Toyota Motor Corporation is one of the well-known auto manufacturing companies in the entire world. Their car brands are known for their high performance and improved features. One of the brands of car that they have fabricated is the Scion brand. This brand of Toyota car was specifically designed for North American market. Scion was born out of the company’s desire to fabricate a car for the young car buyers in the US. This plan was started in 1999, with the inauguration of the project called Project Genesis. However, this first project was not successful. The second attempt was called Project Exodus. This project was successful and the fruit was what we know today as the Scion car brand.
It was in March 2002, that Scion was launched at the New York Auto Show. However, only two concept were launched, namely, the CCX and BBX. These two concepts later became TC and XB respectively. On January 2, 2003, at greater Los Angeles Auto Show, the 2004 XA and XB were launched.
When these models of Scion cars were first introduced on June 6, 2003, it could only be produced in 105 Toyota dealerships in California. But by February 2004, the subsequent productions were available in the East Coast, Southeast, and the South Coast. Already by June the same year, the Scion was available in the entire US. It was by this time that 2005 TC was released.
The next generation XB was launched by Scion on December 16, 2006, in Miami during a non-camera event. The model was based on the new T2B concept. In the same event, the new XD that replaced the XA was also launched. However, it was in February 8, 2007, that the two cars were introduced to the public at the Chicago Auto Show.
Scion is available currently in 3 models, namely the second-generation TC, second-generation XB and the XB. The 2nd generation TC is a three door lift-back car. It is built using the format of Toyota Avensis Sedan marketed in the Europe. The 2nd generation XB is sold in Japan as Toyota Corolla Rumion. It is a compact wagon that is 5-door box-shaped. The XD is a subcompact car built on the platform of Toyota Yaris and marketed in Japan as the 2nd generation Toyota. It is a 5 door car. Below is the list of the different generation of the Scion.
- 2003 – 2006 Scion XA
- 2003 till XB: This has two generations. The first generation falls within 2003 – 2006, while the second generation starts from 2007 till date.
- 2004 – Current scion TC. This has two generations also. The 2004-2010 models are the first generation while 2nd generation are 2007 – to late 2010 models.
- 2007 till date Scion XD
Also see: IQ 2012 Toyota Scion
IQ 2012 Toyota Scion
It will be good for you to know about the pricing of scion in case if you want to buy the car. The car as it has been said before was specifically meant for generation Y consumers. In pricing these cars, the Scion uses a system called Pure Price. This means consumers are to pay only the amount that is pasted on the car. The price can also be displayed on the dealership board or be shown in advert. The essence of this system is to make the buying process easier for the buyer. It removes the hassle involved in negotiating for a car. It will also guide against deception and exploitation of buyers that have little knowledge about car pricing. The use of Pure Price system is one of the things that differentiate scion from other Toyota brands in the US. For example, the Toyota Camry provides many trim levels.
Besides the fabrication of scion car, the Scion also has about 150 accessories of different type on sale. There also some after-market producing companies that are offering accessories through the optimized scion program. So, if you own a Scion, there are quite a number of accessories or after-market parts that you can add like subwoofer. However, there is no special package for any accessories. They are all sold individually. Some of the companies that are participating in this optimize program of scion are RAZO, OBX, GReddy and others.
Besides the models of Scion cars mentioned above, the company is also fabricating limited edition vehicles. As implicit from the name, these are vehicles that are produced in limited number. These vehicles come with exclusive accessories. The vehicles are also created in order to elevate the name of the brand in the market. They are available in shouting colors like orange, green, red, blue and yellow. The problem with this limited series is that they are scarce. They are sold immediately once they are introduced in the market. However, any person who can afford it and who wants to buy it can also pre-order in dealership selling the scion vehicles.
Some of these limited editions are:
- 2004 models are xB RS 1.0 and xA Rs 1.0
- 2005 models are xA RS 2.0, xB RS 2.0 and tC RS 1.0
- 2006 models are xA RS 3.0, xB RS 3.0, xB RS 4.0 and tC RS 2.0.
- 2007 model is tC RS 3.0
- 2008 models are xD RS 1.0, xB RS 5.0 and tC RS
- 2009 – xD RS 2.0, tC RS 5.0 and xB RS 6.0
- 2010 – tC RS 6.0 and xB RS 7.0
- 2011 series are xB RS 8.0, tC RS 7.0 and xD RS 3.0
Each of these series has a Scion dealership where it can be found.
There are some strategies employed by Toyota in order to market these brands of cars. Toyota employed what can be described as guerrilla marketing strategy. They were making use of posters, TV ads directing buyers to their site and also advert in the movie theaters. They also make use of online advertisement, regional viral campaigns, decals, graphics and the likes in marketing scion brand of vehicles.
Generally, scion is a good brand of car that you can buy not just because of the performance capacity but also because of the beauty it radiates.