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DETROIT - Toyota Motor Corp. has settled on the name "Scion" for a new line of vehicles aimed at tapping younger U.S. buyers, the company said Thursday.

Toyota spokesman John Hanson said the vehicles would not be sold as a separate brand, as Toyota does with its Lexus luxury line, but will still be distinct from Toyota and carry no Toyota badging.

Toyota executives have said the vehicles would tap into a coming wave of future car buyers just now hitting their 20s. Current Toyota models have proven popular with older buyers, helping propel Toyota to 11 percent of the U.S. market, but have not been as popular among younger customers.

Jim Press, chief operating officer of Toyota's U.S. sales unit, has said Toyota would use the Internet to take orders for Scions, as it did with its Prius hybrid vehicle. Toyota will not create a new dealerships, but buyers taking delivery of their vehicles would be ushered into a separate area at the dealerships with its own unique environment to appeal to younger buyers, Press said.

Press said the new vehicles under the third brand would be designed to appeal to young buyers who desire space for their friends and sports equipment and the chance to personalize their vehicles, but don't want to drive the same vehicles as their parents.

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