{"id":97108,"date":"2015-07-31T12:30:56","date_gmt":"2015-07-31T16:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=97108"},"modified":"2015-07-31T12:57:17","modified_gmt":"2015-07-31T16:57:17","slug":"scion-open-to-any-product-suitable-as-it-searches-for-turnaround-formula","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2015\/07\/scion-open-to-any-product-suitable-as-it-searches-for-turnaround-formula\/","title":{"rendered":"Scion Open to \u201cAny Product Suitable\u201d as it Searches for Turnaround Formula"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Scion Vice President Doug Murtha said recently he's open to any number of new models for the youth-oriented brand.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Scion will bring two all-new models to market for 2016 \u2013 half of its total line-up. That includes both the new iM hatchback and the iA, the youthful brand\u2019s first sedan. But don\u2019t be surprised to see Scion push into even newer territory in the next few years.<\/p>\n

Struggling to regain momentum after a decade of declining sales, Scion\u2019s new management team is making major changes, including a shift away from the dark, wildly creative advertising that marked its early years. But it\u2019s ultimately all about product, stressed General Manager Doug Murtha, who told TheDetroitBureau.com Scion just might get its own pickup, utility vehicle, or at least something else with all-wheel-drive.<\/p>\n

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Subscribe for Free!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a hand-raiser for any product suitable for the brand,\u201d Murtha said during an interview in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he\u2019d come for a media drive of the new Scion iA and iM models.<\/p>\n

Among the most significant shifts in strategy, Scion is no longer limiting itself to just three products at any one time. It threw out that rule with the arrival of the little FR-S sports car developed as part of a joint venture with Subaru. That could mean as many as six different vehicles at one time, the Scion chief said.<\/p>\n

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Scion is replacing half of its line-up for 2016 with the new iM hatchback and iA sedan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And where Scion originally was designed to pick up some of Toyota\u2019s more quirky foreign models \u2013 like the original xB \u2013 halfway through their lifecycle, some of its future products will be designed specifically for the brand and will likely last a bit longer, Murtha suggested.<\/p>\n

The arrival of the iA sedan, meanwhile, shows that there\u2019s been a shift in the definition of what qualifies as a Scion vehicle. And that could be stretched even further over the next few years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d be open to a pickup or a crossover,\u201d Murtha said, noting that Scion did explore the former option a few years back in the form of A-BAT pickup concept.<\/p>\n

The 2009 show car looked a fair bit like the quirky Santa Cruz that Hyundai is now expected to build \u2013 though the Scion A-BAT concept featured a hybrid drivetrain. That\u2019s apparently not something the brand is now looking at, hybrids to be left to the more expensive Toyota and Lexus brands.<\/p>\n

But all-wheel-drive is another story.<\/p>\n

While Scion has remained strong in a few regions, such as Los Angeles, it has fallen off the radar in a number of other markets, especially in the Snowbelt. As a result, overall sales plunged from a 2006 peak of 173,000 to just 58,000 last year. The brand could use something that would help it gain traction \u2013 quite literally.<\/p>\n

(TDB takes its first drive in the new Scion iA sedan. For details, <\/em>Click Here<\/a><\/span>.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d be very interested in an all-wheel-drive vehicle,\u201d Murtha said. Much like Lexus has experienced after adding that traction-enhancing technology to its line-up, \u201cIt\u2019s a way we (at Scion) could increase our share in some colder climates.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Murtha cautioned that there is so far \u201cno commitment\u201d from corporate planners to give Scion an AWD model, it clearly is something he\u2019s pushing hard for.<\/p>\n

(<\/em>Click Here<\/a><\/span>\u00a0to see more about Scion’s plans to reconnect with young buyers.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

No matter what Scion gets to flesh out its line-up, Murtha said you won\u2019t see rebadged versions of mainstream models like the Toyota Corolla. While it failed to generate much interest, the Scion chief said he personally liked the little iQ two-seater, an example of the \u201ccatch-you-off-guard\u201d products the brand needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would love a line-up of vehicles you couldn\u2019t easily throw a Toyota badge on,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n

(Scion uses alphabet soup to punch up new models. <\/em>Click Here<\/a><\/span> for the story.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Whether the new line-up, including the new iA and iM, as well as the FR-S and tC coupe, fit that mold \u2013 and can bring in the hip young buyers Scion desperately craves \u2013 remains to be seen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scion will bring two all-new models, the iM hatchback and iA sedan, to market for 2016 \u2013 half of its total line-up. But don\u2019t be surprised to see Scion push into even newer territory in the next few years. Find out what’s going on at Scion at TheDetroitBureau.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":85403,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"make":[],"post-state":[],"category_old":[151],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97108"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97108\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97108"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=97108"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=97108"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=97108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}