What kind of tech do you expect enabled in the car or interface?

[OleScout]

Yes, but the question I didn't ask was wireless?

Gotcha, that I'm not sure about.

 

[LastDayScout]

Did any of you folks who were there get to ask about the electrical outlets? In the presentation Scott Keogh said both 120v and 240v outlets at the rear and 120 & USB elsewhere. I wonder about having 220v in what will be basically a North American vehicle; what accessory or appliance would use it? Maybe a welder? There exists a ton of aftermarket stuff already waiting to plug into 12v DC. I have a portable winch that I mount in the bed of my pickup or on my vehicle trailer and it runs on 12v DC. I've added a 12v outlet at the back corner so I can plug in the winch. I'd find 12vDC far more valuable than 220v AC.

And while thinking about trailers and winches, it doesn't look to me like there would be much possibility to mount 2" receiver on the front. They are very useful in accurately positioning a trailer in tight spaces; and my winch can mount there, too. Will there be access to the ladder frame that will allow for a hitch?

The accessories catalog back in the '60s used to have plows and rotary brushes. I wonder how amenable the design will be for other aftermarket accessories designed to mount on the front. In a barely instantaneous glimpse of the screens behind Scott toward the end of the show there was a shot of two Scouts, one with snow plow and the other lifting a round hay bale, so I guess they've heard us. Maybe that's going to have to wait until the 2nd edition of the SM Scouts when some of us hope for a return to the original Service Utility Vehicle concept. (The one you can clean out with a hose.)

We could only stick our head in. We could explore the interior. But, there are three 110v outlets right beside the NACS port. I could see the charge port being bi directionally 220/240v. I did not see any traditional 220v ports myself.

 

[MountainDad]

Wow! I just read through some of the wet techie dreams of those who responded. Most of the tech trash they crave for is unnecessary, superfluous frill designed to fill the option list of the Land Rover fops. It breaks so much on Teslas that their reliability ratings suck!
Keep it simple, stupid should be a mantra for all car manufacturers. At best, all that tech junk should be available, but let’s start with a real Scout first for those of us who don’t want or use that stuff.

With a vehicle that is an EV at heart - making a pure analog vehicle is impossible.

Ineos Grenadier may be your huckleberry.

 

[LastDayScout]

Only half of North America runs with Apple, another half runs on Android. The vehicle must support both, and not block other OSs that it may encounter.

It will support both.

 

[J Alynn]

Did any of you folks who were there get to ask about the electrical outlets? In the presentation Scott Keogh said both 120v and 240v outlets at the rear and 120 & USB elsewhere. I wonder about having 220v in what will be basically a North American vehicle; what accessory or appliance would use it? Maybe a welder? There exists a ton of aftermarket stuff already waiting to plug into 12v DC. I have a portable winch that I mount in the bed of my pickup or on my vehicle trailer and it runs on 12v DC. I've added a 12v outlet at the back corner so I can plug in the winch. I'd find 12vDC far more valuable than 220v AC.

And while thinking about trailers and winches, it doesn't look to me like there would be much possibility to mount 2" receiver on the front. They are very useful in accurately positioning a trailer in tight spaces; and my winch can mount there, too. Will there be access to the ladder frame that will allow for a hitch?

The accessories catalog back in the '60s used to have plows and rotary brushes. I wonder how amenable the design will be for other aftermarket accessories designed to mount on the front. In a barely instantaneous glimpse of the screens behind Scott toward the end of the show there was a shot of two Scouts, one with snow plow and the other lifting a round hay bale, so I guess they've heard us. Maybe that's going to have to wait until the 2nd edition of the SM Scouts when some of us hope for a return to the original Service Utility Vehicle concept. (The one you can clean out with a hose.)

Very little shared about frame but we are told hitches and winches are on their minds and being finalized. Other than seeing the power port and gang of plugs I didn’t ask

I was curious on wireless Apple Carplay and Android Auto too and forgot to ask. Did anybody else think to verify this?

i missed it

 

[Albal]

I am really surprised that the Traveler SUV is not equipped with this. I would totally give up one or two 120 volt 15 amp receptacles to include a 240 volt 30 or 50 amp receptacle

Hmmm.. the Traveler doesn’t have 240v?

 

[MountainDad]

Solar power hood instead of roof top so roof top can still have room for a rack and a built-in deployable drone to scout ahead when needed.

Two words: Sun. Hail.

Solar Power hood will reflect blazing sunlight right in your face. No thanks. This concept doesn't provide nearly as much power as one thinks it does...it's more complexity and more opportunity for failure than it is worth...especially when hail, or stones kicked up by a semi, or torsion and shock from offroading cause the glass and/or the silicon substrate to crack.

 

[MountainDad]

At the time we were exploring solar roofs and solar field for a 240 unit 50+ neighborhood so 1-story homes with large roof areas. After exploration the payback couldn’t be justified. Not arguing-just stating facts based on working with energy consultants. We went with horizontal geothermal under the largest retention basin as our final decision. That actually worked much better financially. All that said-I’m extremely biased. As an architect, solar panels on roofs are terrible aesthetically. I’m all in favor of solar fields, wind turbines, etc.. when planned properly but solar panels are worse than 4-5 satellite dishes sticking off of homes. We all have our pet-peaves and dislikes and that is mine. I’m off my soapbox now. I’ll bow out gracefully on the topic

Good point.

So I would like horizontal geothermal integrated into the...underbody. please.

 

[J Alynn]

Good point.

So I would like horizontal geothermal integrated into the...underbody. please.

LMAO. There may be liquid cooling tubes to cool the battery pack so you may get your wish

 

[TaconicBear]

Very little shared about frame but we are told hitches and winches are on their minds and being finalized. Other than seeing the power port and gang of plugs I didn’t ask

i missed it

On the screen behind the stage there was a very short glimpse of a Scout with a snowplow and one with a device for handling a roll of hay. So I get the hope that the design team are truly listening to the comments we have been making about making the EV Scout capable of becoming a true utility vehicle. I captured a video of the entire presentation, there's a lot more to learn when you view it a second time and stop it to study details.

 

[TaconicBear]

Hmmm.. the Traveler doesn’t have 240v?

I kinda doubt that it will be only on the pickup. Scott was being effusive about the features of the pickup at that point and spilled out a bunch of them. He never went into that sort of feature listing for the Traveler, so I'd guess they both will have pretty much the same electrical fittings. I'm told that the Ford Lightning has one and people use it to power their homes when there's grid failure; that use alone would argue for it to be on both vehicles.

 

[TaconicBear]

Having 240 volt AC is a no-brainer. With all of the natural disasters occuring across the country, folks need the ability to plug their vehicle into their home to support basic functions, like energizing their well pump to get fresh water or providing heat or AC. This should be an absolute must have especially for the range extender models. The range extender has the capability of providing power for your entire home. This can be done quickly and easily with standard 30 or 50 amp twist lock receptacles mounted on the vehicle. I am really surprised that the Traveler SUV is not equipped with this. I would totally give up one or two 120 volt 15 amp receptacles to include a 240 volt 30 or 50 amp receptacle. For a vehicle that wants to target the rural, off-road Adventure Market and has the definite potential to support getting individuals out to remote locations during states of emergency, we need to ensure those potentially life-saving features are incorporated in the vehicle. I can also see Farmers using the Scout as they did back in the days, only with much more capability. With the ability to run welders to repair farm equipment or power up pumps and motors really adds to the capability of the vehicle and reaches a broader audience. Recreationally, being able to power the cabin in the woods or your camper while boondocking is huge.

That sounds so good, but I wonder about the practical side. I live in a basically all electric house, and am sorely aware of the demands that well pumps, freezers, refrigerators, the stove and hot water heaters make, not to mention the electric baseboard heat. A few years ago we had an extended power outage in the summer and were worried about food spoilage; I ran a cord from my Tundra's 120v port in for the freezer and refrigerator. Before connecting to the house I turned every other circuit breaker off. Of course with the ICE Tundra we had to run the vehicle until the freezers were back to frozen. That little exercise makes me wonder just how much house a 350mile EV battery will run, and for how long. Is the promise valid for the week-long outage of a winter blizzard, or more limited to a thunderstorm which knocks out a transformer down the street?
I too wish to see the farmers using Scouts in the ways they did the Scout 80s. I'm not sure we will see that with the vehicles we saw on Thursday. There have been wishes stated here for a Scout that you can clean out with a hose. (Scout 80s had pop out drain plugs under the seats.) That sort of requirement makes me fear that that sort of farm use will have to wait for a later bare bones version of EV Scout.

 

[Popmusic]

The old school speedometer is fun but make sure it also has the option to view a giant led digital number also.

 

[TaconicBear]

I have a feature request. That there be a position on the stalk/switch controlling the head/tail lights that supports running lights. When pulling a trailer with my Scout on it I like to have the tail and side lights on both the truck and the trailer turned on during daylight hours. It's a safety and visibility thing. None of my previous trucks had it, my Tundra does.

And a second thought about trailering. Controls for electric trailer brakes are a must.

 

[J Alynn]

On the screen behind the stage there was a very short glimpse of a Scout with a snowplow and one with a device for handling a roll of hay. So I get the hope that the design team are truly listening to the comments we have been making about making the EV Scout capable of becoming a true utility vehicle. I captured a video of the entire presentation, there's a lot more to learn when you view it a second time and stop it to study details.

Agreed. I saw the plow and they spoke on and off at the post reveal event and comments were that the vehicle is intended for what you mentioned above

 

[Hobari]

As an owner of two Teslas, I appreciate the very well thought out app I can use on my phone to handle so many functions of the vehicle remotely. If you aren't a Tesla owner, you probably wouldn't appreciate what a game changer it is. Setting temperature control before I enter the vehicle, starting/stopping/pausing/monitoring charging, locking/unlocking the vehicle, and watching the security camera footage are just a few of the things I do on a regular basis. Software design has been a collosal failure at VW, hopefully Scout will do better.

 

[shazam]

A lot of these options sound great but Scout needs to avoid the Tesla pay for software enabled features model (per the launch it sounds like you are). A lot of the over the air/mobil key features sound great but they HAVE to be backed up with robust cybersecurity (ideally with an owner-controlled option to deactivate connectivity features if desired).

 

[LastDayScout]

As an owner of two Teslas, I appreciate the very well thought out app I can use on my phone to handle so many functions of the vehicle remotely. If you aren't a Tesla owner, you probably wouldn't appreciate what a game changer it is. Setting temperature control before I enter the vehicle, starting/stopping/pausing/monitoring charging, locking/unlocking the vehicle, and watching the security camera footage are just a few of the things I do on a regular basis. Software design has been a collosal failure at VW, hopefully Scout will do better.

Yep, I used to own two Model 3s. And the app was great. I have a BMW iX now and the app is very good, but still not as good as the Tesla app.

 

[robothero]

Just a couple small things that I've found really make a difference for me:

- heated steering wheel
- multiple profiles for seat/wheel/mirror positions
- auto dimming rear AND side mirrors
- heated mirrors for easy defrosting in the winter
- rain sensing wipers
- adaptive cruise control (I'd almost consider this a deal breaker in current generation cars)
- lane departure warning/assist with correction
- font, rear, side cameras. (360)
- CarPlay, or at minimum access to Spotify, Waze, etc.
- USB C ports for front and rear seats
- normal/adaptable sized cup holders (I know this isnt tech but some cars have really tiny ones for zero reason)
- ability to set a delayed start, set climate, view air quality, open/close windows, etc. from the app
- sunglasses holder (I know this isn't tech but one of my cars doesn't have one and its a big miss!)

 

[shnngns]

In no particular order:

• Apple CarPlay / Android Auto (please no more subscriptions!!)
• Ability to customize the gauge cluster
• Ability to drag and drop/reorder icons or favorites on the main center dash screen
• Phone as key (or a key card like Teslas, or a wrist band like Rivian, something other than the normal key fob)
• Homelink button
• Adaptive Cruise Control (but please somehow minimize the phantom braking!)
• Heated steering wheel
• Heated seats
• 360 camera
• Front and rear cameras (please make the rear camera have the ability to turn on briefly even while driving, this is a nice option to have while towing a trailer
• Turn signal cameras

As much as I would love semi-autonomous driving aids like lane centering/lane keeping I could go without. A simple lane keeping function could be nice on long highway trips but I rarely use it on my current vehicle and using the self-driving on my Model Y when I had it was terrifying albeit amusing at times on anything other than a straight highway.