A week spent behind the oddly undersized wheel of a 2008 Scion xB has left me feeling old and confused. I'm thirty-eight, and despite my advanced years, I don't believe I am quite terminally out of touch with what's "cool" in the automotive world. But the adrenalized reaction from drivers half my age to this utterly unremarkable little box has me wondering. Honking, urgent thumbs-up, rubber-necking — can this car be cool? I had a Lamborghini Countach (above right) on my bedroom wall as a kid. It was (and still is, damn it), a car that defined "cool" in late '70s and '80s. But the xB? Have things changed that much in twenty-five years? My time in the Scion came after a stint in the completely endearing (if conspicuously consumptive) Mercedes-Benz ML550. But whereas the big-wheeled ML garnered no noticeable attention from passersby, people — kids — seemed to fall over themselves to show love to the xB. With all due respect to Toyota, Scion, and Scion's very savvy San Francisco-based ad agency, Attik, I just don't get it. Then again, I don't get MySpace and its appeal, either. So maybe I'm just old.
Rant continues after the break
xB photos courtesy of Scion.
I had the pleasure of sampling the original xB about six months before it went on sale in this country, and the reaction from people who saw it was understandably fervent — both for and against. In a mainstream market that had become excruciatingly predictable — bland sedans and bland SUVs, and bland minivans — the xB (already a huge hit in Japan as the bB) was defiantly (yet smartly) different: startlingly spacious despite its compact exterior dimensions; fun to drive despite its piddling power, and altogether funky. That car had cool. The new one, however — bigger, rounder, and peppier — just seems like another economy car to me, a mini-minvan. The first xB prompted comments like, Sixteen grand? Is that all? The new one had me muttering: Seventeen grand? Are they kidding? But kids love it, and I'm wondering why. Now I'm not necessarily saying they shouldn't love it; the xB is spacious enough and almost certainly reliable enough, and the optional Pioneer stereo in my test car was pretty decent. But what is the root of its emotional appeal? The Countach had curves and scissors-style doors and gobs of power and utter exclusivity. It had a rear wing that cost as much as a Hyundai Excel, for God's sake. How cool is that? What does the xB have? The Honda Fit is better to drive, and the Nissan Versa seems better-equipped for similar money, but neither of these cars get the same attention as the Scion. What am I missing? What are the key ingredients of "cool" for young car-shoppers (and younger car-oglers)? What cars merit bedroom-wall status these days? Is it time to lose my Countach poster once and for all?
