My letter made it into Car and Driver!

[Spartan65]

How Toyota handled the marketing and introduction of their FT-86 collaboration reminds me of how we the consumer bailed out financial institutions and manufactures recently. It defines to me the lack of trust in their investment with the company they collaborated. They chose not to brand their main moniker, instead using the strength of the concept to bail out the death spasms of a line of cars not worthy of heritage or mechanical recognition.
I did not choose FR-S initially, my local Subaru dealer did that for me in their lack of customer loyalty when the used car manager refused to take the WRX wagon I bought from them cause I powder coated the wheels black.
I chose the AT for innovation, and availability. And I know this will not be my only FT-86 platform car. It is my first new car ever, and my first AT ever for that matter and I am 46. I have always bought used and caressed them to my specifications. I applaud your words and the fact they were published. I may wait for a Supra or a mid-engine offering from Akio Toyoda. Either way I have always thought Toyota was going to dominate the automotive market, this just took some of that glimmer off the brand.

[MVJ1975]

Blame Toyota for allowing itself to be associated with boring appliances here in the US. In Japan (and other markets) Toyota has had interesting cars to sell, but ever since they created the Scion brand all of their "interesting" cars have gone under that brand here in North America.

For better or worse, anything that's not the rolling equivalent of a Kenny G concert gets sold as a Scion.

I don't mind that the FR-S is a Scion. If that's where it fits best based on Toyota's North American divisions, so be it. If they'd sold it as a GT-86, I'd have bought one too.

The only thing I don't like is the lack of options that are normally available on the GT-86. I personally have no use for farkles and gadgets, but lots of people do, and those people are by default being pushed to Subaru.

[BioRage]

Originally Posted by Eurasianman

Could you imagine a Scion with a sticker price of $30,000 or more?

Aside from the dealer mark ups...

30k otd in Canada

[Turbowned]

Originally Posted by Hawaiian

BTW turbo, did you get your order in for your car? I remember you missing out on the first one that came in.

I haven't ordered another one yet. My dealer sold out their allocation so I'm waiting until we can order more; save myself a little money over buying one at MSRP elsewhere. I'm also saving more $$ for a bigger down payment, so as a first-time buyer I won't get denied financing. Planning for late winter/early spring!

[pr086]

you also have to think of it this way, you're getting subaru/toyota quality for scion money.

the car doesn't "feel" like a scion.

[Dake]

The irony in the article and OP's complaints is hilarious to me.

We demand a new awesome sports car and we got a new awesome sports car... but they called it by the wrong name!!!111oneone

Denigration of the superficial hipster mentality while crying about the badge on the car?

Call it an Edsel for all I care.

[Snozzberries]

Originally Posted by Turbowned

As I'm sitting in front of a computer screen being dictated what people in my generation want in a car and staring at pictures of absurdly dressed hipsters as examples of "people like me," I find out that Toyota's saving grace would be bundled within the "fresh" and "hip" Scion franchise.

You are upset that Scion is selling a car that Toyota designed, Subaru built, Subaru Assembled, and Scion (Toyota mind you) is selling? You are getting upset over the way a vehicle is branded?

Doesn't that sound like something a "hipster" would do?

Buy which ever car you want and make it your own.

Congratulations on being published though, the article was well written.

[Synack]

Fixed

Feel free to right click and copy the Image URL and use it in your original post.

[empower-auto]

We who own them .. don't really care about this jibber jabber. Why? Because we're busy enjoying the car.

[jarviz]

Does anybody know what the real marketing strategy was behind making the FRS a Scion instead of a Toyota?

My only guess is that they prob thought the FRS would appeal to a more younger generation, which is what scion is really about. Although I think they would have actually had better sales numbers if it was labeled a toyota.

[Asphaltfrs1]

I don't really mind that I got the scion, because had it been a Toyota with different trims. I would've still opted for the base 6speed.
But, it would've been nice just for it to be an option for other people.

[itisthumper]

That's exactly why I wanted a Subaru from day 1. I nearly settled for a Scion and had a deposit on a whiteout. Luckily I was able to find a Subie dealer in Colorado that would sell me one for a fair value.

FRS drivers are probably not your typical "hip" Scion crowd with wakaba badges, native nation's flag on the rear view mirrior, stickers on the car, hypebeasts etc. There's a certain group of people that drive Scions. I hope FRS owners will help break this Scion stereotype as I love the FRS nearly as much as the BRZ. I really wished somebody convinced the Toyota marketing team in the US to sell it under Toyota though.

Originally Posted by jarviz

Does anybody know what the real marketing strategy was behind making the FRS a Scion instead of a Toyota?

My only guess is that they prob thought the FRS would appeal to a more younger generation, which is what scion is really about. Although I think they would have actually had better sales numbers if it was labeled a toyota.

US Toyota marketing believes the Scion brand is more appealing to youths. Even though Toyota has clearly taken their focus away from sports cars in recent years, the Scion brand isnt known for attracting enthusiasts; this is an enthusiast's car.

They probably thought they were going to get higher sales numbers with Scion but I doubt that is true considering the limited quantities of these cars being available. These cars would sell like hot cakes regardless.

[MVJ1975]

I'm not sure how Scion got the "hipster" image anyway. Seems like marketing to me, and hipsters generally don't like being marketed to.

Most of the xA and xD drivers I see are 30+ year old commuters using them as daily drivers. Even mix between male/female. The xB tends to be either driven by quirky old people or 30-something women (my 37 year old girlfriend rocks a black cherry xB2).

The only Scion vehicle I see commonly driven by actual young people is the tC, which is overwhelmingly driven by young women, at least the tC1. tC2 seems to be less of a "girl" car.

Obviously, as the Scions are inexpensive Japanese cars, they get their share of "tuner" interest, but that applies to any inexpensive Japanese car. Plenty of tuned Cubes and Yaris out there.

[Turbowned]

Originally Posted by Dake

The irony in the article and OP's complaints is hilarious to me.

We demand a new awesome sports car and we got a new awesome sports car... but they called it by the wrong name!!!111oneone

Denigration of the superficial hipster mentality while crying about the badge on the car?

Call it an Edsel for all I care.

No, more like "We demanded an awesome sports car and they gave us an awesome sports car - albeit a much watered-down version than the ones the rest of the world are getting!" Why not give the option to spend more money on a higher spec car? Well now, that just wouldn't make sense! The FR-S as it's configured is a fine car, don't get me wrong, but for those of us who wanted more equipment, we're forced to find a BRZ.

Apparently you didn't realize that it's not just about the badge. It's about Toyota's choice to try and save a dying brand. When, not if Scion gets the axe, I don't want to see the FR-S go out along with it, not unlike the Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice went when GM cut the fat among their brands. Scion's collective annual sales total less than Honda Fit sales in this country; it's rather pathetic. Oh hell, just read Robinson's article. He puts it much more eloquently than I do.