Aimed at the hearts and purse strings of America’s youth, Scion is Toyota Motor Co.’s latest attempt to steal market share in the affordable-car arena from, well, every other carmaker the world over. The word scion literally means descendant, usually the child of a rich or important family. Similarly, the company’s prime demographic is descendants of Toyota buyers. Scion was introduced to the California market in 2003 with two low-priced subcompact models, the xA and xB. In June 2004 the brand became available nationwide, and in 2005 Scion added the tC sport coupe. The company offers numerous options that allow owners to customize their vehicles in myriad ways.
