My Toyota Scion: A Blue Car

I have two cars. One is a 2007 BMW X5, with the big engine and lots of contraptions. It's huge: my wife loves it, and I love her, so I smile and try not to grimace at the gas pump.

My car, used mainly by my eleven year-old and myself, is a Toyota Scion xB. It's the bluest thing I've ever seen. Not literally: mine's silver. But, as far as cars go, it's tough to believe Blue Ocean Strategy wasn't involved with my car and the entire Scion product line.

Toyota clearly took their inspiration by looking at the six paths -- specifically at Strategic Groups, Functional/Emotional Appeal, and the Chain of Buyers -- and saw an opportunity. They built a car that is simultaneously the champ of being both a first "new" car and the ultimate second car. I'm going to guess Toyota's key elements, and their application of the Four Actions Framework, is something like this:

Eliminate factory options: I don't think there are any. Dealers can install many options but, as far as I can see, the factory always cranks out the same car. In this regard, the xB is a contemporary cousin to the Model T.

Reduce performance driving metrics. The Scion xB, or "box car" as my kid calls it, drives well. I don't know what a professional driver thinks about it, and I don't think it matters. It starts, it stops, it moves at a reasonable pace between starting and stopping, and doesn't use much fuel. The whole emotional factor of how a car "feels" is dramatically reduced.

Raise the level of confidence by lowering the level of risk of buyers remorse. The flat-fee pricing goes a long way to making those first-time buyers not worry they're being taken advantage of when negotiating a car price. Scion dealers don't negotiate, unless one takes into account things like "dealer fees" that nobody should ever pay anyway.

Create an awesome iPod integrated radio as standard equipment. Until you've tried this thing you don't know how fun it is. Like all BOS "Create" key elements this one leveraged existing technology, used it in a different way, and it makes for a more valuable offering.

Finally, a digression. I bought my car from Earl Stewart Toyota, which is the best car dealer I've encountered in my life. This is a shameless, entirely unsolicited, and entirely deserved plug. Earl -- you can call him from phone's scattered around the shop-floor and he answers email -- is a long-time car dealer who had a change of heart after reading Customers for Life, by Carl Sewell. CFL is apparently a sales strategy, whereas Blue Ocean Strategy focuses on strategic planning, but whatever effect the book had on Earl it worked; I purchased my Scion over six months ago and still remember what a great experience I had.