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They may be selling, but who's ready to call Scion another success story like Lexus?  Everyone's been trippin in trying to target our age group these days.  Pontiac Aztek, Honda Element, Toyota Echo, all miserable failures.  Nobody out there gets it.

And as far as Scion goes, the xA was reportedly the one that they expected to succeed.  Guess what, it's been the biggest loser, with about 15-20% of total sales.  The xB, which they expected to sell badly, has been the winner.  And we all know it's selling well because it looks so lame that it happened to cross over into cool.  As for the tC, that's working because it would have worked anyway: sports coupes are interesting.  And it's SO much cheaper than the Celica.  The tC's just in its honeymoon phase anyway, and sports coupe sales drop off fast after two years.

Throw enough balls into the air, and one of em's bound to make a basket, eh?
 

I think it boils down to people having bad taste in cars. Everytime I see a PT Cruiser on the road (which is like every 30 seconds or so) I curse the dealer for not stocking my eclipse with a rocket launcher of some sort, they could have called it the "Eyesore Removal Upgrade". Most looking to buy in the scion price range have been lulled through incentives and clever advertising into purchasing a new vehicle when in reality they can't really afford it in the first place. Aside from the new car smell and the temporary pride of having less than 100 miles reading on the guage, these cheaper than cheap cars have almost no redeeming value (scion tC excluded). I think car buyers in that range should show a little taste and frugalness and purchase something used that doesn't look like Picasso designed it.
 

Here's how it goes:

xA: Too small
xB: Too ugly
tC: Just right
 

Yet the Too Small and Too Ugly cars are attracting crowds.  We're getting some more Too Small cars from Honda, Nissan, and Ford, and Nissan's bringing its Cube over.
 

the fact that toyota decided to include in all the stock models some higher end amenities definitely appeals to the younger market.

for the money and included upgrades, I think the scion might be just right for the target market.   I mean if the car looked too good, then why wouldn't scion cater to the less-price conscious clientele?  moral of the story- maybe you really do get what you pay for... and begs the question...do all the higher-paid & talented design engineers at toyota end up at Lexus?

the difference b/t the scion and the others is that its targeted at the aftermarket tuner fans who want to customize their car - this is something that has been baked into the Scion DNA - this is a huge advantage in the burgeoning tuner and customization market - toyota has hit gold three times
1. luxury alternative to euros with lexus
2. pickup and SUV alternative to domestics
3. first car market alternative that cannibalizes itself and honda nissan
these guys are smart
and oh yeah that Prius is selling pretty good and resales are off the charts!

dont think Scion wont be as successful as anything else Toyota has done - and they are on their way to being the second biggest car maker in the world - huGe!!  

If Scion's a mistake, it's a very very very lucky one.

Toyota can't build Scions fast enough
In January, Scion forecasted that they would sell at least 120,000 cars.  Now, they’re revising that estimate to more than 140,000 although they believe it could be as high as 150,000.  The only problem is that they can’t build the cars fast enough.  Last year, Scion sold 741 cars shy of 100,000 — the first year they sold nationally.  Those kinds of growth numbers seem remarkable for such a new brand and accounted for more than half of Toyota’s 10 percent increase in US sales.  Scion’s average sale price of $17,515 is thousands under the current average transacton price for a new vehicle ($24,520).

And this guy forgot to mention that the tC didn't even go on sale until June.  Probably woulda sold 120K easily.

Check out all those interesting comments...  too bad we don't have more of that here
 

The Scion xA awakened me to the fact that I'm driving a 10-year-old Ford Aspire.  Sure, it runs like clockwork, but.... a ten-year-old Ford Aspire?!?  It's time for something new, and the xA caught my eye.  While I still may end up buying it, I'm leaning away.  The too small doesn't bother me; remember I'm driving an Aspire (which for the driver, actually feels a little roomier than the xA).  What does bother me is the "too harsh".  The model I tested had the optional 17-inch wheels, so maybe stock tires would be a little smoother, but most of the time I'm just commuting and don't need a "sport-tuned suspension".  I think if I buy an xA, I'll regret it over the long haul because the ride quality is too rough for this middle-aged guy.

After driving several smallish hatchbacks, I'm really impressed by the Suzuki Reno.  Luxury car feel in the cabin, smooth ride, maybe a little underpowered and not the best mileage, but I don't have to worry about whether my kidneys will be rattled to pieces.