Jay Leno Reviews the Scion FR-S

[Exhaust]

You guys can say what you want about jay leno, but he really does have an extravagant taste in cars.

[tonystewart]

Originally Posted by MannyO

Oh Jack Hollis, you never cease to amaze me with your cringe inducing lack of knowledge.

I second that

[_hollywood]

Originally Posted by bayareakhiladi

11:59

'Up to this point, Toyota never made any sports cars that I wanted to drive' - Jay Leno

Really Jay!


TOYOTA

Yeah jay, mkiv supra....mr2 turbo...celica all trac? Anyways his reaction is what i am used to, most people like it, but the 50+ crowd still wants a big block chevelle for those big smokey burnouts.

[Rabble]

God, Jay Leno is such an asshole...But damn if he doesn't have some fine cars.

[mashal]

I would not really call that a review lol! I dont think those guys prep'd for this .. they just got the car there , turned on the cameras and put out that garbage.
I test drove the FR-s 3 times, I think I could do a better review of the car than those guys.
P.s: not hating on Leno , just saying he didnt do a good job.. just like everyone else.

[slaxx]

Wow weak show. Jay barely drove the car. They edited footage down to this? With mistakes and repetition?

They are stock Subaru brakes right?

[Dave-ROR]

Originally Posted by Toy86

Don't really follow this guy, But was not a good review, clearly he wasn't interested in what the Scion VP had to say,

He had to ask how much it weighed 4 times..... douche

Yeah.. and some other specs too.. but then I'm sure I'd find Jack Hollis pretty ignorable too

[Dave-ROR]

Originally Posted by buzznasa

I don't think that it is necessarily a lack of general knowledge but rather a lack of intimate knowledge that those of us who have been pouring over this car for years have without caring one bit about the other vehicles in the Scion line up (which he has to be concerned about as well). It also seems that he (Jack Hollis) isn't as comfortable in front of a camera knowing that if he makes one single gaffe that he will be raked over the coals about "not knowing anything about this car." His body language also hints as this as you can see in the beginning that he is unsure how to stand when he first comes on camera, he is somewhat stiff and not fully relaxed, he searches for the correct or right words to say, etc.

I have heard from many stories told by forum members here that he is a genuine and likable guy. Now he is forced into the position of being the cheerleader for the next "automotive messiah." I would say that he just needs some coaching on relaxing while in front of the camera.

You mean like "Toyota's own brakes"? You know.. from the Toyota WRX and Toyota Legacy GT?

He went for a PR event with Jay Leno, he should have actually learned something about the car considering that Jay Leno is actually a car guy.

[trackmagic]

I thought it was good. What was wrong with what Jack said? He did not really say anything incorrectly. I'm sure he had a few points that he was supposed to cover. He got them out there and let Jay do the talking.

[Dave-ROR]

Originally Posted by bayareakhiladi

11:59

'Up to this point, Toyota never made any sports cars that I wanted to drive' - Jay Leno

Really Jay!


TOYOTA

He meant currently, he already discussed some previous Toyota cars earlier.

[cassidy0998]

I haven't seen Jay so disinterested in a vehicle in a long time. I wonder how much Scion paid him to do this review... Quite a shame :/

[Napoleon]

Originally Posted by DeeezNuuuts83

That's not going to work with more upscale sports cars (compared to the FR-S), if they decide to make them. I don't know how well a 370Z rival from Toyota would be received if it were badged as a Scion starting north of $30k.

It depends on how well Toyota can execute the branding for Scion in the years to come. It seems unlikely at the moment, but anything is possible. I am looking forward to seeing Scion's future.

[Natheria]

I'm not really surprised Jay was so bored looking considering who he had to share screen time with. The whole thing reminded me way too much of the dealer salesmen who knows nothing about the car they're trying to sell you other than what's in the pamphlet handout and once you ask them anything more in depth about the car they get deer-in-headlight-face syndrome. Jay obviously seemed to be more 'in tune' about the car and the heritage than Hollis.

When you bring someone on to a show/video like this with a host/guest scene the guest is supposed to more about the topic at hand, not the other way around. I'm not saying Hollis is a bad guy but they should have picked someone else for this. I still enjoyed it though to hear some of Jay's thoughts. The fact that he loved the classic styling a lot and that he thinks Toyota is going in the right direction with this car are pretty cool words to hear from a man with his kind of garage, even if he did get paid to say it.

[Jordo!]

That Scion guy was a complete meathead.

If they were going to send someone over to make insipid commentary and have little actual knowledge about the car, they could have at least sent over a hot model (I'm sure Jay would have preferred that too).

It's the same review as always: Looks good, handles well, could use more grunt.

[Jordo!]

Originally Posted by DeeezNuuuts83

That's not going to work with more upscale sports cars (compared to the FR-S), if they decide to make them. I don't know how well a 370Z rival from Toyota would be received if it were badged as a Scion starting north of $30k.

Why not?

This is already the most expensive Scion offered. What's another 5-7 grand if the car is worth it?

Also, this is the same rationale for the "Subaru can't release a non AWD car! It goes against the brand!" argument, and here we are...

If they build a proper 370Z competitor it will sell. All they need to do is badge it "Supra."

I'll happily buy a Scion Supra. I'm sure a lot of folks will.

[Godzilla35]

Hahahaha.... this video was all sorts of awkward, was it not?


and for the ending... no burnout because it's not a muscle car...?
tell that to this dude

DTA SCION FR-S DOING HER FIRST BURNOUT - YouTube

... you didn't push the magical buttons jay!

[DeeezNuuuts83]

Originally Posted by Jordo!

Why not?

This is already the most expensive Scion offered. What's another 5-7 grand if the car is worth it?

For the same reason Toyota created Lexus and Scion. Certain brands of theirs are to be for vehicles targeted at certain markets and demographics. Do you think that the original Lexus LS introduced 20+ years ago would've been as successful if it were badged as a Toyota? Obviously the emblem doesn't make a car better or worse than if it were exactly the same but with a different emblem, but Toyota will need to figure out their branding and marketing strategy for future American-bound Toyota vehicles, especially when they have already created a number of brands here.

Originally Posted by Jordo!

Also, this is the same rationale for the "Subaru can't release a non AWD car! It goes against the brand!" argument, and here we are...

Not exactly, because Subaru has manufactured a number of cars that aren't AWD, and has cars currently in production that aren't AWD aside from the BRZ outside of the U.S. market. So that rationale is really only pushed by so-called enthusiasts unaware of Subaru's history before they launched the WRX and got popular.

Originally Posted by Jordo!

If they build a proper 370Z competitor it will sell. All they need to do is badge it "Supra."

I'm not saying that it won't sell, I was just saying that it may not be as well-received with a Scion badge, though like I said earlier, the badge won't make the car better or worse, but marketing is still a huge factor that needs to be considered regardless.

For example, when the GT-R was first launched here, despite its performance, how many consumers of the targeted demographic (meaning that people who can actually afford the car, not internet armchair enthusiasts or pimple-faced kids who still live at home with mommy and daddy) had something to say about it still being a Nissan? A lot of people scoffed at the idea of a $70,000 Nissan (and still do), while the car today is already within arm's reach of being a $100,000 Nissan. Luckily for them it worked out, but don't think that there weren't endless nights of contemplating whether they wanted to stay true to the GT-R's heritage and badge it as a Nissan or if they wanted to badge it as an Infiniti to more easily break such a high price tag (relative to anything else in Nissan's U.S. lineup) to their potential buyers stateside who are likely also considering a Porsche 911. Or how about the Aston-Martin Cygnet, basically a far more luxurious variant of the Toyota/Scion iQ? Do you think that if it were exactly the same but with the Toyota/Scion badge instead but the same price roughly triple that of a standard iQ, that people would still have bought it? I'm not so sure.

Originally Posted by Jordo!

I'll happily buy a Scion Supra. I'm sure a lot of folks will.

But at what price point? That's the kicker. I don't mind a Scion sports car, but if they're more than double the price of your average Scion, then it negates the purpose of having that brand in the first place, which was intended to attract to Gen-Y consumers with appealing cars (sometimes quirky, as in the original xA and xB) that were affordable and easy to buy in order to introduce them to the overall Toyota brand and eventually keep them onboard through brand loyalty for the long-term when their wants and needs change as they grow older, such as having a bigger family (and possibly upgrading to a larger Toyota sedan or truck/SUV) or if they start making good money and have a lot of disposable income (and possibly upgrading to a more upscale Lexus).

I'm not ruling it out, but it's a tad early to put out something like a Scion Supra, especially when the Supra is a recognizable nameplate within the automotive enthusiast crowd, while Scion certainly isn't there yet (though the FR-S is big first step in that direction). There is a certain level of respect that you have to give not only to the nameplate but also to those consumers who actually owned the car who will likely at least consider it again, when (and if) offered. It's for similar reasons why the top-dog Mustang will always be a V-8 (or at least will be for a while) rather than using a twin-turbo V-6. Everyone on this forum, even the youngest of noobs, can probably point out the benefits of going with a twin-turbo V-6, but again, we're not the targeted market of the car, nor have we been the ones to buy countless Mustangs over and over throughout the past several decades. They need to make those people happy first.

[Ess Vee]

Originally Posted by Godzilla35

Hahahaha.... this video was all sorts of awkward, was it not?


and for the ending... no burnout because it's not a muscle car...?
tell that to this dude DTA SCION FR-S DOING HER FIRST BURNOUT - YouTube

... you didn't push the magical buttons jay!

Am I the only one that found it ironic that right after "DON'T TRUST ANYONE", the camera man proceeds to almost get wiped out by that 180? I dunno... but that right there requires QUITE a bit of trust

[bimmerboy]

I think this clip would have gone MUCH better without Jack Hollis. Always love to hear from Jay Leno as he is a true automotive enthusiast... Considering the types of cars he has driven, I would say he had a pretty positive experience.

[Rabble]

By the way, the most interesting part of this whole clip is when Jay asks if there is a stripper version available and Jack responds that they have a few special orders in already but he can't really talk about them.

Sounds like they are already preparing for the release series.

[_hollywood]

No

Probably for some american racing series, or pro drifters...

The last stripper car sold in the states was the ITR

I can guarantee we wont be able to buy a stripper model as a regular consumer

[Rabble]

I wasnt talking about a release series like special colors and options, not a stripper version.

Why would they need Toyota to make a specialty race car? Didn't they build out their drift car themselves?