur 2 (XBOX) fight night at my house every Monday and the occasional Armored Core (niche game for PS2) get together at my place on weekends (I even hosted a little Armored Core Tournament at my local Holiday Inn...8 screens and 21 players). The only game I'll go out of my way to play is Armored Core...FPS just get old after a few hours (espescially if there is a huge skill gap in the players).

On Topic: Agreed I prefer the Scions (A or B - What a stupid/lazy way to name a car) to the Honda Element.

on topic... still think scions are fugly

not on topic:

I am with you winning_Blue.. I consider myself pretty good at video games. I have beat most of the games that I get quite shortly. But like you said I primarily am into a lof of the strategy games eg. Civilization or RTS. But I do play First person shooters a decent amount. My first FPS was Doom and that was in Jr high. and I didn't play networked games until I was in college. Talk about a radically different game play than just versus the computer.

and yeah I was playing planetside for a couple months and every time I got a squad together I would always hear a chirping vioce of a 12-14 year old kid over the comms and of cousre he did not want to follow my orders!!! arghh..

Originally posted by Winning_BlueRX8
I loved video games as a kid, but I wasn't exposed to first person shooters until I was in my late teens (I was in 7th grade by the time Wolfenstein 3-D came out, which started the whole first person shooter genre).

I was thinking back to the quality of video games that people my age grew up with, like Pong, Atari, Intellivision, Colecovision, Odyssee, Apple II and Commodore- compared to what kids today are exposed to. I wonder if there's been any studies about increased hand-eye coordination and decreased reaction times from being exposed to them.

I used to love Castle Wolfenstein on the Commodore in the early 80's, so when I saw Wolfenstein 3D ten years later I was blown away- you could tell that was the future of video games.

Back to Scions...

I think it's funny to read those old posts from last summer predicting their early demise. Turns out that the xBs in particular are enormously popular here in So CA.

Personally I think they're hideous. Why anybody would want to be driving a chopped, slammed Chevy AstroVan is beyond me.

The popularity most likely has something to do with the price.

Scion or Neon or Sephia or Echo or Elantra or Focus...choices in that price range are pretty limited and for the price it is the only one that looks like an SUV (people love SUVs). Probably boasts the most interior room for the money too.

I love my 8, but it can't haul stuff. So for me (40s) a cheap Scion xB looks like the perfect answer -- a funky looking second ride that will hold plenty of stuff and/or people. It is admittedly ugly, but I think it is so unabashedly ugly that it actually projects a "so what" attitude. Also, it gets 30 city/35 highway -- so a nice compliment to the 8. I know many won't see it my way, but that's why so many carmakers stay in business.

^ Wow, this is an old thread... I drove a friend's tC. It actually drove tighter than I expected, but overall I wasn't that impressed. But still it had some interesting features and is well priced. The xA and xB are very lightweight (~2300 pounds). With a few mods I bet they could be fun little econoboxes, despite being FWD (and butt-ugly).

I am wondering what everyone thinks of Scion, Toyotas attempt at cashing in on Gen Y.
Do you like it, hate it, or don't care about it.
Do you think it will take off or be a flop.
And there is the ever popular "What the hell is Scion?"

I'm surprised one of the other brands hasn't tried to do this yet - like Lexus and Infiniti followed the Acura brand in the US.

You know that the Infiniti and Acura brands exist only in the USA and Canada, right? Not as sure on Lexus.

If you read the marketing position of Scion, it's a "starter" brand, much in the same way that Chevy attempted to do with the GEO brand back in the 80's and 90's. You get "started" with that brand, then when you outgrow or out earn it, you step up to Toyota, and when you outgrow or outearn that brand you step up to Lexus.

Next thing you know, they will offer bicycles, skateboards and scooters to hook the kids on the brand when they are youngsters.

In your rating system - I guess I"m a "don't care". It's just marketing. It's certainly not significant in the car business, although Toyota is making a few fairly cool cars under that name plate.

For the actual term on Gen-X...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_X

Gen-Y...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Y

Gen-Z

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Z

Ok, I can actually give you some good info on this...I own one.

I got a job in the city, and I drive about 100 miles each day to work. I did not want to subject the mazda to that, sticks are no fun in gridlock, and my wallet said it would thank me if I got something frugal. I thought about a BMW, an acura, or the mazdaspeed 6, but since the car will have some 25k miles put on it in a year, it did not seem very cost effective. I was going to get a beater (budgeted 10k for it) but then found some new alternatives..after everything was said and done i got a scion TC.

My criteria was good gas miliage, good quality and something I would not look like a dork in (like a civic or beetle)

The car is being sold at a loss by toyota, I think. It is in a whole diffrent class then its price. It comes loaded with power every thing, a good stero that can play mp3s and a lot of little things that cost extra on cars in the 25 k range. Hell, the entire roof is glass...it has two sunroofs on it! I did get the side and back airbag option..well worth the 650.
The materials inside have a nice quality feel and look (except for the weird sunroof covers.) Everything is lined up perfectly. No obvious cost cutting.

Looks wise it is very close to the new volvo styling, with a lot of lexus in the back and a lot of BMW in the lights. Depending on color it looks pricy or sporty. Thew lighter colors look best, IMO..the white is really sharp. Mine is "flint mica" a deep gun metal with hints of blue. (for a commuter you want to be invisable)

You can get a ton of performance upgrades if that is your thing, including a toyota supercharger! which is COVERED BY THE FIVE YEAR FACTORY POWERTRAIN WARRENTY!

It is based on a car that toyota sells in europe in the mide range, say 20-30 k here. It is heavy, but feels very solid. Ir has the camerys engine in it, puts out a respectable 160 some HP and a LOT of torque for a Japenese engine. Of course, the reliability of toyota is well known

Now, I have been getting about 27 mpg mixed driving. The car is sporty, but not a sports car. It takes bumps well, but not too soft. Steeing feel is good, a 6 on a 1-10 scale.

In sum, it excelles out of the box as a comfortable comuter car. It will not get you excited, but it also has no bad habits. For a little more money you can trick it out with all sorts of performance upgrades, all coverd under the factory warrenty.

I really do not think there is a car out there within 5 k of its price that can touch a tc.

Oh, for those that do not know I am 39 years old...not really gen X I think.

What a thread revival...