Ridiculous Rebadges: A Trio of Boxes

"Amoore100" (amoore100) 04/18/2016 at 22:27 • Filed to: Ridiculous Rebadges, Scion, Toyota, Subaru, Daihatsu

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Welcome to Ridiculous Rebadges, a series of articles in which I go through and examine the details and circumstances surrounding some of the more infamous and some of the more esoteric vehicular rebadges throughout automotive history.

This rebdage was recommended to me by RazoE. Thanks again!

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If the awkward Suzuki SX4 and Fiat Sedici managed to carve out their own niche within the up-and-coming crossover market back in 2005, then this car was even wackier but also managed to start a revolution of its own. Born as the Scion xB in the United States from the JDM bB in 2004 , the xB created the square cars which are still popular today such as the Nissan Cube, Kia Soul, and Skoda Yeti. While these boxy wonders took their spots on the world market, Toyota quietly released the second-generation xB, a far more curvaceous and boring successor. However, in Japan, the bB was succeeded by a far more interesting vehicle than the dowdy Corolla Rumion.

Meet the second generation Toyota bB aka Subaru Rex aka Daihatsu Coo/Materia. They were designed specifically for the Asian market since the Rumion was catered to American tastes (and thus lost the charm of its predecessor.) The inspiration behind these cubes was said to have been the idea of “A Car-shaped Music Player” which would somehow make them more appealing to Generation Y.

Besides their odd appearance and undeniable JDM style, there was nothing particularly noteworthy about these subcompact squares as they all came with standard Toyota 1.3L and 1.5L I4's (no flat-4 Subaru, sorry). They did, however, come with AWD as an option and a four speed auto. So they’re probably good in the city, but likely not much else.

I, for one, love the looks of them (especially Subie and Daihatsu) and would have loved to have seen them instead of the xB. Anyone else with me?

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dogisbadob > Amoore100 04/18/2016 at 22:45

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Totally agree with you that Scion should’ve made this the 2nd-gen xB instead of the fat pig we got

RazoE > Amoore100 04/18/2016 at 22:51

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A note worthy mention is the Great Wall Cool Bear (not a word of that is made up)

It was made (stolen design) off an American Scion xB, but it had a JDM flare to it and had a 2nd gen style front. It’s probably based on the xB and not the bB because the bB never got a manual transmission! What’s also interesting is that it has a Toyota engine, which is similar, if not the same as the 1NZ-FE of the xB/bB.

A “crossover” version was made called the Great Wall M2

It’s sold in Russia, but I don’t speak it, so I can’t give much info on it.

What’s ironic is Cool Bear parts are actually popular with xB owners wanting something different, as almost everything and anything has been done to xB’s, and since an actual xb was used to build it, almost everything is bolt-on.

http://www.autoblog.com/photos/gwm-coo…

ranwhenparked > Amoore100 04/18/2016 at 23:04

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Replacing the original xB with the Rumion was arguably the point where Scion totally lost whatever relevance it might have originally had. I don’t know that importing the new bB would have saved them, but it might have prolonged the inevitable for a few more years.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > RazoE 04/18/2016 at 23:16

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I’d totally drive the M2, if it’s AWD, and manual

Amoore100 > ranwhenparked 04/18/2016 at 23:17

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Agreed. The new bB might have needed a few changes (like not having a four-speed auto), but for the most part these were the funky, JDM-style vehicles that Scion made their name upon. I agree with Torchinsky in that we should have gotten the Spade if not this, since what’s funkier than a box with one sliding door and two standard doors?

Amoore100 > dogisbadob 04/18/2016 at 23:19

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Curvy yet still boxy and chic. Now look at this tragedy.

facw > Amoore100 04/18/2016 at 23:19

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We need more cars with column shifters. They just feel so much cooler.

Amoore100 > facw 04/18/2016 at 23:27

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I concur. Anything and everything that came on the original Citroen DS can be considered cool in my book, thus the column shifter ranks right up there.

Probenja > RazoE 04/18/2016 at 23:38

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Great wall also made the florid, that looks like an xA:

Most likely they were reverse engineered engines and platforms of a Toyota Yaris.

Amoore100 > RazoE 04/18/2016 at 23:50

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Ohhhh, I remember the Cool Bear! It was among the ‘most blatant copies of Western cars from China’ when it first came out. I think it blends the first and second gen Bb’s impeccably though, if I had an xB I would actually consider that styling upgrade.

The M2 was always a bit too poseur in my opinion, it might have had AWD and been ok off-road but the shape of the xB doesn’t lend itself well to body cladding.

Amoore100 > Probenja 04/18/2016 at 23:54

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In my opinion, the Florid looks more Yaris than xA, but in the end they all had the same underpinnings.

Tapas > Amoore100 04/19/2016 at 01:05

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I’ve seen these around.

Still don’t know why 3 different companies chose to sell this car.

Its a box on wheels. Just pick the best iteration of the design, offer 2 or 3 trims and call it a day.

Amoore100 > Tapas 04/19/2016 at 01:44

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Where do you live? Obviously not here in the United States/North America, but I’m curious to find out where other Oppos are ;)

It makes some sense to me, Daihatsu is like Toyota’s Dacia or Skoda so they offer the same models at a lower cost, while Subaru probably has nothing in that segment so they wanted their own competitor through the Toyota connection (like the GT86/BRZ).

Yeah, considering there’s already three variants Toyota really should have just made a fourth and sold it in the states instead of developing the completely unnecessary Corolla Rumion/xB.

Tapas > Amoore100 04/19/2016 at 02:57

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I recently moved to Singapore :) Used to live in Houston before that.

Toyota bought Diahatsu to use them and develop cheap cars. Great*.

After developing this, they should have just sold this as different trims. Purely because it is such a crap and un-special car, I don’t want to see a lot of them on the road. If Toyota failed to sell them and stopped at just that, I’d have been more happy lol

I’m not sure what Subaru’s role was in making this car. I couldn’t find anything on wiki. So I’m guessing Subaru just wanted a cheap car to sell but didnt want to develop one. So they paid Toyota a licensing fee? But then why sell it in the same market that already has 2 other variants of the same car?

I feel differently about the BRZ/GT86. Toyobaru developed it together and built an affordable sporty car from scratch. They both deserve to make their own versions.

(* But I just don’t think its a brand that needed to be kept alive. Toyota has sold bare bones vehicles before. They haven’t evolved to a luxury brand. So I’m not sure what they were thinking. Maybe they just wanted to keep the Diahatsu factory and people seperate, give them the shit car to make and let them operate as a semi-independent brand instead of taking a responsibility to integrate them? /rant)

Amoore100 > Tapas 04/19/2016 at 03:23

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Nice! Must be a pretty big change from Houston to Singapore, that’s for sure.

Well Toyota has actually held interest in Daihatsu ever since 1967, so for most of Daihatsu history they have basically been the Scion of the world, except with less of the youth branding and more of the focus on value. It could be that in some Southeast Asian markets, Daihatsu is more recognized for being accessible and so people consider purchasing them where they would never think of owning a Toyota, just like how the Romanians still buy the Renault-Dacias and the Czech still buy the VW-Skodas. I personally kind of like this cross-breeding because it makes the roads more diverse, so instead of many identical Toyota bB’s, at least the Subaru and Daihatsu help to break up the sales volume a bit. An American example would be the Chevy Trailblazer/Isuzu Ascender/GMC Envoy, etc.

The Subaru scenario may be one-sided, but it’s far from out of the ordinary. Take examples such as the latest Toyota Yaris sedan (Mazda 2), the Toyota Proace (Citroen Jumpy), and Mazda BT-50 (Ford Ranger). All of these were instances in which their respective manufacturers lacked a model to fill what they saw as a sales opportunity and so turned to another for help. It really benefits both sides, so I’m all for supporting it, and sometimes it helps the consumers too (e.g. if there’s a Toyota dealer closer to a prospective buyer but no Mazda dealer anywhere nearby). The fact that they’re selling it in the same market means that it is an important model for that region, and many buyers won’t even recognize the similarity Others may hold on to brand loyalty as a major part of their buying factor as well, which is probably what keeps the Citroen Jumpy/Fiat Scudo/Peugeot Expert/Toyota Proace line going (as an example).

In fact, it is more rare to find automakers collaborating equally on an effort to bring several cars to market, although it has happened in the past as in the Sevel North Eurovans where PSA and Fiat partnered to create a competitor to the wildly successful Espace. Licensing off of another manufacturer may not be fair or justified, but it sells which is all that matters.

Finally, it’s not that Toyota was ever seen as a luxury brand, but they’re definitely not seen as the entry-level cars they were fifty years ago. Just like how Nissan brought back its ‘Datsun’ marque for third world countries, the ‘Daihatsu’ name is almost like the ‘Hyundai’ badge here in the US was a decade ago, reliable cars for people looking for a good deal. They may not actually be that much cheaper, but the perceived value is there based on the nameplate, which, again, means everything.

Whew, that ended up being longer than expected. You can tell I really find amusement in rambling on about these rebadges and their ulterior motives. Sorry about the length, but I really enjoyed this conversation!

Tapas > Amoore100 04/19/2016 at 06:35

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Yes, its a big change. Unfortunately, its not a completely pleasant one, since it is ridiculously expesnive to own/drive a car in Singapore :(

You touched on a few points I didn’t know. I enjoyed your post :)

I see what you mean, about different dealerships reaching different markets and selling to people with brand loyalties. But except China, most countries/markets in South East Asia aren’t that large.

I also see how different brands want to fill a type of car that they haven’t developed, but I’m really surprised that that Subaru can sell enough variants of that car in a country of 6 million people (Singapore) while competing with Toyota/Scion.

Finally, I have to admit most of my outrage was because of my dislike of that car. I’m sure some people genuinely love that boxy shape, but I don’t.

RazoE > Probenja 04/19/2016 at 09:30

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*Horrid

Probenja > RazoE 04/19/2016 at 11:58

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You should have seen the Cross version:

At least the newer M4 doesn’t look too bad (even though it has fake hood vents):

Amoore100 > Tapas 04/20/2016 at 03:09

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Oh yeah, I had heard about that, it sounds like it would have been an awful change. How recently did you move? For me, at least, the culture shock would have been astounding, and that’s even from an Asian POV (well, American Born Chinese, that is.)

Haha, I figure we’re all here to teach each other something that we care about! ;)

True, I get what you’re saying there, but obviously the middle/upper class still buys cars and if the pictures that I see are accurate, there’s a strong loyalty to Japanese brands!

Well, since Subaru is a smaller company they don’t need as many sales to fulfill their profit margin especially since they didn’t spend any money on the R&D for the product, and it’s as much increasing brand awareness as anything else by offering something in a segment not previously associated with the automaker.

No worries there, we all like what we like and, although I don’t see myself owning one of these boxes, I do think they have their place in the automotive world. For me the thing that I despise personally are those mini-CUV’s which look SUV-like but are worse in every way compared to a standard hatch. When a V60 XC (which is nothing more than a lifted wagon with AWD) can do better off road than your “rugged” Toyota RAV4 LE, something is wrong in the universe.

Tapas > Amoore100 04/20/2016 at 09:14

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Yeah, its really not a bad place. I’m not a huge fan of it. It’s been about 6 months since I moved here.

Cars here are more of a liability than a convenience. If you have one, it’s because you really need it or you’re rich enough to not care. This doesn’t leave much room for enthusiasts, beyond taking pictures of other millionaire’s cars.

I guess that’s Subaru’s call.

And I despise the the CUVs too. Theyre hatchbacks wearing heels. CDV (Cross Dressing Vehicle) is a more fitting name.

RT > Amoore100 06/01/2016 at 12:46

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I can confirm the Daihatsu version was sold in Europe for a bit.

Not as imports or anything, but actually in Daihatsu dealerships.

It’s a shame they’ve now pulled a Suzuki and pulled out of this market though. :/