August 1, 2025 • 26 mins
Learn more about: Scout Motors
Watch: Scout Motors Unveils Trailblazing EVs at CES 2025
Read Article: CES 2025: Scout Motors Will “Retool” 1960s Vehicles as EVs
The iconic Scout is making a return, reimagined for a new generation while honoring its legendary heritage. Ryan Decker, one of Scout Motors' earliest employees, takes us behind the scenes of this ambitious revival. 🛻
What makes a Scout a Scout? This question guided the development of the Scout Terra pickup and Scout Traveler SUV. Moving beyond mere nostalgia, Scout Motors has created vehicles with authentic off-road credentials: body-on-frame construction, solid rear axle, impressive ground clearance, and factory compatibility with 35-inch tires. 🛞
The most revolutionary aspect might be Scout's dual powertrain strategy. While offering a capable all-electric option, Scout introduces its innovative "Harvester" range-extended powertrain with a rear-mounted gas generator delivering over 500 miles of range while maintaining the performance benefits of electric drive–including nearly 1,000 pound-feet of torque.
Construction is already underway on Scout's massive 3-million-square-foot factory in Blythewood, South Carolina, with production targeted for 2027. This isn't just another startup, it's a serious player with ambitious plans to win in the heart of the American truck market. As Decker explains, they're building vehicles with universal appeal: "cool enough to win in Malibu and the Hamptons, but credible enough to win in Texas and Indiana." 🏭
Throughout this revival, Scout has maintained close ties with the passionate community that kept the brand's spirit alive during its dormant years. This community-focused approach reflects the neighborly character that defined Scout from the beginning, a quality that will remain central to the brand as it grows.
Curious about Scout's progress? Follow their journey on social media or join their forums at scoutmotors.com to connect directly with the team. The eight-day-a-week truck is back, and it's better than ever. 🚗
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Steven Ruffing (00:01):
Welcome to the Four Worlds podcast from
Tomorrow's World.
Today, we're diving into thelatest in tech, science and
sustainability, from nature'smysteries and the world of
inspiration to the hands-oncrafts of creation, the bold
breakthroughs of innovation andthe scaled-up wonders of
production.
This is your ticket to thestories shaping tomorrow.
(00:22):
Welcome back to another episodeof the Four Worlds podcast.
We're joined by Ryan Deckardwith Scout Motors.
Ryan, welcome and thank you somuch for joining us today.
Thank you, Stephen, Glad to behere.
Absolutely Like I said beforewe started recording, we're
excited to do this and, Ryan,you've played a vital role in
the creation, the innovation andthe building of Scout Motors.
(00:46):
So kind of take us through whoyou are and what Scout Motors is
.
Ryan Decker (00:50):
Yeah, great Stephen .
Yeah, my claim to fame here is,I think, technically the second
employee that Scout Motors hadas a company, although in some
of our HR systems I squeezed inas employee number one.
But don't tell our CEO, scottKeogh, that Teased in as
employee number one.
But don't tell our CEO, scottKeogh, that From the beginning
I've led strategy at Scout and Inow lead what we call strategy
and brand.
(01:10):
Strategy is all aboutfuture-proofing the company,
products and brand against alldisruption trends and changes
that we see in the marketplace.
It's all about identifying anopportunity and then how do we
set up this company forlong-term success?
Brand is all about how we makemore Scout fans by recognizing
that we have a lot of equity inthe market.
How do we grow that existingcommunity to ultimately go on to
(01:33):
be a high-volume?
Steven Ruffing (01:35):
manufacturer and , for anyone who doesn't know,
get everyone up to speed of whatScout Motors is.
How did it begin?
Take us through that process.
Ryan Decker (01:44):
Yeah, scout Motors is sneaking up on its third
birthday.
We were officially operationalin September 2022.
And we set out with the clearintent to revive or reimagine
the Scout brand and the Scoutproducts in a very credible way.
And that was sort of job onefor us, which is, if we're gonna
use the name Scout, we need todo it right.
(02:04):
You can't enter these segments,you can't use the Scout brand
as a poser.
So that led us to some veryearly strategic decisions.
Right, the products themselvesneeded to honor the intent of
what made a Scout vehicle aScout vehicle.
The Scout brand needed to honorsort of the community
orientation, the warmth that wealways saw in the Scout brand,
and the company setup had to besort of all new to match that
(02:27):
intent to revive the brand.
Right.
So if you were going to buildan all new platform, we knew we
needed to build an all newfactory approach that set us up
to have an all new sales andservice model.
And again, when you're buildinga company from literally one
employee, that is such a uniqueopportunity to build everything
right the first time from aclean sheet of paper.
And so that's what we're doing.
The company's mission is to usethe authenticity and the
(02:50):
heritage of the Scout brand, butto reimagine it for the 21st
century.
We are developing, as we speaknow, the Scout Terra SUV, or the
Scout Terra pickup truck, andthe Scout Traveler SUV.
Steven Ruffing (03:01):
Two powertrains an all-electric powertrain and
then what we call ourrange-extended harvester
powertrain, as well, and youknow, just talking about that,
how do you balance kind ofhonoring the legacy of the
original Scout with kind ofreimagining it for a new
generation?
You talked about the two models, but where did you kind of have
to start in balance, you know,honoring that?
Ryan Decker (03:23):
Yeah, it's a great question, Stephen I think where
it really started wasunderstanding what made a Scout
a Scout, and so we did spend alot of time actually engaging
with the Scout community,leaning into them, listening to
them.
In fact, you know I mentionedSeptember 2022.
One of the first things we didas a company, when the company
basically had five employees, iswe invited 10 scout OGs, so to
(03:45):
speak, to a warehouse in Dallasand we sort of showed them the
design intent and the productintent and we said, hey, what do
you think?
And that really set off sort ofthe community orientation we
wanted to have as a company andin fact, we actually wound up
actually changing somethingbased on that feedback.
But step one is definitelylistening, leaning in,
understanding what made theScout brand, the Scout brand and
(04:08):
what made the Scout productsScout products, and not losing
that.
And that's one of our sort ofour key missions of a company is
combining the best of sort ofold world American trucks, but
also now, with this new world,exciting technology that we have
, and no one else has reallydone it like that.
We like to say we're combiningheritage with ingenuity, and
(04:29):
what we mean by that is if welook at what made an American
truck an American truck.
Things like body on frame,solid rear axle, big tires,
robust suspension, rear doorhandles and switches those are
all really great things thatbuyers in these segments really
like.
But we're also not just doing anostalgic, retro, vintage kind
of a thing.
We want it to feel technical,exciting, cool, useful, safe,
(04:50):
and I think we've managed thatbalance quite well.
Steven Ruffing (04:52):
Yeah, I agree.
It goes beyond just kind ofgrabbing headlines and saying,
hey, Scout Motors is back, Abrand that had a very, very
loyal following, just like thoseScout OGs you talked about.
So, when looking at drawinginspiration for the new models,
talking to those scout OGs, asyou said, I want to keep using
(05:13):
that, but those ones, you knowwhat were some of those pieces
that they might have said thisneeds to stay the same or this
needs to change.
What were some of those thingswhen you were looking at the new
models that you were going todevelop?
Ryan Decker (05:28):
Yeah, steven, beyond the community members, we
do find a lot of inspirationfrom the actual company that
manufactured Scouts and one oftheir pieces of creative
campaign called themselves theeight day a week truck, and
that's really become an internalrallying cry.
Is we want to honor that spiritof being an eight day a week
truck and that's really becomean internal rallying cry?
Is we want to honor that spiritof being an eight day a week
truck?
And, of course, what they meantwhen they said that a couple
(05:50):
decades ago was that they wantedthese vehicles to be capable
enough for Monday through Sundayand beyond.
And that's something that we'rereally taking quite seriously in
our product characteristics.
You know, to simplify it, wewant these vehicles to work hard
.
We also want them to play hard,we want them to be available
for meaningful family duty andreally everything in between.
(06:10):
And that's what's defined, thecall it requirements of the
vehicle that we're nowengineering and developing
actually into the models, andit's, when it comes to off-road
capability, it's things likeground clearance and approach
angles and gradeability.
When, when it comes to thehardworking heritage, it's cargo
capacities, it's payload, it'stowing, it's all the things that
you'd expect that we've beenable to distill down into our
(06:32):
two models.
Steven Ruffing (06:33):
So when you know , just touching on that, what
was, let's say, well, what's theresponse when you're taking a
traditional truck and now it'scoming back out as an EV, what
was that response like?
How did you kind of manage toget through that?
Ryan Decker (06:50):
Yeah, and Stephen, you know, I have to clarify one
thing, which is we're not justan.
Steven Ruffing (06:54):
EV now.
Ryan Decker (06:55):
You know, we do have our two powertrains.
So, yes, we do have a what Iwould call a very credible all
electric offer, and, in myopinion, there hasn't been an EV
quite like how we're executingours.
If you look at all of the newEV entrants, they're very
aerodynamically optimized.
They typically have gotten ridof most of their buttons one big
screen.
They're definitely designed notto be accessorized Definitely
(07:18):
don't ever try and take a bumperoff or install a winch or
anything like that and so wewanted to make sure we checked
all those boxes.
As an electric vehicle and Ithink we have we are designing
for serious off-road credibility.
We have things like four byfour mechanical lockers.
I mentioned the rear axle.
We are designing this vehicleto be accessorized up to 35 inch
(07:40):
tires from the factory.
So check, check and check.
We're doing something very coolfrom an all-electric
perspective.
However, we've also introducedour Harvester range-extended
powertrain, which does include abuilt-in gas power generator
which unlocks more than 500miles of total range.
So, right there, frankly,there's not that many models
(08:00):
that can go over 500 miles ofrange.
Nevertheless, with ourcharacteristics, with our tire
sizes, with all of our off-roadchops, so that's quite a unique
thing that we in some waysbelieve combines the best of
both worlds.
What I mean by that is you getgas range but EV performance, so
things like nearly a thousandpound feet of torque, a front
(08:21):
trunk, over-the-air updatestechnology, but again with the
confidence that you don't haveto worry about charging or range
anxiety, like you have to do inan all-electric car.
Steven Ruffing (08:31):
Now, absolutely, I appreciate you clarifying
that because that is something Iforgot to touch on back when we
first we wrote about ScoutMotors.
You know that range extenderwas one of those things that
kind of caught my eye and we didput that in there.
So I appreciate you clarifyingthat.
And looking back on, I guess,looking at it now, you have two
very beautiful models for ScoutMotors.
(08:53):
What did those early sketcheskind of look like?
As you're sitting there in thedraft room coming up with the
ideas, how much has it changedfrom what you have now?
Ryan Decker (09:03):
Yeah.
So of course Chris Benjamin andhis team deserve a ton of
credit.
They've designed somethingabsolutely beautiful.
There's no denying theircontributions to that.
Some of the earliest things welanded on were, I would say, the
proportions and the scout DNA,and by the proportions I meant
very proud, very upright, bigground clearance, broad
shoulders, very proud front andrear graphics.
(09:26):
And then the little scoutdetails, so the window cinch up
there by the D pillar, the sidemarkers that they had on the
scout too, which we're nowcapturing with light elements,
of course, the Scout script,which we're placing off right as
a little design detail insteadof loud right in the center,
just like you would sign aletter.
(09:47):
We believe our designers aresort of designing their work of
art, which are the ScoutTraveler and Terra.
Now, all of those things werelanded on at a 30,000 foot level
.
Chris and his team reallybrought them to life in a
beautiful, beautiful, beautifulway.
But you know it was theproportion, particularly the
length, width and wheelbase, andthat was one of the things that
we were very mindful of is canwe do the Traveler and the Terra
(10:08):
on the same platform?
And I think, with theproportions that we have and the
dimensions that we have.
We really nailed the ability toexecute both of these products
very synergetically.
Steven Ruffing (10:19):
Absolutely.
And what were some of thosethings that were kind of
non-negotiable, that had to bein the Terra and the Traveler?
Ryan Decker (10:27):
Yeah, and so you know it was those things that
again delivered upon thateight-day-a-week promise.
So you know you're not a trueoff-roader unless you're
delivering upon things likeapproach angles, ground
clearance and tire sizes.
You know, when you think aboutan approach angle, what that
means is that you typically havea very short front overhang
right, it's just good forapproaching front angles.
(10:48):
So as you think about, then,how you package all of the
underpinnings of thearchitecture, you have to get
quite crafty, and there's a lotof very thoughtful engineering
that has to go into executingthat.
But in order to deliver uponthat iconic scout side profile,
short front overhang, weightshifted rearward we didn't want
to negotiate on that and, ofcourse, if we really wanted to
push this thing as hard as wecould when it comes to
(11:10):
aerodynamics, there's no way youwould deliver the ground
clearance and the tire sizes andthe other things we're doing.
To be clear, we're stilldelivering a very efficient
aerodynamic vehicle, but we'redoing it in a way that again
delivers that eight-day-a-weekpromise that you can still take
this thing off road.
And that was our first barrierentry, because we wanted this
thing to be a scout job one.
Everything else kind of wassecondary and tertiary from
(11:31):
there.
Steven Ruffing (11:32):
With all of those things considered, what
are some of the biggesttechnical innovations?
You talked about that rangeextender, but is there anything
else that kind of separatesScout from others?
Ryan Decker (11:47):
So I'll come back and zoom in on the range
extender, but in general, Ithink the one big thing that
does separate us is that intent,that philosophy to combine old
world and new world.
No one's doing it quite like weare, and I think the old world
is where you get a lot of thejoyfulness, even things like the
bench seat.
We want people to be physicallyconnected to their passengers,
to their dog, to whoever rightthere, literally side by side.
To be clear, the bench seat'san option, but we wanted to
(12:10):
celebrate that because we reallydo believe that these vehicles
should be connected.
Tactile switches Not the mostinnovative in the sense of
groundbreaking tech, butinnovative in the sense in that
no one else is really using themlike we're using them anymore.
Even things like splittailgates in the rear again some
of that old world joyfulness.
That, true, bringing peopletogether, leaning into,
(12:30):
connection With, again, 1,000pound feet of torque, electric
drive units, over-the-airupdates, all of the technology,
safety features and otherfeatures that you'd expect of a
21st century vehicle.
But I think the range extenderis really something that sets
our package apart for how we'vedone it.
So the gasoline engine ispackaged very elegantly in the
rear, so it's far away from thedriver, which has benefits for
(12:53):
vibrations and noise and thingslike that, and it also allows us
to fully protect the fronttrunk.
So, for all intents andpurposes, the vehicle still
feels like, it's still packaged,like, it still drives like an
EV, but again with theconfidence of having that gas
engine in the rear that unlocksover 500 miles of range.
We're quite excited about that,and we know our customers are
too.
Steven Ruffing (13:12):
And is that something that you know as
employee number two?
Some maybe, on some things,employee number one.
Is that one of the things thatyou're you're most proud of?
After you know three years ofdeveloping the new models,
looking back on it, is thatsomething that you're most proud
of?
Ryan Decker (13:27):
Well look, I'm never going to take personal
credit for anything.
However, as a company, yeah Ithink the company should be
proud of how we were able topivot and listen to the market.
You know the original intentwas to make Scout Motors an
all-or-like company.
We paid attention to what washappening in the marketplace and
we made what was a prettysignificant strategic pivot and
(13:48):
I think what wound up beingproven to be the right one.
So the company, our designcolleagues, our engineering
colleagues, our manufacturingcolleagues everyone should be
proud of how we were able torespond to the market and make
that strategic pivot in a veryfast way.
But I also don't want to losesight of the fact that
everything else that the companyis doing, because we weren't
just engineering a rangeextender, you know, we're
(14:09):
building a factory, we're hiring50 people a month, we're
establishing our IT applications, we're developing and designing
, testing these products andwe're doing it all at the same
time.
You know, a trueentrepreneurial American startup
kind of way, and I think thecompany should be proud of all
that it's accomplished in thelast three years.
Steven Ruffing (14:26):
And let's not forget, with all of that, there
comes hurdles, there comeschallenges.
What would you say some of thebiggest challenges that you?
Ryan Decker (14:41):
and your team faced when trying to merge a vintage
look and vintage inspirationwith some cutting edge
technology.
Well, I think, on the productfocused way there, I think
there's a reason all of the newED entrants look what they look
like, because, of course, theywant to go fully aero.
You know, I think some peoplesaw a competitor have success
with one big screen and that'swhat they did do.
And the reality is theyprobably pulled out material
costs and other things too, madeit as lightweight as they can
make it and all of those thingswork for call it an on-road
(15:05):
centric electric vehicle, butthat's not what we're doing.
And so we had the uniquechallenge of taking an
electrified drivetrain butexecuting in a way that worked
across all 50 states and across,again, those eight daily use
cases and that was another oneof our strategic priorities is,
we didn't just want to be acoastal brand with coastal
products.
(15:25):
We did want to make sure thatScout was able to appeal across
all 50 states, across the coastand across the heartland, and we
felt that the way to do thatwas to deliver a product that
had that 100% no debatecredibility behind it.
And so that's tricky, that didrequire some serious engineering
, but it also, in our case,wasn't impossible, and I think
the teams should be quite proudof what they've been developing
(15:48):
so far.
Steven Ruffing (15:48):
And how has that response been?
Again, all that said, how hasthat response been overcoming
those challenges?
Ryan Decker (15:56):
Well, we know how the customers have responded and
obviously we can't disclose ourquantity of reservations.
But we're quite pleased withour reservation velocity and
from my perspective I'm verypleased with where our
reservation holders are.
And to that earlier comment, weare seeing demand for Scout
products across all 50 states inthe heartland, along the coast,
(16:17):
and I think that speaks to thiscocktail of our product that we
put together really, reallydoes work.
You know, it's cool enough towin in places like Malibu and
the Hamptons, but it's credibleenough to win in places like
Texas and Indiana and I do thinkthat's a rare combination that
the industry hasn't quite seenbefore.
We also know what ourreservation holders are driving
(16:39):
and you see a very similar sortof sentiment in that you're
seeing our reservation holdersdriving other electrified
products, but you're also seeingthem driving some of the
highest volume gas products thatare out there and again, I
think it's in some ways one of akind so far in the industry.
Steven Ruffing (16:54):
Yeah, absolutely .
It's an interesting concept,trying to not appease everybody
but kind of give the people whatthey want in different ways.
Is that kind of the idea ofwhen you're talking about Scout
Motors?
Ryan Decker (17:07):
Well, I think it's just really anchoring on first
principles in our case, andthat's what we've done.
And when you anchor on firstprinciples I do think you can
unlock sort of universal appeal.
And our first principles are weare building products that are
for people who explore thingsand build things, and if we can
check those boxes we're off to agood start.
Steven Ruffing (17:27):
Absolutely.
Couldn't agree more.
Let's kind of shift towardsproduction.
When is a rough date?
Whether, if it's not out there,no worries.
When are you shooting forproduction to start?
When people can start expectingto see these vehicles?
Ryan Decker (17:43):
No, stephen, what we said is target initial
production will begin in 2027.
And we encourage everyone tofollow along with our
construction progress.
We transparently share what'sgoing on down there in
Blythewood, south Carolina,every month and it's a massive
construction site.
I think it's 36 million cubicfeet of dirt being moved over a
(18:03):
thousand acres, 3 million squarefeet of buildings, and all of
that is now rapidly, rapidlybeing built as we speak.
The good thing is it's on time.
Most of the buildings are nowbuilt out.
They're being whether the roofsare being installed, walls are
being installed.
By the end of this year is whenwe'll start going from sort of
heavy duty construction to moretechnical installation or
(18:24):
process equipment, and we didjust announce that we began
hiring our initial maintenancefolks, who will actually be some
of the first hires, who willwork there in the factory, which
we're quite proud about andwhich we were quite excited
about the last few weeks.
Steven Ruffing (18:36):
That's incredible.
So really, things moving ontime.
But I'm sure for you it's likeyou blink and it's right there.
Huh, it's like accordion time.
Ryan Decker (18:45):
It either goes by really fast or really slow,
depending on what day and whathour it is that's great.
Steven Ruffing (18:50):
I mean, you kind of expected that you think of
three years, but I'm sure youlook at it and it's like man, it
didn't feel like three years.
Ryan Decker (18:59):
At the end of the day, it's once in a lifetime to
be able to build a company fromthe ground up like this and to
be able to see very tangibleprogress down there in Columbia.
And it's not just at thefactory, you see tangible
progress everywhere you look,whether it's our IT systems
Again, I mentioned that earlieror when he's looking at the
vehicle development progress.
You know we went from designsketches to having driving mules
(19:21):
to show cars, to parts beingawarded, to cold weather testing
being done, on and on.
Steven Ruffing (19:27):
Absolutely.
And so what are, what are somesome of those, you know, other
milestones that you want to hitand that you're really eyeing,
leading up to 2027?
Ryan Decker (19:37):
Yeah, I think I probably just hit most of them.
So for us, starting with thefactory, we want to get these
buildings weathertight.
We want to pivot from earthmoving and building construction
to installation of the processequipment inside the factory.
We want to begin reallynurturing the workforce and
hiring the workforce down thereand in parallel, we're going to
(19:57):
keep moving forward on thevehicle project.
So that means we're going tocontinuing to develop it, make
sure it's tested durability,cold weather.
We have lots of parts supplierswe're going to be bringing on
board, all basically convergingtowards that date I mentioned
earlier, in 2027.
Steven Ruffing (20:14):
And again, leading up to you, just say
testing, you've done sometesting.
How much more testing needs togo into it?
Is it kind of like a nonstopthing until you get to
production?
Ryan Decker (20:24):
Yeah, again, you know it's one of those things
right where we want our vehiclesto really be put to the test by
our customer.
So it's on us to put them tothe test before our customers
get an opportunity to do it.
Steven Ruffing (20:34):
So testing is a very serious part of our
engineering, development, andyou've got to talk about the
audience, the consumer.
How do you build a community orkind of like a brand culture as
you prepare for launch?
Ryan Decker (20:48):
So the good thing is we're not starting from
scratch on that, and so thecorporate culture, the brand
culture, it does start with theexisting Scout community.
You know I had mentioned how wehad leaned in and listened to
them, and now it's on us to keepbuilding on that spirit.
And we've done some, I wouldsay, early positive things on
that front.
One we've created our own Scoutforums because we want to hear
(21:10):
directly from our fans or peoplewho are just curious out there.
We actively participate onthose forums, we're reading them
, we're listening to them, we'reengaging on them.
The other big area is we haveand we will increasingly show up
in person at physical events.
So, steven, it sounds like youand I we may have crossed paths
in Vegas earlier in the year,but we want to continue to get
(21:30):
to events and physical placesfor our customers or fans of
reservation holders or, ifyou're just curious, to come and
see the product, but, just asimportantly, get to talk to all
of us.
And we want that directengagement, we want that direct
feedback.
We're listening, we're learning, we're leaning in and that will
continue to be a big part ofthe company and the brand and
talking about just feedback,like you just said, very
(21:53):
important to you.
Steven Ruffing (21:54):
With that being said, looking down the line in
five, we'd look at 2027 as theproduction date.
Let's look five, 10 years downthe road.
Where do you want Scout Motorsto be?
Ryan Decker (22:06):
I'll answer that from a company perspective.
First, yeah, absolutely, andbig picture.
You know, we're not just tryingto be just like another little
old startup.
That is definitely not ourambition and we have the right
stuff to back that up.
And what I mean by that is, youknow, most startups don't start
with a greenfield, highlyefficient factory, like we are.
We will have the factory toback up that ambition level.
(22:29):
When it comes to what segmentswe're in, what body styles we're
developing, you know we're notdoing sedan or a more niche body
style.
We are going after sort of thecore of the American market and
we're executing in it with, youknow, one of the world's largest
OEMs behind us.
So we have, you know, thecredibility and the scalability
that comes with that.
So, from a company perspective,big dreams.
(22:51):
We want to go in to the core ofthe American market and win.
From a product and brandperspective, I think it's
actually worth looking a littlebit in the rear view to
understand where we want to gomoving forward.
And if you go back and look ata Scout 2 from 1980 or a Scout
800 or a Scout 80, you'll stillsee some of that DNA in our new
Traveler and Terra, and I thinkthe reason for that is because
(23:13):
great products don't have tochange much.
Yes, they need to get moremodern, more technical, more
innovative, more efficient, moresafe, all of these things, but
they should still berecognizable, and that will
definitely be the spirit movingforward.
And it's the same logic on thebrand.
The brand was always communityorientated.
It always had a certainneighborliness.
Steven Ruffing (23:31):
We're not going to lose sight of that 5, 10,
even 20 years down the road andwith that, you know, taking that
all into consideration, isthere anything coming up that
maybe can get the fans or theaudience, some consumers,
excited, or is there things thatare just have to stay hush hush
at this point?
Ryan Decker (23:49):
More to come on all fronts.
Look, what I can say is let'scontinue to directly engage and
pay attention to what we'redoing, because we do want to
show up physically in moreplaces.
You know we hear that feedbackvery clearly is hey, when can I
see mine?
When are you coming to a city X, y or Z?
And we hear that we receivethat feedback and we are going
(24:09):
to make a more deliberate effortto get out there more and more
as we get into the second halfof this year and especially into
2026.
Steven Ruffing (24:16):
And how can people stay up to date on
anything?
Scout Motors?
If you want to plug any socialmedia, your website, anything
you want, well, a good way is,of course, just to place a
reservation.
Ryan Decker (24:29):
All kidding aside, our social media is always a
very good place, but our forumsare actually also a very
excellent place for the latestand greatest and an opportunity
just to directly ask questionswith the Scout team.
We're on there, we're readingit, we're responding.
Steven Ruffing (24:44):
So the forums of our scoutmotorscom are a great
place and I will say, ifanyone's listening to this and
wants a full history or fullbackground on Scout Motors, the
history page on your website isfantastic.
Prior a few months ago I wasreading all through it.
I mean it really does give agood detailed background on who
Scout Motors is and who theywere back in the day.
Ryan Decker (25:06):
Yeah, I know the team.
You know, when they developedthat website they wanted it to
look the part, they wanted it tosound the part and I think the
team did a great job on thatwebsite.
It's worth a look.
Steven Ruffing (25:16):
Yeah, couldn't agree more.
Anything else, ryan, before wewrap things up that you wanted
to add that we might not havegotten to Steve, and I close
almost every one of these withjust a shout out to the Scout
community members I call themthe OGs.
Ryan Decker (25:28):
We're all in it together.
We're all in it together.
We value them.
They've kept the Scout flameburning all of these years and
we're very thankful and gratefulthat they did, because without
them we wouldn't have theopportunity to reimagine this
thing.
So always worth shouting themout.
Steven Ruffing (25:41):
Absolutely, it's well-deserved, for sure.
It's well-deserved Well, ryan.
Thank you again so much fortaking your time and joining us
here.
Thank you, stephen.
Glad to be here and we'relooking forward to following up
looking to the future of ScoutMotors.
That's all the time we havetoday.
We look forward to anotherepisode.
We'll see you next time.
Thanks for listening to thisepisode of the 4 Worlds Podcast.
(26:04):
Until next time, you can catchup on the latest innovations
shaping our world attomorrowsworldtodaycom.
Follow us on Facebook andInstagram, and be sure to
subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Welcome to the Four Worlds podcast from
Tomorrow's World.
Today, we're diving into thelatest in tech, science and
sustainability, from nature'smysteries and the world of
inspiration to the hands-oncrafts of creation, the bold
breakthroughs of innovation andthe scaled-up wonders of
production.
This is your ticket to thestories shaping tomorrow.
(00:22):
Welcome back to another episodeof the Four Worlds podcast.
We're joined by Ryan Deckardwith Scout Motors.
Ryan, welcome and thank you somuch for joining us today.
Thank you, Stephen, Glad to behere.
Absolutely Like I said beforewe started recording, we're
excited to do this and, Ryan,you've played a vital role in
the creation, the innovation andthe building of Scout Motors.
(00:46):
So kind of take us through whoyou are and what Scout Motors is
.
Ryan Decker (00:50):
Yeah, great Stephen .
Yeah, my claim to fame here is,I think, technically the second
employee that Scout Motors hadas a company, although in some
of our HR systems I squeezed inas employee number one.
But don't tell our CEO, scottKeogh, that Teased in as
employee number one.
But don't tell our CEO, scottKeogh, that From the beginning
I've led strategy at Scout and Inow lead what we call strategy
and brand.
(01:10):
Strategy is all aboutfuture-proofing the company,
products and brand against alldisruption trends and changes
that we see in the marketplace.
It's all about identifying anopportunity and then how do we
set up this company forlong-term success?
Brand is all about how we makemore Scout fans by recognizing
that we have a lot of equity inthe market.
How do we grow that existingcommunity to ultimately go on to
(01:33):
be a high-volume?
Steven Ruffing (01:35):
manufacturer and , for anyone who doesn't know,
get everyone up to speed of whatScout Motors is.
How did it begin?
Take us through that process.
Ryan Decker (01:44):
Yeah, scout Motors is sneaking up on its third
birthday.
We were officially operationalin September 2022.
And we set out with the clearintent to revive or reimagine
the Scout brand and the Scoutproducts in a very credible way.
And that was sort of job onefor us, which is, if we're gonna
use the name Scout, we need todo it right.
(02:04):
You can't enter these segments,you can't use the Scout brand
as a poser.
So that led us to some veryearly strategic decisions.
Right, the products themselvesneeded to honor the intent of
what made a Scout vehicle aScout vehicle.
The Scout brand needed to honorsort of the community
orientation, the warmth that wealways saw in the Scout brand,
and the company setup had to besort of all new to match that
(02:27):
intent to revive the brand.
Right.
So if you were going to buildan all new platform, we knew we
needed to build an all newfactory approach that set us up
to have an all new sales andservice model.
And again, when you're buildinga company from literally one
employee, that is such a uniqueopportunity to build everything
right the first time from aclean sheet of paper.
And so that's what we're doing.
The company's mission is to usethe authenticity and the
(02:50):
heritage of the Scout brand, butto reimagine it for the 21st
century.
We are developing, as we speaknow, the Scout Terra SUV, or the
Scout Terra pickup truck, andthe Scout Traveler SUV.
Steven Ruffing (03:01):
Two powertrains an all-electric powertrain and
then what we call ourrange-extended harvester
powertrain, as well, and youknow, just talking about that,
how do you balance kind ofhonoring the legacy of the
original Scout with kind ofreimagining it for a new
generation?
You talked about the two models, but where did you kind of have
to start in balance, you know,honoring that?
Ryan Decker (03:23):
Yeah, it's a great question, Stephen I think where
it really started wasunderstanding what made a Scout
a Scout, and so we did spend alot of time actually engaging
with the Scout community,leaning into them, listening to
them.
In fact, you know I mentionedSeptember 2022.
One of the first things we didas a company, when the company
basically had five employees, iswe invited 10 scout OGs, so to
(03:45):
speak, to a warehouse in Dallasand we sort of showed them the
design intent and the productintent and we said, hey, what do
you think?
And that really set off sort ofthe community orientation we
wanted to have as a company andin fact, we actually wound up
actually changing somethingbased on that feedback.
But step one is definitelylistening, leaning in,
understanding what made theScout brand, the Scout brand and
(04:08):
what made the Scout productsScout products, and not losing
that.
And that's one of our sort ofour key missions of a company is
combining the best of sort ofold world American trucks, but
also now, with this new world,exciting technology that we have
, and no one else has reallydone it like that.
We like to say we're combiningheritage with ingenuity, and
(04:29):
what we mean by that is if welook at what made an American
truck an American truck.
Things like body on frame,solid rear axle, big tires,
robust suspension, rear doorhandles and switches those are
all really great things thatbuyers in these segments really
like.
But we're also not just doing anostalgic, retro, vintage kind
of a thing.
We want it to feel technical,exciting, cool, useful, safe,
(04:50):
and I think we've managed thatbalance quite well.
Steven Ruffing (04:52):
Yeah, I agree.
It goes beyond just kind ofgrabbing headlines and saying,
hey, Scout Motors is back, Abrand that had a very, very
loyal following, just like thoseScout OGs you talked about.
So, when looking at drawinginspiration for the new models,
talking to those scout OGs, asyou said, I want to keep using
(05:13):
that, but those ones, you knowwhat were some of those pieces
that they might have said thisneeds to stay the same or this
needs to change.
What were some of those thingswhen you were looking at the new
models that you were going todevelop?
Ryan Decker (05:28):
Yeah, steven, beyond the community members, we
do find a lot of inspirationfrom the actual company that
manufactured Scouts and one oftheir pieces of creative
campaign called themselves theeight day a week truck, and
that's really become an internalrallying cry.
Is we want to honor that spiritof being an eight day a week
truck and that's really becomean internal rallying cry?
Is we want to honor that spiritof being an eight day a week
truck?
And, of course, what they meantwhen they said that a couple
(05:50):
decades ago was that they wantedthese vehicles to be capable
enough for Monday through Sundayand beyond.
And that's something that we'rereally taking quite seriously in
our product characteristics.
You know, to simplify it, wewant these vehicles to work hard
.
We also want them to play hard,we want them to be available
for meaningful family duty andreally everything in between.
(06:10):
And that's what's defined, thecall it requirements of the
vehicle that we're nowengineering and developing
actually into the models, andit's, when it comes to off-road
capability, it's things likeground clearance and approach
angles and gradeability.
When, when it comes to thehardworking heritage, it's cargo
capacities, it's payload, it'stowing, it's all the things that
you'd expect that we've beenable to distill down into our
(06:32):
two models.
Steven Ruffing (06:33):
So when you know , just touching on that, what
was, let's say, well, what's theresponse when you're taking a
traditional truck and now it'scoming back out as an EV, what
was that response like?
How did you kind of manage toget through that?
Ryan Decker (06:50):
Yeah, and Stephen, you know, I have to clarify one
thing, which is we're not justan.
Steven Ruffing (06:54):
EV now.
Ryan Decker (06:55):
You know, we do have our two powertrains.
So, yes, we do have a what Iwould call a very credible all
electric offer, and, in myopinion, there hasn't been an EV
quite like how we're executingours.
If you look at all of the newEV entrants, they're very
aerodynamically optimized.
They typically have gotten ridof most of their buttons one big
screen.
They're definitely designed notto be accessorized Definitely
(07:18):
don't ever try and take a bumperoff or install a winch or
anything like that and so wewanted to make sure we checked
all those boxes.
As an electric vehicle and Ithink we have we are designing
for serious off-road credibility.
We have things like four byfour mechanical lockers.
I mentioned the rear axle.
We are designing this vehicleto be accessorized up to 35 inch
(07:40):
tires from the factory.
So check, check and check.
We're doing something very coolfrom an all-electric
perspective.
However, we've also introducedour Harvester range-extended
powertrain, which does include abuilt-in gas power generator
which unlocks more than 500miles of total range.
So, right there, frankly,there's not that many models
(08:00):
that can go over 500 miles ofrange.
Nevertheless, with ourcharacteristics, with our tire
sizes, with all of our off-roadchops, so that's quite a unique
thing that we in some waysbelieve combines the best of
both worlds.
What I mean by that is you getgas range but EV performance, so
things like nearly a thousandpound feet of torque, a front
(08:21):
trunk, over-the-air updatestechnology, but again with the
confidence that you don't haveto worry about charging or range
anxiety, like you have to do inan all-electric car.
Steven Ruffing (08:31):
Now, absolutely, I appreciate you clarifying
that because that is something Iforgot to touch on back when we
first we wrote about ScoutMotors.
You know that range extenderwas one of those things that
kind of caught my eye and we didput that in there.
So I appreciate you clarifyingthat.
And looking back on, I guess,looking at it now, you have two
very beautiful models for ScoutMotors.
(08:53):
What did those early sketcheskind of look like?
As you're sitting there in thedraft room coming up with the
ideas, how much has it changedfrom what you have now?
Ryan Decker (09:03):
Yeah.
So of course Chris Benjamin andhis team deserve a ton of
credit.
They've designed somethingabsolutely beautiful.
There's no denying theircontributions to that.
Some of the earliest things welanded on were, I would say, the
proportions and the scout DNA,and by the proportions I meant
very proud, very upright, bigground clearance, broad
shoulders, very proud front andrear graphics.
(09:26):
And then the little scoutdetails, so the window cinch up
there by the D pillar, the sidemarkers that they had on the
scout too, which we're nowcapturing with light elements,
of course, the Scout script,which we're placing off right as
a little design detail insteadof loud right in the center,
just like you would sign aletter.
(09:47):
We believe our designers aresort of designing their work of
art, which are the ScoutTraveler and Terra.
Now, all of those things werelanded on at a 30,000 foot level
.
Chris and his team reallybrought them to life in a
beautiful, beautiful, beautifulway.
But you know it was theproportion, particularly the
length, width and wheelbase, andthat was one of the things that
we were very mindful of is canwe do the Traveler and the Terra
(10:08):
on the same platform?
And I think, with theproportions that we have and the
dimensions that we have.
We really nailed the ability toexecute both of these products
very synergetically.
Steven Ruffing (10:19):
Absolutely.
And what were some of thosethings that were kind of
non-negotiable, that had to bein the Terra and the Traveler?
Ryan Decker (10:27):
Yeah, and so you know it was those things that
again delivered upon thateight-day-a-week promise.
So you know you're not a trueoff-roader unless you're
delivering upon things likeapproach angles, ground
clearance and tire sizes.
You know, when you think aboutan approach angle, what that
means is that you typically havea very short front overhang
right, it's just good forapproaching front angles.
(10:48):
So as you think about, then,how you package all of the
underpinnings of thearchitecture, you have to get
quite crafty, and there's a lotof very thoughtful engineering
that has to go into executingthat.
But in order to deliver uponthat iconic scout side profile,
short front overhang, weightshifted rearward we didn't want
to negotiate on that and, ofcourse, if we really wanted to
push this thing as hard as wecould when it comes to
(11:10):
aerodynamics, there's no way youwould deliver the ground
clearance and the tire sizes andthe other things we're doing.
To be clear, we're stilldelivering a very efficient
aerodynamic vehicle, but we'redoing it in a way that again
delivers that eight-day-a-weekpromise that you can still take
this thing off road.
And that was our first barrierentry, because we wanted this
thing to be a scout job one.
Everything else kind of wassecondary and tertiary from
(11:31):
there.
Steven Ruffing (11:32):
With all of those things considered, what
are some of the biggesttechnical innovations?
You talked about that rangeextender, but is there anything
else that kind of separatesScout from others?
Ryan Decker (11:47):
So I'll come back and zoom in on the range
extender, but in general, Ithink the one big thing that
does separate us is that intent,that philosophy to combine old
world and new world.
No one's doing it quite like weare, and I think the old world
is where you get a lot of thejoyfulness, even things like the
bench seat.
We want people to be physicallyconnected to their passengers,
to their dog, to whoever rightthere, literally side by side.
To be clear, the bench seat'san option, but we wanted to
(12:10):
celebrate that because we reallydo believe that these vehicles
should be connected.
Tactile switches Not the mostinnovative in the sense of
groundbreaking tech, butinnovative in the sense in that
no one else is really using themlike we're using them anymore.
Even things like splittailgates in the rear again some
of that old world joyfulness.
That, true, bringing peopletogether, leaning into,
(12:30):
connection With, again, 1,000pound feet of torque, electric
drive units, over-the-airupdates, all of the technology,
safety features and otherfeatures that you'd expect of a
21st century vehicle.
But I think the range extenderis really something that sets
our package apart for how we'vedone it.
So the gasoline engine ispackaged very elegantly in the
rear, so it's far away from thedriver, which has benefits for
(12:53):
vibrations and noise and thingslike that, and it also allows us
to fully protect the fronttrunk.
So, for all intents andpurposes, the vehicle still
feels like, it's still packaged,like, it still drives like an
EV, but again with theconfidence of having that gas
engine in the rear that unlocksover 500 miles of range.
We're quite excited about that,and we know our customers are
too.
Steven Ruffing (13:12):
And is that something that you know as
employee number two?
Some maybe, on some things,employee number one.
Is that one of the things thatyou're you're most proud of?
After you know three years ofdeveloping the new models,
looking back on it, is thatsomething that you're most proud
of?
Ryan Decker (13:27):
Well look, I'm never going to take personal
credit for anything.
However, as a company, yeah Ithink the company should be
proud of how we were able topivot and listen to the market.
You know the original intentwas to make Scout Motors an
all-or-like company.
We paid attention to what washappening in the marketplace and
we made what was a prettysignificant strategic pivot and
(13:48):
I think what wound up beingproven to be the right one.
So the company, our designcolleagues, our engineering
colleagues, our manufacturingcolleagues everyone should be
proud of how we were able torespond to the market and make
that strategic pivot in a veryfast way.
But I also don't want to losesight of the fact that
everything else that the companyis doing, because we weren't
just engineering a rangeextender, you know, we're
(14:09):
building a factory, we're hiring50 people a month, we're
establishing our IT applications, we're developing and designing
, testing these products andwe're doing it all at the same
time.
You know, a trueentrepreneurial American startup
kind of way, and I think thecompany should be proud of all
that it's accomplished in thelast three years.
Steven Ruffing (14:26):
And let's not forget, with all of that, there
comes hurdles, there comeschallenges.
What would you say some of thebiggest challenges that you?
Ryan Decker (14:41):
and your team faced when trying to merge a vintage
look and vintage inspirationwith some cutting edge
technology.
Well, I think, on the productfocused way there, I think
there's a reason all of the newED entrants look what they look
like, because, of course, theywant to go fully aero.
You know, I think some peoplesaw a competitor have success
with one big screen and that'swhat they did do.
And the reality is theyprobably pulled out material
costs and other things too, madeit as lightweight as they can
make it and all of those thingswork for call it an on-road
(15:05):
centric electric vehicle, butthat's not what we're doing.
And so we had the uniquechallenge of taking an
electrified drivetrain butexecuting in a way that worked
across all 50 states and across,again, those eight daily use
cases and that was another oneof our strategic priorities is,
we didn't just want to be acoastal brand with coastal
products.
(15:25):
We did want to make sure thatScout was able to appeal across
all 50 states, across the coastand across the heartland, and we
felt that the way to do thatwas to deliver a product that
had that 100% no debatecredibility behind it.
And so that's tricky, that didrequire some serious engineering
, but it also, in our case,wasn't impossible, and I think
the teams should be quite proudof what they've been developing
(15:48):
so far.
Steven Ruffing (15:48):
And how has that response been?
Again, all that said, how hasthat response been overcoming
those challenges?
Ryan Decker (15:56):
Well, we know how the customers have responded and
obviously we can't disclose ourquantity of reservations.
But we're quite pleased withour reservation velocity and
from my perspective I'm verypleased with where our
reservation holders are.
And to that earlier comment, weare seeing demand for Scout
products across all 50 states inthe heartland, along the coast,
(16:17):
and I think that speaks to thiscocktail of our product that we
put together really, reallydoes work.
You know, it's cool enough towin in places like Malibu and
the Hamptons, but it's credibleenough to win in places like
Texas and Indiana and I do thinkthat's a rare combination that
the industry hasn't quite seenbefore.
We also know what ourreservation holders are driving
(16:39):
and you see a very similar sortof sentiment in that you're
seeing our reservation holdersdriving other electrified
products, but you're also seeingthem driving some of the
highest volume gas products thatare out there and again, I
think it's in some ways one of akind so far in the industry.
Steven Ruffing (16:54):
Yeah, absolutely .
It's an interesting concept,trying to not appease everybody
but kind of give the people whatthey want in different ways.
Is that kind of the idea ofwhen you're talking about Scout
Motors?
Ryan Decker (17:07):
Well, I think it's just really anchoring on first
principles in our case, andthat's what we've done.
And when you anchor on firstprinciples I do think you can
unlock sort of universal appeal.
And our first principles are weare building products that are
for people who explore thingsand build things, and if we can
check those boxes we're off to agood start.
Steven Ruffing (17:27):
Absolutely.
Couldn't agree more.
Let's kind of shift towardsproduction.
When is a rough date?
Whether, if it's not out there,no worries.
When are you shooting forproduction to start?
When people can start expectingto see these vehicles?
Ryan Decker (17:43):
No, stephen, what we said is target initial
production will begin in 2027.
And we encourage everyone tofollow along with our
construction progress.
We transparently share what'sgoing on down there in
Blythewood, south Carolina,every month and it's a massive
construction site.
I think it's 36 million cubicfeet of dirt being moved over a
(18:03):
thousand acres, 3 million squarefeet of buildings, and all of
that is now rapidly, rapidlybeing built as we speak.
The good thing is it's on time.
Most of the buildings are nowbuilt out.
They're being whether the roofsare being installed, walls are
being installed.
By the end of this year is whenwe'll start going from sort of
heavy duty construction to moretechnical installation or
(18:24):
process equipment, and we didjust announce that we began
hiring our initial maintenancefolks, who will actually be some
of the first hires, who willwork there in the factory, which
we're quite proud about andwhich we were quite excited
about the last few weeks.
Steven Ruffing (18:36):
That's incredible.
So really, things moving ontime.
But I'm sure for you it's likeyou blink and it's right there.
Huh, it's like accordion time.
Ryan Decker (18:45):
It either goes by really fast or really slow,
depending on what day and whathour it is that's great.
Steven Ruffing (18:50):
I mean, you kind of expected that you think of
three years, but I'm sure youlook at it and it's like man, it
didn't feel like three years.
Ryan Decker (18:59):
At the end of the day, it's once in a lifetime to
be able to build a company fromthe ground up like this and to
be able to see very tangibleprogress down there in Columbia.
And it's not just at thefactory, you see tangible
progress everywhere you look,whether it's our IT systems
Again, I mentioned that earlieror when he's looking at the
vehicle development progress.
You know we went from designsketches to having driving mules
(19:21):
to show cars, to parts beingawarded, to cold weather testing
being done, on and on.
Steven Ruffing (19:27):
Absolutely.
And so what are, what are somesome of those, you know, other
milestones that you want to hitand that you're really eyeing,
leading up to 2027?
Ryan Decker (19:37):
Yeah, I think I probably just hit most of them.
So for us, starting with thefactory, we want to get these
buildings weathertight.
We want to pivot from earthmoving and building construction
to installation of the processequipment inside the factory.
We want to begin reallynurturing the workforce and
hiring the workforce down thereand in parallel, we're going to
(19:57):
keep moving forward on thevehicle project.
So that means we're going tocontinuing to develop it, make
sure it's tested durability,cold weather.
We have lots of parts supplierswe're going to be bringing on
board, all basically convergingtowards that date I mentioned
earlier, in 2027.
Steven Ruffing (20:14):
And again, leading up to you, just say
testing, you've done sometesting.
How much more testing needs togo into it?
Is it kind of like a nonstopthing until you get to
production?
Ryan Decker (20:24):
Yeah, again, you know it's one of those things
right where we want our vehiclesto really be put to the test by
our customer.
So it's on us to put them tothe test before our customers
get an opportunity to do it.
Steven Ruffing (20:34):
So testing is a very serious part of our
engineering, development, andyou've got to talk about the
audience, the consumer.
How do you build a community orkind of like a brand culture as
you prepare for launch?
Ryan Decker (20:48):
So the good thing is we're not starting from
scratch on that, and so thecorporate culture, the brand
culture, it does start with theexisting Scout community.
You know I had mentioned how wehad leaned in and listened to
them, and now it's on us to keepbuilding on that spirit.
And we've done some, I wouldsay, early positive things on
that front.
One we've created our own Scoutforums because we want to hear
(21:10):
directly from our fans or peoplewho are just curious out there.
We actively participate onthose forums, we're reading them
, we're listening to them, we'reengaging on them.
The other big area is we haveand we will increasingly show up
in person at physical events.
So, steven, it sounds like youand I we may have crossed paths
in Vegas earlier in the year,but we want to continue to get
(21:30):
to events and physical placesfor our customers or fans of
reservation holders or, ifyou're just curious, to come and
see the product, but, just asimportantly, get to talk to all
of us.
And we want that directengagement, we want that direct
feedback.
We're listening, we're learning, we're leaning in and that will
continue to be a big part ofthe company and the brand and
talking about just feedback,like you just said, very
(21:53):
important to you.
Steven Ruffing (21:54):
With that being said, looking down the line in
five, we'd look at 2027 as theproduction date.
Let's look five, 10 years downthe road.
Where do you want Scout Motorsto be?
Ryan Decker (22:06):
I'll answer that from a company perspective.
First, yeah, absolutely, andbig picture.
You know, we're not just tryingto be just like another little
old startup.
That is definitely not ourambition and we have the right
stuff to back that up.
And what I mean by that is, youknow, most startups don't start
with a greenfield, highlyefficient factory, like we are.
We will have the factory toback up that ambition level.
(22:29):
When it comes to what segmentswe're in, what body styles we're
developing, you know we're notdoing sedan or a more niche body
style.
We are going after sort of thecore of the American market and
we're executing in it with, youknow, one of the world's largest
OEMs behind us.
So we have, you know, thecredibility and the scalability
that comes with that.
So, from a company perspective,big dreams.
(22:51):
We want to go in to the core ofthe American market and win.
From a product and brandperspective, I think it's
actually worth looking a littlebit in the rear view to
understand where we want to gomoving forward.
And if you go back and look ata Scout 2 from 1980 or a Scout
800 or a Scout 80, you'll stillsee some of that DNA in our new
Traveler and Terra, and I thinkthe reason for that is because
(23:13):
great products don't have tochange much.
Yes, they need to get moremodern, more technical, more
innovative, more efficient, moresafe, all of these things, but
they should still berecognizable, and that will
definitely be the spirit movingforward.
And it's the same logic on thebrand.
The brand was always communityorientated.
It always had a certainneighborliness.
Steven Ruffing (23:31):
We're not going to lose sight of that 5, 10,
even 20 years down the road andwith that, you know, taking that
all into consideration, isthere anything coming up that
maybe can get the fans or theaudience, some consumers,
excited, or is there things thatare just have to stay hush hush
at this point?
Ryan Decker (23:49):
More to come on all fronts.
Look, what I can say is let'scontinue to directly engage and
pay attention to what we'redoing, because we do want to
show up physically in moreplaces.
You know we hear that feedbackvery clearly is hey, when can I
see mine?
When are you coming to a city X, y or Z?
And we hear that we receivethat feedback and we are going
(24:09):
to make a more deliberate effortto get out there more and more
as we get into the second halfof this year and especially into
2026.
Steven Ruffing (24:16):
And how can people stay up to date on
anything?
Scout Motors?
If you want to plug any socialmedia, your website, anything
you want, well, a good way is,of course, just to place a
reservation.
Ryan Decker (24:29):
All kidding aside, our social media is always a
very good place, but our forumsare actually also a very
excellent place for the latestand greatest and an opportunity
just to directly ask questionswith the Scout team.
We're on there, we're readingit, we're responding.
Steven Ruffing (24:44):
So the forums of our scoutmotorscom are a great
place and I will say, ifanyone's listening to this and
wants a full history or fullbackground on Scout Motors, the
history page on your website isfantastic.
Prior a few months ago I wasreading all through it.
I mean it really does give agood detailed background on who
Scout Motors is and who theywere back in the day.
Ryan Decker (25:06):
Yeah, I know the team.
You know, when they developedthat website they wanted it to
look the part, they wanted it tosound the part and I think the
team did a great job on thatwebsite.
It's worth a look.
Steven Ruffing (25:16):
Yeah, couldn't agree more.
Anything else, ryan, before wewrap things up that you wanted
to add that we might not havegotten to Steve, and I close
almost every one of these withjust a shout out to the Scout
community members I call themthe OGs.
Ryan Decker (25:28):
We're all in it together.
We're all in it together.
We value them.
They've kept the Scout flameburning all of these years and
we're very thankful and gratefulthat they did, because without
them we wouldn't have theopportunity to reimagine this
thing.
So always worth shouting themout.
Steven Ruffing (25:41):
Absolutely, it's well-deserved, for sure.
It's well-deserved Well, ryan.
Thank you again so much fortaking your time and joining us
here.
Thank you, stephen.
Glad to be here and we'relooking forward to following up
looking to the future of ScoutMotors.
That's all the time we havetoday.
We look forward to anotherepisode.
We'll see you next time.
Thanks for listening to thisepisode of the 4 Worlds Podcast.
(26:04):
Until next time, you can catchup on the latest innovations
shaping our world attomorrowsworldtodaycom.
Follow us on Facebook andInstagram, and be sure to
subscribe to our YouTube channel.
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