Marketing tool. Start small, Target youth, increase size for youth getting married, increase size for married having kids, etc; Then slot in a new small model for the next generation. -- Mark Price Morgantown, WV 1969 AMC Rambler, 4.0L, EFI, T-5 -------------- Original message ---------------------- From: adh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Sandwich Maker) > " From: "Swygert, Francis G MSgt 436 CES/CECM" <Francis.Swygert3@xxxxxxxxxxxx> > " > " --------- > " > " Mark Price: > " " Design? I'm a keep it simple kind of guy. Honda Element [except for > " " the 4 bucket seat stupidity] Or Scion XB!!!... > " > " Andrew Hay: > " you can't get the original xb new anymore. the replacement - just out > " - is longer, lower, wider, and almost twice as powerful... more the > " class of the element. i'm amazed at toyota but they must have their > " reasons - they were selling all the xbs they could make, without much > " advertising, and making all the xbs their production lines could; by > " anyone's account a runaway success. why change it? the new xb > " carries nothing but the badge forward. > " > " Frank: > " Yes, but you guys have to remember -- there are cars still made for the > " Japanese market not sold over here. I suspect you can still get > " something close to the original XB, if not the exact model, in Japan. > > toyota makes a lot of cars based on the echo/yaris/xb/prius chassis > and drivetrain [more or less], but like the fj, the xb [and the scion > brand] seems to be us-only. in my brief flight around the toyota > world i saw nothing even remotely like it. > > " The replacement likely came from marketing and dealer surveys about what > " AMERICANS wanted. "Cute and practical little cars, if it was just a > " little bigger and had some more power, I'd buy one." I can hear that > " echoing across the country! All small cars seem to grow in the US, no > " matter how well they sell. If it sells well small, companies just seem > " to let it build a name then enlarge it. > > i could understand this if the xb had not been such a hot seller, but > their biggest stumble seems to be the audience - they aimed at the > youth market but found boomers taking it. > > i'll agree - it is 'traditional' for models to become longer, lower, > wider, and more powerful when redesigned, and toyota is not immune - > look at the corolla which used to be their smallest car, but the > tercel, echo, xa/xb, yaris, and prius all slot in below it. > ________________________________________________________________________ > Andrew Hay the genius nature > internet rambler is to see what all have seen > adh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and think what none thought > _______________________________________________ > Amc-list mailing list > Amc-list@xxxxxxxxxxxx > http://www.amc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/amc-list _______________________________________________ Amc-list mailing list Amc-list@xxxxxxxxxxxx http://www.amc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/amc-list