Hasta La Ideas

Few automotive brands know how to tap into the urban art scene like Scion, the hip entry-level marque by Toyota USA. Recently, Scion teamed up with Giant Robot Magazine and Japanese artist Shin Tanaka to offer the artist’s signature cut and fold paper toys in the magazine’s issues 56, 57 and soon to be released 58, which hits newsstands on 9 February, 2009. One of Tanaka’s paper robots is included in each issue. Readers who pick up all three issues can assemble the “4-in-1 Robot” (right) commissioned by Scion.

Though Toyota may be reporting its first loss in seventy years of business, it’s showing no shortage of savvy collaborative efforts to keep consumer brand awareness high during these low times.