Back in 2004, when Toyota (TM) launched the Scion brand to grow into a younger niche, Scion’s xB showed that young buyers weren’t only into slammed Civics and souped-up Mustangs. A boxy, strange-looking vehicle, the xB was more about a rolling living room than a fast set of wheels. Now Nissan (NSANY) and Kia would like a piece of that action. They are using the original xB formula and coming to market with the Cube, for Nissan, and the Soul, for Kia, both of which are smaller than the latest-gen xB, which has grown bloated and more expensive than the original box that launched the Scion brand.

BusinessWeek