1979 International Harvester Scout II

Volkswagen is going to resurrect the Scout as an EV brand!

Jeff Glucker

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Comments

Here’s some news I didn’t expect to read this morning or… you, know, ever! Volkswagen is set to approve a plan that will bring the Scout name back to life in the US market. Per the Wall Street Journal via Jalopnik, the Scout brand will be a new subsidiary brand under the VW Group umbrella and the first order of business is creating a pair of electric vehicles.

One will be an electric pickup truck and the other will be an electric SUV. I hope that VW also has rights to some of the original International Harvester model names as well, or at the very least gets creative relating past model names to these modern vehicles. Perhaps a Scout 80 could have an 80-kWh battery pack or the Scout 800 could ride on a platform with an 800-volt architecture? Maybe the Scout Spirit of 76 could be a retro-future edition looking forward to 2076?

I have some ideas and I’m sure you do too.

Regardless, this is great news to see as I’ve always enjoyed the Scout family of vehicles. This feels like a good way to bring the name back to life. And I hope that anything VW makes under this new brand is more exciting than the ID.4.

About

Jeff Glucker

Jeff Glucker

Jeff Glucker is the co-founder and Executive Editor of Hooniverse.com. He’s often seen getting passed as he hustles a 1991 Mitsubishi Montero up the 405 Freeway. IG: @HooniverseJeff

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8 responses to “Volkswagen is going to resurrect the Scout as an EV brand!”

  1. mdharrell Avatar
    mdharrell

    I’m disappointed that CornBinder Connection got scooped on this but I’ll be renewing my subscription anyway.

    Reply
  2. Neight428 Avatar
    Neight428

    Makes as much sense as Toyota hiring BMW to build a car for them.

    Reply
  3. Batshitbox Avatar
    Batshitbox

    My crystal ball reveals a four door with a fixed roof. So absolutely nothing like a Scout whatsoever. I might deign to glance it’s way if it ships with a factory electric winch.

    True, they might take a page from the Bronco playbook, but c’mon, it’s VAG.

    Reply
    1. mdharrell Avatar
      mdharrell

      “…if it ships with a factory electric winch.”

      Now I want to see VW mess with everyone by shipping it with a small bumper-mounted two-stroke for the winch.

      Reply
  4. Slow Joe Crow Avatar
    Slow Joe Crow

    VW actually owns International at this point since their heavy truck holding company Traton bought Navistar several years ago alongside MAN and Scania. so they probably have all of the Scout and Travelall trademarks.

    Reply
    1. Batshitbox Avatar
      Batshitbox

      Here’s an interesting tidbit from the Super Scout Specialists website regarding the Scout trademark,

      “In 1990 Navistar approached John (Glancy) and Rod (Phillips) about purchasing the Scout/Light Line parts support business. Their agreement formed Scout/Light Line Distributors, Inc., SLL had warehouses in Both Colorado and Ohio. The purchase agreement and contract included all SLL parts in the Navistar warehouses, contracts with suppliers to make new parts, any tools and dies to make SLL parts etc.. The agreement contract included continued access to historical data, blueprints, line tickets etc. The agreement contract also granted the full use of the Scout Trademark and the right to sublicense etc. The IH logo is used to promote existing parts. The agreement also includes the maintenance of the Scout trademark registration in Washington DC by Navistar for SLLs Benefit and for the possible future use by Navistar.”

      I’m sure that “by Navistar for SSL’s benefit” went out the window when Volkswagen got the goods.

      http://www.scoutlightline.com/default.aspx?pg=2d2ccfa8-2d69-4d2a-83d7-66676cd8715d

      Reply
  5. Maymar Avatar
    Maymar

    Until it hits production, I’m convinced this is the Germans struggling to make a joke like when they thought “Voltswagen” was a good idea.

    Reply
  6. outback_ute Avatar
    outback_ute

    There has been a Skoda Scout German-Outback-ed (so a very mild version with an inch of lift) version of the Octavia wagon for 10+ years, and possibly also the Superb

    Reply