I could do a undergrad essay on how the dealership model is bad for the manufacturers, which would boil down to how Indian motorcycles failed (which was also due to mismanagement). However, the VW scouts are an absolute abomination that should be cleansed from the earth.
They aren't going to be any good as an off-road vehicle, the approach/departure angles are horrible. They will also be way too heavy, just as a function of being an EV. Plus, the styling is absolute garbage. I've owned a scout 80 for 18 years, it was my first vehicle. I owned an OH scout for longer than they have been collectible. This new scout doesn't have any styling cues to any prior vehicle, it just looks like if you asked an AI to generate an off-road truck. And they even had a better example, the new broncos absolutely hit it out of the park. Line I E if those up next to a mid 60s bronco and you can see the resemblance, which is why Ford did that in their marketing. These new VW scouts, if you park them next to either an 800 or a scout 2, don't even look like the same lineage. They are just an abomination, and the only car company I'd trust less with shepherding the scout brand would be stellantis2. We've seen how poor of a job they've done with the jeep.
And the stupid part is,most people don't and have never understood why the original scout was good. They were an overly heavy, underpowered, and expensive vehicle. But, they were a tremendously capable off-road vehicle, my stock scout 80 has gone places a modern Rubicon with lockers couldn't go. It's down to a very fortunate suspension design and stupidly low gearing.
Simple and rugged will beat "sophisticated" every day of the week. Underpowered is an asset because you don't break shit. Simple is an asset because you can keep it running. Steering box NLA? No problem fit one from a different vehicle. Axles? NBD just need some U-bolts, maybe some custom linkages, and any other solid axle of similar dimensions will do. Trying to make cars into some kind of disposable appliance is incredibly short sighted.
They're never going to make enthusiasts like you happy because the vehicle needs to sell to a mass market, not the kind of person who has owned a Scout 80 for 18 years.
I think you're not in a marketing mindset if you think that any significant amount of people are to buy a new Scout for off-roading. Premium-priced vehicles are more about image than the implied capabilities of that image.
Porsche sells more four door vehicles than two door sports cars. You might say that's not a real Porsche in the spirit of a Porsche, but it is what it is. It sells, and the average person doesn't need a two door car with no trunk or an off-road truck that is painful on the road. They usually need a family vehicle for mundane domestic life.
They aren't going to be any good as an off-road vehicle, the approach/departure angles are horrible. They will also be way too heavy, just as a function of being an EV. Plus, the styling is absolute garbage. I've owned a scout 80 for 18 years, it was my first vehicle. I owned an OH scout for longer than they have been collectible. This new scout doesn't have any styling cues to any prior vehicle, it just looks like if you asked an AI to generate an off-road truck. And they even had a better example, the new broncos absolutely hit it out of the park. Line I E if those up next to a mid 60s bronco and you can see the resemblance, which is why Ford did that in their marketing. These new VW scouts, if you park them next to either an 800 or a scout 2, don't even look like the same lineage. They are just an abomination, and the only car company I'd trust less with shepherding the scout brand would be stellantis2. We've seen how poor of a job they've done with the jeep.
And the stupid part is,most people don't and have never understood why the original scout was good. They were an overly heavy, underpowered, and expensive vehicle. But, they were a tremendously capable off-road vehicle, my stock scout 80 has gone places a modern Rubicon with lockers couldn't go. It's down to a very fortunate suspension design and stupidly low gearing.