Scout Motors mounts an electrical comeback with new SUV and truck ideas

A long time in the past, Scout Motors helped introduce America to the “sport utility automobile,” a unusual new car that might ultimately come to dominate our roads. The model went bust in 1980 — however now, it’s again, and it’s all-electric. Scout, which is now an unbiased firm below the Volkswagen Group, launched its first new-concept automobiles at the moment: the Terra truck and the Traveler SUV. Each automobiles are body-on-frame, sitting on high a brand-new EV platform distinctive to Scout. And each may begin at below $60,000 (with incentives) when manufacturing begins in 2027. However past the novelty of launching a brand new EV model when gross sales are nonetheless struggling, and on the eve of a significant election that would decide the way forward for the auto business, Scout is making an attempt to promote one thing that nobody has actually tried earlier than: a real throwback that additionally feels fashionable and contemporary. “It’s kind of this easy idea, however robust to execute,” mentioned Scout CEO Scott Keogh, defining it as “heritage meets ingenuity.”The “Connection Machine” Earlier than we get to the story of Scout’s comeback, let’s run by the specs, as a result of there are some actual doozies right here: Physique-on-frame chassis, stable rear axle, and entrance and rear mechanical lockers for off-road performanceProjected towing of over 7,000 kilos for the Scout Traveler and over 10,000 kilos for the Scout Terra, each with practically 2,000 kilos of payloadEstimated zero to 60mph acceleration in 3.5 seconds, made doable by an estimated 1,000 pound-feet of torque by the four-wheel-drive system Car software program constructed upon a contemporary zonal structure, enabling over-the-air updates and distant diagnosticsBidirectional charging and vehicle-to-home capabilitiesOne absolutely electrical trim with as much as 350 miles of vary and an prolonged vary mannequin with greater than 500 miles of vary by a gas-powered vary extenderThere’s much more, together with a detachable cabana roof, non-compulsory bench seats in each the entrance and rear, and lots of tactile touchpoints, like mechanical door handles, seize bars, and large, chunky dials and switches. Once I first spoke to Keogh earlier this yr, he advised me he didn’t wish to make one other hyperminimalist EV, festooned with touchscreens, glassy surfaces, and haptic buttons. He wished to make one thing that was actual and mechanical — one thing that you might seize and really feel linked to. “There’s undoubtedly a big phase that wishes to deliver forth among the heritage factor,” he mentioned this week. “They don’t wish to be remoted from the automotive… They wish to have actual switches. They wish to have mechanical contact and really feel.”Keogh says the corporate is looking it the “Connection Machine” — a phrase it seems to be making an attempt to trademark. The concept is that if you’re behind the wheel, tearing by some gravel or ripping up a one hundred pc grade, you’re linked to the automotive by the bodily act of driving but in addition your passengers, bumping up in opposition to one another on the identical bench seat. Within the zoneThat mentioned, there are many design and engineering decisions that show that Scout has its sights set firmly on the horizon. The inclusion of a zonal structure, relatively than a domain-style electrical setup, will assist make sure that the automobiles have lots of “headroom” for future updates, Keogh mentioned, decreasing prices not solely on the manufacturing facet but in addition for house owners by decreased upkeep prices. Zonal structure remains to be comparatively area of interest within the auto business. Tesla has been doing it for years, however most automakers use area architectures, with dozens of digital management models that management the whole lot from energy home windows and airbags to braking. Rivian not too long ago switched to a zonal system when it launched the next-gen variations of its R1 automobiles. And VW (which owns Scout) made a giant deal of licensing Rivian’s “zonal {hardware} design” when it introduced its plan to speculate $5 billion within the EV firm. Scout had the advantage of beginning with a “clear sheet,” Keogh advised me. “All this stuff sound fairly minor however organising your IT structure with no legacy system — that is big.”Platform politicsAnother factor that caught my consideration was the information that the Terra and Traveler can be constructed on “an all-new and proprietary body-on-frame platform.”The truth that Scout would develop its personal platform, relatively than borrow VW’s modular “MEB” electrical automobile platform, may strike some as unusual contemplating how costly and labor-intensive it’s for a brand-new firm to develop its personal bespoke platform. Sharing platforms is quite common, particularly when making an attempt to spin up a wholly new manufacturing line. (For instance, the Audi RS E-tron GT is constructed on the identical platform because the Porsche Taycan.)“They wish to have mechanical contact and really feel”To make sure, VW has been going by its personal struggles round EVs. The corporate’s plug-in fashions are promoting effectively, however its market share in North America is shrinking. And its software program has been suffering from bugs and buyer complaints.However Keogh assured me that Scout wasn’t making an attempt to disregard its benefits over a few of its rivals. The corporate desires to take care of its individuality however will nonetheless share some parts with its mum or dad firm, like drive models and different modules. Contemplating VW has by no means earlier than competed within the off-road phase, Scout will take these parts and piece them collectively into one thing that may sort out the roughest situations. “The very last thing we wish to do is to seize a one hundred pc carryover platform with all of the modules,” Keogh mentioned, “as a result of then we’d be a badge. And Scout received’t work as a badge in any respect.”Vary lifeThe inclusion of a gas-powered vary extender can also be certain to boost some eyebrows. At a time when automotive consumers are flocking to hybrids, Scout definitely may have gone that route and nobody would have complained. As a substitute, the corporate opted to incorporate a small gas-powered generator that expenses the battery, relatively than powering the engine. The explanation for this was twofold. First, electrical vehicles have traditionally struggled with vary when carrying heavy payloads or towing giant objects. Scout must persuade truck customers that they’ll do all of the truck stuff they love with out sacrificing vary. The opposite purpose is that Keogh firmly believes that EVs are the long run, and he wished a automobile that put battery energy first, whereas nonetheless providing a smidge of fossil fuels to assist quell vary nervousness. “It introduces the customer to electrification on their American phrases,” he mentioned. Not dystopianThe look of the Terra and Traveler can be instantly recognizable to lots of people. It efficiently blends designs from Ram, Jeep, Vary Rover, and Rivian (Scout’s chief designer hails from Stellantis and BMW), whereas additionally protecting the identical iconic feel and look of the unique Worldwide Harvester Scouts from the Sixties and ’70s. Keogh mentioned the purpose was to land someplace between avant-garde and protected. In different phrases, not too dystopian, just like the Tesla Cybertruck, however not overly acquainted, just like the Ford F-150 Lightning. “I believe it’s obtained its personal stance and its personal world,” he mentioned. “However after all, for those who see little glimpses of Vary Rover, little glimpses of Rivian, little glimpses of Ram, and a bit of little bit of Scout, okay that sounds cool to me.”Scout already has a storied historical past — Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is a fan — and now, it’s writing its subsequent chapter.