Hello, what's this? That's what we'd like to know. Since receiving these shots from an Autoblog reader who took them from his apartment balcony in downtown L.A., we've been racking our brains trying to place its OEM of origin. Considering the Scion reveal party took place last Friday, our first thought was that Toyota was already getting busy shooting promotional video for the new xB.
Upon closer examination, the car is a dead ringer for what a next generation Honda Element would like. Check out the thick B-pillar that kinks out at the bottom on either side – A classic Element styling cue. Unfortunately, industry insiders tell us that the Element is nowhere near a next generation redesign.
We know for sure it's a Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) vehicle, based on the fact that it's right-hand drive and the two little oval stickers on the back hatch. The green sticker, according to our JDM expert Alex, means the vehicle either meets or exceeds Japan's 2010 fuel efficiency target. The blue decal indicates that it has a star rating (can't tell the number) for emissions reduction versus 2000 levels.
However, we've shown the vehicle to others who think it could even be a next generation Nissan X-Trail (look at the rear).
What's our official call? We think it's a next-generation JDM Honda of some sort. The visual links to the current Element cannot be denied. Well then, that's that. Or is it, what do you think this vehicle is?
UPDATE 1: We've been contacted by several people who saw the new Scion xB in person late last week at the reveal party in Miami, and each has confirmed this is not the next Scion xB.
http://www.autoblog.com/2006/12/17/mystery-jdm-car-caught-in-downtown-la
