Companies have an annoying habit of developing a good product, then changing or discarding it. You or I could think of a dozen examples, but one comes immediately to mind.

Last year we decided we needed a new car. Gas prices were in the mid $3 range, making fuel economy important. We also wanted a car that was comfortable, enjoyable to drive, have a good stereo and air conditioner and inexpensive enough to buy outright. A half dozen models fit the scenario.

After checking them out, we decided on a Scion xA, made by Toyota. Great decision. The car handles like a sports car, is seriously comfortable to ride in, gets very good mileage for a non hybrid and it came in a thousand under our limit. Best car I’ve ever owned.

This year Scion made changes. The boxy xB is bigger, more expensive and less efficient. They dropped my model altogether replacing it with the D, which looks like my car with a steroid addiction. Naturally, bigger means bigger engine, less mileage and a bigger price tag. They actually suggested I trade up.

I don’t know what’s behind these changes, but I have some ideas. There’s a tendency to always make things bigger and presumably better. Bigger cars can be sold for more money. Since their target buyers were the 18-35 set, but many older people bought them, perhaps they’re trying to weed out this embarrassingly wrong demographic.