Hellloooo!

Hey everyone! Have you missed me? lol

It sure has been awhile since the blog and the podcast has been updated, but fear not, Change is coming! 

And by change, I mostly mean my tC! I’ve been working with Prestige Racing on their Signature Series Turbo Kit, and let me say, I really think you guys are going to get a kick out of it. My car is currently in Arizona, while my engine is in Indiana being built. The Signature Series kit combines the talents of many of the top names in the Scion aftermarket industry, and I can’t wait until it’s done! More info as the car gets completed.

One of the primary reasons I haven’t updated the podcast is because I simply can’t find the microphone! Ever since I moved, I’ve been looking through box upon box, and I’ve yet to see them. Of course, with most of money going towards my tC to get everything finished, I haven’t had any funds to get another one.

But fear not, I may have found a work around! Lots of content coming your way so stay tuned!

Throwback Thursday

While I just finished the finals for my summer classes, a lot of you guys are about to start getting your materials for the fall. Remember when you were a kid and how much you dreaded the end of the summer? The only thing that kind of made the whole back to school thing tolerable was getting new stuff. There were two things I needed, a new lunchpail, and a Trapper Keeper!

Trapper Keeper’s were the coolest of the supplies. There were so many different designs! I remember one that had an airplane carrier on it, with a guy in a jet flying out of the folder.

They don’t make school supplies like that anymore!

Since 80’s everything is “in” right now, maybe I should pick one up from eBay and see if any of my new female class mates take notice!

Toyota to Blame for Scion’s Troubles?

I was doing research for episode 4 of the Scion Underground podcast (which should be released tonight or early tomorrow morning BTW!), and I came across some fairly interesting quotes. Apparently, Toyota is the reason why Scion seems to be having a such a problem keeping its target demographic. When I originally posted about Scion’s brand image, I thought it was pretty much a Scion-centric problem. However, it doesn’t appear that way now. I go pretty in depth on the topic in the podcast, but here are a few bits to chew on…

Yoshi Inaba, launched Scion as CEO of Toyota Motor Sales

“Our second-generation products were not as free as we thought we would be… The xB and xA successors are a similar concept, slightly bigger. We are coming into a normal model-change cycle, not doing anything faster, which I am not happy about.”

Art Spinella, President of CNW Research

Toyota doesn’t need Scion, they should have spent the money on developing Toyota-branded products. Toyota’s been following the GM model for decades, and they followed it into launching a brand they don’t need.

The brand that Spinella is referencing is Saturn, which was considered by many to be a relatively poor decision. Instead of GM focusing on making higher quality vehicles across it’s already existing brands, they launched another one and more or less added more problems than solutions.

Then there’s the evidence that Toyota is responsible for breaking a few of Scion’s initial beliefs like limiting production numbers, never having more than three models for the Scion brand, and replacing each existing model with something radically different. There are more tC’s on the road than civics it seems, and xB’s are used as ad vehicles with vinyl wrapping advertising your local RE/MAX. The gen. 2 xB is so close to the original xB design, that it lost its freshness and edginess, and like most American vehicles, it gained excessive weight..

Art Spinella, President of CNW Research

Scion is no longer cutting-edge, I don’t think Toyota understands the brand any more.

And look at Scion’s plan to rid itself of the sales slump… they plan on adding more to the lineup. Not one, but possibly two new models to the Scion brand! Folks, our beloved Scion seems to be selling out its image, its uniqueness, and its risk taking nature, all while becoming just your everyday car brand. Dawn Ahmed, Scion’s Corporate Manager, said that the two new models coming to Scion would be small, inexpensive, and have unique looks.

 

When asked about the Scion’s young demographic, Ahmed said this:

“It’s an elusive target. We have to challenge ourselves to be relevant to trend-setting customers. We’re looking at ways to enhance and refresh our products.”

Ahmed also referenced Scion’s lack of fuel efficiency. While back in 2004/2005 back when gas had just flopped over $2 a gallon…   0_o     , Scion’s mpg was looking pretty good. Today however, more and more cars are averaging 30mpg.

“We are trying to look at ways to deliver performance and fuel economy” 

Why do I have a feeling that even though Scion owners, and even observers, have been clamoring for a Scion model with RWD, a turbo charge option, and better suspension, she’s not mentioning that kind of performance… If you’re going to have so many different models, why not have each one service a different segment of the young market? The original xB was stylish and funky, the tC could have been an outright performance monster, the xD and xA, I’m not so sure about… But if they’re going to introduce more cars to the Scion brand, shouldn’t one be a small truck? Fill every niche of your target demographic, and I’m sure the sales would go up. The tC is selling like hotcakes, and more and more young men are turned away from it because of the perception of it being a “girl’s car”. A performance model would allow Scion to capitalize on those young men and still keep the female market too!

Jack Hollis, Vice President of Scion

A fourth product is essential. It could be an SUV. It could be a hybrid. We want a fourth product that buyers of the other three Scions don’t like.”

Ok, that sounds a little bit better, but what will making a car that existing Scion owners don’t like, do for the Scion community at large? The xA and the xD are the least popular cars in the Scion family. Rarely do you see them modified on the road, and at Scion shows, you can usually count them on both hands. Many passionate xA and xD owners already say that they feel left out of the Scion community, or feel like outcasts. Won’t a new car that we don’t like, create a Honda like Hierarchy perhaps even more so than what exists already?

I have to say, this all a bit troubling, and I do have to laugh at my fanboy-ish initial response to the Scion criticism by Autoblog, Autonews, and the many other news sites that have been reporting similar news. 

You do NOT want to miss episode 4 of the Scion Underground Podcast, it’s sure to be one of the most interesting to date! You can subscribe today by hitting the Podcast Feed if you’re using a Zune, your PC, or any other MP3 player. If you have iTunes, an iPod, iPhone, or an iPod Touch, you can click the iTunes button here: 

I really want to hear about what you guys think. Send your emails to ScionUnderground@gmail.com if you’d like to hear it on the podcast, or leave a comment right here on the blog if you don’t!

Scion Brand Image In Trouble?

Scion has been the envy of the automotive world for over 5 years with its record breaking sales figures, but with recent sales dwindling, and more and more buyers not in Scion’s demographic, picking up xD’s, xB’s, and tC’s, many are wondering if Scion has lost touch.

First there was Autoblog, then Autonews had something to say as well. Has Scion lost it’s cool appeal? If it has, what can be done to change it?

I for one, think there are a few things that Scion messed up. If you’re an OG Scion owner like myself, you remember how hard it was to get one that you wanted. You had to wait sometimes up to a month or more for delivery of your car, and even then, you were told to choose from several different car colors just in case. I still remember the days when people couldn’t even pronounce the brand’s name (What’s a Sky-on?)!

Fast forward to today, and Scion’s are a dime a dozen, especially the tC’s. In Southern California, you used to be able to wave at a fellow Scion owner or throw up a peace sign, and get acknowledgement back. The new owners act like you’re driving a civic or something!

Scion had a great thing going when they limited production of the Scion brand. They were rare, and you felt like you were part of some exclusive group. Scion’s were unique and polarizing. They made you stop and take notice. That’s not the case anymore. It’s common to see xB’s being used as advertising vehicles, with the bodies being wrapped in vinyl. More and more “old” people are driving xB’s, especially the gen 1’s, and I don’t think I’ve seen more than 10 people under the age of 30 driving xD’s. There are more tC’s on the road than honda civics! Had Scion maintained those low sales numbers intentionally, I think the overall health of the brand would be much improved. However, one can’t fault Toyota for wanting to get as much money as possible!

Another problem with the Scion brand was the lack of personal ads. When Scion first came out, commercials often featured real owners talking about their cars. That left an impression on me, because it seemed Scion was encouraging you to mod your car, and make it your own. After that, all the commercials consisted of an xA, xB, tC, or xD simply driving in a unique environment, or maybe showing a HIGHLY modified model and that was it. For many of us, owning a Scion is only half of why we’re Scion enthusiasts. The rest is because of the community, and while Scion is aware and clearly cares about and markets to the community, the average person buying a Scion would have no clue that there are so many passionate owners that love their car, and love to hang out together.

Scion’s trying to change that with the new United By Individuality campaign, but the damage may have been done. I never like buying cars that I know everyone and their mom has. I LOVE the new Chevy Camaro, and my first introduction to cars was an ’85 IROC-Z that my dad owned (and still has). However, I’d probably never get a new one because I just know they’re going to be as common as a Motorola RAZR.

Here’s what Scion should do:

1) Get rid of the current tC ASAP. It’s old, and there are too many on the road

2) Showcase the community in your ads more

3) Introduce a Scion PERFORMANCE car. Young people like speed, and with Scion pushing their Racing teams so hard these days, it seems like a no brainer!

4) Limit production again

Those 4 should probably yield nice results. What do you guys think? What would you do to turn the Scion image around?

Scion.com to be Updated Soon

It looks like Scion’s United By Individuality campaign is going to make a presence at Scion.com as well as the Scion United sub-page. Hello Scion announced that the main website will be getting a fresh coat of paint and a few upgrades too, very soon. Among the changes are new graphics, layouts, and functionality. The new website will reflect Scion’s “matured status”, since they’ve been around for over 5 years, and have been setting sales records ever since!

The “Build Your Scion” functionality will remain (I remember using that tool when I first bought my tC!), but with a new Wish List that allows visitors to save mods and colors they see from around the site, and add them to their Scion later. To read more about the some of the new features, and see some shots of a few new pages, check out www.helloscion.com. As of this post, Scion.com hasn’t been updated yet, but the new look should be completed by September 8th, just in time for school! 

/sarcasm

“Scion United” Website Updated

 

My car's in there... Can you spot it?

 

 

Up until now, the Scion United Website has been a place for those of us that attended the event to remember how much fun we had. Videos, pictures, and other attendee centric info made up the majority of the content. But as most of you know, Scion has officially launched their “United By Individuality” campaign starting with the release of the 60 second spot in movie theaters and select shows, and now the Scion United site is full blown.

What’s interesting about the website is that a grid comprised of scenes from the event, photos of owners cars, activites, and lots more, create a pixelated screen which shows the United by Individuality commercial. Really cool. I’ve never seen anything like it before and it’s definitely something you’d expect Scion to do. 

In case you find the grid a bit overwhelming, you can also view the content from the more traditional drop down menu at the top of the screen. All of the Billboards, TV ads, Print Ads, and Screen savers are available, so check it out! Here’s a preview of what you’ll find:

Billboards:

Tokion Magazine Front Cover

Posters:

www.scion.com/scionunited

If you’re enjoying the Scion Underground Blog, why not make things easier on yourself and subscribe to the RSS feed? That way, as soon as the site is updated, you’ll be the first to know! (and as you can tell, it’s updated pretty frequently :p )

P.S. My car is on one of the posters! You might need to blow up the PDF to see it, but it’s there lol. It’s the last Black tC in the back farthest to the left, the one with the one with the ATI Gauge Pod in the dash. W00t!

Use Your iPhone/iPod Touch to Measure Your Car’s Performance

I heard about this tasty little app from the guys over at The Unofficial Apple Weblog. For those of you not in the know, the iPhone and iPod Touch contain accelerometers, or devices for measuring acceleration and gravity induced reaction forces. This is how they know when you’re holding them right side up, or on the side. Up until now, the accelerometer has been used to put applications in landscape mode, change the calculator, and in games, control a vehicle or character. 

But with the release of Dynolicious, you can now use our iPhone/iPod Touch to do calculate your car’s performance! Dynolicious can measure:

 

• 0-60 Acceleration time
• 1/4 Mile Elapsed Time
• Lateral G’s
• Horsepower
• LOTS more

It also keeps a history of runs, gives you averages, and trends your results. Best of all, you can enter modifications done to your car, and it will identify gains and losses. There’s also a real time speedometer, graphs, and skidpad. Sounds pretty cool right?

I haven’t tried this yet myself, but one person did note that the hp measurement seems to be off by about 25hp, and at least 0.5 to 0.75 seconds on the 0-60 test. However, he did say that the the results were consistent. This is pretty similar to real dyno’s in that they’re a better measurement of improvements from mods instead of measuring real world hp. 

There have been 35 reviews so far in the App Store with an average rating of 4/5 stars. Most reviewers say that the software is a little buggy, and some are having problems editing “My Ride” or “Calibration”, but all of these concerns should be cleared up quickly with an update. If you’ve downloaded this app, why not send me your review to read or play on the show? Send an email or an mp3 file of your review to ScionUnderground@gmail.com, and I’ll get you in!

Dynolicious is available now through app store in iTunes, or right over your iPhone/iPod Touch for only $12.99! This week, I’m starting phase 1 of my tC 2.0, and after it’s finished, and I get a real dyno time, I’ll definitely be downloading this app to verify its accuracy. Here are some screenshots of the app in action:

**You will need iPhone/iPod Touch Firmware 2.0 to use this app.**

Chris Rado Does it AGAIN!

 

Chris' Black Beauty

 

 

 

Let’s face it, Chris Rado is a G.

How can someone go from Drag racing one day, to complete domination on a road course the next, and still maintain such a cool laid back swagger? Scion really couldn’t have chosen a better person to represent them. He encompasses everything that Scion is and could be ::cough serious performance platform cough::

Chris and World Racing headed out to Nashville, Tennessee to compete in another Redline Time Attack event at the Nashville Motor Speedway. What does he do? He takes home his third consecutive 1st place finish! Chris’s time was an incredible 1.05.5, only a tenth of a second behind the lap record for ANY production body vehicle. That made in 5 SECONDS FASTER THAN ANY FWD CAR EVER. 

You can read the full press release here.

Chris, you and the World-Racing team are holding things down! Can I get a ride next time you’re over in So Cal at Willow Springs?

If you haven’t already, make sure to check out Episode 2 of the Scion Underground Podcast where I interviewed Chris at the Long Beach Grand Prix! You can download by clicking the corresponding iTunes link on the right hand side.

PrestigeRacing.net Has Five Axis Kits in Stock!

Man oh man do I love all the Five Axis cars and products. For all of you guys that haven’t had the opportunity to see their cars in person, let me just say that very few custom one off cars look so close to production models. My personal favorites are the Scion Fuse and the Widebody xD. The xD even has a claw machine in the back that you can play to win little plush Scions!

 

  

The FUSE!

Look! The Claaaaaaaaw... (props if you get that movie reference)

As most of you know, Five Axis has recently released a lip kit for the Scion tC. Everyone that sees it loves it, and now PrestigeRacing.net carries them! Here are some pics of a few tC’s rocking the kit, including Jon aka DieselStation’s one of a kind flat grey tC! If you’re digging it, he has it for sale! Jon’s a good friend of mine, and let me say, his tC is about as sexy as it gets!

 

**drool**

 

I heart Jon's tC!

 

Five Axis Edition tC (Exclusively Available at Longo Scion!)

You know you want one...

You can pick up the lip kit today from PrestigeRacing.net. Make sure to tell them Scion Underground sent you, so you can help out the Scion Underground Podcast while giving your tC an extra dose of sexy at the same time!

Craig Stanton + Real Car vs. Go-Kart… on a Go-Kart Track?

If you listen to the Scion Underground Podcast, or check the blog often, the name Craig Stanton should be familiar to you, but in case it’s not, Craig was the second driver of the Jackson-Dawson Scion tC, aka, the first tC to road race in a professional circuit. He and Dan Gardner helped to make Scion history earlier this month.

 

Craig Stanton

 

 

Well the guys over at WebRidestv.com had a crazy idea to test the new Mini Cooper Clubman S on, get this, a go-kart track! Mini’s have always been known for their “go-kart like handling”, and sure enough, they’re advertising the new Clubman as having the same handling characteristics. So what better place to prove that than a go-kart track against a real gas powered go-Kart? 

 

Mini Cooper Clubman S

 

 

Who won? You’ll have to see for yourself!