TEXT BY: Chris Hunter PHOTOS: Scout Motors
he men and women in the 80,000-square-foot Scout Innovation Center northwest of Detroit are not just designers. They’re also the guardians of the Scout® brand, and have been carefully planning its 21st-century rebirth.
We can trace this story back to 1958 when Ted Ornas began sketching out the ‘Small 4×4 Unit’ project. Almost seventy years later, a new team is in the driver’s seat—but it won’t simply copy Ted’s work.
To learn about the thinking behind the new Scout truck, and the challenge of bringing it to life, we sat down for a chat with five Scout Motors design leaders.
Chris Benjamin – Chief Design Officer
Chris is one of the most experienced automotive designers in the USA, with a 25-year career working on some of the most famous American and European car brands, which puts him in the perfect position to steer Scout vehicle design in a new direction.
His chief goal is to capture the magic of the original Scout trucks—especially the Scout II™—without resorting to a retro copy that plays purely on nostalgia. “That’s the easy button,” he says. “We want to create a vehicle that’s a modern statement and will look fresh on the road, five or ten years from now.”
Chris points out that the first Scout 80™ was the archetype of the modern SUV. And the challenge is to distill that essence and bring it up to date.
There will be echoes of the original designs, especially around the proportions. The new vehicle also boasts clean, strong horizontal lines, creating a sense of modernity and simplicity—and more than a hint of its prowess both on- and off-road.
"We want to create a vehicle that’s a modern statement and will look fresh on the road, five or ten years from now." - Chris Benjamin
Dwayne Jackson – VP Interior Design
By his own admission, Dwayne has worn a lot of different hats. His work has surfaced in many industries, from trucks to consumer goods to agriculture. It’s given him a worldly and wide-ranging perspective that’s proven ideal for Scout Motors.
Dwayne acknowledges the famed Scout heritage, but he’s not beholden to it. “You want to be influenced by that heritage, but you don’t want it to drive what you do.”
For the interior of the new Scout vehicle, Dwayne and his team have reinterpreted rather than replicated elements from the past. Since we’re in the twenty-twenties and not the seventies, the team has the opportunity to update the colors, textures, and the haptic feel of the controls.
“I think some of the new designs and inspirations will surprise people,” Dwayne says. “Most people look at electric vehicles as being very stark or very simple or simplistic. It doesn’t have to be that way.”
"I think some of the new designs and inspirations will surprise people" - Dwayne Jackson
Jordan Meadows – VP Exterior Design
Jordan is a diehard car guy, with two specific passions: off-roading and product design. And when he’s not sketching out vehicles, he’s teaching at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena. It gives him an edge in both the theory and practice of exterior design.
Jordan’s interest in Scout trucks started early, because his dad owned one. “One of my first experiences as a young child was this rugged, boxy, awesome thing that I rode around in.”
That means the new Scout vehicles are something of a comeback story for Jordan. But he’s more focused on making the truck relevant for the roads and trails of today, using the technological underpinning to build a connection to the land and the environment.
That starts with figuring out how customers will interact with the vehicle. “It comes down to posture, positioning, and the package,” says Jordan. “What we call the three Ps. And once we’ve got the big shapes, we get into details. The devil is in the details.”
"One of my first experiences as a young child was this rugged, boxy, awesome thing that I rode around in." - Jordan Meadows
Taylor Langhals – Chief Exterior Designer
Taylor has an unusual background for a designer: his CV runs the gamut from pro race cars to hardcore off-roaders. While he has been involved in numerous concept projects before, being on the ground floor right from the concept stage doesn’t happen often, and he’s excited by the challenge.
He’s particularly drawn to the purity of the Scout 80: it was very clean in shape and form, at a time when the trend was towards more ‘edgy’ types of design. (We’re on a similar trajectory today, Taylor notes.)
Taylor also points out that few of the early Scout trucks looked alike. “It was this blank canvas for people to work from,” he says. “So the idea is to make our own modern blank canvas.” Look closely at the new Scout vehicles and you’ll spot ties to the original, but Taylor is making sure customers also get the chance to personalize their vehicles—so it meshes perfectly with their lifestyles.
"It was this blank canvas for people to work from" - Taylor Langhals
Zachary Whitaker – Chief Interior Designer
Zach is one of the industry’s leading experts in interior design, with many years in European studios as well as American. Today, he runs a team of five talented designers that look after interiors and all of the surfaces you touch for Scout Motors.
Those surfaces include the seats, instrument panel, console, doors, and even the headliner. “Anything you can touch,” Zach says. His job is to create “beautiful sculptures” and experiences for owners of the new Scout trucks.
Zach is aware that technology can often get in the way of those experiences. “In this new world with screens and everything becoming digital, it’s important to still have that tactile feel,” he says. “It’s all about touch points in the interior that connect the customer to the actual mechanical thing.”
He also knows the frustration of having to punch through multiple menus to get to a certain feature in some cars, and he’s attuned to the analog feeling of toggles and switches: “You don’t want them to feel cheap and lightweight. They want to be robust; you want to feel like you’re using a machine.”
"You don't want them to feel cheap and lightweight. They want to be robust; you want to feel like you're using a machine." - Zachary Whitaker
After years of design work the team is nearing the finish line, and the production lines will soon be stirring into life once again. It’s been a long 44 years since the last Scout SUV drove out of the factory, but the new Scout vehicles will be revealed very soon—on 10.24.2024.
A date we’re sure Chris Benjamin and his team have engraved into their minds.
