So what does everyone think of the first new Scout designs...

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At this point in development, the decision on a removable top has already been made if they’re going to reveal it this year but I will always believe that if the top doesn’t come off, it won’t be a Scout. It might be a perfectly acceptable SUV, like dozens of other vehicles already on the market, but it won’t be a real Scout.
The overall size will play a huge factor in being a removable top I would imagine. Having a 4 door Bronco, the front panels are easily removed, center panel is difficult with one person and rear panel is impossible withour a lift or extra hands. I'm all for a removable top, just want the cake and eat ot all too.
 
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Yes, like I wrote, I know the design is locked in. But, I was sharing personal opinion that a hard top would be fine with me. I agree there is a market for a soft top. Just not for me. I never took the top off my Scout II. Good thing it had ice cold AC!
 
Had a Bronco, sold the Bronco after 18 months. Noises were an issue but it was quality issues. An operable roof will always make more noise but that’s the point-it’s a lifestyle vehicle. I’d much rather have two (front and rear passenger) targa panels to give the open effect. The Bronco soft top was already showing wear failure-one of the 6 reasons we dumped it. I’m now gun shy of a soft top and hardtop is a hassle unless it’s a third fun vehicle, is garage kept and you can leave top off from May-October. All that said I still thoroughly believe the roof needs to open in some sort of way. If not-then what’s the point. It’s no longer a lifestyle vehicle but just an over-built daily driver like all other SUVs. Sure it’s off road capable to satisfy the 6% of buyers who will accept an EV off-roader brand new at a cost of $60K-ish plus custom mods so a $70K fun vehicle to take out and destroy? I’m still very anxious but the Scout history-even the videos SM has released is Scouts in their element-NATURE and many with tops down or fully open. I loved my Scout as a new 16 year old driver back in ‘89 and all I did was begged my dad to let me take the top off. At that point there were rusted holes through the bottom and hell -if I could look down and see the road, surely I should have been able to look up and see the sky.
There aren’t a lot of “reasonably priced EV SUV’s but if it doesn’t stand out the struggle will be real to bring buyers onboard to essentially a new company brand. The big manufacturers are already building hybrid SUVs and some EV’s too. What would be the incentive for non-Scout lovers to gamble on new when there are already 25-30 SUV’s (ICE/hybrid/EV) already in the market.
Under VWAG I can think of at least 12 SUV’s in the U.S. already ranging in price from $38-120K.
Again
Doesn’t need to be a fully open top but give us a simple way. Maybe it’s dual operating sun roofs. Maybe they are targa panels or a skyroof like the Jeep Cherokee.
I find it hard to imagine that the design team hasn't clearly heard the desire of many legacy owners for a removable top. It's heritage, and fun too. That said, making any vehicle with a removable or fold-down or convertible top is going to be a severe challenge against the rule-makers who would protect us from all perils with no apparent concern for costs both financial and to the environment and to adaptive uses. As someone said before dealing with the mass of the battery in anticipating roll-over is significant. A YouTube video of a Cybertruck weighing in at a truck/tractor pull shows a weight of 6,975 pounds (3.5 tons) ; in comparison my topless Scout 80 is a little less than 1.5 tons. Flipping that extra 2.5tons over is a real challenge to the designers concerned primarily with survivability; not to mention the challenge to the recovery crew. Yet, driving top-free is not a fetish limited to Scout owners, every sunny day I see numbers of sleek low-slung, unidentifiable (to me), cars with heads barely visible zipping past. The demand to indulge in the sun and wind seems an inborn human desire that is unlikely to be satisfied by occasional roller-coaster rides. The first generations of ScoutMotors EV Scouts is certainly set on the «Rivian-pair» introductory plan. Those who need a removable top in 2026 will need to own a good Sawzall. But now that the first design is moving from clay to metal/plastic, I bet the designers are already sketching what's next at their kitchen tables. Will they be shorter, extended, topless, door-less, industrial tug, or perhaps regional models. Which of our "wished for" features will appear in SM-II? They must be listening.

We can only hope that those who do the design work on a removable top will, as they are giving us the wind and rain experiences, remember that the view also is part of the experience. In the legacy Scouts we were able to have safety bars and roll-over cages that allowed all three (yes, I recognize some of the bars offered more "show" than "protection"). Recent attempts by some manufacturers seem to have lost sight of the sightlines.
 
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I haven't read through the entire forum yet, so I apologize in advance if this has already been mentioned.

In my mind, one of the things that make a Scout is the front and rear ends. The rear end does need that tailgate and lift gate, as has been mentioned previously. I am apposed to a 4 door version, that would make it to long, or the doors to small. As for the front, I have yet to see concept photos, but the grill is essential. I personally prefer the grill with the vertical bars.

I am honestly impressed with the SUV concept picture. The truck on the other hand, is a different story. I am pretty sure that the Scouts had 2 different topper options. One that made it an SUV, and the option to cut the cab and make it more like a light duty truck. I know that was the case in some of the Scout 800's. I was reading some of the comments, and it was said that the bed space is a less utilized area than the interior. Why not simply make the tops interchangeable?


Another thing that I would love to see in this new Scout, is the option of some sort of mobile charging feature. Weather that be solar, generator, wind, or something else. If you're out on a road trip and your battery died, then you're stuck. If solar panels were integrated into the topper (even though they are not the most effective generator of green energy) they may at least charge you up enough to make it somewhere with a charger. This may be a completely obsolete issue by the time the new Scouts hit the road, but I thought I would throw it out there.


I agree that a hybrid model would be beneficial. Might I suggest that a diesel engine be used in this application? If they are, then that would follow along the line that Scout Motors is a environmentally friendly company. In addition, they generally provide more ft/lbs of torque than a gasoline engine.
Also, if you integrated a generator into the engine, you could hypothetically charge the EV portion while under combustion engine power.

I am currently in the process of restoring a 1975 Scout with my grandpa, and was initially completely opposed to the new Scouts. Since then, I have come more accepting of the New Scout idea, but an not thrilled that it's an EV. I am awaiting its release.
 
I find it hard to imagine that the design team hasn't clearly heard the desire of many legacy owners for a removable top. It's heritage, and fun too. That said, making any vehicle with a removable or fold-down or convertible top is going to be a severe challenge against the rule-makers who would protect us from all perils with no apparent concern for costs both financial and to the environment and to adaptive uses. As someone said before dealing with the mass of the battery in anticipating roll-over is significant. A YouTube video of a Cybertruck weighing in at a truck/tractor pull shows a weight of 6,975 pounds (3.5 tons) ; in comparison my topless Scout 80 is a little less than 1.5 tons. Flipping that extra 2.5tons over is a real challenge to the designers concerned primarily with survivability; not to mention the challenge to the recovery crew. Yet, driving top-free is not a fetish limited to Scout owners, every sunny day I see numbers of sleek low-slung, unidentifiable (to me), cars with heads barely visible zipping past. The demand to indulge in the sun and wind seems an inborn human desire that is unlikely to be satisfied by occasional roller-coaster rides. The first generations of ScoutMotors EV Scouts is certainly set on the «Rivian-pair» introductory plan. Those who need a removable top in 2026 will need to own a good Sawzall. But now that the first design is moving from clay to metal/plastic, I bet the designers are already sketching what's next at their kitchen tables. Will they be shorter, extended, topless, door-less, industrial tug, or perhaps regional models. Which of our "wished for" features will appear in SM-II? They must be listening.

We can only hope that those who do the design work on a removable top will, as they are giving us the wind and rain experiences, remember that the view also is part of the experience. In the legacy Scouts we were able to have safety bars and roll-over cages that allowed all three (yes, I recognize some of the bars offered more "show" than "protection"). Recent attempts by some manufacturers seem to have lost sight of the sightlines.
Good post!
 
I find it hard to imagine that the design team hasn't clearly heard the desire of many legacy owners for a removable top. It's heritage, and fun too. That said, making any vehicle with a removable or fold-down or convertible top is going to be a severe challenge against the rule-makers who would protect us from all perils with no apparent concern for costs both financial and to the environment and to adaptive uses. As someone said before dealing with the mass of the battery in anticipating roll-over is significant. A YouTube video of a Cybertruck weighing in at a truck/tractor pull shows a weight of 6,975 pounds (3.5 tons) ; in comparison my topless Scout 80 is a little less than 1.5 tons. Flipping that extra 2.5tons over is a real challenge to the designers concerned primarily with survivability; not to mention the challenge to the recovery crew. Yet, driving top-free is not a fetish limited to Scout owners, every sunny day I see numbers of sleek low-slung, unidentifiable (to me), cars with heads barely visible zipping past. The demand to indulge in the sun and wind seems an inborn human desire that is unlikely to be satisfied by occasional roller-coaster rides. The first generations of ScoutMotors EV Scouts is certainly set on the «Rivian-pair» introductory plan. Those who need a removable top in 2026 will need to own a good Sawzall. But now that the first design is moving from clay to metal/plastic, I bet the designers are already sketching what's next at their kitchen tables. Will they be shorter, extended, topless, door-less, industrial tug, or perhaps regional models. Which of our "wished for" features will appear in SM-II? They must be listening.

We can only hope that those who do the design work on a removable top will, as they are giving us the wind and rain experiences, remember that the view also is part of the experience. In the legacy Scouts we were able to have safety bars and roll-over cages that allowed all three (yes, I recognize some of the bars offered more "show" than "protection"). Recent attempts by some manufacturers seem to have lost sight of the sightlines.
Really like this post. Reminded me of an article I read a little bit ago where it says: "Benjamin also wants these vehicles to be less fundamentally compromised than the Wrangler or the Bronco: 'We will create something that is both capable and is super-comfortable when you're going about your daily business.' "

To me, this means creating a vehicle that has some open-air qualities, but not like a Wrangler or Bronco. Those are vehicles that people love for their removable roof and doors but are definitely compromised in their daily comfort/usability (just getting around and commuting, etc.).

Super excited to see what they go with. Like TaconicBear said, I'm sure the designers and engineers are listening and trying their best to give people what they want, while also appealing to the mass-market.
 
@J Alynn In which dimension? ;) Can't say yet and honestly, things are still subject to change.

@JohnnyScout I wouldn't automatically extrapolate a full-size pickup truck with a high price tag. One of the benefits we have is the ability to leverage/utilize VW group parts. For example, if we need a window regulator, we have numerous vehicles across VW/Audi/Porsche that we can source something from that is already engineered, tested and produced in large numbers that help bring the price down. I can't promise anything at this point regarding price, but I can say it isn't apples to apples in the current market. We also plan to offer a decent spread of trim options. Stay tuned...
Do manual regulators weigh less than electric for removable doors? Curious..
 
No hand cranks (at this time). :D
Ah, proper roadster sidescreens
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No hand cranks (at this time). :D
Thank goodness. I get the simplicity but in order to compete with nearly every other vehicle I can’t imagine SM wouldn’t get a ton of grief for this. That said I’ll still champion the manual A-pillar triangular vent window. That was such a simple, awesome feature
 
Some of the stuff in this video is over the top but I could see the rear seats working well if the SUV indeed ends up with tailgate and lift hatch. Seats are VERY cool as a concept.

 
Stumbled on this AI design for a modern day Scout. Can’t remember if I’ve seen it before but I love the color combo with the dark brown roof. Can’t tell if metal or textile but it’s a cool look. Way more Bronco looking than Scout but I just thought it was a great looking vehicle for being AI generated
 

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Stumbled on this AI design for a modern day Scout. Can’t remember if I’ve seen it before but I love the color combo with the dark brown roof. Can’t tell if metal or textile but it’s a cool look. Way more Bronco looking than Scout but I just thought it was a great looking vehicle for being AI generated
Funny-found this IH Scout today. Similar color combo-looks good