Car Lust--International Scout
When I wrote the Jeep Wagoneer Car Lust, I made a special point of describing my taste in trucks--I like my trucks "unashamed of their truckishness ... with no pretensions of being a car." I like trucks that don't compromise their natural abilities to swath the driver in car-like luxury. As accomplished as today's SUVs are, I just can't warm up to them in the same way I can appreciate a rugged, tough-as-nails machine that promises equal part utilitarianism and adventure.
Trucks don't get much more utilitarian than the International Scout, made by well-known tractor and combine manufacturer International Harvester. As one might guess, a truck from a tractor company is a far cry from today's velour-and-leather-lined SUVs, with their delicate detailing, car-based suspensions, and drivetrains completely unsuited for off-road travel.
No, the Scout was a true implement, like a road-going tractor. It was a truck in the proudest truck tradition--ruggedly good-looking, able to take a pounding, and as earnestly reliable as a sheepdog. The Scout could go virtually anywhere, haul virtually anything, and get you back out alive.
What it would not do is keep you comfortable on long road trips, handle well, or accelerate quickly. But why would it? After all, that's what you have a car for.
This Car Lust is really for all Scouts (1961-1980), but when I think of Scouts I think of the once-ubiquitous Scout II, which was made from 1971-1980. I've never been able to confirm this, but I've heard that the Scout was assembled with an interesting approach to parts sourcing. Evidently Scouts were made up of parts from a variety of different sources and manufacturers, not all of which were interchangeable, even sometimes within the same model year. While the Scout was an extremely simple machine, I've heard the major challenge is understanding which parts were needed.
I would no doubt like the Scout anyway, but I'm also a bit of a tractor junkie. My father has worked for John Deere for several decades, I've worked at a tractor dealership, and my extended family owns farms in South Dakota, so the idea of driving a truck made by IH is a pretty compelling one. At the very least, it would allow me to wear an IH hat without looking as if I'm trying to look like an ironic hipster.
I like the commercial below--not only is it the earliest ad I've featured in Car Lust, but it's the least verbose, featuring a slideshow of "lifestyle images" followed by an extremely short voiceover from a typically over-voiced ad man of that era. You've gotta love the 6-7 images of a hunter aiming his rifle from the Scout's bed, including one where he's aiming into the camera. I can't imagine an automaker getting away with that these days.
Both of these images are advertisements being hosted at Flickr by the Wisconsin Historical Society. There are quite a few more nice Scout shots (both early and late) there.
--Chris H.
David Colborne on June 03, 2008 at 01:41 PM
I have a friend of mine that's a huge International enthusiast - he even bought the book that lists every single IH truck model ever produced. It's rather thick, and, yes, I actually sat down and read the whole thing one day.
Unfortunately, IH's day of producing small trucks was before my time, but I seem to remember one of the more amusing 'slurs' against IH trucks was that they were "too fast for the field, too slow for the road". Considering how my '64 Chevy C-10 can barely do over 65 without vibrating itself into pieces, I'm extremely curious to see what, exactly, "too slow for the road" was during that time period.
Ironically, my understanding of IH's downfall was that it completely failed to realize that women purchase vehicles. Consequently, while everyone else was beginning to soften their trucks up a bit so women wouldn't be afraid to drive them, IH continued its long and proud tradition of making trucks first and adding things like "a suspension" and "a steering system that doesn't require you to be a lumberjack to operate" later... and by "later", I mean "never". The end result was that wives wouldn't let their husbands buy IH trucks, and, with some help from some mid-'70s union demagoguery, that was the end of that.
Rob the SVX guy on June 03, 2008 at 05:41 PM
I dig it. This truck, and the Wagoneer, are about the only Trucks/SUVs I'd ever own. Except for maybe an AMC Eagle.
I really do think that we must share some weird strain of genetic code, Chris. Our tastes are pretty amazingly matched, with the exception of the X90 and maybe 1 other vehicle.
mochi mochi on June 03, 2008 at 06:07 PM
There's a Scout 2 down at the end of the street from me. Red and White. It's new on the neighborhood car scene and I noticed it immediately when it showed up last week. It is weathered and beaten and beautiful - honest as the day is long. As soon as I saw it I thought, perfect subject for CarLust. I thought of the Wagoneer and wondered when if ever the IH Scout would appear. Low and behold - the scout. When I was a kind I remember taking a trip to the IH dealer and looking at the scout and a few other rugged and beautiful vehicles. We did not end up buying one, but they left an indelible mark on me.
Tough as nails is right. There is a single-minded determination and uncompromising nature about the Scout. Very purposeful. I appreciate that - it is ascetic but in a friendly way. You trust it to get you there no matter what. I like the tough little edge these trucks have. I think it's inspired a tendency for me to modify my cars to achieve a similar purposeful and tough (or taut) sensibility. Very nice. Thanks!
Chris Hafner on June 03, 2008 at 08:01 PM
Rob the SVX Guy: "I really do think that we must share some weird strain of genetic code, Chris. Our tastes are pretty amazingly matched, with the exception of the X90 and maybe 1 other vehicle."
Yeah, we do seem pretty matched. You mentioned the Dodge Polara and Audi V-8 in a comment a while back, and I was floored - I can't think of anybody else who would refer to both of those cars in a positive light in the same sentence. Well done, sir.
Chris Hafner on June 03, 2008 at 08:02 PM
David Colborne: "IH continued its long and proud tradition of making trucks first and adding things like "a suspension" and "a steering system that doesn't require you to be a lumberjack to operate" later... and by "later", I mean "never"."
That's pretty well-put; it's a shame, though, I think there's room for a bare-bones 4X4 in today's world. Maybe when I start my car company and produce a stripped down light car and a no-features big family sedan, I'll produce a bare-bones 4X4 as well.
Driving those cars will be like driving a hair shirt.
Chris Hafner on June 03, 2008 at 08:05 PM
Mochi Mochi: "There is a single-minded determination and uncompromising nature about the Scout. Very purposeful. I appreciate that - it is ascetic but in a friendly way. "
Yep, that's it exactly. I like the photo of the guy smoking a pipe next to his Scout out in some scenic splendor. That's this truck in a nutshell.
David Colborne on June 03, 2008 at 11:15 PM
I think there's room for a bare-bones 4x4, too, but probably not in the United States. I bet Tata could get Land Rover to design one for developing countries, though...
Michael on June 04, 2008 at 08:31 AM
When I started getting blog post notices in the top right corner of my Amazon account page, I thought, "Who cares?" But . . . I read and enjoyed this one. Good work.
Zarba on June 04, 2008 at 09:56 AM
The Scout was a great truck. Like the Wagoneer, an honest truck with no pretensions to being a luxury vehicle, a sports car, or a Kenworth.
Put yer stuff in, yer dog, and git there. And git back. That's all the Scout promised, and it delivered.
Too many folks for the Scout? Get a Travelall. Bigger, longer, slower.
Unfortunately, Scouts tended to rust before they left the factory, and the fact hat most saw hard use as real 4X4's didn't help.
OldCarGuy on June 04, 2008 at 12:26 PM
What a true sport utility vehicle the Scout is. Having never driven one, I can only imagine it to be similar to other such vehicles of its day with which I am familiar, the '60s - '70s Broncos, Land Cruisers, CJs and to some extent even early Blazers. My friends and I lusted after them long before their descent to mall crawler status in the '90s, and I owned a few and drove more than a few owned by those friends. No nonsense purpose-built rigs, they're still very much sought after by enthusiasts, and it's always a pleasure to see them out and about, especially in the wilds doing what they were meant to do.
Unabashed plug for the 4Runner: the 1st and 2nd generation 4Runners are still in high demand, and perhaps it's no accident, because they share many of the characteristics of these earlier SUVs. Built on a truck chassis, they are tough, capable offroaders, and oh yeah, they're not comfortable on long road trips, they don't handle the road particularly well, and (bonus) they're slow.
Thanks for featuring a real SUV, Chris.
David Drucker on June 05, 2008 at 07:03 AM
OldCarGuy wrote: "What a true sport utility vehicle the Scout is."
Utility, yes. Sport, not so much. In fact, not at all.
I've driven a total of two Scouts. The first one was during a test drive, in the mid-seventies, at the Ithaca IH dealership. As a road vehicle, even by the standards of that era, the Scout was a horror. If you ran over a dime you could tell whether it was heads or tails. But the stiff ride wasn't just uncomfortable, it was flat-out dangerous: the lack of suspension travel and high c/g made for a real tippy, bouncy vehicle. Off road it was a different story, of course.
The second Scout belonged to my sailing instructor in the mid-eighties. It was about 10 years old at the time. Having been exposed to salt air from the get-go, this poor Scout had very little left of its original sheet metal. Above 30mph it shook so badly -- from the drivetrain and steering gear -- that I volunteered my own car for use as a shuttle by the small group taking the sailing class.
There seems to be a tendency, around here, to apply the term "great" to any vehicle that was made before Bill Clinton took office. The Scout might be an interesting artifact, and in its day was a decent task-specific vehicle. Great? Not hardly!
Chris Hafner on June 05, 2008 at 10:05 AM
David Drucker: "Utility, yes. Sport, not so much. In fact, not at all."
I've always thought the use of the word "sport" in SUV was a bit odd; certainly, SUVs are completely unsuited to driving of a sporting nature. The only thing I can think is that "sport" is being used here in the sense of the word "sportsman." In the sense of getting hunters and fishermen (and women) where they need to go, I think the Scout and Wagoneer excelled.
David Drucker: "There seems to be a tendency, around here, to apply the term "great" to any vehicle that was made before Bill Clinton took office."
I'm not sure if you're referring to my fully acknowledged tendency to lionize truly awful cars or not, but I'll plead guilty if you replace the word "great" with the word "interesting." I'd like to think I'm pretty up-front about the weaknesses of these cars and the fact that my 2003 Honda Accord (a pretty average car these days) is vastly superior to 90% of the cars I've written up.
OldCarGuy on June 06, 2008 at 03:11 PM
RE: the use of "sport" in sport utility vehicle -- Chris, that's always been my impression, too.
David Drucker on June 09, 2008 at 05:04 AM
Chris, what prompted my comment anent "great" was one of this review's comments. I am more than willing -- eager, in fact -- to accept and embrace "interesting" in its stead. My own 2007 Accord -- a 4-cylinder SE (i.e., an LX with some extra content) -- never fails to impress me with its seamless competence, but I'd hesitate to call it interesting. If fuel economy wasn't an issue for me, I'd be zeroing in on an interesting and great '63 Riviera right now.
(BTW, I'd like an extra half-point of credit for nested subordinate clauses.)
Ron Thorne on June 19, 2008 at 11:16 AM
Growing up, my dad hauled us kids around in first, a '61, and then later, a '72 IH Travelall. In college, I bought a used '78 Scout II and drove it for a few years before moving to Florida. A big problem with all those trucks was that the fender wells would disintegrate from rust pretty quickly. The Scout was great for off-roading and not all that bad on the highway, at least for short trips. I always liked the looks of the Scout.
Scout Man on July 16, 2008 at 09:15 PM
Hey I've got an Ol' 75 Scout, That i got from my brother a few years back. Didn't have the money or tools to get it going, but In May we did. For a car that sat five years getting weaterbeaten, rust-stained, and trashed, this car will run. Also it seems like evertime i look at it though, it seems like more rust dissapears.
Anyway, If anyone out there is going to buy a car, BUY A SCOUT!! Rugged as a lumberjack, tough as nails, more reliable than old faithful, and a good friend, always there when you need it. They looked so good that, if they were people, they would be the hottest people in the world.
Turtle on August 08, 2008 at 11:48 AM
I've got two International trucks, a 1971 1100 pickup and a rare 1969 1500D six-wheeler. Yes, they're trucks. Everything is steel, including the seat. They're basically small buses with pickup truck cabs on them. I don't think I'd have anything else. You can't reason with a modern truck... you whack it with a hammer, and an International respects you. A Honda Ridgeline whimpers and all the electronics go hide somewhere.
Chris Lindner on August 15, 2008 at 08:27 PM
Suspension? Steering system? Overrated! :-)
David Drucker: "If you ran over a dime you could tell whether it was heads or tails." LOL! How true it is! Hard to believe I drove mine from Maryland to Oklahoma back in '82. But I (and the Scout) was much younger then.
I've owned my 1966 Scout since 1979. It was my first "car" in High School. It has certainly been a love-hate relationship, but I would trade it for anything. It still draws the looks, the comments, and the stories. (search "Scout800" on Flickr)
ScoutMan: "Rugged as a lumberjack, tough as nails more reliable than old faithful, and a good friend, always there when you need it." Usually. :-)
Turtle: "you whack it with a hammer, and an International respects you." Man, I've done that before. Literally! Darn starters!
IH said it best "Anything less is just a car."
Chris, Thanks for the post. Loved the Scout commercial! Interesting grill on that model. I've never seen one with that script "International". I doubt if that ever made it into production.
Travis Nelson on September 27, 2008 at 09:19 PM
Scout was by far the best 4X4 ever built and still is very very strong and reliable it would get you anywhere on or off road you wanted to go we got three Scouts in are family a 78 Scout 2 which is my daily driver and it has close to 300,000 miles on it on it's original engine and it runs and drives great and has not let me down a 78 Scout Travler with close to 200,000 miles on it that we use for plowing snow and a 73 Scout 2 that has a very very bad rusty body and the is tranny out but the engine still turns over and runs very strong and it has well over 300,000 miles on it and it runs very strong also you can't beat a Scout with anything old or new no matter how hard you try International said it best SCOUT ANYTHING LESS IS JUST A CAR
Jason Carpp on December 03, 2008 at 12:12 AM
Now this is what an SUV should be. More sporty and utilitarian than luxury. There's no frills, no fluff, no electronic gadgets. Just SUV at its best.
Josh Cantrell on March 27, 2009 at 04:41 PM
I am almost 16 years old and me and my dad have fixed up a 78 scout for my sister to drive around. We recently picked up a 345 engine dissassembled and over this summer i get to build up my very own scout. I kinda thought my first car would be fast enough to win a few races but the uniquness and toughness of the scout outwieghs all my expectations.