Why are Scions boxy?

Anybody know what the thought (at T) is behind the square rectangular or outright boxy - sharp corners - Scion car bodies?

Reply to
Undisclosed
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They are?

Hmmmm....

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Reply to
Hachiroku

It's always easier to fit packages in a box than in other designs.

Reply to
badgolferman

snipped-for-privacy@sources.org opin'd thus:

They are?

Hmmmmmm ... ONE model is: the xB. The rest aren't.

The xB is like that because boxy holds more than swoopy and the xB can haul a LOT of stuff . . . .

-Don (satisfied, Natalie?)

Reply to
Don Fearn

Either the Honda Element or the Scion has boxy sides because they copied it from the other (I think the Element was here first).

Reply to
Jeff

The Scion were originally made, ten or more years ago, to be sold as basic transportation vehicle for third world markets, . The styling is to allow for a higher volume of usable interior space, in a smaller lower cost vehicle.

Personally I find it odd that people would endanger their families by driving such dangerously small underpowered car, on the US highways, just to save a relative few dollars a month on fuel.

mike

Reply to
Mike Hunter

Are the vehicles dangerous? Evidence please.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

They may be fine vehicles, but when one pulls along side me at a light I always expect to see at least a dozen circus clowns pile out while honking horns, running around the car, then, getting back in and driving off while weaving down the road. That, of course, has never happened...yet.

Reply to
user

Probably because the Keystone Kops behind you in their PT Cruiser were after them.

Reply to
mark digital©

Style.

Reply to
Bonehenge (B A R R Y)

"Jeff" opin'd thus:

The Element started as a 2003 model in the US; the xB arrived in 2004.

But the xB is not a copy of the Element; Toyota was making the bB, the vehicle on which the xB is based, in Japan starting in 2000. I don't believe the Element is a Japanese model at all, but I could be wrong.

I suspect part of the reason for including the xB in the Scion line was because of the success of the Element.

I wouldn't think that either one copied the other; form follows function, and if you want a vehicle that will haul a lot, boxy is the way to go . . . .

Reply to
Don Fearn

how is that? one of the safest cars in europe is the Renault Clio. Small is not dangerous, badly designed is dangerous.

Reply to
BlueD

Ya right, if all one meets on the road are other midget cars and motorcycles. I spent nearly twenty years of my thirty years as a automotive design engineer, designing crumple zones and running cars in walls. Perhaps you know a trick I do not but no trick can defy the laws of physics

mike

Reply to
Mike Hunter

COOL! Best job I ever had was blowing up power supplies for Underwriter's Labs certification.

Gotta love Destructive testing!!!

Reply to
Hachiroku

I don't know, I'm not an automotive engineer, but seems that generally american designed cars do really bad at crash tests compared to japanese and european cars.

for more informations I think you could check

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Reply to
BlueD

Why is the Honda element sort of boxy? Or Hummers sort of industrial boxy looking? Why is any car styled the way it is? Although the xBs are boxy, I don't consider the xAs, or xCs to be particularly boxy. The Scion models were initially designed for other markets. Maybe in those markets, boxy was good. Years ago, I had a Ford Fiesta. It was boxy, but it sure was roomy for such a small car.

Ed

Reply to
C. E. White

I think your opinion is wrong - see below:

The Europeans have a different tests and I don't see many American Models listed. NHTSA has a similar list for cars sold in the US. See

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. I think if you look through the list, you won't see a great deal of difference between US, Japanese, and European vehicles. IIHS also does unique crash testing. See
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. You won't see much difference between US, Japanese, and European cars in these rating either. For instance a Ford Fusion and Toyota Camry are rated the same, so is a Ford Focus and a Toyota Corolla. The IIHS also provides injury loss rating for many cars sold in the US. See
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. These rating are based on actual insurance payouts. These are not a perfect comparison of the design quality of the various vehicles since the results are influenced by the sort of people who purchase the cars. However, in general, I'd say European cars do better than average in these ratings and Japanese cars worse than average, with US cars being in the middle (although there are variations in any class). Again, these rating are greatly affected by who is doing the driving. Also, IIHS is trying to ram Electronic Stability Control down our throats, so they don't recommend any car that doesn't have ESC. Ed

Reply to
C. E. White

It's the tetris fit-it-into-the-space trick where boxy fits more stuff. I thin that they knew that it would capture a coolness niche market as well. I wanted to consider one (I like that practical style with the big lower lip) but I got outvoted and we bought the Prius instead. Tomes

Reply to
Tomes

Reply to
Undisclosed

The Scion xB was originally sold in Japan as the Toyota bB (for "black Box"). Like many new models, it was originally shown as a concept at auto show as an anti-establishment idea. Reaction was good so Toyota put it into production.

From a Toyota press release for the next generation bB, which is being marketed as a sound box shaped like a car:

"The first-generation bB, launched in 2000, was developed as an individualistic, compact hatchback-a completely new genre. Its sense of presence, apparent at a single glance, and its spacious, comfortable interior suitable for a diverse range of uses proved popular among younger customers."

My guess is that the original car was boxy because it was different from the other cars in production at the time. The Honda Element concept was introduced after the bB.

Reply to
Ray O

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