Car and Driver Aug...

zinger said:

...the advent of vinyl siding. You can't change the color of your house every few years with a coat of paint so they make colors that will appeal (at least not offend) anyone.

Don't you think the same is probably true of the auto industry?...

Not that I am saying it's ok though! I like bold colors or colors that are different from most other cars.

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Well, I disagree; it's not just the colors holding sales back. I see lots of black and silver Mazdas on the road, and for that matter, the teals and powder blues of the Camry and Sonata are very...safe, and those cars sell well.

Isn't it all just the cliche that plain-colored cars get less tickets?

TartanJack said:

My point with the kids was the size and practicality in a, relatively small package that is also a BLAST to drive is missing from any existent Scion or xB ads, but that IS the essence of the xB.
... The 72 cubic feet (seats flat) cargo bay in the small package was a HUGE selling point to me.

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Me too, but that very trait is part of the reason the xB's time has passed. Customers are downsizing and car companies are shoving small cars out the door--

--That is, little tiny compact and subcompact cars like the Ford Focus and Chevy Sonic that all of a sudden have stunning luxurious interiors, light curb weights, 6-speeds, and 40MPG highway.

A new car has to look and feel fuel efficient, even though 40MPG or 50MPG can only save me $500 a year. MPGs are a feature, equal to headroom, legroom, and passing power. The xB just looks wrong: an SUV that isn't; a strange wagon. And then when you go look at the MPG, it's not that fuel efficient anyway.

I bought the xB as the ultimate autophobe, dividing headroom by purchase price multiplied by MPG. Now having become a raging gearhead, I got a stick shift xB, because no other car can match the xB's interior space and perky handling.

But I'm not most car buyers. It's not enough that our xB is so well balanced and so easy to live with. The xB and Scion itself need a stronger goal than just introducing a few new kids to Toyota.

For me, the elephant in the room is this question:

Why does the Kia Soul sell so well but the xB sells so poorly?

I have two answers: The short answer? Fuel Economy. 34MPG highway from 6-speed transmissions and a smaller engine that makes more horespower than a stock xB.

The long answer? Because Kia tries so hard. They're on a mission; Kia and Hyundai have been on a mission for the past five years to rise above their rental-car image. So the Kia Soul has a densely-featured interior with deeply integrated infotainment and a factory backup camera. That car looks and feels significant, well-appointed, and fuel efficient. Then look at our xB: it looks and feelsindustrial, plasticky, utilitarian, and blank! Blank as in "use it as a canvas," "roll your own in-dash GPS and subwoofers." Nothing wrong with that, except it's not the way many buyers shop. What, do they expect me to buy those weird "vortex generator" things to get better MPG?

Sorry, but I've found it galling that Toyota has treated the xB with such carelessness. The tC, FR-S, and iQ? Toyota seems to care more about those cars, so maybe Scion has a future, but there's still not enough focus.

Now, whether the xB is an ideal or a "wrong" vehicle for the Scion brand is a different question . . .
I think BOTH have been miss-handled and done so with a serious lack of focus on either building the OR making the most of a great product (the xB).

If the xB was sold as a Toyota, I would still have looked at it. I'm weird and have an odd hatred of sedans as "half-compromised" appliances. I like vehicles that do what they are designed for exceptionally well. That includes sports cars small/cheap (Miata, Porsche, Lotus, MG, Austin-Healey, etc) and expensive (Lambo, Ferrari, Jaguar C, D, and E), off-roaders (Jeep CJ and Land Cruiser FJ), and even small Euro-Vans (Divco U, Austin A35 Countryman, Morris Minor Traveller, Commer Cob. Lloyd Kombi, VW Bus gen 1-3, and more). I also would LOVE a WRX wagon/hatch.
The xB2 IS one of those, by any brand or name.