Quote:
Originally Posted by Apex
Just that scion isn't a performance brand. Personally I'm not big on trusting a car company's first venture into the performance realm. If Subaru did it, I just feel like it would be better right off the bat (especially if STi was behind the whole thing).
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I guess I understand a brand perception problem... but again, you know they're identical cars outside of trim spec and spring rate, right?
Don't look at it as Scion's first venture into sports cars. Look at it as Toyota getting back into sports cars without trying to re-market their main brand, who's bread and butter is selling sensible Camry's to older folks.
You read Scion on the badge, but it's all Toyota. Don't forget who brought us the 2000GT, the Supra, the MR2, and the Celica GT-Four (check out the ST205 generation
); Toyota is more than capable of making a performance vehicle that fulfills every racerboy's wet dreams and will still live to 200,000+ miles, turbocharged or NA.
Also, ever driven a Scion? They're not quarter mile monsters by a long shot because they're made with budget friendly parts bin engines, but they seem to handle well from my experience. I've heard they do pretty well in an autoX course from Cam, and he's no slouch behind the wheel. As much as we purists (or snobs) don't want to admit it, the sport FWD car can be hella fast, fun, and is definitely here to stay.
I'll admit I do have a horse in this race of branding perception. I'm a total Scion fanboy because of cost vs fun, and the fact that I have a car without traction or stability control. I own an '06 tC and am well familiar with it in stock form. It can hustle through fun roads with a committed driver, but it's not a fast car in a straight line. I've had it to the west coast, driven CA 1, CA 2, and Palomar Mountain at a brisk pace. I've also booked through most of the fun roads in NE and Southern Ohio. It could use a rear sway bar to lighten up the nose and could use a diet, but other than that, it's a fun little car that leaves me with a silly grin on my face. Because cheap thrills.