Scion iQ 'Concept'. Pikachuuuuu!!!
The Toyota brass, in their typical wait-and-see approach in product development, released the Toyota iQ last year in its home market. It is a Smart Car competitor, placed in a new segment called the micro-mini. The Smart ForTwo is an excellent vehicle in Japan and Europe’s densely packed city roads. So while the iQ was being developed, Toyota executives contemplated about bringing the car to the U.S. market. They thought this was prudent, since at the time, Smart ForTwo’s were on a massive waiting list with the gas prices being over $4.50/gallon.
However, they did not think the iQ will be a mass volume seller to warrant a Toyota badge. The iQ does have all the funkyness and pizazz that the Scion buyers were looking for, so it wasn’t even a matter of is it going to be a Scion or a Toyota? They even named the car ‘iQ’ after the Scion naming system (xA, xB, xD, tC). The only question now was when are they going to bring it to the U.S. market.
The news that KarFarm just received is that the iQ will be introduced in the first quarter of 2010, as a 2011 model. It looks like 2010 will be a very busy year for Scion. They will be introducing the tC’s replacement (see Scion FUSE) about the same time as the iQ, and the word is that the Toyota/Subaru RWD coupe will be coming as a Scion in the middle of 2010.
The below is the official unveiling of the Scion iQ ‘Concept.’ Enjoy!
-KF