Nostalgia marking goes back way before the Bronco. The Mustang took hints from the Mach I, the Camero ditched 3 decades of design to take hints for the late 60's and early 70's.
Perhaps CAT is going to make a truck, but I googled a youtube video on them, and it was showing 4 or 5 different designs and not really indicating which truck they might make. That said, while some of the designs would certainly have a following - I did not see any that really appeared to be a work truck. The ground clearance claimed did not match the ground clearance illustrated - and virtually none had any real suspention travel apparent. And honestly, I almost never see a work truck with steps - the only reason to put those on a vehicle that low to the ground is to hide something.
One thing Scout has going for it in the EV segment is it is a ground up EV. Adapting existing lines to electric means accepting compromises - that will eventually cost money producing and cost performance. Tesla did it right, and perhaps Rivan. Lightning reviews made it pretty clear why Ford halted sales on them - they were a nightmare. That said - same goes for the early reviews of VW's ID series. Hard to excuse a car company that makes a new vehicle that randomly bricks itself. It makes getting a first year of a new design scary as hell. At least the Tesla brick reports tended to have a reason - long term storage with a discharged battery.
I can hope that this forum is the target market. I fear that this forum is a niche and the target market will be something other than us - something broader, but also something less ambitious. We will know a lot more later this week.
Personally I hope they target the Wrangler, Bronco, and maybe possibly the 4Runner/Land Cruiser market with a functional EV alternative (simular offroad performance with an acceptable range). The closest to that now is the Rivian - and most of us don't really see it as an offroad vehicle. Perhaps it is possible to do, perhaps we are a generation of battery tech away from possible (the weight of the batteries is still almost a killer). It is a small market - but an open one. If they go after the broader SUV segment - they will be one in a crowd, nostalgia will not save them - the broader SUV market DOES NOT CARE. They will need to be exceptional to stand out - and exceptional rarely comes at a competitive price. At that point, maybe they should just try to make a functional EV minivan (which sorry, but VW had the chance, swung, missed, fell on the ground, and broke it's leg - and I really was hoping for the promised ID Buzz, not the abortion they came out with, not to mention missing the price range by 50% and the range by almost as much).
Perhaps CAT is going to make a truck, but I googled a youtube video on them, and it was showing 4 or 5 different designs and not really indicating which truck they might make. That said, while some of the designs would certainly have a following - I did not see any that really appeared to be a work truck. The ground clearance claimed did not match the ground clearance illustrated - and virtually none had any real suspention travel apparent. And honestly, I almost never see a work truck with steps - the only reason to put those on a vehicle that low to the ground is to hide something.
One thing Scout has going for it in the EV segment is it is a ground up EV. Adapting existing lines to electric means accepting compromises - that will eventually cost money producing and cost performance. Tesla did it right, and perhaps Rivan. Lightning reviews made it pretty clear why Ford halted sales on them - they were a nightmare. That said - same goes for the early reviews of VW's ID series. Hard to excuse a car company that makes a new vehicle that randomly bricks itself. It makes getting a first year of a new design scary as hell. At least the Tesla brick reports tended to have a reason - long term storage with a discharged battery.
I can hope that this forum is the target market. I fear that this forum is a niche and the target market will be something other than us - something broader, but also something less ambitious. We will know a lot more later this week.
Personally I hope they target the Wrangler, Bronco, and maybe possibly the 4Runner/Land Cruiser market with a functional EV alternative (simular offroad performance with an acceptable range). The closest to that now is the Rivian - and most of us don't really see it as an offroad vehicle. Perhaps it is possible to do, perhaps we are a generation of battery tech away from possible (the weight of the batteries is still almost a killer). It is a small market - but an open one. If they go after the broader SUV segment - they will be one in a crowd, nostalgia will not save them - the broader SUV market DOES NOT CARE. They will need to be exceptional to stand out - and exceptional rarely comes at a competitive price. At that point, maybe they should just try to make a functional EV minivan (which sorry, but VW had the chance, swung, missed, fell on the ground, and broke it's leg - and I really was hoping for the promised ID Buzz, not the abortion they came out with, not to mention missing the price range by 50% and the range by almost as much).
