Scion – Not your Daddy’s Toyota

The Toyota brand has been a mainstay of the automotive industry for years, and generations of drivers have been able to personally attest to the automaker’s reputation for outstanding reliability and performance. Yet, like any successful brand, Toyota’s success is largely due to its ability to market itself to new generation of prospective customers.

Generation Y has proven, however, to be a difficult group of kids to peg. The advances in technology that they’ve seen during their lifetimes have made them accustomed to expecting more from their products than their predecessors. Yet at the same, the proliferation of media and the increased exposure (good and bad) that it’s brought has led them to develop a general sense of mistrust towards corporate America. As such, many retailers have found it difficult to speak their language through marketing and advertising. Toyota was no exception to this. No exception, that is, until Scion.

Scion’s History

Beginning in 1999, Toyota realized it needed to present a fresh new line of products in order to attract younger customers. The automaker launched Project Genesis, a campaign focused on developing and marketing smaller compact vehicles to younger drivers. New vehicles released during this campaign included the Echo and a redesigned MR-2 and Celica. Consumer response was nowhere near what they anticipated, and the project was ultimately deemed a failure and cancelled in 2001.

However, the folks at Toyota remained determined to learn from their mistakes and try again. The success of a smaller-scale project marketing new vehicles to younger Japanese drivers under the WiLL brand name helped to convince them that in order to tap into a younger market, they needed a new brand that young customers could call their own. They would market this new brand through digital and viral campaigns, convinced that those mediums were the better way to reach their target audience. The company retained the services of Fresh Machine, a digital design company, to develop a new brand, logo, and website. Through these efforts, Scion was born.

Presented By Scion

What’s in a Name?

The name “scion” was chosen specifically for its reference to not only its place within the Toyota lexicon, but also to those customers for whom the brand was intended. The word itself means “descendant” or “heir.” The Scion brand has inherited its predecessor’s quality and reliability, and carries with it the responsibility of building upon the reputation of the Toyota name. Those to whom Scion cars are marketed are the descendants of Toyota’s long line of loyal customers, and are thus entitled to enjoy the same vehicle benefits that their parents and grandparents did.

A Different Kind of Ride

Given that Scion was always meant to be a special brand, one shouldn’t be surprised that the experience of buying a Scion car is unique from any other vehicles line. Since one of the identifying traits of its target audience is to view concepts such as “price negotiation” and “hidden charges” with skepticism, Scion bucks the traditional trend of an MSRP in favor of a Pure Price. Pure Price is a transparent pricing system that skips the process of negotiating a deal for the car. Simply put, the price that one sees at the dealership, on a dealer’s website, or in any promotional ads is the price that he or she will pay. This includes any accessories, finance rates, and insurance products.

Unlike traditional vehicle lines, all lines of Scion cars have a single standard trim. Yet all Scion vehicles are designed to be customized to each individual driver, with over 150 different post-production accessories that one can choose from. Popular companies such as GReddy, OBX, and RAZO help contribute to Scion customization.

Anyone looking to break from the norm with their next auto purchase would do well in considering a Scion. By doing so, he or she helps fulfill the car’s purpose: offering a unique driving experience meant to show one’s generational identity.