The Scion brand is kind of like a fish out of water right now. Started out swimming strong, but now is struggling with the introduction of some new models. Did their underground niche become too mainstream? Or does everyone know that it is just another Toyota now? Either way it is an interesting brand with a strong marketing strategy. This years Hako Coupe concept was deffinitely a stretch, but was it bad?

At first glance most people say it is horrendous. Is it bad or just too far out to see it a reality? I am asking a lot of questions because I am on the fence myself. There are areas that really interest me while other things just don’t work.

Overall, the idea of a creating a modern interpretation of a “32 Ford” is pretty sweet. That is kind of how I view this vehicle. Buy it like it is and then chop the hell out of it and make some next century rat rods. I found some pics of a concept design that I believe is from an LA Auto Show design challenge from a couple years ago.

The Kia Kitsch is anothere design going after the hot rod enthusiasts. To say the hot rod influence in SoCal is pretty big would be an under statement. Is the Hako an evolution of this crude design? Are we seeing the evolution of a new design language from Scion. I hope so because I can see this becoming something really fresh.

The front end has too many equal parts. There is no dominance to the grill/ headlights. Breaking it up graphically could help. This front end looks like a five year old getting his cheeks squished together by grandma.

The side view profile is actually pretty cool. If the front end could have a bit of a lean to it, ala new Dodge Ram, it would be more cohesive with the green house and rear end gesture. I enjoy the mix of a geometric upper and soft lower.

The rear end works very well. The mix of hard lines and soft surfaces in the lower helps unite the geometric green house. All of the forms are pure and simple making the vehicle pretty easy to look at and identify. Fix that front end and I would say run with it.

The Xa and Xb looked pretty foreign at first and they did alright. The Nissan Cube will be out next year which has a lot of similarities with this design. The Hako Coupe design hits even more of an underground aesthetic, whatever that may be. It is different, unique and would be remembered when seen on the road. Which whether good or bad people would talk about it and talk is free marketing.

We need some vehicles like this to come out in the market place. Everything is so ordinary and vanilla that many consumers don’t know about half the cars out there to choose from. If I was in charge of brand that would be the first thing i would fix.

Most consumers do not have the vision to see if they would like something 5-10 years out. As designers out there or future designers, what do you think of this?