The CEO of VW North America is on vacation with his family, sees a restored classic Scout, and falls in love with it. He finds out that coincidentally VW now owns the rights to the Scout brand, so he steps down from his post to start a new Scout subsidiary.
It’s a great move. Of the main VW brands I can’t think of one that I would associate with rugged vehicles. SUVs, sure, but not pickup trucks.
He did a lot of converting them around. One from right hand drive to left, one to propane fuel, and one from an automatic to manual transmission!
They're really simple, crude vehicles. They have terrible handling and ride like a tractor.
But... they look super cool and give off rug and vibes...
I get the popularity of that form factor, but I simply don't believe that many people are hauling yards of soil or towing boats.
2 Seats + 6 Foot bed seems like a winning combination in practicality, but is quite rare in the US.
There's a subset of contexts where they make sense although I think for _most_ people they're infrequent enough that it's way more sensible to use a cargo van or a sedan and then just rent a truck during the minority of times when you actually need one.
I live in the NYC area, and I see many specialized "lifestyle" vehicles such as offroaders like Jeep Wrangler Rubicons or sports cars like Porsches.
I would bet the majority of Rubicons I see rarely see terrain tougher than an unpaved driveway. The majority of Porsches I see will rarely experience a more thrilling drive than the owner flooring it from a stoplight.
Rather, it's to convey status or a lifestyle image.
While we're on the subject of pickup trucks - the Cybertruck. I have many friends who would never have thought of owning a truck before placing preorders for Cybertrucks. They are all white collar office workers, I've never seen them do any kind of hauling of cargo or offroading or other "rugged" or "adventurous" activities. But they are madly in love with the Cybertruck. It's purely a "look at me" lifestyle thing. Trucks like the F-150 (including the Lightning EV), Silverado, Tacoma, etc. don't even enter their radar.
Meanwhile I do have a handful of friends that work the trades, work in construction, etc. These guys all dismiss the Cybertruck as a toy and are interested in the F-150 Lightning, etc.
Even a minivan can tow a small trailer for occasional lumber store runs or towing a jet ski or two. Or just use the roof rack and some tie-downs. Or take the seats out, many of them will fit some plywood inside without trouble. For a larger boat, you can often rent a slip at your usual lake or whatever cheaper than the difference in annual TCO between a truck and a smaller car. Not helpful if you move your boat from one body of water to another a lot, but the only folks I know who do that have small fishing boats that a van could probably tow just fine. Besides, you can pay for several construction deliveries and probably pay to have your boat moved a couple times a year for the difference in annual cost. No sense paying all that extra gas, insurance, and up-front cost for something with features you only use every other month or less, when you can just pay less money to do a daily truck rental periodically, for a delivery service, et c.
But no, people need their immaculate $50,000+ trucks in the 'burbs just to show that they could blow $50,000+ on a truck they don't need, and so they fit in with their buds who also own trucks. Quite a few are purchased for good reasons, but a lot are mostly purchased for social signaling.
If I could have gotten a cargo van for an equivalent price when I bought the (used) truck I have now, I would have. But they were starting at 4x the price. I use it to haul tools and materials and a cargo van would have been so much easier.
I'm not defending the number of pickups on the road in America but this is an out of touch comment. Some common uses of pickup beds include:
* Hauling motorcycles and ATVs including snowmobiles.
* Carrying campers.
* Carrying home improvement projects such as bags of soil, plants, and raw material such as 8'x2"x4" lumber or 4'x8' plywood. At least in the 2000s a 4x8 sheet of plywood will not fit in a compact pickup but lays flat in a fullsize.
Some common uses of pickups include:
* Towing pull-behind RVs or fifth-wheels.
* Towing boats.
* Camping with the family.
A lot of modern pickups seem to include some kind of bed cover that makes them well suited to mundane tasks like hauling groceries as well.
All of that suggests to me that pickup manufacturers do in fact know their customers.
> 2 Seats + 6 Foot bed seems like a winning combination in practicality, but is quite rare in the US.
Because it's too small to be useful. You can't fit a sheet of plywood in that easily. You might be able to get a small motorcycle in there with some wrangling, but maybe not. 2 seats means you can't carry the whole family, so now you need a second car if you have kids, or friends. And if you actually do use the truck for weekend activity like hauling boats or an RV then you need to drive both cars.
The fact is the fullsize truck actually does work for American consumers. That's why people buy them. And why manufacturers make them.
All of this totally ignores the hundreds of thousands of "work trucks" that are being fully loaded every day. Landscapers, farmers, contractors, etc all rely on the pickup form factor for obvious reasons. And looking around those are often used trucks, including the high trim level luxury versions from a previous generation.
https://www.thedrive.com/news/26907/you-dont-need-a-full-siz...
I hate to break it to you but the F150 XLT Crew Cab tops out at 6.5ft. Your 4x8 plywood won't fit with the gate up. And if you have to put the gate down for standard sizes do you really need a fullsize pickup to do it?
Very few F150s are rated to carry a single yard of soil. About half that is more typical.
> 2 Seats + 6 Foot bed seems like a winning combination in practicality, but is quite rare in the US.
The market has spoken. Crew cabs were available in the 70s but not common. Now they dominate. Why? Because the average pickup buyer in the US can accurately be described as "everyone." Which means a do-everything vehicle with seating capacity like a car but utility like a truck is extremely popular.
The compact pickup with a standard cab + 6 foot bed was mostly killed by CAFE standard updates. It didn't make sense to make them based on the footprint model. Hopefully electric trucks will bring this segment back, since they don't have the same constraints leading them towards larger footprints.
Edit - I would have considered a Santa Cruz or Maverick, had they been available when I bought the RL. But, they're beds are smaller yet and one of the big selling points of the RL was the under-bed trunk, which is massive (about the same as the trunk on my wife's BMW).
I'd argue that it seems the exact opposite. People aren't buying $50,000+ 4-door 4x4 trucks because Ford is forcing that on them, they are demanding it. And 2 seats are nowhere near optimal practicality.
The 2023 Ford Ranger will have an EV (or plug-in hybrid, or both) option. VW is using the platform for their Amarok truck. It seems reasonably likely that it may be the platform for the 1st-gen Scout pickup, rather than starting from a clean sheet of paper.
We've had Ford, the company that managed to kill off the lightline range in 1979 by colluding with their big three partners to crush IH, bringing out their flimsy '60's "Bronco' scout copy which they recently resurrected as a blatant Scout 800 body styling clone.
My point - why are the big auto makers so terrible at innovation and naming conventions? Why do we have to endure these irritating stories about execs 'resurrecting' past era vehicles and trying to get some of the mystique to rub off on their lame new models?
I also own a 1967 IH Travelall 4 x4. IH were absolutely awesome at building vehicles that were very beefy and mechanically built to last but horrifically rust prone. They helped kill themselves by ludicrously over optioning their lightline vehicles with what seemed like 100's of trim options, variants and levels that were very hard to organize on the assembly line. The golden era of US automobile manufacturing being culturally strip mined by VW.
1968 International Scout TV Commercial featuring a beagle puppy cute https://youtu.be/nKj3sjmRm5U
I wish VW good luck. They currently have a reputation for complicated, fragile vehicles so sort of the opposite of my old Scout. Maybe the change to an electric drivetrain will let them move closer to their spiritual ancestor.
If more people would lobby their congress critter(s) to repeal the ridiculous chicken tax we might actually see some interesting options in the low end again!
>> Scott Keogh, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, will become president and CEO of Scout on Sept. 1
>> He will be succeeded by Pablo Di Si, currently the executive chairman of Volkswagen's South American Region. Di Si will oversee the entire North American region, as did Keogh.
There is a large community of VW enthusiasts in the US, and yet that market is never treated as anything other than an afterthought by VW.
Despite being 2nd generation VW owner (my dad drove an original beetle, and my first and second vehicles were both Golfs), my next vehicle will be a Ford.
[0] For a few years they made an "e-Golf" that was batteries badly fit into an unmodified Golf frame. The ID.3 is bespoke EV on the shared MEB architecture.
Ultimately, I just want something with a bed that I can strap my bike down and take somewhere to ride. You can't really do that with the Forester I have now.
you mean like $1500 folding Motorcycle trailer? or even cheaper https://www.uhaul.com/Trailers/Motorcycle-Trailer-Rental/MT/
Edit: it actually just looks like a Rivian.. oh well
Electric seems inevitable, however.
* "Jeep Ending Wrangler Two-Door Sales In Key Market" [1]
* "Stellantis to Kill the Two-Door Jeep Wrangler in Europe" [2]
* https://www.jeep.com/ Note total absence of 2 door models in pictures.
* Electric available only in 4-door.[3]
[1] https://carbuzz.com/news/jeep-ending-wrangler-two-door-sales...
[2] https://www.autoevolution.com/news/stellantis-to-kill-the-tw...
Because I had a TDI that I had to give up, and I won't get into it, but I was ripped off.
I try to avoid VW brands because of dieselgate - don't want to support them after that.
As for dieselgate, for what it is worth VW seems to be going above and beyond in restitution. They made a larger voluntary factory recall than any of the car manufacturers that have since been caught with minor dieselgate scandals. They've invested more into Electrify America than just the US EPA mandated "fines". They've been seeming to follow through on their promises to aggressively electrify their entire fleet in a very short time window/turnaround. (They claim they will not sell any non-EV starting with the 2025 model year, next year. They seem on track to maybe hit that, with some question marks around some US only models remaining.) It's dumb that it took a scandal like dieselgate to push VW to turning the ship so hard, but they actually might be turning the ship.
I also had zero problems with any of my cars... including A6s and my last VW product was a VW CC.
But after that, the cars were always out of step with what they were competing with. VW started making "VWs cars for Americans in America", like the Atlas. I bought a Highlander because the Atlas was bigger than I wanted, had less tech (at the beginning, not true at the end).
ID4? I bought a Tesla Y.
I wanted an R as my last ICE vehicle, couldn't get one to save my life, and I tried.
They're #2 globally behind Toyota, but I think they're moving a ton of Tiguans nowadays.
Some how I got a 2016 R (manual) on launch; it's my current vehicle, and I cannot bear the idea of parting with it, but I will most likely be selling it to by a EUV.
The luxury brand dealerships have generally been mountains better, though I'm sure you can find people who've had bad experiences at them too.
The experience in dealerships between brands under the same corporate umbrella are night and day too. For example, say, Toyota vs Lexus.
Those early beetles are basically a scirroco floorpan, watch out for the plastic waterpump blade...we had one where that failed with little noise or evidence until steam. Great cars though!
I understand that the big automakers make a lot of money on the fancy trim packages but I would love a stripped down truck and even more a stripped down light truck. I still miss my '87 Nissan Frontier I had in grad school.
As far as the reputation of VW dealers: they are the same as any other car company. Some are good, some are bad. My dealer is fine.
I finally saw a Santa Cruz in person - the bed is quite a bit higher than I was expecting; then again that's how they get the storage :p
My trunk always contains a small toolbox, bicycle pump, electric SUP pump, several camp chairs and a folding table, PFDs, SUP/kayak paddles, water shoes/flip-flops, tie-downs, and some other odds/ends, with room to spare.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax
Which is still screwing up the mini truck market in the US to this day :(
There are multiple references to the 1st gen Tacomas in this thread and I'm having a hard time understanding why it keeps being brought up. It's a 20-25 year old vehicle
Safety standards are BS. If Mazda can and does keep the Miata complaint with safety standards while preserving the bulk of the original Miata soul, then these other manufacturers could do the same with mini trucks.
The real problem is they don't have to. Bigger vehicles have better profit margins, and the chicken tax limits competition. Repeal the chicken tax and you'd see plenty of entrants. Mahindra was even making serious motions of bringing the parts in and assembling here in the US to get around the obnoxious chicken tax but ended up not following through :( They had all the certifications they needed - even from the EPA, so it's far from impossible to have a modern mini truck if the government didn't have their thumb on the market.
Heck Ford has had to do screwy things to try to get around that dumb tariff: https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-ford-tariff-c...
New players don’t come into the US truck market with mini-trucks because they simply don’t sell
I think the electric Wrangler will arrive in time to save the 2-door in the U.S.
Jeep had a huge hit with the mommymobile version of the Wrangler. Before the 4-door, the Jeep Wrangler was mostly a basic vehicle. Now they come with rear seat entertainment systems, far higher prices, and huge markups.
(I may be biased because I own two vehicles, both 2-door Wranglers.)
I've owned trucks with 8 foot beds in the past - I'd rather have a second row of seats and a smaller bed as well as a vehicle that's overall smaller than the 8 foot bed trucks of old. These newer designs are a great compromise of functionality and convenience, which is why you are seeing them take over the lower end.
What I really want is the return of true micro pickups like the original Nissan hard body :(
With the chicken tax squelching real competition and the fact that they can charge more for larger vehicles - whelp, you end up with the current American market where there are truly no more mini pickups. It sucks!
Yes it is. Or maybe I'm just tall enough? I do it all the time. I can't reach the middle of full size trucks with both feet on the ground, but I never could with older full size trucks, either.
Reads to me like 2/3 of truck owners use their bed at least twice a year.
From the same paragraph:
> 75 percent of truck owners use their truck for towing one time a year or less (meaning, never).
Over 25% of trucks are used for towing.
> Nearly 70 percent of truck owners go off-road one time a year or less.
A third of truck owners go offroad.
Add all that up and it sounds like pickups are getting a lot of use. There are no stats on what percentage of people do at least one of those things so we are left to guess but by the claims in the article it is at least "most".
Even once is not never, because nothing else will do that job.
Note too that there people who use their bed but never tow, the fact that a truck could serve either purpose but for some only does one doesn't mean that those people don't use a truck.
What is conspicuously absent from these numbers is a response to the question "do you never use the bed or go offroad or tow with your truck". Which is the case that the article seems to be trying to make but can't.
EDIT: It was post WWII. And VW Type 2 is profiled in the wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax
Though I don't get families with more than one truck/suv. One will do the job for all of those things, and a EV (even a limited range one like the older leaf) will take care of all the other. Only rarely do you have to tell your spouse that you need the truck so drive "my" car.
I've been able to do all my house projects for the last 7-8 years towing one behind my Honda Fit. I've picked up motorcycles with it (which is way easier to load than a tall pickup bed). Picked up engines, car parts. I have hauled sheetrock, pavers, plywood, lumber, furniture... I have done countless dump runs... I have moved with it, and helped others move with it. The car + trailer ends up embarrassing the pickups who show up to help move, as they can't carry as much stuff as the car + trailer combo.
And when I'm not hauling things, the car seats 4 comfortably, and we can put stuff in the hatch without worrying about it getting wet... I get mid-30s mpgs.
Anything that's too big or heavy for my trailer... well I have it delivered. Chances are, that load is also too big for your average 1500 pickup.
You have FWD, don't even think about it.
I would be careful taking any recommendation to 'just pull a trailer'. Sure U-Haul will install the hitch. That doesn't mean anything.
U-Haul pickups are $19.95 + mileage. For me personally, I think that'd come to something like $50 for a single hardware store trip, plus inconvenience. So far I haven't had to do that, so I can't vouch for that number to be accurate.
More planning would’ve helped on my part, but damn, what a hassle.
As mentioned elsewhere, uhaul is often sold out when i'm likely to do this.
Off the top of my head: Home Depot, Lowe’s, Menards, U-Haul, Penske, United Rentals, Sunbelt Rentals.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with a unibody - but it is absolutely different. People who buy trucks in the US typical don’t want a unibody vehicle. As a result, the Ridgeline and Santa Fe are seen more as “big cars with an open cargo area” than as trucks.
Not to country folk—kids ride in the bed. Or crammed in the middle if there aren't too many of them and they're still fairly small and you're lucky enough to still have a bench seat.
Huh? Show me a single sedan with the rear seat legroom of an F150? Heck, how many come within six inches of having that kind of legroom?
No wonder you think pickups aren't for carrying a family around.
Even if it doesn't fit in your garage (because it's full of cars/stuff), you can park in your driveway. No one will complain if you block the sidewalk, because no one walks anywhere.
Shopping areas have large parking areas and structures. It is not unusual to see pickup trucks taking up more than two spaces. Parallel parking is uncommon and usually can be avoided.
Edit: The ride really wasn't so bad, but it wasn't exactly comfortable, and it was a bit awkward. I recommend riding in a factory installed seat with a seat belt. For safety.
In addition you do not need to waste gas if either capability goes unused and the mileage of transporting people won't depreciate the more expensive truck faster.
