Scout Launch Delayed to 2028: Report [ADMIN WARNING: NO POLITICS]

[BigSkies]

Back to the topic of Scout...

I'm trying to keep an open mind on Scout. I remain skeptical, but still hope they launch an awesome product.

I suspect the bias for EREV reservations are because there are existing EV trucks to choose from and no EREV options to choose from. Someone wanting an EV truck will just buy an EV truck and not worry about the reservation. Someone wanting an EREV will put down a reservation on anything coming.

I personally think the EREV will be a tech dead-end that will last less than 5 years and show massive financial losses. That's based on the assumption that they won't actually be cheaper, and they'll come with downsides (loss of storage space & maintenance) prospective buyers aren't considering now. It's not that the market is zero, it's just that EV's are advancing pretty fast, and the number of people that will actually buy an EREV is relatively small.

While I'm all for zero emissions technology, I'm also not a believer in making the perfect the enemy of the good.

I love my Rivian, but Scout is saying a few things that will get me to at least look at it when it's time for a new truck. It's the little things. Real door handles. A supposed commitment to owner repairability. A slightly longer bed. Although I'd miss the gear tunnel.

VW's also had some pretty big gaps between marketing and reality recently. The id.buzz was the absolute coolest pre-production vehicle around. The production version came with a collective "lol, no".

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[Cosworth]

I will put my thoughts here: I have an old Chevy volt with a gas generator. It can barely pull itself up a hill if the battery is depleted and it’s depending on the generator to run the vehicle.
if the Scout doesn’t use some advanced logic to keep something in the batteries depending on either a selected navigation route or if the driver doesn’t use nav a screenshot of surrounding potential elevation changes, to keep the battery up, there will be some disappointed owners dragging ass uphill with the gas engine redlining.

I've got a 2017 Volt, and it's typically great on trips, but yeah, driving through mountains.. ..that generator can SCREAM like it wants to tear itself apart unless you drop the speed enough to make it not sound like someone's gargling bees.

 

[Gen(R3)Xer]

Back to the topic of Scout...

I'm trying to keep an open mind on Scout. I remain skeptical, but still hope they launch an awesome product.

I suspect the bias for EREV reservations are because there are existing EV trucks to choose from and no EREV options to choose from. Someone wanting an EV truck will just buy an EV truck and not worry about the reservation. Someone wanting an EREV will put down a reservation on anything coming.

I personally think the EREV will be a tech dead-end that will last less than 5 years and show massive financial losses. That's based on the assumption that they won't actually be cheaper, and they'll come with downsides (loss of storage space & maintenance) prospective buyers aren't considering now. It's not that the market is zero, it's just that EV's are advancing pretty fast, and the number of people that will actually buy an EREV is relatively small.

While I'm all for zero emissions technology, I'm also not a believer in making the perfect the enemy of the good.

I love my Rivian, but Scout is saying a few things that will get me to at least look at it when it's time for a new truck. It's the little things. Real door handles. A supposed commitment to owner repairability. A slightly longer bed. Although I'd miss the gear tunnel.

VW's also had some pretty big gaps between marketing and reality recently. The id.buzz was the absolute coolest pre-production vehicle around. The production version came with a collective "lol, no".

I’m all for Scout and EREVs if it means people are polluting the environment less. You can’t even drive with your windows down anymore because of the stink of exhaust, unless you’re on some backroad with no one around. Not to mention people idling in parking lots, especially in the winter. Disgusting. I liken it to smoking and secondhand smoke. It’s literally a carcinogen that increases heart problems, asthma, and makes kids dumber due to damaging their developing brains.

You’re right about EREVs being a dead end though. Battery chemistry and tech will continue to advance whereas gas engines really have peaked. The only way to make them better is through electrification. A hybrid is like 75% ICE and 25% BEV and an EREV is like 25% ICE and 75% BEV. Eventually BEVs will become the predominant vehicle, just like ICE vehicles have been for over 100 years. It doesn’t mean they’ll be the only vehicles on the road, just the majority, eventually.

It seems like concept cars rarely ever retain their awesomeness into production, especially when they come from legacy auto. Newer companies like Tesla and Rivian seem to do a much better job of this.

 

[Thedude]

I’m all for Scout and EREVs if it means people are polluting the environment less. You can’t even drive with your windows down anymore because of the stink of exhaust, unless you’re on some backroad with no one around. Not to mention people idling in parking lots, especially in the winter. Disgusting. I liken it to smoking and secondhand smoke. It’s literally a carcinogen that increases heart problems, asthma, and makes kids dumber due to damaging their developing brains.

Move to Alaska and solve one of your problems while making the other worse. You can drive with your windows down all summer and enjoy fresh air but in the winter cars are idling everywhere for hours.

 

[Gen(R3)Xer]

Move to Alaska and solve one of your problems while making the other worse. You can drive with your windows down all summer and enjoy fresh air but in the winter cars are idling everywhere for hours.

Nasty. That crap hangs in the air in cold weather. They switch the gasoline to a cruder type in the Winter, too. It’s time to move on from gasoline.

 

[Thedude]

Nasty. That crap hangs in the air in cold weather. They switch the gasoline to a cruder type in the Winter, too. It’s time to move on from gasoline.

That’s the least of it. Nearly all our power plants are coal or diesel and houses are heated by diesel furnaces and wood/pellet stoves.

 

[savethemanual]

Fusion power doesn't exist....

Yeah it does....93 million miles away and all life on Earth relies on it .

 

[cjones1130]

Back to the topic of Scout...

I'm trying to keep an open mind on Scout. I remain skeptical, but still hope they launch an awesome product.

I personally think the EREV will be a tech dead-end that will last less than 5 years and show massive financial losses. That's based on the assumption that they won't actually be cheaper, and they'll come with downsides (loss of storage space & maintenance) prospective buyers aren't considering now. It's not that the market is zero, it's just that EV's are advancing pretty fast, and the number of people that will actually buy an EREV is relatively small.

I love my Rivian, but Scout is saying a few things that will get me to at least look at it when it's time for a new truck. It's the little things. Real door handles. A supposed commitment to owner repairability. A slightly longer bed. Although I'd miss the gear tunnel.

Personally I think you're absolutely right. EREVs do not make sense and I have no idea why people "switched" reservations to the harvester version. I actually did the opposite (had the traveler harvester pre-ordered for the wife), once they released the specs and I realized how small the battery was and how the engine was designed it was a hard no for me. - swapped to the BEV. The argument of "it will be easier for the consumer to change to EV" also doesn't make sense; issues will crop up, they won't be fully integrated, frustration will set in and they'll trade right back to all gas.

Had the BEV terra the entire time but it really will be hard to swap from the R1T, the gear tunnel being a big reason!

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Think EREV is better for towing? Think again.

Scout’s Range-Extending Gas Engine Cuts Towing Capacity In Half, CEO Says

Better/larger charging infrastructure is the better answer.

 

[Thedude]

Think EREV is better for towing? Think again.

Scout’s Range-Extending Gas Engine Cuts Towing Capacity In Half, CEO Says

Better/larger charging infrastructure is the better answer.

It’s better for towing distances, just not as heavy. This is a Scout specific problem, not an EREV problem.

There’s two likely causes in this case. The increased weight of the EREV (engine, etc) comes out of the available gross weight of the chassis. It’s apparent that the chassis was designed for a specific gross weight as an EV and isn’t being increased to accommodate the added hardware. This reduces the payload capacity which significantly drops tow capacity. Adding 500lbs of engine/fuel/etc drops the tow capacity by 4000lbs.

The second is that their chosen engine can’t keep up with the power demand required to tow 10000lbs once the battery is exhausted. That’s a choice of what size engine they fit and solvable if they chose to package it with a more powerful engine. Again, likely a problem of trying to shoehorn an engine and related systems into a EV designed chassis.

 

[cjones1130]

It’s better for towing distances, just not as heavy. This is a Scout specific problem, not an EREV problem.

There’s two likely causes in this case. The increased weight of the EREV (engine, etc) comes out of the available gross weight of the chassis. It’s apparent that the chassis was designed for a specific gross weight as an EV and isn’t being increased to accommodate the added hardware. This reduces the payload capacity which significantly drops tow capacity. Adding 500lbs of engine/fuel/etc drops the tow capacity by 4000lbs.

The second is that their chosen engine can’t keep up with the power demand required to tow 10000lbs once the battery is exhausted. That’s a choice of what size engine they fit and solvable if they chose to package it with a more powerful engine. Again, likely a problem of trying to shoehorn an engine and related systems into a EV designed chassis.

This is a good observation. When I was reading the specs of the harvester option when released I either didn't see or glossed over anything mentioning bulking the chassis.

*redacted (misread the post)

 

[savethemanual]

Wow, a lot of people need to tow stuff! Just get a diesel if that’s your priority.

 

[Rade]

I'm not holding my breath on Scout, or the new Ford "super cheap" EV. As they say in Texas, "All hat, no cattle".

Rivian was only about building an EV. Never "Well, the market may not buy into it! We gotta sweeten the scope to generate more interest!", and then you're stuck with bloated vehicles that appeal to no one. Scout fell down that rabbit hole. Ford had a decent product line but decided on profit over market innovation and bowed to the current winds that "Green is bad".

Ford owned a fair share of Rivian, but decided to pass. I remember seeing the prototype of the R1T at the New York International Auto Show way back and thought "Huh... that's an F-150!" (in general design). I don't think it even had the signature Rivian headlights. But I was intrigued. Glad RJ stuck to his guns and got the company to where it is today.

 

[TexasBob]

Now confirmed by CEO. Good for Rivian I think,
https://www.scoutforums.com/forum/t...hybrid-ceo-says-first-delivery-in-2028.17142/

 

[DuoRivian]

I'm not holding my breath on Scout, or the new Ford "super cheap" EV. As they say in Texas, "All hat, no cattle".

Rivian was only about building an EV. Never "Well, the market may not buy into it! We gotta sweeten the scope to generate more interest!", and then you're stuck with bloated vehicles that appeal to no one. Scout fell down that rabbit hole. Ford had a decent product line but decided on profit over market innovation and bowed to the current winds that "Green is bad".

Ford owned a fair share of Rivian, but decided to pass. I remember seeing the prototype of the R1T at the New York International Auto Show way back and thought "Huh... that's an F-150!" (in general design). I don't think it even had the signature Rivian headlights. But I was intrigued. Glad RJ stuck to his guns and got the company to where it is today.

Ford screwed things up well before “green is bad”. They didn’t launch many EVs or improve the two they had (one now discontinued).

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