A line from the "Scions ranked" article caught my attention.

"TheOnelectronic" (theoneelectronic) 02/03/2016 at 17:24 • Filed to: None

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!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

To me, that is exactly what killed Scion. They kept making cars that could be described by that sentence.

I will admit to loving the xB. It was cool in a quirky way that the Soul and Cube later capitalized on.

The Tc, while maybe lacking the performance to fit its appearance, was a good looking car, and I am always a fan of glass roofs.

And of course the FR-S was the first small, cheap, RWD sports car that wasn’t a miata in ages.

But just about everything else Scion put out was just... unremarkable. Not really bad, not really good, not even memorable.

For a brand that was positioned as cool and edgy and with it and paradigm-shattering, Toyota just couldn’t quite commit. Like a first-time skydiver, they’d hyped themselves up and gotten all the way to the doorway; but then they looked down at the prospect of making fun, engaging small cars and they backed away. They chose the safe, known territory of making numb, inoffensive transportation.

And maybe we’re to blame for that. They made a car that should check a large number of an enthusiasts boxes, and nobody bought one.

Because we figured we’d wait to get a used one, or because we thought a car with similar performance to some of the great sports cars of our era was underpowered (it’s not). Whatever the reason, already disappointing sales have gone even lower.

Maybe I was wrong. Maybe the problem isn’t that Toyota never embraced the enthusiast market, it’s that the enthusiast market just isn’t relevant.

For Sweden > TheOnelectronic 02/03/2016 at 17:27

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burn the witch

TheOnelectronic > For Sweden 02/03/2016 at 17:33

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Are you referring to my accidental discovery of the alternate quote formatting?

CB > TheOnelectronic 02/03/2016 at 17:34

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“Maybe I was wrong. Maybe the problem isn’t that Toyota never embraced the enthusiast market, it’s that the enthusiast market just isn’t relevant.”

It’s pretty much this, I feel. “We’ll all buy this car! What, it doesn’t meet super specific criteria x, y, and z? Boo, I’m not buying one!”

Enthusiasts are wankers. If it’s cheap but not fast enough, then they get angry. If it’s fast and handles well but is expensive, they get angry. Enthusiasts will never be happy.

For Sweden > TheOnelectronic 02/03/2016 at 17:34

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yes

TheOnelectronic > For Sweden 02/03/2016 at 17:35

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Apparently you click the quote icon twice or something. I’m not entirely sure how I did it, just that it happened.

TheOnelectronic > CB 02/03/2016 at 17:36

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The more frustrating thing for me is the “Eh, I’ll buy one in a few years when the price has come down.”

No one should make a purchase outside of their means, but the problem is when too many people have that reaction. There won’t be any used ones if nobody buys them new.

For Sweden > TheOnelectronic 02/03/2016 at 17:37

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!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Ernie @ Kinja > TheOnelectronic 02/03/2016 at 17:37

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CB > TheOnelectronic 02/03/2016 at 17:42

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I think it’s sort of similar to the prisoner’s dilemma, if you’re familiar with it. There are four possible combinations: you buy new, they buy new, in which everyone pays full MSRP; you buy new, they don’t buy new, in which you pay full MSRP and they save money since they can buy used; you don’t buy new, they buy new, which is optimal for you since it gives you a chance to buy used and save money later on; and finally you don’t buy new, they don’t buy new, in which everyone loses because there aren’t any used cars available.

So realistically, it’s in our best interests for the “you don’t buy new, they buy new” option, but the “you don’t buy new, they don’t buy new” option is far more likely, since everyone will be wanting to save money.

Hopefully that makes sense.

TheOnelectronic > CB 02/03/2016 at 17:45

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Yeah, I’m familiar with the Prisoner’s Dilemma case, and I think you’re right that it applies here.

gin-san - shitpost specialist > CB 02/03/2016 at 18:47

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Yup, and it appears that pretty much all manufacturers have recognized this and cater almost exclusively to enthusiasts who actually have money. If you think about the high-end of the market: GT-R, Cayman GT4, 911 (the many, many special editions, like the Sport Classic, GT3/RS), Boxster Spyder, AMG/M/RS, those luxury crossovers with ridiculous engines like the Q7 V12, X6M... there are so many performance variants that I’m sure people with this kind of money will go to the badge/brand that they feel some sort of emotional connection with, however contrived these emotions may be.

It’s the sad truth that enthusiasts all kind of suck. I’m no better - I’d love to go over to a Toyota dealer and get a FR-S right now if it was financially viable. At the very least, I’ve tried to stop bitching and criticizing every single car that I’m not going to buy anytime soon. That Nissan IDx and Toyota S-FR? Enthusiasts say yes now, but the manufacturers know we’re full of shit.