What was Scion?

I know that Scion was a subset of the Toyota family. I like the majority of the vehicles Scion offered, and they are good vehicles. The majority of them are rebranded Toyotas, and a Subaru and a Mazda.

These vehicles were sold at Toyota dealerships, I can't recall but I think all of the sales offices were housed in a separate building. From the main Toyota dealership building. I think you could still use Toyota's finance company as a lender.

So, what exactly was Scion?


Looking back Scion appears to have been an exercise in how Toyota coducts business today.

 

From what I recall it was Toyota's bid to target the young adult segment. A "fresh", "new", "hip", affordable Toyota... even the definition of the word scion lends to this.

noun
a person or animal that is descended from a specific ancestor; an offspring.
something deriving in appearance, function, or general character from an earlier form.
an adherent who follows closely the teachings, methods, practices, etc., of an earlier master, as in art, music, philosophy, etc.; disciple.

 

This.

 

On both replies I completely agree.

I always thought Toyota appealed to the younger buyers, and people looking for some affordability. There was already the Lexus brand, Scion was a move in the other direction for Toyota.

Maybe the only answer would be why not? I could never make sense of why Toyota wanted to offer another brand of Toyotas, other than Lexus.


I forgot to mention if Scion was around today, maybe they would be selling a rebranded Toyota Hilux.

 

Well they kept one Scion, the FRS now known as Toyota 86. So it wasn't a complete waste. I still see a bunch of XB and TC models driving around. At least they kept the Toyota reliability!

By the way I've owned a bunch of Lexus and Toyota models. Hot damn I love me some Toyota/Lexus/whatever branch they sell.

 

Scions weren't terrible, just for whatever reason toyota dropped them

When those XBs first dropped they were tits

 

Scion was an alternative brand with alternative business models.

The prices were fixed, there was no negotiating, all dealers had the same cost.

It allowed Toyota to sell odd cars without risk to the conservative Toyota image.

I hated them, top to bottom. The owners were always broke, FR-S's were crap to work on at first and the xB 2nd gen burnt oil like a diesel.

 

They came, they went

 

Still better than the Paseo

 

The tercel/paseo/sera were wonderful for mosquito control

 

Which one was a Mazda?

Obviously FRS was Toyota 86/ Subaru

XB was a Toyota

XD was a Toyota

TC was a Toyota

Was the XA a Mazda?

 

I have fond memories of learning to wrench on my 87 Supra. First engine I ever did a head gasket on. It had disc brakes all around with 12 inch rotors. Alignment cams at every control arm

Fun car

 

iA and Toyota Yaris sedan Canada were Mazda 2's

 

Seems like it was Toyota's version of Saturn or Geo.

Entry level vehicles, trying to be hip.

Funny thing is that the XB ended up being more popular with the elderly due to ease of entry.

 

Damn, I didn't know that. Thank you!

 

Toyota planned to make people a customer for life, Scion when you were young, Toyota thru your midlife, and Lexus when you were old.

 

Everyone who had an '87 Supra did a head gasket eventually.

I love the 3rd gen. I would love to find a clean one and drop a 1jz in. I drove a turbo ('89 I think) once and loved it.

I had a 2nd gen (MKII, '85). Really an awesome vehicle. IRS, LSD, DOHC, 4 wheel disc.. Way ahead of others in some ways.

 

FWIW, I had a TC. '12, bought used in '14 with 80K miles. It wasn't the "hot-hatch" It looked like, but was pretty nice for road trips. Decent mileage, plenty of room for cargo, and surprisingly comfortable at 80+ MPH.