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2017 Toyota Yaris iA and Corolla iM Coming to New York

Just as we predicted about a month ago, Toyota has re-named the Scion iA and iM models for the 2017 model year. However, the way they did it is kind of interesting.
2017 Toyota Yaris iA and Corolla iM Coming to New York 9 photos
Photo: Toyota
2017 Toyota Yaris iA and Corolla iM Coming to New York2017 Toyota Yaris iA and Corolla iM Coming to New York2017 Toyota Yaris iA and Corolla iM Coming to New York2017 Toyota Yaris iA and Corolla iM Coming to New York2017 Toyota Yaris iA and Corolla iM Coming to New York2017 Toyota Yaris iA and Corolla iM Coming to New York2017 Toyota Yaris iA and Corolla iM Coming to New York2017 Toyota Yaris iA and Corolla iM Coming to New York
Instead of calling the iA a Yaris Sedan, they kept the old name and joined it to the new one. Thus, beginning with the 2017 model year, the Mazda2 with a Toyota badge will be known as the Yaris iA.

We don't think a car with two names makes too much sense, particularly when the iA nameplate was brand new and didn't have any reputation yet. It's kind of like those people who name their kids after everything because it sounds cool: Nostradamus Pizza, Michelangelo Snoop Dog, etc.

The same thing happened to the compact Scion hatchback, which will now be called the Corolla iM. We don't see what was so wrong with Corolla Hatchback or Toyota Auris since that's the real name of this European import. But we guess the company needed something to help it write those bombastic press releases. You see, the iA and iM will be taken into account when sales numbers are announced, so we're kind of sure the Corolla is now the most popular compact in America.

No further changes have been made, not that there should be any for two cars that are about a year old. The Yaris iA is still the Mazda2 in disguise with a 1.5-liter engine and a choice between manual and six-speed automatic. As for the Corolla iM, it soldiers on with a 1.8-liter and a CVT.

They are not the only models to be re-named, as the Scion FR-S is now using the Toyota 86 international name. It also received a mid-life facelift that you can read all about in our previous report.

"When we announced the transition of the Scion models to Toyota we hadn’t planned on changing the names of our cars, but by popular demand, for our sports car, we decided to adopt the global name of 86," said Bill Fay, Toyota Division Group Vice President, in a statement.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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