With the all-new iM 5-door hatch and iA sedan touching down this fall, Scion needed a creative way to announce their arrival. And of course, who’s more creative than the one and only James Franco?
While Franco has been in a few questionable movies and played more than a few questionable roles, he’s genuinely considered by most people to be a highly creative person as well as a good actor – when he really dives deep into his character. Those who poke fun, tend to say that Franco has multiple personalities. He’s an actor, a comedian, an artist, plus a whole bunch of other things, mentioned on his Comedy Central Roast from two years ago.
In true Franco fashion, Scion did sort of get creative with their iM & iA models, in the sense of…completely re-badging a Toyota Auris and a Mazda 2 Sedan respectively.
The video suggests that it’s weird how someone as complex as Franco would drive such a practical car and yes, we get it, the Auris/iM is indeed practical. But the iA/Mazda 2 Sedan? Well, not as much.
Also, just like the narrator says, it’s also kind of weird that Franco agreed to be in their ad, even if he was truly born to play himself (which by the way only worked in comedies so far).
As of right now, the 2016 Scion iM has a starting price of $19,255 (manual) / $19,995 (CVT) in the US, while the smaller iA can be bought for as little as $16,495 (manual) or $17,595 (auto).
Incidentally, the iA happens to cost as little/much as a Dodge Dart, which is bigger and more practical than the re-badged Mazda 2 Sedan.
So…draw your own conclusions.