BRITNEY'S SCION: She is, after all, in Scion's target demographic of 20-somethings. Here, on her website are photos of pop star Britney Spears and her new xB.

SEEN AT KEYSTONE:  Allscion saw this tricked-out Scion (left) on the at Keystone's Feb. 21-22 car-accessories trade show in Secaucus, N.J. More photos...

SALES SIZZLE IN FEBRUARY: After almost a full month of sales in 24 states, Scion reported February sales of 4,544 units. As expected, leading the way was the boxy xB with 3,135, while 1,409 of the xA hatchback were sold. As U.S. gasoline prices continue to climb, Allscion predicts sales of Scion (about 34 miles to the gallon on our xB!) will climb steadily. Scion helped power sales of Toyota cars by 7.5% (to 126,238 units). Scion's goal is to sell 75,000 cars in the USA in 2004, premised on an increase in monthly sales to 5,000 (from 1,500).

'SHREWD' YOUTHMOBILE: The xB's ride is “fresh and edgy," Richard J. Newman writes in US News & World Report. "Judging by all the attention I got in the xB, it’s not hard to imagine a few parents buying this car for their kids — and repeatedly asking for the keys."

CRASH-TEST UPDATE: Crash test results on the xA should be available by late March or early April, according to an e-mail from the New Car Assessment Program of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The NHTSA "selects vehicles for testing and/or rating based primarily upon sales volume," according to an e-mail sent by the agency's New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) to Allscion. So why the xA and not the xB (which has turned out to be Scion's hottest seller)? Says the NCAP: "Perhaps they underestimated the vehicle?" So the only definitive crash tests on the xB remain those that were done in Japan in 2002, which are posted on the website of Japan's National Agency for Automotive Safety and Victims' Aid. Below are the agency's summary of the xB's overall crash ratings.

Also, don't forget that xB offers a big plus for safety-minded drivers: A vehicle skid control system that has been determined by researchers to reduce single-car accidents by as much as 29%.

SCION IS AMONG 'GREENEST' CARS: Scion made the top 12 in this year's list of most environmentally friendly vehicles, issued by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. ACEEE's Green Book Online compares vehicles based on a "Green Score," which looks at such factors including tailpipe emissions and fuel consumption.

THE 'TIFFANY & CO.' OF THE CAR BIZ: The investment website, The Motley Fool, is bullish about Toyota. "Toyota is fast becoming the Tiffany & Co.of the auto industry: the place you go to shop when your primary interest is getting good quality, regardless of the price," Rich Smith said.

WHO REALLY BUYS SCIONS? The word from Toyota is that the average Scion buyer is 35. "That may sound strange, because 35 isn't that young, but for a car brand, 35 is exceptionally young,'' Toyota president and CEO Yukitoshi Funo told the The Cincinnati Enquirer. Also, 3 out of 4 Scion buyers are new to Toyota. Meanwhile, Allscion is doing an unofficial (and totally unscientific survey) of Scion owners to come up with our own average age estimate. Scionistas out there, e-mail us!

TOYOTA SALES MELT WINTER CHILL: Sales of the Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands were hot despite the frosty weather and could top the three Chrysler group brands — Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep — again in January, Goldman Sachs analyst Gary Lapidus said in a report cited by Forbes. The three Toyota brands first outsold the Chrysler group in August, 2004. Toyota sales were up 15.6 percent to 143,729 vehicles, just behind the 147,001 sold by the combination of Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep, according to The Detriot Free Press.

A BIG PLUS FOR SCION: The word from dealers is that a lot of customers are coming in to pick up cars that they've priced and configured online, Scion's interactive marketing manager Adrian Si told the e-business website Line56. "The chat thing has been absolutely huge," he said. Toyota has passed Ford in global sales and is now the world's No. 2 automaker, behind GM.

SCION GETS THUMBS UP: San Antonio Express News writer G. Chambers Williams III took the Scion xB for a spin and proclaimed it "tons of fun to drive, and it really gets the looks … Everywhere I went, people were falling all over themselves to get a closer look at it."

HONDA PLAYS CATCH-UP? Honda has filed for trademarks on the name "Fit," the brand of a small car it sells in Japan that was second only to the Corolla in sales last year. The Japanese automaker may be planning to add the Fit to its U.S. lineup as early as this year to compete with Toyota's youth-oriented Scion brand, the International Herald Tribune is reporting.

LEGOS ON WHEELS: Toyota's goal with Scion is to provide a "base on which to build," according to Simon Humphries, project manager of Toyota’s global design management division. Humphries told Autoweek. "If you over-style a vehicle to start with, it basically restricts the amount of add-on parts …We’re just saying here’s a great base, you go out and just do what you like with it — personalize it.”

THE NEXT WAVE:Scion is supposedly targeted at Generation Y. Now, the Providence Journal — which noted that Scion has a display area all its own at the Northeast International Auto Show — says the car is actually aimed at “millennials.” Named in the 1991 book, Generations, by William Strauss and Neil Howe, the term "millennials" refers to Americans born in the 1980s who are now entering the jobs market, higher education and the electorate...

DRIVE A SCION, STAY ALIVE:

Here's yet another reason why the Scion is so far ahead of the competition: It offers a vehicle skid control system like the one that is found in only 6% of the new cars delivered in the United States, according to Motor Trend magazine contributing editor Dan Carney. What SCS does, Carney says, is to "bring a vehicle back under control at the onset of a spin." Generally found only in luxury brands, it's standard on the xB. Carney cites Mercedez-Benz research that found a 29% reduction in single-car accidents due to SCS.

SCION OF THE TIMES:Scion is asking its young buyers, "Wanna talk"? "Chat is a popular medium for the 18-to-24-year-old demographic, so we decided to try it out," said Brian Bolain, national sales promotions manager for Scion. Scion says it gets hundreds of conversations weekly through its Live Person chat, which can be accessed by a button that says, "Click here for help." Also on the Scion site — Graffiti, an interactive application that lets you choose stencils, a paint can and a color and create your own Scion masterpiece. And don't forget! If you see a Scion, snap a photo of it. You could win free stuff.

SMALL IS BIG: The coolest thing about this car, it looks small, but the back seat … a guy six foot eight could sit in the back of that car." Chadwick Johnson of Scion told to Keith McCord of KSL-TV in Sandy, Utah. Drivers who buy big SUVs for the leg room may have been duped, car reporter Earl Eldridge writes in the Jan. 14, 2004, issue of USA TODAY. "Some of the biggest SUVs, such as Hummer H2 and Ford Excursion, have less front legroom and headroom than the Scion xB compact car from Toyota," he writes.

SCION ROCKS SEMA: Glenn Maurer of EGR Performance Brakes offers these Scion photos from the SEMA trade show:

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