[LouJC]

The Beetle sold 15 million copies around the world
The Bronco sold well in two very different forms
The Scout was a very small segment, produced in very limited numbers. Like I said I saw many CJs, Wagoneers, also Blazers & Broncos. Very few Scouts.
I don’t think VW did their due diligence on this one at all.

 

[LouJC]

I think the fact that you know what the Scout is, despite not being around any sort of validates VW’s point.

How so?
I’m saying what I’m saying based on numbers sold & seen. BTW I saw a fair # of Travelalls which was then a competitor for the Suburban;
they are trying to dip into the big demand for SUVs here and probably making a mistake.

 

[Erik Latranyi]

The Beetle sold 15 million copies around the world
The Bronco sold well in two very different forms
The Scout was a very small segment, produced in very limited numbers. Like I said I saw many CJs, Wagoneers, also Blazers & Broncos. Very few Scouts.
I don’t think VW did their due diligence on this one at all.

If VAG is trying to reach the off-road crowd, they will all know Scout.

The average person might not know what it is, but the enthusiasts they are targeting will know what Scout is.

 

[GasAxe]

I assume VW has access to the old advertising for the Scout, yes? A rose tinted advertising campaign will lay the groundwork for the new model but the vehicle itself has to be compelling. Prime example is the revived Toyota FJ.

 

[Adventurer55]

If VW is investing 2 billion in a plant, they are going to make Scout a whole brand for anything remotely tied to off roading. I would imagine we're looking at several sized SUVs and most likely a pickup or two.

 

[LouJC]

It is a foolish move.
1) International's origins in terms of their customer base was down to earth, blue collar people, that's who drove them. After all, who did they build their reputation with? Farmers.
What's VWs customer base now....not that.
2) yet another example of a European company thinking they know enough about Americans, their tastes and market that they can cash in here.
examples:
Daimler....didn't....FCA....didn't....Stellantis...hasn't shown anything yet.

We'll see.
Cornbinder fans won't be amused.
and I'll be surprised, if anyone at VW even gets the origin of "cornbinder" as applied to International Havester.

The thing that gets me more than anything else is the decline of Chrysler Corp, into not even a shadow of its former self, is exactly this misguided thinking.

 

[68RT]

What! Not bringing back the old gas-diesel engine? I-H put that in dozers, tractors and other products.

 

[Adventurer55]

What! Not bringing back the old gas-diesel engine? I-H put that in dozers, tractors and other products.

That was not one of their better ideas. Lol

 

[AceHanlon]

It is a foolish move.
1) International's origins in terms of their customer base was down to earth, blue collar people, that's who drove them. After all, who did they build their reputation with? Farmers.
What's VWs customer base now....not that.
2) yet another example of a European company thinking they know enough about Americans, their tastes and market that they can cash in here.
examples:
Daimler....didn't....FCA....didn't....Stellantis...hasn't shown anything yet.

We'll see.
Cornbinder fans won't be amused.
and I'll be surprised, if anyone at VW even gets the origin of "cornbinder" as applied to International Havester.

The thing that gets me more than anything else is the decline of Chrysler Corp, into not even a shadow of its former self, is exactly this misguided thinking.

In general I would agree with you. My Grandfather owned many Scouts throughout his lifetime and in this farming area many of his ilk did as well. They probably have more name recognition with his generation and my fathers generation than with mine. I have no issue with them but around here in PA the vast majority of them rusted out far QUICKER than it's counter parts. Pretty much anyone I ever talked to around here knows about them within farming areas or that were around farming communities. I wouldn't have known about them if it wasn't for my Grandfather owning them. They're defiantly a blue collar type of vehicle, at least back then. I doubt that a lot of zoomers or younger millennials, like myself, even know about their existence or care. They can't keep relying on these younger buyers that in general don't have money to afford newer vehicles. But who knows, could be a massive success but doubtful.

 

[valiant67]

In general I would agree with you. My Grandfather owned many Scouts throughout his lifetime and in this farming area many of his ilk did as well. They probably have more name recognition with his generation and my fathers generation than with mine. I have no issue with them but around here in PA the vast majority of them rusted out far QUICKER than it's counter parts. Pretty much anyone I ever talked to around here knows about them within farming areas or that were around farming communities. I wouldn't have known about them if it wasn't for my Grandfather owning them. They're defiantly a blue collar type of vehicle, at least back then. I doubt that a lot of zoomers or younger millennials, like myself, even know about their existence or care. They can't keep relying on these younger buyers that in general don't have money to afford newer vehicles. But who knows, could be a massive success but doubtful.

You claim your generation doesn’t know about them, but you obviously do.
You are the second person to claim no one knows about them while showing knowledge of them.
Sounds like VW is on the right track with this, the name has recognition even for people who never owned one.

 

[Zagnut27]

You claim your generation doesn’t know about them, but you obviously do.
You are the second person to claim no one knows about them while showing knowledge of them.
Sounds like VW is on the right track with this, the name has recognition even for people who never owned one.

Agreed. Anything is possible, I suppose, but I highly doubt that an automaker would spend massive amounts of money resurrecting a nameplate if they didn’t do the research necessary to see if said nameplate was worthwhile resurrecting.

And once again, it won’t matter what name they’re using if the product isn’t worthwhile in the first place. Tying the vehicle to a historical brand just helps with the marketing. Unless, of course they don’t do any actual marketing…cough…fiat…cough.

 

[1116Arthur]

VW has sold 35 million Golfs including my GTI.

 

[68RT]

That was not one of their better ideas. Lol

It was a very interesting idea that did work back when starter motors for real high compression engines were not great. There were even some hand crank models. I did start one once with a crank.

 

[AceHanlon]

You claim your generation doesn’t know about them, but you obviously do.
You are the second person to claim no one knows about them while showing knowledge of them.
Sounds like VW is on the right track with this, the name has recognition even for people who never owned one.

Just because I KNOW the name of something doesn't mean I or generation Z/Millennials know anything about it nor care to be interested in it. It's like hearing the name of an individual and saying "oh yeah I HEARD the name before" but that means little since the relevancy of the name stops there. Same applies for the Scout name, its surface level investment. They're going off these old marques that have been dead for decades and expecting them to still mean something. You missed my point that I WOULDN'T have known about it if it wasn't for a person TWO generations removed from me. Like I said, they're using a name brand that gravitas more with generations that are much older when they need a new name that resonates with a much younger audience.

 

[68RT]

Bronco was from the same time as the Scout. Has Bronco had an issue selling over name recognition?

 

[World14]

2) yet another example of a European company thinking they know enough about Americans, their tastes and market that they can cash in here.
examples:
Daimler....didn't....FCA....didn't....Stellantis...hasn't shown anything yet.

Chrysler is an outlier because each company, outside Stellantis, that has owned the mother brand has always been about making themselves richer the only way they know how to.
And it's not by letting the Americans to the leg work. They want to do all the big projects, and they want to do all the cost cutting. That's plainly obvious in Daimler's ownership, and the failed fruits of Fiat's labor working for that resides in the Guilia and Stelvio.
Volkswagen is much bigger, with much more money, and works far different. If they thought they knew better, they'd definitely would've kept everything in Germany and done all the planning.
But they have quite the CEO here in the US they're giving 2 billion dollars to, for an American factory and product, aren't they? The same CEO that's actually got his feet here, talking to current owners of Scouts and has a feel for what Scout is and can be in a modern market of SFA Wrangler's and IFS Bronco's?

 

[LouJC]

Well that makes more sense but I am still skeptical. I don't see people spending on these "Scouts" upwards of 50K like they do on Wranglers and Broncos, there just isn't the fan base. It wasn't there in the 70s, when I was already driving and had friends with K5 Blazers, and Broncos. For every 10 of those, you'd see maybe 2 Scouts. They even with the Travellall (sold far more than the Scout) Pick up & Scout, were even smaller in sales than AMC. For a time AMC had a big presence in the town I lived in because there was an AMC/Jeep dealer in addition to the typical Ford & Chevrolet stores. VW should spend that $$$ on reducing defects and warrantee problems on their current products which aren't the best in reliability, seeing as how the Japanese and S Korean competition is doing better in that regard.

 

[valiant67]

Just because I KNOW the name of something doesn't mean I or generation Z/Millennials know anything about it nor care to be interested in it. It's like hearing the name of an individual and saying "oh yeah I HEARD the name before" but that means little since the relevancy of the name stops there. Same applies for the Scout name, its surface level investment. They're going off these old marques that have been dead for decades and expecting them to still mean something. You missed my point that I WOULDN'T have known about it if it wasn't for a person TWO generations removed from me. Like I said, they're using a name brand that gravitas more with generations that are much older when they need a new name that resonates with a much younger audience.

Nope, didn't miss the point at all.
Names can, and do, have relevance even without personal experience. For instance, the Scout still makes appearances in modern TV and movies.
Look at the buzz around Grand Wagoneer and Bronco. Vehicles long out of production that really didn't sell that well most years. Bronco really only had a few years where sales were really strong.

 

[AceHanlon]

Nope, didn't miss the point at all.
Names can, and do, have relevance even without personal experience. For instance, the Scout still makes appearances in modern TV and movies.
Look at the buzz around Grand Wagoneer and Bronco. Vehicles long out of production that really didn't sell that well most years. Bronco really only had a few years where sales were really strong.

I don't think comparing the Scout to the Bronco and Grand Wagoneer is exactly equal. No offense to any one that likes the Scout but the legacy of the Blazer(full size), Bronco, and Grand Wagoneer has endured far better than the Scout. Like I said around here, where we get snow, they're known for being rusted into oblivion. Furthermore the Scout hasn't been made in over 40 years while those other names were made well into the 90's. Either way if it prevails so be it and if it doesn't so be it.

 

[valiant67]

I don't think comparing the Scout to the Bronco and Grand Wagoneer is exactly equal. No offense to any one that likes the Scout but the legacy of the Blazer(full size), Bronco, and Grand Wagoneer has endured far better than the Scout. Like I said around here, where we get snow, they're known for being rusted into oblivion. Furthermore the Scout hasn't been made in over 40 years while those other names were made well into the 90's. Either way if it prevails so be it and if it doesn't so be it.

And old Broncos and Blazers also rusted to oblivion in salt areas.
The Scout has a cult following. It's not my fault you refuse to see that.