Perhaps it's because sales dropped by 50 percent last year, or maybe it's because it just plain sucked. It's likely a combination of both that Toyota has just officially announced the discontinuation of the Scion iQ. We've known for several months now the iQ was living on borrowed time, and this really couldn't come at a better moment for Scion. There are currently just four Scion models in the lineup (the xD ended production last July) but three all-new cars are expected to debut at New York in April.

Scion is trying to reverse a 15 percent sales decrease last year and new product is vital. The iQ wasn't. A Scion executive referred to it as a "healthy experiment" that taught Toyota important lessons about US buyers' tastes. Despite having impeccable safety, such as 11 airbags and a four-star crash rating, Americans never warmed up to the iQ because of its small dimensions. The name didn't help things either. Basically Scion learned that, unlike Europeans, Americans will never be willing to pay extra for a premium small car. At a base price of $16,435, the iQ was just too pricey. We'll know soon enough when Scion reveals three new models whether or not it's fully learned a few lessons about Americans' tastes.