(ANOTHER) ONE FOR THE KIDS; Toyota's youth division adds a third model.(News)

Byline: WES RAYNAL

First, a refresher: Toyota launched the Scion division two years ago, wanting to bring young buyers into the fold. Scion offers two inexpensive cars aimed at the youth market, the xA and xB (AW, April 28, 2003). Then Scion offers a slew of stuff with which to modify these cars, or in Scion-speak, "personalize'' them, something Gen-Yers love to do. You can get wheel/tire packages and superchargers and interior doodads and body kits, 40-some accessories in all. The idea behind Scion is to suck 'em in young to the inexpensive line, graduate to Toyota, and wind up in a Lexus-all while treat- ing customers right. And guess what? It has worked pretty well: On sale in half the states, Scion has averaged 5000 sales a month of xA and xB. This month Scion goes on sale nationwide at those Toyota dealers that have signed on to carry the brand.

Now Scion is bringing a third model, the tC, to market. Unlike the xA and xB, home-market Japanese cars modified for the United States, tC is designed and built for the U.S.-only Scion brand, with our kids the primary market.

Why the third model? Scion boss Jim Farley says the tC, a coupe, is a must in rounding out the Scion lineup. For starters, he says, Scion's research uncovered the coupe as the most popular body style. "Young trendsetters want sleek cars that offer utility,'' Farley explains. "Even as Scion continues to be a work in progress, we knew we could develop a new car with sedan interior packaging and hatchback versatility to attract both sedan and coupe buyers.''

Second, Farley says, Scion needs to test what it calls the "premium'' concept. Scion has found that Gen-Y trendsetters have higher luxury-brand intentions vs. older generations (including their parents). Translation: They want Audis and BMWs, but can't afford them. Further, Scion reasons that while xA and xB have loads of equipment, they are not premium cars compared to the tC, which is based on Toyota's European Volkswagen Passat competitor, the Avensis. Farley figures young buyers will go for the tC, since the only other real choice is the Acura RSX, or a used 3 Series or Audi A4, but those cars are priced in the $20,000-to-$25,000 range, while the tC costs less than $17,000.

Third, Scion needs a car offering more performance than the xA or xB. Those cars are powered by a 1.5-liter, 108-hp four. "To be credible to the tuners,'' Farley says, "we needed real performance; our 2.4-liter four [at 160 hp] has unlimited tuning capability. With the optional supercharger, it develops 200 hp.''

Scion folk love to talk about value, and the tC, developed in just 13 months, is a pretty ...