I grew up in a Toyota family. At one point in my teens, my father, my mother, and my brother drove 4Runners. My first car was a Cressida. Looking back on it all, I think the automaker has a clear idea of its identity: the manufacturer of attainable and durable vehicles.
Given a recent WardsAuto report, I don’t get that same impression from Toyota’s entry-level brand, Scion. At the very least, I think the communication between the suits at Toyota and Scion needs improvement.
Toyota North America CEO Jim Lentz told Wards, “I still personally believe small-premium is the direction we should be going [with Scion]. I think that C-platform premium small cars are probably the best place for Scion to be.” However, Scion Vice President Doug Murtha said, “He may be having discussions at levels I’m not. If he’s able to somehow lobby to take the brand in a new direction, that’s probably a longer-term proposition than we’re looking at right now.” Murtha and his people are still pursuing younger buyers, and need their vehicles to be attainable.
If Lentz gets his way and is able to start repositioning Scion as a small-premium brand, it looks as if he’ll have some room in which to do so. According to Wards, Lexus has said it won’t sell a sub-$30,000 model. Excluding the rear-wheel-drive FR-S sports car, the highest MSRP on the Scion website is $22,170 (tC Monogram Series). The production version of the iM concept won’t fill in that gap, though–in base trim, at least. Pricing for the five-door will start below $20,000.
Whatever Scion ends up doing, it has to do it soon and make it work. The company needs 100,000 annual sales for its U.S. dealers to be profitable. Through October, it only moved 50,285 vehicles. That’s a 14.8-percent decline from the same figure for last year.
As Lexus owners, what do think of all of this?
What would it take for Scion to transform into a small-premium automaker?
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
Where do you go for answers when you have a Lexus with a gorgeous leather interior but are not sure about how to maintain that luxurious look? The "Club Lexus" forums, of course.
