Scion FR-S Convertible & subcompact crossover shown at annual dealer meeting - report
 

http://www.worldcarfans.com/11308196...sover-shown-at

Toyota gives dealers permission to drop Scion, shows them FR-S droptop, Juke rival first'


http://www.autoblog.com/2013/08/19/t...s-them-fr-s-d/

Toyota dealers get OK to drop sagging Scion
 

Automaker hints new products will reward those who stay


After peaking at 173,034 sales in 2006, Scion's U.S. volume has fallen off sharply. Most of the vehicle lineup is aging, and Toyota has shown few signs of offering replacements.

http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dl...#axzz2cQ9G6VFl

So I wonder if a Toyota franchise dropped Scion, would you still be able to get your Scion serviced there, or would you have to drive to the closest Toyota/Scion dealer?

The Scion brand, to me has always been Toyota's "guinea pig".

Would they rename the FR-S if they dropped Scion altogether?

umm probably to GT86


*wishful thinking*

Can't wait to see this crossover. Could really be a hot seller if styling and performance are similar to the FR-S.

Of course you would be able to still get it serviced at Toyota. It's not like there's "Scion" mechanics working in the back.

That would grind my gears if they changed the Scion FRS into a Toyota GT86 in the US after I already bought a FRS!

I was thinking more like non-Scion dealers would not train their mechanics on new models and would not stock Scion parts.

Let's be honest, the FRS is the only reason the Scion brand still has any life in it. The iQ is too niche to support the company, the tC is tired, and the xB has become too ugly in it's efforts to satisfy everyone's palates, and no one even knows the xD exist.

Them allowing dealerships to drop the Scion brand is proof that Toyota knows Scion is on its way out the door. They're trying to cut down on Scion's assets so they can minimize loss when they slash the brand.

No Scion --> No one-trim limit --> option to buy JDM spec LHD Toyota 86 "trim" at a reasonable price?! :happy0180:

(Yeah I know there's already the 10 Series but that's only in Ignition. Whiteout please. Not to mention limited run and hence bloated pricing)

Wishful thinking, lol.
One-Price to me is kinda BS anyways. Could care less.

Even if scion was dropped, the only change to the car would be badging.. And you can already do this.. Nothing else would change

The Crossover is not based on the FRS/BRZ. It's a Toyota concept based on a different platform.

Well if Scion goes and Toyota takes over and offer different trims, I think that's going to hurt the BRZ sales. Cause now everyone won't have to get a BRZ if they want the extra goodies it brings...lol its funny how all this stuff plays out.

I think there will be one last attempt to save the Scion brand with this new subcompact CUV and FR-S droptop. But if sales still don't improve than bye bye Scion.

Scion has never built exciting cars with the obvious exception: FRS .... And that car is a toyobaru. i still can't understand why a huge car company would try to use the FRS to save the brand. Toyota would have probably sold more FRS' if it was branded GT86. When I think of Scion .... I unfortunately always envision an inexpensive econobox. If Toyota drops the brand .... Seems like weird timing.
IMHO.

^ I wonder if the FR-S could have sold more if it was sitting with the other Toyotas in dealerships when people from various groups (parents looking for a school car for their kids, middle age people, etc.) happened to be strolling around the lot. The FR-S stands out so much (in a positive way), but I think it just ends up being hidden in the crap pile that is the Scion section of the dealership.

I don't think Toyota/Scion is having a problem selling FR-S's. It is all the other Scion models that don't sell.

That said, if the number of dealerships halves, I suspect Scion will order fewer FR-S models and Subaru may produce more BRZ's.

Last time I checked the FR-S was selling pretty well. Anyways it wouldn't be to hard to rebadge the FR-S, iQ, xB under the Toyota brand. xD would butt heads with the Yaris so that can be killed off and the tC could be replaced by a coupe version of the Corolla.

Didn't say the FR-S wasn't selling well, but I'm wondering if it could have done way better.
I mean, judging by people's reactions to twin owners, no one knows about it. It still seems pretty obscure outside of the tuner crowd.
For example, I think women think the FR-S is cute. A lot of the FR-S I've seen on the road are women drivers. Correlating this with the fact that a lot of FR-S sitting in lots are automatics, it's a "could have" scenario.

I know the FR-S is selling well, but if it became more a killer-app type car for Toyota, it'd create a nice impact in the industry. But like I said, I think Scion branding and lot-positioning kind of obscures it.
I don't think the vast majority spend much researching what car to buy. They just go to a dealer, kind of happen to find one they like and sign papers same day. And the FR-S is something that can sell itself on looks alone.

Back on topic, I'm just dwelling if the FR-S being a Scion is kind of a vain sales sacrifice to save a doomed name, and thinking Toyota would have been better off just selling it as a Toyota in the first place.

I don't think that it would made much of a differences. FR-S sales more units than 370z and MX-5 Miatas combine.

Has anyone seen or knows what the subcompact CUV looks like.

Toyota never evolved Scion with the times.
They started off Niche, brought in some niche cars (xB and xA) it got popular (also thanks to the fast and furious crowd) they bring in the tC (a more traditional car vs the other two) saw some success, but then the cars got outdated and replaced with worse versions.

-xB went from pint sized spacious econoBOX with good fuel economy to a bloated square corolla wagon with so so fuel economy.
-xA never took off really, but it was basically a 5 door yaris. so what do they replace it with? A squarer 5 door yaris with a bigger engine and worse fuel economy. A pointless car when there is a real 5 door yaris existing already with Yaris fuel economy.
-tC got squarer, uglier, fatter, hungrier and not any faster than its predecessor. No real incentive to upgrade.

Scion's problem right now is that aside from the FRS (fresh sports car) and the iQ (super niche...but also overpriced and disappointing fuel economy for its size) and maybe to a lesser extent the tC (it seems to be getting some upgrades) the other 2 cars are ridiculously outdated.

Also Toyota doesn't seem to know what it wants to do with Scion now...
I heard upscale but not premium? wouldn't that just encroach on the higher end Toyota models? And then it also wouldn't be inexpensive anymore.
I say they keep it low cost niche, but they just need the products to execute. FRS and iQ already fill niches, but the other three needs a rethink.

I would think they could do this:
-Drop the tC, and have Toyota resurrect the Celica (not as a Scion) Scion can have the RWD FRS, Toyota can have its FWD Celica.
-xB needs to go back to the first gen philosophy. Its not going to see the sales of yore since that fad has died but it'll have its place.
-Drop the xD and don't resurrect it.
-Lower the iQ price and give it a manual transmission. And fix its fuel economy numbers, they should be higher (well for highway, city is already high)
-That crossover SUV better not be a 'me too' SUV like redone RAV4. That'd make it DoA. It needs to be its own thing.
-I'd like to see a mini-truck below the Tacoma (like the old 80's import trucks)
-Perhaps a FJ40 sized small SUV off roader. A real off roader not a crossover. And not a big fat one like the FJ cruiser, a small one like the FJ40.
-Maybe one of those mini-minivans that you'd see in Asia.

Scion FR-S Convertible, Crossover on Their Way
 

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2...their-way.html

Remember that A-bat concept truck? There were rumors about it being a Scion.

http://image.motortrend.com/f/featur...e-quarters.jpg
http://www.seriouswheels.com/pics-20...e-1280x960.jpg
http://media.caranddriver.com/images...s-1280x782.jpg
http://www.auto-power-girl.com/high-...ept-2008-3.jpg

I am shocked and amazed at the number of people that are pretty much saying "good riddance" as a result of this news.

In Canada, Scion is a relatively new addition to many dealerships. Moreover, my experience with Guelph Scion is by far the best that I have ever had of any new car purchase.

I definitely agree that Scion needs more new products in the pipeline to be able to maintain the momentum that the FR-S has begun.

I also think that Scion Canada needs more focus on the accessories side of the business. By that, I mean offer: foglights, more spoilers, bring back the TRD intake (not sure why it is no longer offered), shift knobs, knee pads, GT86 headlights, etc.

On the other side of the ledger, these are people's jobs that support their respective families. The economy does not need more people looking for work. It needs more people spending money. Moving money is key to a healthy economy.

Sorry for the rant, but, having been laid off from work several years ago as a result of a downsizing makes me a little angry at a "good riddance" type of attitude.

I don't care about the badge or the banner on the building, I care about the hunk of metal I'm spending a lot of money on.

lols to all the people who thought the convertible was dead

If there was a legitimate small truck in the vein of the pre '95 Nissan/Toyota trucks I probably wouldn't have an FRS right now.

I think another part of the Scion problem is that their "Pure Pricing" isn't that unique anymore. The dealer where I bought mine has had a no haggle sales price on their Toyota's for years.

Also, for a brand that prides themselves on the buyer being able to customize the vehicle they purchase, however with the FR-S I could have gotten fog lights, a TRD exhaust, an ashtray and various pieces of clear plastic stickers. If you look at the UK's toyota.co.uk and they get to choose from different packages which has always been my beef with scion.

if they put FRS under toyota brand in first place, i already bought it instead of BRZ.
whatever they're trying with Scion brand, i see them like failure

I personally love both my xB and my FR-S. I much prefer the second-gen xBs over the first-gen because I use it as a small SUV and load it full of stuff, and the 2.4 liter engine has much more grunt over the 1.6 (1.8?) in the first-gen.

But I do agree they need to do something else with the brand to keep it viable. Though I wouldn't mind if they just rolled everything back up into the Toyota brand.

That really depends on the dealership. My dealership has the Toyota and Scion vehicles sitting next to each other and there are no "Scion Salesmen" either. My FR-S was parked out front next to a Prius and a Land Cruiser. You don't get more variety than that.

Regardless, I don't really care if Scion goes away. The days where the brand brought over the more quirky JDM cars to the American marketplace is over, it doesn't really serve much of a purpose anymore. The pricing is good though, I did not want to spend an extra 5000 dollars in markup on a BRZ down the road at the Subaru dealership.

Honestly they should just get rid of Scion.

The experiment of attracting young buyers only works if....you have a brand behind it. The reality is that those "young buyers" they were going after, actually care a great deal about the brand they are buying, regardless of the "sweet deal, price wise".

When you have a brand that is immediately identified to be one of the cheapest lineups in the market, together with no history, recognition or brag rights in anything you don't necessarily build a "desirable brand" for a younger audience.

Add to that, the fact that every time you think of a Scion Tc, you think of a Pizza delivery car. Not necessarily the kind of association most young buyers want. Unless of course you are talking about the small audience of high schoolers that don't go to college straight out of high school and work in minimum wage jobs for few years to pay their Scions.

Unfortunately Scion won't go anywhere, with so many options out there, so much competition, why would a "young buyer" go for a Scion when there is Honda, Nissan, Subaru, VW, Ford, Chevy lining up after them.

Just make it Toyota, plain and simple. Get the prestige back, build actual good "fun" models (see: GT86 success) and cash in.

These guys thought that the issue was with the brand, not the cars.

The issue was that Toyota wasn't making fun cars, all they were concerned about is squeezing an extra MPG so they can get sell the car to soccer moms and not so smart commuters that think 3 extra MPG does anything for them.

I liked pure price.

But Scion's marketing is and has always been absolutely atrocious.

I agree with this. Look what a golden opportunity Scion blew with the First86 program. Granted those of us in it were treated well, and received a lot of benefits from it, but really Scion did not take advantage of it. A few dealers did, but except in a few rare cases it was pretty much a "secret" event.

Heck, my dealership couldn't have cared less about the whole thing. They had zero interest in using it to their advantage.

Oh well.

or thinking positively, it may increase the value in your car, due to the limited production under the alternate name of Scion

^Yeah, and just imagine if your FR-S was also a 10 Series.

Scion brand isn't going anywhere.

Its unfortunate that thing never saw the light of day. I remember there was much fanfare for it (not for its looks, its ugly as shit, I believe it was a hybrid too, so Fuel economy would have been a selling point) for the sheer fact it was a truck smaller than the Tacoma. Nowadays the Tacoma's market segment is shrinking, I think them and the Nissan Frontier are the only two left standing (is the Dakota still alive?). But thing with those trucks are that they're not exactly 'small' like the A-BAT would have been. If I remember correctly, the reason for the shrinking marketplace was that you could either have a full capacity full size truck, or a midsize truck for the same price and similar gas mileage. And 9 times out of 10 unless the sheer size of a fullsizer bothered you to hell, there was no reason to go for the not-that-much smaller truck and compromise in towing capacity and space.

I'd definitely agree. From a non-US perspective, the Scion brand is a complete mystery. As far as I know, it's only a brand in North America, so ultimately, when the Scion management goes to Toyota headquarters they're going to get models which are marketed as Toyota elsewhere in the world. So why try to establish a sub brand?

Toyota succeeded in establishing a brand at the luxury end of the market in Lexus, but that strategy works because there's a single Lexus brand globally, and they've got sufficiently differentiated models. The 86 sells as a Toyota everywhere else, and it's selling like hotcakes despite having the Toyota branding. It'll occasionally get called a new Celica, but that's easy enough to live with. Same goes for the other Scion models.

Finally, everyone knows the Scions are ultimately Toyotas, so all you get is something that's an obvious step-child to the main branding.