Andrew Gilleland shows off his autographed picture of pro-wrestler Ric Flair
Back in October, Scion announced that Andrew Gilleland would be replacing Doug Murtha as vice president of its youthful Scion brand. Gilleland, who previously held various positions within Toyota, Scion, and Lexus, has been working at Toyota for 22 years, and steps into the position at a pretty exciting time for Scion.
In an effort to introduce the new VP to Scion customers, the automaker has released a short “get-to-know-you” interview that discusses, among other things, the new Scion models, and pro wrestling.
Andrew Gilleland grew up in the ’80s in North Carolina, and was a huge pro-wrestling fan. So much so, in fact, that he actually has an autographed photo of wrestler Ric Flair in his office. He is also a fan of motorcycle racing, and does track days whenever he can. He’s no ordinary VP.
The 2016 Scion iA
When asked about the success of the new Scion iA and iM models, Gilleland explains that it’s due to the models’ low price tags and high-quality features. Young drivers these days want the most bang for their buck, and Scion delivers with these two models. The iA in particular is doing well, but combined, the two are making sure 2015 will be a very successful year for Scion.
The Scion C-HR concept
With the recent debut of the Scion C-HR Concept, Gilleland was asked if the production model will stray far from the concept when it comes to design. The concept vehicle is very striking, but usually, production models are extremely toned down and can almost verge on the bland. Gilleland says that won’t happen with the C-HR, though. “It’ll be very similar. Not exact but pretty close. It’s hard to define,” explains the Scion VP. While there is no guarantee that the production C-HR will retain the concept version’s uniqueness, Gilleland’s comments certainly give us hope.
Watch out for the Scion C-HR production version to debut sometime in 2016.
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