About Scion

Automotive Design & Production, Jan, 2003 by Gary S. Vasilash

Although you may have heard of Scion as being Toyota's "youth brand," that, according to lames D. Farley, corporate manager for Scion, is not precisely, nor entirely, true. It is, Farley said to the Automotive Press Association of Detroit, an effort to create vehicles that are targeted at Generation Y, or the "Net Gen," people who, right now, are aged from 8 to 22, people who have been driving since 1996. By 2020, this group of people will not only be much older, but they will be to the market what the Baby Boomers are now. Toyota wants to make sure that they have products that are relevant to this group now so that Toyota will continue to have relevance in the future.

And what should come as a reason for Toyota's competitors to sit up and take notice is Farley's observation: "This is Toyota's way of challenging ourselves."

This will be challenges of many types, from design through engineering to manufacturing...and even to the dealerships (there will be, most often, a Scion store within a given Toyota dealership; sales will start initially in California in June 2003, with a national launch and a full initial complement of three vehicles by the summer of 2004).

According to Farley, what they will be building is a suite of vehicles that meet the Net Gen's "luxury expectations at a subcompact price." One of the approaches that they are taking is to have what they're describing as a "mono-spec": There will be standard AC, power windows/doors/mirrors, Pioneer sound system, sport seats, and various comfort and convenience features. Presumably, that contributes to fulfilling some of those luxury expectations. They are working at design that is both "subtle but expressive." If you look at the accompanying bbx concept vehicle (which is 157-in. long, 63-in, high, 68-in, wide, and has a 98.4-in, wheelbase), you might say that this is anything but subtle. Farley says that there are details that are subtle, cues that the intended customers are looking for.

Here's something that is impressive: Scion is planning to have a four-year lifecycle for a given vehicle. After that, it is a major redesign. Perhaps, even, an entirely different concept, Farley stated. And he admitted that this is a challenge to Toyota's manufacturing capabilities. But as he put it: "If we don't connect with this new customer, we will all have a very discounted future."