My Dad still has his '77 Scout!!!

Car Lust--International Scout
by Chris Hafner on June 03, 2008

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.