If the Scion brand was tanking and they planned on getting rid of all their cars, Toyota wouldn't have spent all of that money to fund the FR-S. Toyota has done the market research enough to make this car financially worthwhile for them. "Worst" case scenario is that the FRS gets rebranded as a Toyota.

I don't see anything in common between Saturn and Pontiac that were selected to terminate operations by arbitrary political decisions, not market forces.

GM's new union owners found it more convenient to shed those divisions and dozens of other GM dealerships as a taxpayer funded bailout condition instead of organized bankruptcy that would've forced needed reforms to their outdated benefits plans.

It's the subject of a lawsuit in NY that found government in violation of federal bankruptcy law while cutting secret backroom deals to their favored interests.

Scion is having it's problems right now, but compared to an earthquake and tsunami, those problems can and will be solved. I see zero chance of any Toyota division folding. Refreshing the product lineup by eliminating some models while introducing new vehicles quickly is the future. Toyota is positioned for the future, one of the few auto makers able to meet new CAFE and coming EPA regulations. Scion and Prius series will be leading the way.

Stopped reading at scion supra lmao!

The thing that is hurting Scion is the Pure Price garbage. Apparently the US isn't quite as stupid as Toyota originally hoped for.

If someone says they're(Scion) in trouble, look no further than Pure garbage Price.

Sure, as long as you don't mind flushing money down the drain every month to always have a new car. What you're saying is true enough though, most dealerships will gladly try and get you out of your car loan if you're dumb enough to ask for a bigger one (banks will only let you finance so much money for a new car, so if you have a lot of negative equity you're SOL). Toyota's have a very low TCO (true cost to own). I'd suggest to instead save up the money to pay for a ~$20k car that will last, avoid leasing or financing (unless you can get a 0% loan and get some kind of return on your money, but then again it's nice to be debt free), and keep up with regular maintenance and enjoy not having a car payment for quite a while.

What area are you in? Where I'm at I know the dealers were dying to charge a >$5k markup and they would have gotten it, instead they forced buyers to take clear bras, wheel locks, rear bumper appliques, bespoke, trunk mats, leather seats saying they were installed at the factory. Subaru's are still being listed here with $3k markups.

I appreciated the "pure price" once I finally got a dealer's nuts in a vice to sell me the car I wanted, MSRP is fair. It's not great and you can argue it's shit but it isn't highway robbery.

Some people would prefer to have a new car than extra cash in the bank, I think it's a mostly American phenomenon of "keeping up with the joneses"

As much as I agree with you there's clearly a market for what is essentially renting a car.

maybe! if after market suppliers realize people will pay "just under" o.e.m.
that THAT will be your best break over time. no body's givin' nothin' away these days...just sayin'

Pure Price has nothing to do with MSRP...that's why you saw markups. My area(Texas) didn't seem to be affected by greedy dealers and all that I checked used MSRP, some had silly options, some were stock.

Either way, Pure Price never meant "must sell for MSRP". That is a common misconception. Pure Price simply meant you pay what you see. It could have been $100000.

http://www.scion.com/buy/pure_price

See, not a single word about MSRP. It used to have one more line of text that said: "dealers are free to set their own prices" that has been removed in the last few months.

I think people (gen Y is smart) figured out that the TC has little to offer over a Sonic, the Tc is just a technically bland FWD with nice looks. Why they can't make it a Cobalt SS type FWD coupe I don't understand? Consumers are smarter than people think.

And the IQ? Sales are down almost 10%. If you want a micro car you want a 6 speed manual so you can hyper-mill and get 50mpg cruising around, why is that so hard to understand? The Yaris gets better real world fuel economy than the IQ and it only has a 5 speed manual. Who wants to bet on Scion parts for a one off Scion CVT in 10 years, I sure don't.

The biggest thing Scion had going for it was Toyota reliability. Toyota has the highest rated lean manufacturing infrastructure in the world. As much as I like my FR-S, it being the first reasonably price rwd sports coupe in over a decade is why I bought it, not Brand loyalty .

The Subaru engine with a first gen PI/DI complex motor makes one wonder if that Toyota reliability/longevity is truly there. I am not hearing of any mechanical changes to the motor for 2014 which is a big positive. But I don't think Toyota would be able to sell this car in the USA, it had to be a Scion due to the collaboration with Subaru.

Especially after the first 5k driving with a CEL. I think the Scion dealers are to blame for the brand's issues, they just aren't as educated or as in tune as a Honda or Subaru dealer, they aren't "car people". Every time I call and they pull up my car in their system as a 2013 Supra I just scratch my head.

Yesterday they finally said they found info that I need a new ECU, but they will not give a loaner car, have to wait there half a day. Time is money, I will just order a Visconi and be done with them.

I hope Scion has a bright future, but their market share has dropped a huge amount while other manufacturers have rebounded from the depression. Think about how almost all the Automakers are very successful now vs 4 years ago and Scion is holding on by a thread.

If it weren't for the FR-S "gimme", they would have surely been dropped by Toyota. I think a lot of folks buy the FR-S in spite of the Scion brand. And if their dealers don't treat these new Scion owners right, the brands future is very dismal.

maybe you should just go to a different dealer

^^^^ This.

The dealership I got mine from knew what the car was and were able to give me actual specs and info for the car.

Also the techs at my dealership know what they are doing.

Well, imo im not too worried either way. If scion stops making them or not,
i have mine and i love everything about it, Plan on keeping it a while. But i doubt
they will stop making these cars any time soon, because like many others have
pointed out the car sells relatively well compared to other jdm sports coupes.
And for good reason, this is a fantastic car!

Doesn't bother me either way. Once my life requires me to have a more practical vehicle (in ~5 years time most likely) this car will turn into a project car and any resemblence to stock will quickly vanish. It's a great chasis and perfect starting point for the loud, gutted, street-legal track monster I've always dreamed of.

Priceless :lol: