Image via Scout Motors
When the news first broke that the storied Scout brand, a proud symbol of rugged American independence, was coming back, quite a few enthusiasts celebrated. But when that was followed up with the revelation the Volkswagen Group was behind the revival, a lot of the excitement dissipated rapidly.
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But Scout Motors isn’t giving up, putting together a slick marketing campaign designed to mine the nostalgia well and get Americans with a lot of cash tear-eyed enough they plop down the large sum of cash to buy one. Part of that strategy has been focusing on mainstream news organizations like CBS Mornings to run spots on the brand’s revival, which it did recently.
We’ve included that seven-minute spot on the brand so you can watch it for yourself. It opens with a Scout commercial where a woman shows off the new Scout truck and SUV and they both share a tender, teary-eyed moment together. Volkswagen sure wants Americans getting emotional over seeing the Scout badge on vehicles again.
It’s a somewhat similar strategy to what Ford did with the Bronco when that storied model line was revived. Only the big difference is Scout is really no longer an American brand, having been assimilated into the Teutonic beast known as the VW Group.
Also, the Scout truck and SUV are both all-electric – a big dealbreaker for some.
What’s even more concerning for us is what we would call a rather derivative design for both. The truck looks a little too much like a Rivian and the SUV disappears into the sea of other models which appear far too similar.
Sure, there are little design cues which are nods to the old Scouts, but that’s where the connection between this new brand and the old begin and end.
Maybe these Scout EVs are really great off-roaders? We don’t know, but we’re skeptical about that. And from what we’ve seen, quite a few enthusiasts are at least skeptical, if not downright turned off by the new Scouts.
We can’t blame them considering Scout back in the day was a blue collar, working man’s truck. The new truck starts at $51,500 and quickly climbs in price from there, while the SUV starts at $50,000. Both are out of range of many average American households, something Scout wasn’t back in its heyday.
Expect to see more nostalgia-loaded marketing campaigns, including through big media outlets as Volkswagen Group tries pumping up demand for the all-electric truck and SUV.
Images via Scout Motors
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