Cubism Rules The New York Auto Show

Scion ended the first media day at the 2008 New York Auto by unveiling their stunning Hako Coupe Concept. The low slung coupe’s silhouette nods to the brands original boxy Xb that has since been smoothed out. The Hako has tons of techno-gadgetry built in including small round exterior cameras that allow the passenger to take travel photos from inside the vehicle and email them to friends or post them online. The idea is to allow owners to create their own digital travel log.

Throughout the day, we noticed several manufacturers showing small sized vehicles with square or cubed profiles. Nissan brought a plug-in electric version of it’s popular Cube. The vehicle sells well in Japan and will go on sale here in the US in 2009 with a traditional gasoline based power-plant. The plug-in is a concept, for now. Nissan hopes that the Cube will generate youth interest and looks to market the vehicle in a similar way to how Toyota approached Scion. The company plans lots of customization opportunities for the vehicle and a low price-point.

Ford presented an interesting trio of their Transit vans that currently sell in Europe. The Transit is coming to the US and Ford kitted out three versions to show the vans potential. One was a vehicle tailored for a jazz group that included custom storage for instruments in the back. The next for a contractor version with a tool bay. The third was a NYC taxi concept. Vans for the most part are pretty uncool these days, but the Transit actually looked pretty nice. From the interest and buzz on the show floor about them, you’ll probably see plenty on the road soon.

PSFK will have a full photo gallery from the show and our pick for best stand coming up.