New cars? Meh. But a revived classic? Maybe.
VW’S revival of the Scout has piqued my interest
Ihave a soft spot in my heart for classic vehicles. Modern cars? Meh. They all look pretty much the same … the same shape, the same basic colors … it’s all very anticlimactic to me. It’s a large contributing factor to why I don’t have a newer vehicle – there’s not really anything out there that I find to be too terribly exciting. At least, not enough for me to spend that kind of money!
But that might be changing.
Volkswagen is relaunching the Scout SUV brand. We don’t own a classic Scout, but we do have a 1970s International Travelall – and it’s pretty amazing on its own.
But those old Scouts are pretty cool too. Made by International Harvester from 1961 to 1980, CNN reports they were “the commercial truck maker’s foray into the passenger vehicle market.”
Hemmings notes the first Scout was “perfectly timed and well executed,” at 13 feet long and 3,000 pounds, with a removable pickup cap or full-length Travel Top. It came in two-wheel drive or four-wheel drive, with a folding windshield and steel doors that were easily removed, Hemmings reports.
“For power it relied on a rugged 93-hp 152-cu. in. four-cylinder engine derived by slicing the left cylinder bank off of a 304cu.in. V-8,” Hemmings notes, and it officially got a V-8 under the hood in 1967.
It’s just one of those vehicles that exudes cool – yet it’s durable and functional, too.
Volkswagen purchased the Scout brand when it bought Navistar (a successor to International Harvester) in 2021, CNN reports, and now, VW is launching Scout Motors as a subsidiary company.
The new Scott will be built in South Carolina as an all-electric off-road-capable SUV, CNN reports, with a design center in Michigan.
And Scott Keogh, chief executive of Scout, seems to know what he’s working with.
“Basically, the entire SUV market is an imitation of Scout, not only what the product is but the name,” Keogh told CNN.. “So, Trailblazer, Blazer, Discovery, 4Runner and Explorer, just keep going. They basically took the Scout name and did a synonym search and spit it out.”
He’s definitely coming to the SUV field with some moxie, and I appreciate that.
Keogh also told CNN the new Scout will “mix nostalgic cues without being overly retro.”
In fact, Scout’s website, Scoutmotors.com, goes right for the feels. Check out this text from the home page: “The world needs Scouts.
“To honor where we’ve come from.
“To unlock the potential of what lies ahead.
“To show our land the respect it deserves.
“To lift up our communities and haul their heaviest burdens.
“To lead the charge into the great unknown.
“Scouts go first. Scouts go farther. Scouts always come back to lead the way.
“We are carrying on that everlasting spirit.
“We are Scout Motors.”
Scout has my attention, and I’m curious to see where this goes.
And hey, if we’re lucky, maybe the new Scouts will bring back International Harvester’s Yuma Yellow paint color too!