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Bronco, Defender & Hummer Are Back. Time for the International Scout?

5K views 26 replies 15 participants last post by  CaptainDan 
#1 ·
Automotive News
October 26, 2020



Volkswagen Group's proposed $3.7 billion bid to acquire the assets of Navistar International could eventually have interesting implications for SUV and pickup fans.

The International brand didn't always just make semitrucks, school buses and other large vehicles. It was an SUV pioneer that had the misfortune of exiting the consumer market just before utility vehicle sales exploded in the early 1980s, when the company was known as International Harvester.

The Scout, manufactured from 1961 to 1980, was a two-door, soft-top SUV that rivaled the Jeep Wrangler and the original Ford Bronco. The Travelall, built from 1953 to 1975, was a high-riding SUV designed for off-road family excursions long before that was a cool pursuit. And International Harvester brand pickups were sold from 1907 to 1975.

Volkswagen has a lineup of utility vehicles, but let's be honest: They are not exactly flying off dealer lots. VW doesn't even try to pitch its Touareg, Tiguan and Atlas as such. This is where International Harvester-branded vehicles designed specifically for off-road adventures could fill a Grand Canyon-sized chasm in the lineup.

Though International has been out of the SUV market for 40 years, it isn't dead — at least to some consumers. Just like the Broncos and Defenders of days past, International has a rabid following among classic SUV fans.

While it seems unlikely that any VW-branded SUV could ever really compete in sales volume or prestige with Land Rover's Range Rover and other megabuck, off-road luxury utility vehicles, a reimagined, upmarket International Travelall, loaded with VW's technology, just might.

Alternatively, the automaking behemoth could adapt an Audi or Porsche platform to build a rear-wheel-drive-based, combustion-powered unibody design as a quick way to relaunch International to consumers. Ironically, that would make VW an International harvester.

As VW tries to lean into consumer desire for SUVs, it might win some off-street cred by badging some of them as International Harvesters.








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#6 ·
The Scout name could provide VW with a way to go after a new part of the market for them. I just don't see anything about VW that would allow that happen or happen well. They cant get a typical SUV dialed in, and a Scout version would likely be no better. That said, I would like to see a reborn IH Scout, done well, it could be something. Taking a proud name like Blazer and turning it into a unibody SUV is not what I mean for the Scout being reborn. More like an FJ Cruiser or what the Ford Bronco appears to be.
 
#10 ·
I happen to like the conservative styling of VW. I especially like the front end of the Atlas. The grill isn't massive and overdone.
And IH was certainly conservative in its styling.
The main thing that has kept me from considering a VW CUV is them being front wheel drive based.
If a future rear wheel drive based VW Scout were to show up I would at least be interested in checking it out.
 
#15 ·
Not likely to happen, Navistar sold the International Harvester name and logo to Tenneco, who merged into their Case brand former Case IH, who is now owned by Case New Holland. CHN is owned by the Agnelli family, who has a controlling stake in FCA, soon to be Stellantis, who controls Jeep. Highly unlikely they'll set someone get the rights to the IH Scout to turn around and produce another Wrangler competitor.
 
#25 ·
I guess it depends on where and when you grew up. Growing up on a farm in North Dakota, in the late 70's and 80's our tractors were RED, grain trucks were IH (at least the good ones). We didn't have a Scout but they were fairly common. You could buy a Scout at the same store you bought your tractors, combines and so forth. The Scout may not be as common as a Bronco, but there is certainly history there. History that could be re-utilized. I thought Navistar held the name but apparently what i have read here that is not the case. Still the name carries history, nostalgia for many. The Scouts were tough, maybe crude even for the time, but they were made by a company that made tractors, front end loaders, excavators and so forth. A certain amount of that crudeness made them what they were.
 
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