Toyota IQ to Become Scion IQ

by Edward Niedermeyer

Published: October 10th, 2008

Motor Trend has a hot hand right now with the investigative journalism. After stunning the world by announcing that the new Corvette wouldn’t be mid-engined (gasp!) the MT boyz have more hot, fresh news to blow your mind. Specifically, that they hear rumors that the Toyota iQ could be sold stateside as a Scion. What, you mean the iQ city car won’t be sold next to the cheaper, larger, faster Yaris on Toyota’s showroom floor? We’re shocked, shocked we say. The US iQ will be revealed at the LA Auto Show in November, at which point we will know if it’s to be a Scion or a ‘yota. Not that there’s half as much drama as MT lets on. In addition to the difficulties in positioning the iQ vis-a-vis the Yaris, there’s also the concern that it could steal some thunder from the new Prius, set to be unveiled early next year in Detroit. Yes, it would be priced similarly to the xD, but the size an door-count differences make cannibalism less of an issue than if the iQ were branded as a Toyota. Besides, Scion desperately needs a sales boost right about now. Then again, the iQ could also fit well with a rumored dedicated Prius brand… except that it will be expensive and efficient enough without a hybrid powertrain. And so Toyota begins to reap the bitter harvest of multiple brands, an early symptom of what ToMoCo Prez Watanabe calls “Big Company Syndrome.”

Edward Niedermeyer

More by Edward Niedermeyer

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 19 comments

Anonymous on Apr 10, 2009

[...] Green| Motors 10 Apr 2009 The Scion IQ, which is a pimped out Toyota IQ. TheTruthAboutCars.com suggests Toyota’s branding move is designed to protect the Toyota Yaris business Stateside. [...]

Like Reply
Spartanfan78 on Apr 26, 2009

Being a Scion driver already, I think this little thing is SWEET! It might be ugly, but I bet it's like a little race car. Our local Toyota dearer also has a separate showroom for Scions, and a very very intelligent sales representative. I think Scions are wonderful. They're affordable, and they don't depreciate. The 4-cylinder we drive has so much pep. Look into one. They're pretty great. In response to landcrusher (who posted back in October and probably won't read this!), why is Scion any different than other branching done by auto companies? Aren't Ford & Mercury practically the same? (I'm not educated in this, so if I'm wrong, it's okay to point and laugh)

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Akear Does anyone care how the world's sixth largest carmaker conducts business. Just a quarter century ago GM was the world's top carmaker. [list=1][*]Toyota Group: Sold 10.8 million vehicles, with a growth rate of 4.6%.[/*][*]Volkswagen Group: Achieved 8.8 million sales, growing sharply in America (+16.6%) and Europe (+20.3%).[/*][*]Hyundai-Kia: Reported 7.1 million sales, with surges in America (+7.9%) and Asia (+6.3%).[/*][*]Renault Nissan Alliance: Accumulated 6.9 million sales, balancing struggles in Asia and Africa with growth in the Americas and Europe.[/*][*]Stellantis: Maintained the fifth position with 6.5 million sales, despite substantial losses in Asia.[/*][*]General Motors, Honda Motor, and Ford followed closely with 6.2 million, 4.1 million, and 3.9 million sales, respectively.[/*][/list=1]
THX1136 A Mr. J. Sangburg, professional manicurist, rust repairer and 3 times survivor is hoping to get in on the bottom level of this magnificent property. He has designs to open a tea shop and used auto parts store in the facility as soon as there is affordable space available. He has stated, for the record, "You ain't seen anything yet and you probably won't." Always one for understatement, Mr. Sangburg hasn't been forthcoming with any more information at this time. You can follow the any further developments @GotItFiguredOut.net.
TheEndlessEnigma And yet government continues to grow....
TheEndlessEnigma Not only do I not care about the move, I do not care about GM....gm...or whatever it calls itself.
Redapple2 As stated above, gm now is not the GM of old. They say it themselves without realizing it. New logo: GM > gm. As much as I dislike my benefactor (gm spent ~ $200,000 on my BS and MS) I try to be fair, a smart business makes timely decisions based on the reality of the current (and future estimates) situation. The move is a good one.