One xB's Evolution: Michael Ma and M2 Motoring's 2004 Scion xB
- How a broken-down Mazda truck turned into a Scion xB purchase
- The car’s five distinct build eras, from 2004 to 2012
- Its SEMA debut and multiple national magazine features
- Who Michael Ma and M2 Motoring are
TL;DR: Michael Ma — founder of M2 Motoring — bought his 2004 Scion xB on impulse after his daily driver broke down in front of a Toyota dealership during finals week. What followed was eight years and five distinct builds: a clean early setup, a full custom interior and coilover suspension, a 2006 SEMA build that landed the xB in Modified Magazine, a Gulf-livery rebuild debuting at SEMA 2010, and eventually the decision to sell in 2012.
Some project cars start with a plan. This one started with a Mazda truck that wouldn’t stop overheating.
How Michael Ma Ended Up With an xB
Michael Ma didn’t set out to buy a Scion. In 2004, mid-finals week at culinary school, his daily-driver Mazda truck overheated on the way home from campus. He nursed it home, but it overheated again the next morning — rolling to a stop directly in front of a Toyota dealership. Facing the real possibility of failing his finals without a way to get to class, he decided on the spot to buy a replacement car.
The Scion xB had launched just months earlier, and the dealership had a white one in stock. As Ma tells it:
“I probably have the record for fastest purchase ever. I was in and out of the dealership in roughly 20 minutes.”
He never planned to build the car up. That changed once he started making connections with parts companies — connections that, as he put it, more or less “pushed” him into building it.
The Build’s Five Eras
2004 — Clean and Basic. White with a Fabulous kit and wing, running various wheels depending on mood. Early work included a full custom interior, a new audio system, a Wilwood four-wheel big brake kit, and a full Cusco coilover suspension setup.
2005 — Change of Pace. A switch from the Fabulous kit to a Kenstyle kit (so the car could clear Ma’s driveway without scraping), a new Crossfire audio system, Sparco racing seats, and custom fluorescent-orange Volk/Gramlight wheels. This era’s most notable outcome: a photographer connection that led to a feature in Import Racer magazine.
2006 — Mildly Modified. After the magazine shoot, Ma briefly considered parting the car out, then settled on keeping it as a simpler daily driver.
Late 2006 — SEMA Build. A friend’s invitation to build the xB for the 2006 SEMA show turned into a non-stop rebuild from summer through two days before the show. The finished car wore a new paint job, authentic DAMD Lover Soul fender flares, and Work Meister wheels, with sponsorship from Memphis Car Audio and a JBT Brakes mini big-brake kit. The car drew national and international magazine attention, including a feature in Modified Magazine — at the time, the first Scion the magazine had ever featured. It also appeared in Scion Magazine, Siphon, Performance Auto and Sound, and a Japanese publication.
2010 — Gulf xB. After an accident (not Ma’s fault) made the existing camouflage paint job too costly to repair, he rebuilt the car from scratch with a Gulf Oil-inspired racing livery — a personal favorite scheme he’d wanted to run since childhood. The Gulf xB debuted at the 2010 SEMA show and later earned Ma a feature in Super Street, a magazine he’d read since childhood, published in December 2011.
2012 — Coming to an End. After eight years, Ma made the decision to sell the xB, closing out one of the more thoroughly documented build histories in the early Scion community.
Who Is Michael Ma?
Michael Ma founded M2 Motoring in 1999, initially selling aftermarket performance parts before growing into manufacturing and corporate demo-car builds. Beyond his own xB, M2 Motoring built a race-ready Scion xD, and M2 Motoring-branded interior parts (headliner, dash plates, visors, and pillar leather covering) later appeared on other notable community builds, including the sponsor list behind Haolebuilt II, a Scion iQ SEMA build covered separately on this site.
Frequently Asked Questions
What magazines featured Michael Ma’s Scion xB?
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Import Racer, Modified Magazine (its first-ever Scion feature), Scion Magazine, Siphon, Performance Auto and Sound, a Japanese automotive magazine, and later Super Street for the Gulf-liveried rebuild.
What is M2 Motoring?
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M2 Motoring is an aftermarket parts and build company founded by Michael Ma in 1999. It started with performance parts sales, expanded into manufacturing, and has built corporate demo cars and private builds across multiple Scion models.
Why did the xB switch from a camouflage paint job to the Gulf livery?
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After a car accident, a body shop determined it would be cheaper to repaint the car a solid color than to repair and redo the camouflage pattern — which gave Ma the opening to rebuild it entirely with the Gulf Oil-inspired scheme he’d wanted to run.
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