XB had a good run but NO more
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Sorry to see it go
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Agree. In my opinion Scion has lost its original vision. They no longer Dare to be Different.
Look at their prior offerings: xD, xB, iQ: all had something different to offer in terms of styling, value, and/or content. The TC and FR-S also have uniqueness to offer.
Look at their current offerings of iM and iA. Not much that is original, they blend into the crowd. In fact the iA is a Mazda underneath, right?
Sigh...
Look at their prior offerings: xD, xB, iQ: all had something different to offer in terms of styling, value, and/or content. The TC and FR-S also have uniqueness to offer.
Look at their current offerings of iM and iA. Not much that is original, they blend into the crowd. In fact the iA is a Mazda underneath, right?
Sigh...
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41 Posts
The xb in my humble opinion became to expensive, large and plush. They should have kept the smaller early corolla version in production with its inexpensive price, and the sale numbers would have stayed up. The used bB is still a good solid small van with lots of use options, to both business, as a personal car and especially a smaller size family vehicle.
The xb gen 2 was a great vehicle but I feel the dealer listed price killed the sale numbers compared to other cars with similar use, size, style and design. Nissan also killed the Cube here in the states, and the smaller version is/was quite popular in Japan.
The last two years I have traveled for weeks in Japan during the rainy season using a 660 cc Honda N Box and it drives and reminds me of my Gen one xB. The gas mileage and low cost licence fee of the smaller engine size makes the smaller cars good selling vehicles in Japan.
This size/class is something that has never occurred to auto manufactures, regulator and state licencing. With so many short trips made by drivers in the US this class of vehicle is still totally ignored, when a small gas or electric engine would provide ample speeds to drop children off at school, complete short commute trips, and function well as a weekly or daily Grocery Getter.
To me it is quite funny to see a single person drive a large suburban across town for work, and it sits all day in the parking lot and then burns another 2 or 3 gallons of gas in the stop and go traffic of their commute trip home. There are 2 Hummers in the office parking lot, that look like they have never seen a dusty road. Great Commute vehicle!
Well I got off topic, sorry! Toyota under the Scion brand discontinued a great utility vehicle that could have been manufactured for years as a spartan offering at the entry level price that would have had a long run as a good selling product, similar to the Mini Cooper and the VW Bug.
JR
2006 Silver xB sporting 17 wheels
The xb gen 2 was a great vehicle but I feel the dealer listed price killed the sale numbers compared to other cars with similar use, size, style and design. Nissan also killed the Cube here in the states, and the smaller version is/was quite popular in Japan.
The last two years I have traveled for weeks in Japan during the rainy season using a 660 cc Honda N Box and it drives and reminds me of my Gen one xB. The gas mileage and low cost licence fee of the smaller engine size makes the smaller cars good selling vehicles in Japan.
This size/class is something that has never occurred to auto manufactures, regulator and state licencing. With so many short trips made by drivers in the US this class of vehicle is still totally ignored, when a small gas or electric engine would provide ample speeds to drop children off at school, complete short commute trips, and function well as a weekly or daily Grocery Getter.
To me it is quite funny to see a single person drive a large suburban across town for work, and it sits all day in the parking lot and then burns another 2 or 3 gallons of gas in the stop and go traffic of their commute trip home. There are 2 Hummers in the office parking lot, that look like they have never seen a dusty road. Great Commute vehicle!
Well I got off topic, sorry! Toyota under the Scion brand discontinued a great utility vehicle that could have been manufactured for years as a spartan offering at the entry level price that would have had a long run as a good selling product, similar to the Mini Cooper and the VW Bug.
JR
2006 Silver xB sporting 17 wheels
Local dealer still has a couple new 14s for sale.
The Elio is supposed to be available next fall. Small with gas mileage of 80 plus. Will be a interesting entry into the auto world if gas stays under $2. 70% percent of Americans commute with one in the vehicle. I like motorcycles but MN is not very weather friendly 9 months of the year
The Elio is supposed to be available next fall. Small with gas mileage of 80 plus. Will be a interesting entry into the auto world if gas stays under $2. 70% percent of Americans commute with one in the vehicle. I like motorcycles but MN is not very weather friendly 9 months of the year
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I agree that a smaller vehicle makes more sense than most vehicles available for sale here in the US. The problem is twofold: (1) meeting current safety standards and (2) meeting mainstream US consumer buying habits and expectations. Three vehicles that tried: Honda N600 and Z600 (motorcycle engine), Smart Cars, and Scion iQ. All three tried to market a smaller vehicle with a smaller profile and engine. All three had to make compromises to satisfy US safety requirements. And all 3 were/are ignored by the mainstream US consumer. Which is the main reason why automobile manufacturers don't usually go there. (The N600 and Z600 were followed by the larger, heavier, and more conventional Civic, which sold and continues to sell well).
BTW I applaud BMW for their current electric vehicle. While I wouldn't buy one because I don't like the looks, I admire that BMW had the guts to market such a car, that is so different from their usual product.
(Did you see that? I just fell into the "mainstream US consumer" group that I so recently blamed for not embracing vehicles that make more sense...)
Somewhat related: some state and local laws are slow to accommodate electrically powered bicycles and scooters, which make perfect sense for quick/short local trips and/or for short distance fair weather commuting.
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