Click above for high-res gallery of the Scion Hako Concept

First, the quote: "Will we have a truck in our lineup? Does it make sense to have a hybrid powertrain? Is a subcompact roadster the answer? Or will an SUV ever be viable for us. We don't know the answers but we're very open-minded." That quote comes courtesy of Jack Hollis, vice president for Scion. So, Scion is considering a hybrid, huh? That's an interesting thought, considering the low price-point that Scion operates in. Surely, a hybrid Scion would be pushing into Prius territory price-wise, which might be inconsistent with Scion's image. Whatever the case, we sure hope that the hybrid wouldn't be anything like their new Hako concept. Wow, is that sucker ug... eh, interesting looking.

In other related news, Hollis mentioned a Scion pickup. That's something worth considering, we think, and it's an idea that's been thrown around before. Ideally, we'd like to see Scion axe the Hako, make a real coupe to replace the aging tC and consider a hybrid drivetrain for that machine; test the waters for a compact unibody pickup and reduce the weight of the xB, making it more in line with the original model. Alas, nobody asked us.

[Source: The Detroit News]

I can't believe that I missed this story, but somehow the fact that Scion might be considering a foray into the compact pickup segment was lost on me. Sometimes I'm just stuck in la-la (horrible!) land I guess. Anyway, check out the rendering that I found at PickupTruck.com for the possible truck. A while back, Autoblog ran a story lamenting that the Ford Ranger seems to just be left to die on it's own, leaving a gaping hole in its wake. The hole exists because, like most other auto-segments in America, the "compact" pickups have all outgrown the "compact" class and are now called "midsize" trucks. Our earlier post about fuel efficient pickups reminded me that since Dodge created the midsize class with the Dakota, the S10 was replaced by the Colorado; the El Camino and Ranchero are long-gone; the Rabbit pickup is history... and the list goes on. So, will Scion pick up the slack?

I suppose the the Subaru Baja could slot into this class, but it too is a four-door design and has limited capabilities. Something tells me that the Scion proposal probably doesn't include hauling and towing duties among its design priorities either. Which would be a shame, I think, because there are still buyers out there for the Ranger, old design and all.

[Source: PickupTruck.com]