Let’s play nice.
. We're all excited about the possibilities here...
The global move to electric vehicles isn't a U.S. centric thing. In the first half of 2022 world wide internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle sales declined -16% while battery eletric vehicle (BEV) sales increased +75%. 80% of new car registrations in Norway last year were EVs. Hyundai has already announced that they are no longer going to offer ICE vehicles in Norway. China sells more EVs in one month than the U.S. sold in the whole year. Numerous countries are making them mandatory in the future including China. All car manufacturers have to do product planning and forecasting years out. Every car manufacturer is moving rapidly into electric vehicles with most already committing to 100% EV in the future. The EV train has already left the station and isn’t stopping.
Adding to this is the fact that a new Scout is still two years out and things will have progressed even further with numerous new EVs on the market, technology and software advances and much more. For all these reasons and many more, it only makes sense that the new Scout be electric.
Give us a chance and see what you think. Worst case you might be pleasantly surprised.
Gonna compound on this and add in that California is planning to ban new EV sales in light-duty vehicles by 2035, with a bunch of other states following suit. Without existing ICE infrastructure in place for our production, we're able to hit EV production head-on and get a jump start on the game here.
While we realize that there is a contingency that isn't a fan of the push to electric, legislation like this only expedites the R&D processes and advancement of BEV technology, which only helps with things like charging infrastructure, range, technology, accessories, support, etc.
I've always been a big motorhead but will admit that in the last 4-5 years, especially, I've become a fan of EVs. My first job out of college was for an online media outlet and I've had the opportunity to drive everything from early hybrids to supercars, hypercars, ultimate luxury, budget and mass production, and full EVs. I can say from my experience that EVs have come insanely far in their development and capabilities and are only progressing faster.
In terms of range, we're engineering these so that they'll be able to get out on the trails and back, so definitely more than 50 miles of range, and built to be tough. A few things to consider for offroading as well, that most people wouldn't think of (which is fair because there really aren't many offroad EVs)... When off-roading in an ICE, as long as the engine is on, you're burning fuel, especially in older engines. In EVs when you're at rest, the vehicle isn't burning gas. Secondly, EVs have instant max torque, so there's no revving to get in power bands, and burning fuel to do so. And thirdly, EVs have regenerative properties, so they can recoup some range off of the energy produced from things like braking, which ICEs can't do. When riding on trails and off-road, almost as much time is spent on the brake pedal as the power, which is huge for regen. It's actually fairly similar to urban and city driving in terms of time on power vs brakes.
Finally, there's actually a dynamic of off-roading in an EV, where you can hear much more of what's going on around you, and it provides a different experience that's actually really cool. I spent some time in the Norra and Rebelle ID4's out in the Mojave on part of the KOH course, back-to-back with a class 11 Beetle, last winter and it was really cool to be able to hear everything that was impacting the ID4s as I was driving them.
I still love my LJ Rubi, and will continue to take it on adventures, but am personally stoked to wheel EVs, and having seen these vehicles develop, and the most recent engineering updates, I can't wait to get them out and onto the trails.
Also, I know people get heated on the topics, and are super passionate... we really dig that, but as Jamie mentioned, try to be cool with each other on here. We're all here to lend our input and opinions, and love to hear them all. These differences in opinions are healthy and deserve to be shared, just avoid bashing each other.
