New Scions - A step forwards, backwards or off a cliff?

I was a big fan of the original Scion xB. Sure, the non-existant aerodynamics made the Yaris/Echo powered car have the fuel economy of a Camry V6, but the thing had that downtown Tokyo-cool factor. Only could Japanese people could design a car like this (Honda, Nissan, Daihatsu, Suzuki all have similar cars ONLY in Japan). The new one is a disappointment. The grille looks like they chopped a hole in the bumper as an after-thought. Then, there is the thick C-pillar. I think this is probably because the car is for North America. American’s don’t like people to see into their trunk (paranoid phobia), so Toyota replaced the small windows in the back of the xB with sheet metal. That combined with the higher waisteline makes the design look heavy and vault-like.

I don’t know if this thing is going to be successful, but I don’t like it. What does everyone else think?

New xD

New xB

The original

I don’t see any “break through” in terms of aesthetic and styling. It’s pretty much a boxed up version of the tC. It’s also too blend, very dumbed down. There is a photo of the xD in bodykit which looks pretty good, but other wise, I expect a lot more especially after what Honda has done with their Civic.

I guess the way I look at it, if it’s not making any leap, it’s going backwards.

that xb is kind of sad compared to the concept:

I also thought they should have had mor cojones and built something like this for sale:

some interesting stuff here:
http://www.scionlife.com/scion/xb/

What is with the huge front overhang on the new one…