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Toyota may have a new Scion i model in mind, as the automaker has filed a trademark for the iR nameplate.
The trademark filing to protect the name occurred April 23, reports AutoGuide. Toyota intends to use the name for a model with four or more occupants to be sold in Canada, Puerto Rico and the United States.
As for what the iR could be, Scion chief Doug Murtha stated his brand’s newest addition – after the Mazda2-based iA and Toyota Auris-based iM – wouldn’t be a crossover, but a vehicle already on the global market as a Toyota, such as the Aygo city car also on sale as the Citroën C1 and Peugeot 108.
[Image credit: Toyota]
21 Comments on “Toyota Files Trademark Claim For Scion iR Nameplate...”
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Sounds hot.
Too paraphrase R.E. Lee, it is well that Toyota persists with this silly niche brand or I should grow too worshipful of them.
It’s missing the letter P and the letters are out of order.
Seriously, though. Scion’s just about finished.
Why’s that? They just got 2 new models that appear to be far better than the cars they replace without being redundant and this patent indicates a 3rd is coming. 3 years ago when Scion just provided an extra Yaris hatch and an extra Corolla hatch, the Scion models made a lot less sense. At this point, Scion is now just offering body styles that you cannot otherwise get from Toyota. It just makes them niche relative to Toyota’s mainstream.
Throw a sporty crossover at it and we’ll be talking about the brand comeback of the century.
I am curious what you think they have. I see nothing of merit since the original xB.
I was thinking the iR could mean “is Retiring.”
I am curious what you think they have. I see nothing of merit since the original xB.
Filing this one in my “Who gives a damn” folder.
I am waiting to see the actual pricing on the iM, as it may replace my xB1. Preliminary numbers from the reveal were “Under $20k”, but it had best be WELL under to get my business. Like $17.5k, just like the current (horrible) xB.
I’m guessing the iR is a replacement for the iQ, and may well be an Aygo.
I wonder how long they will sell the current xB. It is now 8 model years without any significant change. Eight years is an eternity in today’s market.
The xB 2 isn’t yet slated for for cancellation, or so Scion says. Sales are below that of the just-axed Venza, perhaps the combination of exchange rates and average buyer age is keeping it alive? FWIW, it’s CR’s most reliable car.
When it was introduced in 2008, the xB2 wasn’t a bad car, if taken at face value as a Camry wagon, which is basically what it was. They just shouldn’t have called it “xB”, because it was nothing like the original.
But now it’s 2015, and the xB *still* has a 2008-spec drivetrain. 2.4 liters of not-very-efficient engine, and a 4-speed(!) automatic or a 5-speed manual, in this day and age??
If they want to keep it, they should at least make the current-gen Corolla engine/transmissions fit. MPG of 22/28 is not acceptable for a vehicle in this class in 2015.
I vote for replacing the back two-thirds with a pickup bed, slapping in AWD, jacking it up an inch or two, and rubberizing the interior.
The xB 2 has shares the hard points with the late Matrix, but wasn’t available with the smaller 1.8L engine. Would that have helped? or the AWD+IRS+lift kit?
The Kia Soul outsold the xB 9:1 last year, figure Toyota isn’t going to bother upgrading it any further and let it die a quiet death.
If I had one, I’d get the Aygo labels for it just for the uniqueness factor.
(But can it play football?)
Nah, we won’t give the buyers a CUV…even if the thing the target demographic WANTS to buy a compact,clear luxury CUV with a budget price tag…like the Kia Soul.
The implication that this will be an A segment car when the whole US A segment is struggling is stunningly tone deaf. Heck, Toyota’s own B segment Yaris can’t break 1K a month with 55% going to fleet in the US.
Good God, even Lotus is entering the CUV market.
Just put the brand out of its misery.
Scion doesn’t move enough metal to justify a ground up designed vehicle just for the Scion brand like you suggest. What near luxury [sic] box/CUV style Toyota would you pluck out of the world lineup to sell in the US? I don’t see anything like that. If they design a sub compact crossover to fit below the Rav4, wouldn’t it make more sense to sell that not-so-niche market model as a Toyota instead of a Scion anyway?
Scion is just there to fill in the gaps. Compact hatchback = iM. Sub compact sedan = iA. Sporty/s car = FR-S. Compact coupe = tC. These are all segments that aren’t really mainstream and they will never sell in huge numbers. But, if they can take an Auris hatch, Mazda 2 sedan, 86/BRZ, Zelas and federalize them for the US for reasonably cheap, it can still be profitable and cover a segment without having to move huge numbers. The xA and xB1 getting replaced with models that were largely redundant to Toyotas was Scion’s major crime.
Pure Pricing is probably the other thing that Scion needs to rid because Americans by and large just want to get a better deal than the other guy (or at least think that they are).
The Scion infrared? Will I need night vision goggles to see it?
To be followed by the Scion uV.
Some people like to complain about the “cryptic” naming convention of another automaker.
Scion is worse.