Silly ideas sometimes inspire good ones, let's hear yours

[Ecca]

This is the moment to bring out your questionable or ridiculous ideas to see if there are any nuggets of brilliance hidden away.

I want to hear any suggestions that you would be hesitant to actually make.

I'll start with mine, with zero nuggets of brilliance:

• For the wireless winch controller, integrate RC-car style controls with a tiny steering wheel, limiting speed to a crawl. Even without using the winch, it also means you could be your own spotter using your own eyes and drive the car carefully from the outside. Throw a little gimbal motor and encoder on it for steering controls to mirror the feedback from the actual steering. Tap into the fun and novelty of a giant toy when advertising the option.
• Speaking of spotting, maybe a removable dashcam streaming to the vehicle's display. If someone steps out to help while holding the dashcam, then the driver can see what they see (instead of the usual distorted stitching of various external cameras that's only good for parking).
• Besides the commonly suggested platform for sharing off-road trails, have community maps also help answer the question of where the heck is the entrance or parking when I want to do other outdoor activities like camping, hiking, biking, kayaking, etc. Keep the site/app open to everyone to make it easier to gather data from many users. then integrate that data on the onboard nav.
• Faux hub lockers that still serve a genuine function: protect wheels from theft in lieu of locking lug nuts.

 

[LastDayScout]

I don’t know all the details of your situation, but if you’ve got a 240V circuit at home That you could use for charging, then 92 miles a day should be no problem for modern EVs, most of which have >200 mi range, and would probably save a fair bit of money on fuel. But I understand that doesn’t work for everyone For any number of reasons.

92 miles is no problem for most current EVs

 

[JohnnyScout]

Portal axles with inboard brakes and motors. Think of the ground clearance gain (think front axles on 4wd farm.tractors)

 

[Remiscout]

All rubber/hard plastic floors.
Built in phone holder.
Analog clock like scout ii offered.
Seat that doubles as console between front seat passangers. (make it removable).
Make bench backseat removable.
The word Scout in the grill
Tire swing with Jerry can holder on back
Come standard with CB radio and tall antenna in back.
The Midas 180 swivel seats in front only when car is off. Forced forward when in drive. (Probably illegal tho :/)
Make glove box giant (could lock up a backpack) also make lid to glovebox form a tray for eating/ using laptop.
Come with removable cargo cover
Make a tent option
Double gas tank- no electric
Under hood lights
Same reverse opening hood has Sii but without manual lift
Make a scout bra for front of vehicle all colors
Offer cling wrap to easily change the color when ready for a change
Horizontal sliding windows on back removable top like Sii but also back vertical windows while tops off. Top would cover buttons so can’t use while tops on.
Roll bars above all seats so top can completely come off.
Lockable truck in back when tops off.
Each comes with Pendleton style scout blanket.
Kill switch and hidden gps.
Make off-roading possible/ easy clean up since that’s what most of us use our old scouts for.
Nice throaty exhaust
Come with subwoofer- nothing insane tho.
Cool seatbelt clasps, knobs, shifter
Different vinyl options for easy changing dash style options
Make it larger like the new bigger bronco not the wimpy smaller bronco
Make it actually tow things unlike the bronco
Don’t start it in the 40’s. Add badass features and start high 50’s. Make it a beast!

 

[Scoutsie]

I’m different from a lot of the posters here. I’m a disabled woman in my mid-forties. I have a 2015 Prius and I’m really sick of how low it rides and all of the blind spots it has. My parents had a Scout and it was a lot of fun. I’m looking for a car that’s what the Scout was to my parents: something a little different than what the market provided at the time. I’d love to

1. Afford ($30–$40K ballpark? GREAT) an electric car that is
2. NOT a piece of overpriced, unreliable garbage—which is what the VW electrics are characterized as— or something that is made to be so bare bones as to feel lacking
3. has some actual range for a road trip or can charge in a reasonable amount of time for a food break or some such,
4. can handle a harsh Massachusetts winter,
5. is up for some time in the woods,
6. I can see out of without significant obstruction (or has sufficient cameras or can be modified to help me out because I can’t turn my neck around comfortably: thanks, multiple sclerosis), and last but by no means least,
7. isn’t a hideous mess with horrible design engineering choices.
8. I don’t care if it has BIG VROOM VROOM engine
9. or perfectly replicates the experience I had as a kid because that included a lot of rust and a lot less safety by today’s standards.
10. I hope it has plenty of modern conveniences like a heads-up display and digital instrumentation. I love integrating my phone with the car for GPS (my current car is a shade too old for CarPlay, so my phone lives on a dash-mounted stand when I drive). I love stuff like driver assists for parking and backing up. My car is a 2015 model and just missed that boat.

I’d like to mention that it makes me very uncomfortable to read gatekeeping language suggesting that this shouldn’t be a car for “soccer moms” —why not? What will a soccer mom not appreciate about a Scout?

I was a tiny little girl with curly pigtails, Tonka trucks, one blind eye, Barbies, and a zillion stuffed animals and yet I loved my parents’ car. I might not have appreciated the same things as someone rhapsodizing about manual transmission (never did learn), but I don’t get why a soccer mom or a disabled middle-aged woman doesn’t deserve to have the same fun with a Scout as anyone else. I loved watching my dad work on the car in the backyard and passing him wrenches: that’s not going to happen with this one.

This isn’t meant to be provocative… really, I’m not understanding the concern. Is it a concern that [something], whatever [something] happens to represent, could get watered down because of a lack of understanding or appreciation?

 

[oldgeeksguide]

I’m different from a lot of the posters here. I’m a disabled woman in my mid-forties. I have a 2015 Prius and I’m really sick of how low it rides and all of the blind spots it has. My parents had a Scout and it was a lot of fun. I’m looking for a car that’s what the Scout was to my parents: something a little different than what the market provided at the time. I’d love to

1. Afford ($30–$40K ballpark? GREAT) an electric car that is
2. NOT a piece of overpriced, unreliable garbage—which is what the VW electrics are characterized as— or something that is made to be so bare bones as to feel lacking
3. has some actual range for a road trip or can charge in a reasonable amount of time for a food break or some such,
4. can handle a harsh Massachusetts winter,
5. is up for some time in the woods,
6. I can see out of without significant obstruction (or has sufficient cameras or can be modified to help me out because I can’t turn my neck around comfortably: thanks, multiple sclerosis), and last but by no means least,
7. isn’t a hideous mess with horrible design engineering choices.
8. I don’t care if it has BIG VROOM VROOM engine
9. or perfectly replicates the experience I had as a kid because that included a lot of rust and a lot less safety by today’s standards.
10. I hope it has plenty of modern conveniences like a heads-up display and digital instrumentation. I love integrating my phone with the car for GPS (my current car is a shade too old for CarPlay, so my phone lives on a dash-mounted stand when I drive). I love stuff like driver assists for parking and backing up. My car is a 2015 model and just missed that boat.

I’d like to mention that it makes me very uncomfortable to read gatekeeping language suggesting that this shouldn’t be a car for “soccer moms” —why not? What will a soccer mom not appreciate about a Scout?

I was a tiny little girl with curly pigtails, Tonka trucks, one blind eye, Barbies, and a zillion stuffed animals and yet I loved my parents’ car. I might not have appreciated the same things as someone rhapsodizing about manual transmission (never did learn), but I don’t get why a soccer mom or a disabled middle-aged woman doesn’t deserve to have the same fun with a Scout as anyone else. I loved watching my dad work on the car in the backyard and passing him wrenches: that’s not going to happen with this one.

This isn’t meant to be provocative… really, I’m not understanding the concern. Is it a concern that [something], whatever [something] happens to represent, could get watered down because of a lack of understanding or appreciation?

So glad you spoke up, that’s a really valuable perspective! If Scout comes up with a vehicle like you’re describing, I’d be very tempted by it.

 

[Jakeverbiest]

Just do an inexpensive US Jimny. Low-frills, entry level pricing, slightly rugged.

 

[James Williams]

Good morning and appreciate the open forum you have created. We have talked at length about my experience developing and working atIH / Navistar for over 50years and have driven Scouts and Travelalls, aa

 

[61ih80]

Just do an inexpensive US Jimny. Low-frills, entry level pricing, slightly rugged.

Inexpensive & Utilitarian! Let the next generation see the new concept.

 

[Scoutsie]

Good morning and appreciate the open forum you have created. We have talked at length about my experience developing and working atIH / Navistar for over 50years and have driven Scouts and Travelalls, aa

I thank you for your service to creating some really great memories.

I was talking some more with my mom last night about how I signed up for an account on this forum and what led her and my dad to buy a Scout over a station wagon for a family car, as that was what did in the 1970s at the time. Their thing was that station wagons were uggo (my wording, not hers, I am at the cusp of being a member of Gen X or a millennial), they liked riding up a bit higher visually (we come from a lineage of short, stocky Eastern European people with arthritis and it’s a lot more pleasant to climb up than crouch down… this is another reason why I’m not real excited about a sedan-type ride for my next car. I have multiple sclerosis (MS) and I have arthritis. My dad, may he rest in peace, had both knees replaced, and I would imagine that’s in my future if an MS-related wheelchair isn’t. That then leads me to consider something else:

Wheelchairs and wheelchair accessibility.

I haven’t had to look into this yet, knock on wood, but my MS magazines talk a bit about it, and it involves conversions, buying used ones, etc, etc, etc. In my own mind, it means “you are giving up the flexibility of choice.” You no longer get to dream of owning a car that you enjoy owning.

If Scout is a leader in “disabled people deserve to have sick rides,” well then. That could mean “look, the SUV and truck are both all ready to accept a ramp and a wheelchair, no problemo! No third-party conversion necessary! Maybe you place a special order and have a longer wait, but we make this for you at the factory and then you don’t have to buy a sadness van and you still get your various stipends and whatnot and don’t feel like a lesser human being because wheels are supplementing your feet.”

Think about it!

 

[ScoutThink/%]

I’m not sure if this idea is possible, but I want your opinions about it.

I want the c pillar to be foldable/removable.

I was thinking about how the old scout 80s could be used as a pickupand a SUV

The A and B pillars would not be removable for pickup mode.

The c section could be like a bolt-in roll cage by AGI. And the A and B pillars would be permanent.

Also a segmented roof like the bronco would be nice.

For the pickup mode you could have a panel to seal the front portion away from the bed.

The scout would need to have a front bench seat to make this truck mode even more practical.

 

[OleScout]

Ford appears to be working on a retractable tie down patent.

https://fordauthority.com/2024/03/future-ford-vehicles-could-get-retractable-tie-downs/

 

[J Alynn]

Ford appears to be working on a retractable tie down patent.

https://fordauthority.com/2024/03/future-ford-vehicles-could-get-retractable-tie-downs/

That’s a cool idea

 

[Derek]

A few suggestions:
1. The Scout II had a ventilation opening just above the floor on the driver and passenger side. There was a lever on the driver’s side that you could push/pull to open and close. I really liked this for providing some breeze for your legs. It is a unique feature, and it would be nice if this were offered.
2. For the pickup, I am a fan of the sliding window on the back of the cab.
3. For the front driver and passenger side windows, is there any chance that you could restore the triangular vent window that rotates in and out to direct air onto the driver or passenger? It is a nice feature, and would score points with those of us who miss it.
4. Must have round headlights. Please not too bright. No need to blind oncoming cars.
5. The transmission is a serious issue. I am glad that the new Scouts will be electric, but as far as I know, there isn’t really a role for a manual transmission in an EV, and if it is an automatic, then it won’t really feel like a Scout, and you’ll immediately lose your claim to being “rugged”. Automatics are ok for the soccer moms who drive an SUV because sometimes they have to forge through a quarter inch of snow on the way home from the stylist. Even the new Bronco had a manual in the base version, but they made a bad design with a pansy shifter mounted on the console, rather than a proper one that goes all the way to the floor, and they didn’t offer the manual in the higher performance packages, which ensured that I wouldn’t buy one. Not sure how to address this situation for the electric Scouts, though. Ideas?
6. Roll bar, please.
7. Anything that can make it easy to get the top off and on, and to suspend it in a garage will be welcome.

Thank you!!!

I'm going to really agree on #1. One frustration I have with modern cars is being isolated from the fresh air outside. I like having filtered heat and AC available, but I want to be able to let natural air in. I use the floor vents on my IH cars almost all the time, and the ability to open, close/adjust (especially the driver's footwell) is really nice.

I dig wing windows too, but understand that might be tough due to other design or engineering reasons, but a true, mechanical footwell vent would be pretty cool.

 

[sambown]

I miss the button for the "brights" being on the floor by your left foot. I know most lights are auto-dim these days, but it would be cool to have an option for manual brights with the button being pressed by your foot rather than on the steering column like in most modern cars. I think you could argue it's safer too, no need to move hands at all from the wheel, and your left foot does nothing while driving an EV.

 

[JohnnyScout]

I’m not sure if this idea is possible, but I want your opinions about it.

I want the c pillar to be foldable/removable.

I was thinking about how the old scout 80s could be used as a pickupand a SUV

The A and B pillars would not be removable for pickup mode.

The c section could be like a bolt-in roll cage by AGI. And the A and B pillars would be permanent.

Also a segmented roof like the bronco would be nice.

For the pickup mode you could have a panel to seal the front portion away from the bed.

The scout would need to have a front bench seat to make this truck mode even more practical.

If I recall (fuzzy after an intervening 60+ years) the only difference between a 80/800 SUV or pickup was the top ( and lack of factory delivered rear seat). It is too late in design process since the big reveal to be on schedule is less than 60 days away (late summer 2024) but with only a change in optional tops (and removing rear seats) one could transform their vehicles in their own backyard.

Which does suggest, even in suv version, fold down tailgate instead of swing gate

 

[61ih80]

Ah, in less than 60 days!