"The case for killing Scion"
 

"The case for killing Scion and setting Prius Free"

Excerpt:
The Sales Data
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/wp-...PM-550x334.png






Scion isn’t doing well. Actually they’re doing horrible.
Sales in 2013 were down 60% from a high in 2006. But not to worry Mr. Toyoda, I have a solution!


1. (Quietly) Kill Scion.
Yes, it’s time to cut the brand loose. Sales are faltering and other than FR-S, the brand doesn’t appear to have any product that will save it.


2. Replace Scion with Prius
Prius has become synonymous with fuel-efficiency and being green. Since the brand expanded the lineup with C and V, they’ve dwarfed Scion’s best year by 60,000 models. Making Prius a standalone brand will allow Toyota to further define and hone the consumer message on efficiency and explore new product offerings.


3. Build Prius CUV, Prius FR-E (EV FR-S) and small (very) light-duty ‘van’... continued in article.


Link: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/201...ng-prius-live/

Just make the FRS a Toyota.

Don't care, Scion has always seemed redundant. I like the idea of Scion and how they essentially bring over JDM designed vehicles, but they could have easily sold the same vehicles with Toyota badges. Probably even more since Scion has a negative stigma of being cheap. GM killed the very similar Saturn brand off and nobody cared, Toyota could easily do the same with Scion.

I can't feel much sadness, Scion has not much of any pedigree...

Please...
 

Comparing Scion to Prius is nonesense. Scion was never intended to be a high volume brand. Look at 2013 sales (below). Prius has grown from a niche player to high volume due to market conditions (50mpg keeps money in your pocket). When all cars are electric and/hybrid do all Toyotas become a Prius? Toyota should certainly continue to refine the definition of what a Scion is. The FR-S is working as a halo car for Scion. It stopped the giant sales slide caused by Toyotas horrible 2nd gen Scion products. The FR-S also serves as an up-sell/upgrade to TC buyers who might want something closer to a real sports car over a sporty car.

2013 Sales results
Now try comparing Scion sales to other Niche brands, what are the thoughts about killing the ones under Scion? Why not kill off Mini, Volvo, Land Rover, Porsche, Fiat, Jaguar, Maserati, and Bently? Total sales volume is not always the sole objective.

http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2014/01...ults.html#more

Rank Make 2013 2012 Difference 2013 Market Share 2012 Market Share
#25 Scion 68,321 73,505 -7.10% 0.40% 0.50%
#26 Mini 66,502 66,123 0.60% 0.40% 0.50%
#27 Mitsubishi 62,227 57,790 7.70% 0.40% 0.40%
#28 Volvo 61,233 68,117 -10.10% 0.40% 0.50%
#29 Land Rover 50,010 43,664 14.50% 0.30% 0.30%
#30 Fiat 43,236 43,772 -1.20% 0.30% 0.30%
#31 Porsche 42,323 35,043 20.80% 0.30% 0.20%
#32 Jaguar 16,952 12,011 41.10% 0.10% 0.10%
#33 Smart 9264 10,009 -7.40% 0.10% 0.10%
#34 Suzuki 5946 25,357 -76.60% 0.10% 0.20%
#35 Maserati 4768 2730 74.70% 0.10% 0.10%
#36 Bentley 2872 2315 24.10% 0.10% 0.10%

This thread has a lot more real data than that ridiculously light TTaC article. http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...ighlight=Sales

You could attribute much of the sales decline in the same time period, but especially in 2008 due to the economic recession as well..

It doesn't matter to me if they go under. My registration says Toyota anyway. I am in process of replacing everything on the FRS to Toyota. That's what it should have been since the induction of this car in the states.

Profits are the sole objective in every business. You are listing premium brands that make significantly higher profits than Scion. Scions are sold at the lowest possible prices with a no haggling policy at an attempt to cater to younger consumers. I've read (not sure if it's true) that Toyota makes only a few hundred dollars in profit off of each Scion sold. Compare that to say Rolls Royce, Bentley, or Porsche and then look at the differences. Those cars have options with options added on which are pure profit. A few well optioned 911's can easily bring in more profit than a whole fleet of Scions.

Scion doesn't pull its own weight compared to those niche luxury brands. Look at what GM revealed about Saturn. During the 20+ years of its existence, it did not make any profit. It cost GM money to keep the brand alive which is something you don't want to do when you're running a business.

This is a very simplistic view of how business (especially multinational automakers) run in today's world. Yes profit is the sole objective of an overall company. In the auto business (and many others) how that profit is achieved almost never laid on one marque (especially a niche brand like Scion). Scion is intended to give Toyota a presence that its' primary brand hasn't served in perhaps two decades. You are correct in identifying young buyers. Toyota doesn't view it's brands in a "one size fits all way", but more as a progression of products for people to grow into. Most automakers operate in this manner.

In the U.S. Honda has Acura, Nissan has both Datsun and Infiniti, VW has countless brands that include Bugatti, Lamborghini, Audi, Ducati, and many more brands. Ford, General Motors, Fiat/Chrysler, and internationally the list goes on and on. This is not by mistake. Profit is far from the sole purpose of opening, operating and/or acquiring a business.

There are many examples of this in other businesses just one example is Google with YouTube. YouTube was purchased for $1.65 Billion and is speculated to have cost Google billions over the years in annual operating costs. Google refers to YouTube's operating expenses as "not material" because YouTube's value isn't in how much profit it generates. YouTube dominates its niche and helps to drive membership into other Google services.

Toyota hopes that Scion does something similar. To get young buyers to purchase a Scion, then step up to a Toyota (or Prius if it ever becomes a "brand") when they need something more practical or larger (for a family). Eventually Toyota hopes those now older buyers end up in one of their bigger profit autos (like a big SUV) or marques like a Lexus. Scion introduces young buyers to Toyota where they were previously starting with Honda, Nissan, and GM because previously Toyota offered little to appeal to them.

The dumbest thing Toyota could do would be to divorce itself from the Prius family. With CAFE standards getting more tough, the Prii really help keep Toyota's average mpg up for the whole line of vehicles.

As for Scion, ehh, I don't much care either way. I think Toyota did it originally as a way to get young buyers with the expectations that those buyers would graduate to Toyotas later in life, but why not just name them "Toyota" to start with? The FR-S is more upscale than most Scions and it's hurt by being badged with a brand associated with cheap cars.

The number of people who are embarrassed to be driving a Scion FR-S is amazing.

The same kind of feelings once were felt for Honda, Ford, Dodge RAM, Subaru, Hyundai, Chevrolet, Fiat, Chrysler, Datsun, Cadillac. Brands can outlive a stretch of bad products (like the 2nd gen xB, xD and xA).

That site should be called "The Truth About Our Ignorance of the Automotive Industry." Bunch of ignorant blowhards.

I just love that people think a mega car company like Toyota hasnt thought/considered this. Toyota makes fuck tons of money in other cars.

I highly doubt they are a. loosing money b. have not considered this when pricing and c. give a fuck

They lose money with each LFA that they make, look how many fucks they give..

0

why?

Because they can

Before I got the FR-S when I was looking for a new car I actually wanted a Scion more than a Toyota. Mostly because my choices were Corolla, or Camry. Boring, boring cars. Didn't want one. At least Scions were 'cooler' than Toyota. I almost bought an xD. If the FR-S hadn't come out it's very likely I'd have one.

Those sales numbers aren't that bad. If Toyota is actually making money out of those sales, where's the problem?

The FR-S is a Subaru with Toyota fuel injection.

I think the sales slump has more to do with their 2nd gen cars being old as **** now (except the tC somewhat, but not including the FRS and iQ) and nowhere near competitive in its market segment. Not to mention the 2nd gen cars themselves seemed to have gone the entirely opposite direction of the 1st gen scions....(from something special to me-too products.)


The 2 boxes that almost pretty much defined Scion hasn't been updated at all in anyway since 2007-2008 or so when they were introduced.


I mean heck the tC had a purpose and it got updated styling and suspension tweaks for 2014 and is apparently quite a good drive. Except for that lameass 2AR camry motor though...that thing is boring as ****.

Whatever...
 

Juan Barnett's opinion pieces are very weak.

And here's another thing that baffles me about these cars: people's obsession with rebadging their FR-S as a Toyota.

Who freakin cares?:iono:

There appears to be this obsession with "Scion bad" and "Toyota good".

Look, they screwed up the xB. They had a winner with the first gen and then messed it all up. The chart the OP posted, that initial dip is directly related to that model change.

They sold almost 80k xB in one year! Last year they sold about 18k xB.

thank you for reading. sent using Tapatalk! (wouldn't want to forget that)

Badge swaps will be commonplace until every world car uses the same name for every country. There are older Lexuses with Toyota badges with using the nameplates Celsior, Aristo or Altezza. There are Hyundai Genesis sedans are given KDM badges presenting the Genesis as its own brand. Mazda 3s that have the Axela badge. Kia Optima with the K5 badge. Yaris with the Vitz badge. This is not a phenomenon with the FRS, its the case with many Japanese cars where people want to have the JDM badges. Heck in Australia the Holden Commodore was badged Pontiac G8 by people even though Pontiac never existed in Australia.

For me the worst badge swaps are people with a BMW 318i badging them as a M3 when it clearly isn't with a cheapo dinky single exhaust. Amazingly on that case its not even kids, its also 50 year olds who've actually done that.

i got my frs already, thats all that matters :)

It should have been badged as a Toyota 86 from the start.

Change radio, airbag, and badges and its a Toyota GT86 minus all the overseas specific stuff.

Nobody is explaining the why of the swap though.

Great, you can make your car into a GT86 by Toyota.

Why does it matter if it is called a Scion? Why is that bad?

Age, mostly. The people most interested in re-badging are interested in appearance more than anything else. That and/or the clowns they hang out with are easily bulshitted.

The same reason why anybody would change anything. They like the changed item better than the item before. Personal reasons will differ person to person, but this as simple as it gets. In this case some like Toyota better than Scion.

Toyota 86 = OMG I WANT ONE!!!
Scion FRS = EWW BLEHH NO!!!!


They want the car because its an awesome car. But they don't want it because the badge drop kicks their ego right in the nuts and they will feel like a pitiful peon driving an inferior vehicle.


They should honestly just rebadge it as a Lexus because the irony of the whole thing is that the Toyota badge is also not a 'cool' brand. At least Lexus is a luxury brand and is always in the conversation with the german big 3. Toyota on the other hand is the epitome of vanilla appliance. Is your Toyota 86 an appliance?

And here we go again.