Scion’s xB gets a sendoff with snowboard-themed 686 Parklan Edition

By Stephen Edelstein Published September 29, 2015

After over a decade of being mistaken for the packing crate it came in, the Scion xB is being discontinued as the 2015 model year draws to a close. The xB’s unusual looks could only get it so far without regular updates, and Scion has some new models ready to replace it.

The Toyota “youth” brand is wrapping things off with a final special edition. Called the xB 686 Parklan Edition, it was designed in collaboration with snowboard company 686, and will be limited to (you guessed it) 686 units.

Scion and 686 previously collaborated on the snowboarder-themed Numeric xB show car, and the 686 Parklan Edition represents a similar attempt to add some ruggedness to the xB. On the outside, it’s distinguished by Cocoa Bean Metallic paint with red accents, gloss black 16-inch alloy wheels, and some blacked-out trim prices.

The interior features seats trimmed in a modern camouflage pattern, a hidden driver’s side zippered storage pocket, zippered seat-back pockets, and all-weather floor and cargo mats. An Inno cargo box and roof rack setup is also available.

There don’t appear to be any mechanical changes, so buyers will get the same 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine offered in every other xB. It sends 158 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque to the front wheels, so snowboard-hauling drivers shouldn’t expect to get to the mountain in too much of a hurry. This engine is offered with five-speed manual and four-speed automatic transmissions in the stock xB.

The first-generation xB helped launch Scion over a decade ago. Much smaller and even boxier than the current model, it had a distinctive look that played into Scion’s youth-baiting mission quite well. Redesigned and enlarged for its second generation, the xB became a bit more mainstream, and faced more competition from cars like the Kia Soul and (now defunct) Nissan Cube. An influx of subcompact crossovers may have also dented the xB’s appeal to buyers, who may have view the tall vehicle as an SUV alternative.

Pricing for the xB 686 Parklan Edition starts at $20,480 (including destination). Scion is essentially replacing the xB with the iM, a similarly-sized hatchback with more conventional styling. The Toyota Auris-based model recently arrived in showrooms alongside the Mazda 2-based iA sedan.

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Stephen Edelstein

Contributing Editor

Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…

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Audi halts vehicle deliveries to the U.S. as it mulls impact of tariffs

2021 Audi Q5

If you’d been thinking of buying an Audi, now might be the time. The German brand, owned by the Volkswagen Group, has announced it would halt shipments to the U.S. in the wake of President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on all imported vehicles.
Audi is currently holding cars that arrived after the tariffs took effect, on April 3, in U.S. ports. But it still has around 37,000 vehicles in its U.S. inventory, which should be able to meet demand for about two months, according to Reuters.
Automakers on average hold enough cars to meet U.S. demand for about three months, according to Cox Automotive.
Audi should be particularly affected by the tariffs: The Q5, its best-selling model in the U.S., is produced in Mexico, while other models, such as the A3, A4, and A6 are produced in Germany.
Holding shipments is obviously a temporary measure to buy time for Audi and parent company Volkswagen. If tariffs stay in place, vehicle prices would likely have to go up accordingly, unless some production is shifted to the U.S. Volkswagen already has a plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and is planning a new plant in South Carolina. That latter plant, however, isn’t expected to be operational until 2027 and is currently dedicated to building electric vehicles for VW’s Scout Motors brand.
Other global automakers have also taken drastic measures in response to Trump’s tariffs. Jaguar Land Rover on April 5 said it is pausing shipments of its its UK-made cars to the United States this month. The British sports-luxury vehicle maker noted that the U.S. market accounts for nearly a quarter of its global sales, led by the likes of Range Rover Sports, Defenders, and Jaguar F-PACE.
And on April 3, Nissan, the biggest Japanese vehicle exporter to the United States, announced it will stop taking new U.S. orders for two Mexican-built Infiniti SUVs, the QX50 and QX55.

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Waymo faces questions about its use of onboard cameras for AI training, ads targeting

Two people exit a Waymo taxi.

In an iconic scene from the 2002 sci-fi film Minority Report, on-the-run Agent John Anderton, played by Tom Cruise, struggles to walk through a mall as he’s targeted by a multitude of personalized ads from the likes of Lexus, Guinness and American Express, everytime hidden detectors identify his eyes.
It was clearly meant as a warning about a not-so-desirable dystopian future.
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On X, Wong unveiled an unreleased version of Waymo’s privacy policy that suggests the California-based company is preparing to use data from its robotaxis, including interior cameras, to train generative AI models and to offer targetted ads.
“Waymo may share data to improve and analyze its functionality and to tailor products, services, ads, and offers to your interests,” the Waymo’s unreleased privacy statement reads. “You can opt out of sharing your information with third parties, unless it’s necessary to the functioning of the service.”
Asked for comments about the unreleased app update, Waymo told The Verge that it contained “placeholder text that doesn’t accurately reflect the feature’s purpose”.
Waymo’s AI-models “are not designed to use this data to identify individual people, and there are no plans to use this data for targeted ads,” spokesperson Julia Ilina said.
Waymo’s robotaxis, which are operating on the streets of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin, do contain onboard cameras that monitor riders. But Ilina says these are mainly used to train AI models for safety, finding lost items, check that in-car rules are followed, and to improve the service.
The new feature is still under development and offers riders an opportunity to opt out of data collection, Ilina says.
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Waymo Jaguar I-Pace

Waymo’s autonomous cars are about to appear on streets outside of the U.S. for the first time.

The company on Wednesday announced on social media that its autonomous cars will be driving onto the streets of Tokyo, Japan, “soon,” with some reports suggesting the rollout will begin as early as next week.