For our first Dawn2Dusk feature for June we want to introduce you to one of our good friends here at Automotive Declassified, the Scion Xb. The Xb , that we have come to love, is leaving us as the new Xb begins to hit showrooms. The Xb started life in it's homeland of Japan as a quirky "life style" vehicle for the young. In Japan these "smallest of the small" cars are called "B" segment cars. The Bb, as it is known in Japan, was named in part for it's "B"segment. The Bb ,ironically, was styled to look like a Chevy Astro van which for some strange reason became the "it" vehicle for the Japanese "yutes", at least in their dreams. You see in Japan vehicles as large, especially in width, as the Astro are as common as seeing a parking lot full of steam shovels at one of our local high schools, it's just not done. The Bb was created to give those crazy kids their "van fix" while keeping to their local requirements. Back at home our youth "teethed" on a whole different breed of vehicles. In fact it was only recently that the US allowed the federalization of such cars for our roads. Scion really is responsible, under Toyota's leadership, for making these B segment cars a reality on our shores. Toyota was as surprised as anyone in their success. It is partly for this reason we are seeing the new Xb so soon. Our original Xb, the rebadged Toyota Bb, was an older design that was never designed to accept Curtain airbags. Any viable modern car offering must at least offer such equipment as an opinion ,if it is to be taken seriously. Personally I think Toyota figured the whole experiment might just fail, and remember back in 2003 curtain airbags were still a relative "novelty", so why not bring it over ,give it a try to bring in some younger customers, and if it's a success they'll cross that whole "safety" bridge at that point . Now it's time to cross that bridge if Toyota is to keep their stellar safety rating to maintain their global image. In fact the experiment was so successful that their newest offerings are designed solely for our market, Toyota is plunking down some serious green. The old Xb had an endearing simplicity that gave it an almost modern day "model T" mentality. No extra body work or adornment was present just a simple two box design as uncomplicated as a second graders art class picture. The old Xb's "box it came in" look combined with an already established base of Asian tuner products have ensured it's success and will secure it's future collectible status. It is not often, if ever, we at AutomotiveDeclassified endorse a vehicle with poor crash standards but the "purity" of this vehicle from it's look to it's low sub $15000 sticker makes it so irresistible that we endorse it anyway. The original Xb pushes all those old VW beetle buttons in your soul. If you can get your hands on the few leftover Xb's that were "decorated" in their special series orange like multi layer paint ,that changes color with the lighting, pick one up, someday they will be very valuable, without doubt. The new Xb takes a new direction that somehow seems a little less "pure" in design. It really isn't fair to say that, it's just that the new Xb takes on a more "adult" role in the Scion lineup, they should have really retired the Xb name into the "rafters" because the new one speaks a similar language but a different dialect and comparisons almost seem unfair to both. The new Xb is a real car now, in size, power, and price. With those features more is expected to justify it's price tag that can easily top $17,000. Where the old Xb was an alternative to other sub-sub compacts that couldn't hold a candle to the Xb, the new one enters a crowded price category where many mainstream sedans, coupes, and even small SUV's live. The Scion meets the expectations of this price range, but so do many others. The new Xb is better in every way from power delivery to handling, and did I mention power,what a difference. The interior is a text-book example of space utilization. The fit and finish embarrass even the Camry, it comes across as a solid ingot that reeks of Lexus, pure brilliance. The new Scion excels in every way. Yet in the midst of all this greatness the old Xb's personality seems a bit lost. This is good and bad. For loyalists it's bad ,but for those that never really liked the old Xb it's great. It is in this compromise that the new Xb lives. It has enough of that quirkiness to appeal to Scion loyalist but enough tangible features to keep competitive and to justify every one of those dollars on the sticker. Perhaps this is what growing up is all about? So we say a fond farewell to the '06 Xb who introduced us to it's hypnotic uniqueness, and we say hello to the new Xb that will surely entice a new generation into SCIONtology!
