Volkswagen bringing back Scout brand truck as electric vehicle made in America

Post by JoeAltmaier » Tue, Jul 19, 2022, 7:51 PM UTC

olyjohn wrote: post #100

bluGill wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you need a truck even 5% of the time it is overall cheapest to just own a truck. Insurance, car payments, and other fixed costs are too high to make a second car worth it, and renting a car is not cheap, not to mention rental rules often mean you can't use the truck as a truck. (I've been looking for a place to rent a truck so I can replace mine, a couple times a year I do something that no rental truck will let m…

No it's cheaper to just get a utility trailer and hook it to your existing vehicle. Even a compact economy car can do just fine towing one. They can carry up to 1500lbs for the smaller ones, and cost less than $1000. You don't have to pay the same road tax every year, or insurance. You don't have maintenance to do on it other than tires and wheel bearings which are all generic and dirt cheap. I've been able to do all…

Post by EricE » Tue, Jul 19, 2022, 7:52 PM UTC

jagger27 wrote: post #97

rasz wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what about kubelwagen and schwimmwagen? too soon? :)

The VW Type 2 had a few pickup/flatbed models too. :P

Post by EricE » Tue, Jul 19, 2022, 7:55 PM UTC

alistairSH wrote: post #21

jandrese wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Non-crew cab is almost extinct. I think there are tax/regulatory reasons for this, but it also drives me crazy that so many trucks have beds that are terrible at carrying 8' long items like 2x4s and plywood sheets. At least with a 6' bed the stuff is only sticking out a little past the end of the tailgate.

FWIW, I have a Ridgeline with a 5'4" bed. My 10'6" surfboards are fine with the tailgate down (total flat length just shy of 7') and a red flag on the end. 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…

Post by EricE » Tue, Jul 19, 2022, 7:56 PM UTC

abawany wrote: post #5

ThePhysicist wrote: post #4

I'm pretty psyched about the "Buzz", an electric reboot of the famous T1 bus [1]. Not sure how I would actually use this but it seems they're finally getting to grips with what made people love VW's in the past, and translating that to electric vehicles. I've also driven their electric ID.3 and it's just not nearly as exciting. 1: https://www.vw.com/en/models/id-buzz.html

The US version will apparently be the long wheelbase expensive version, which imo is disappointing but the variants being offered in EU are pretty exciting.

Post by ovao » Tue, Jul 19, 2022, 7:58 PM UTC

toast0 wrote: post #26

zactato wrote: post #6

I hope this ends up being smaller than the F150. 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.

Well, an old Scout is a two-door, two row SUV, with a bit of storage in the back and a hatch-back + tail gate. Not a compact pickup (but actually a pretty short length; it qualifies for a small car rate on the Washington State ferries!). International Harvester did make pickup trucks into the mid 70s and they share some bodywork and design elements with Scouts such that you might call it a Scout pickup, but that's no…