08/08/2008 23:03. LOS ANGELES--Scion got off to a fast start five years ago, but now Toyota executives are forced to rethink their funky experiment--and do it a lot sooner than they expected.

At issue is Scion's mission--and whether the idea behind the trendy brand still makes sense.

A year after the second generation of Scion's youth-oriented vehicles debuted, Toyota faces several problems:

--The number of young people shopping Scion has dropped dramatically since 2006.

--Before $4-a-gallon gasoline gave all small cars a big boost in April and May, Scion was in a slump it couldn't seem to get out of. And in June, sales were declining again.

--While the brand had attracted fuel-economy-minded buyers, many are much older than Scion's demographic target: 18- to 24-year-olds. That threatens the... // CNET News