“No. I dont want to drive around in a car that looks like it was styled after Eastern Island relic”

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I’m driving a tiki head!

With that said exactly how many of the org. xB did Toyota sell in the USA with a stick and how many were sold with a automatic?

While I will also admit that the styling of the new xB leave much to be desired I think Toyota did get all the other aspects of the xB correct.
With the addition of the xD Scion does have room for a the larger xB. While the xD is not a direct replacement for the xB it does fit into the 4dr sub-compact segement very well and it is equiped with a hatchback for utility.

The 2.4l engine is a much better fit for a hauler vehicle, it has decent low-end and very good mid-range torque. It is also all but indestructable, and works very well with the 4spd autobox. Equiped with a manual it is fun to drive yet does not require the maintenance of a turbo or premium fuel.

The new chassis does have a much more substantial feel to it. Yes, it is heavier but it also feel much safer. You no longer feel like there is only a sheet of tin-foil between you and all the other vehicles on the road.

Now, would I buy an xB? No. I dont want to drive around in a car that looks like it was styled after Eastern Island relic and I like to be able to see out of the rear quarters. If Toyota fixed the styling my interest would be peaked, until then I guess I will check out the new Matrix.

I’d like to see Scion bring over the bB’s actual successor as the new xB, and send out new badges to ‘08 xb owners. While they’re at it, they should bring over the Aygo as the new xA.

I currently own an ‘08 xB and have driven quite a bit in the original one and can say with certainty that they are both very different vehicles (and I like both very much). The difference is, the original I consider a great vehicle for myself as a commuter, while the new model excels as a family vehicle and kept me out of a minivan or SUV.

And ZoomZoom, how the heck do your friends pronounce “Chevrolet”, “Audi”, “Hyundai”, etc? Dodge = Dod-gee? At least Scion is a real English word.

Quasimondo: If I can merge with a short, uphill ramp into 70mph traffic on the crowded Merritt Parkway in a loaded down Prius for vacation, so can you. I do that on nearly every road trip we go on. It just comes down to using all 100 of those horses, not the car’s performance.

Tell that to people that drive on short on-ramps behind people who don’t feel it’s necessary to enter a busy highway at 65 mph.

Pay no attention to the smarmy veiled stereotypes contained in the previous commentary.

Bad move on the name.

And yeah, where is Mr. Yates these days? His third and latest editorial was written back on February 11th.

We hope he’s in deep undercover preparing to file a new report on the seamy underbelly of…

You only have to spend a few minutes at a Scion forum to realize how polarized the gen1 and gen2 camps are. And “grown up” isn’t what comes to mind when they rip on each other. I’m glad you like your new xB. And I like my old one. How hard is that?

It’s coming for sure, but it will be a new generation. It may not be quite as lithe as the current one, but I think (hope) Nissan gets the picture.

In Canada it is now possible to purchase 15 year old Kei cars like the Honda Beat and some very cool Suzukis. Sooner or later progressive US states are going to permit similar vehicles, perhaps employing the logic that they are safer than motorcycles.

Sometime in ‘09 (for the ‘10 model year) Nissan is purportedly bringing the Cube to America.

Get one before they, too, become bloated.

Has Yates departed TTAC? Did I miss something?

Is it just me, or am I seeing a rucurring theme of fatty-food analogies about the new xB “McRibs” (Dyer) and “stuffed sausage” (Detroit News) since my review where I called it a “hamburger wrapped in greasy paper”? Do they read us, or is it coincidence?

CarShark: The Rumion is the xB with a different front clip.

Instead, it has mutated into some sort of crazy marketing exercise. Toyota should hive off Scion, study what went wrong, fix it, and employ the methodology on the parent company as well.

I think the Corolla Rumion pulls the new, rounded look off better.

There are countless mistakes Toyota has made with the Scion brand. Some are painfully obvious (embracing the very ‘bigness’ that most young buyers despise) while others are a bit more debatable (why not keep the Celica name and issue special versions to keep that model fresh).

However the biggest failure for Toyota is their insane inability to look beyond the numbers. If anything, Toyota’s recent debacles suggest that a company focused on growth uber alles, is incapable of providing products that can change the automotive landscape. The Xb, Corolla, Matrix, Xd, and Yaris ought to be at the forefront of the young consumer’s shopping list. Instead they’re reaffirming Toyota’s reputation of being an older person’s car company. If Scion is to succeed, they simply can’t be the equivalent of a Toyota with an ugly facelift.

Scion is not for me. My version of smart and affordable transport looks more like the old Xb with better handling, a bigger engine, and a S5 interior. Saturn Astra comes closes perhaps. Anyhow, I do not need to tell anyone who I am, hence I have no need to hear Scions’ marketing.