The essence of Eugene is that both of these cars are cool. But then what do you expect from a town that “embraces diversity”. Well, actually, that saying clearly has its limits too. If that was a new Suburban, it wouldn’t be nearly as cool as this old Scout. And the green Forester in the background perfectly bridges these two cars, in more ways than one.
I don’t have time this morning to decipher this Scout II’s grille to pin down its year, but I’m guessing mid-late 70s. Well, that’s not much of a guess, since the Scout II was only built from 1971 through 1980. I can also only guess at what’s under its hood, but I’m pretty sure it’s not a hybrid. The choices on these were IH’s 196 four (only on the first few years), the AMC 232 and 258 six, and IH’s 304 and 345 V8. And the Nissan SD-33 six cylinder diesel also was available after 1976.
A seasoned Prius drive might be a bit confused by the two levers sticking out of the floor, but actually this one does have an automatic, so that wouldn’t present any serious obstacles. And if there are serious obstacles, the transfer case lever can be dropped into 4WD Lo. All obstacles then are reduced in size.
I doubt this jacked-up Scout sees double-digit fuel consumption very often, if ever. But then it’s just something to be seen in while riding around in town, given how pristine and clean it always is when I see it. What other purpose would it serve in this day and age?
I beg your pardon, Paul – there is NOTHING cool about a Prius, just fuel economy and little else – well, I guess the hybrid system can be classified as cool because it is so successful, but it’s one of the ugliest cars on the road, at least from the front.
On the other hand, the IH Scout ll screams COOL!
Funny thing, the new gen4 2016 Prius is officially unveiled later today. If you think the front of my gen3 2010 Prius is ugly, how do you like the new one? (Photo swiped from AutoBlog.)
Wow, that is awful. The Toyota badge on a beak. I went to that site and saw the blacked out D-pillar AND a blacked out strip at the top of the hatch. The rear window frames look like they were melted. It’s not just polarizing. It’s flat-out bad design.
Folks around here prefer a Toyota Auris (=Scion iM) wagon with the Prius powertrain.
Nice. Looks much like the “Prius V” they sell here in the US.
Interior
It looks as if polluted by the radiation from Fukushima.
+1.
I saw the 2016 car today, it looks pretty poorly styled in my opinion. I think the new car may be too far out in left field to attract more non-hybrid owners into buying one.
Here are a bunch of new photos for those interested:
http://www.theverge.com/2015/9/9/9277419/2016-toyota-prius-debut
The more I see it, the more I am dumbfounded somebody thought it was a good idea. Hard to believe a designer of any sort was involved in this hodge podge of bulges and angles.
The old Prius’s weren’t exactly lookers, but I thought they looked decent enough. Better than most economy cars. This is one of the all-time bad designs.
Some pretty good reactions can be found here:
http://jalopnik.com/2016-toyota-prius-wub-wub-wub-wub-wub-wub-wub-1729533962
I’d take the International Scout II any day over the Toyota Prius.
I still prefer the very first Scout…cool ride.
This Scout is gorgeous and the ones I see on occasion here in Florida seem to have that Rallye appearance package or was that standard?
I remember Jack on the TV show LOST had a Scout.
I’d like to think they have the same owner. Prius for everyday and Scout for ice cream and hardware store runs to the other side of the mountain.
I’d any Scout, And A Travelall too!
I’ve ridden in a Prius as a passenger, and although I found it comfortable, I still found it hideous looking. I found it difficult to believe this car was used for taxi use.
And is still used as a taxi. I rode in one in Chicago and it made for a wonderful cab, as did the Camry hybrid I rode in earlier the same day. The Prius did have a few premature rattles, but it’s a cab – how cares about rattles or looks?
Did you ride in the back seat? Priuses are used extensively as taxis around Seattle. With the tapered back roof it looks like head room might be a problem.
I’m from Seattle, and I’ve seen Prius used as taxis alot.
I rode in a Prius V taxi (the wagon one) in NYC last year and was astounded at the rear room (and head room). Perfect car for a taxi and lots of other folks too.
Yes. I’m 5’11”, the wife is 5’8″, and the daughter is 5’6″. Not as much room as the Camry, but we did just fine.
Compared to the hatchback, the Prius V has much better head, shoulder, & legroom in back, & is quieter & has a more comfortable ride. It also lacks that split rear window. But it’s heavier & rates 7-8 mpg less, & has no factory discount at this time.
It feels like a whole different model, not even having the same dash as the hatch. Considering Toyota’s mania for leveraging existing parts, this is surprising. The Prius C’s dash is also unique.
The Prius hatch’s Owner’s Manual has about 630 pages, not counting the audio/nav system book! It also comes with an instructional DVD; “Prius: The Movie” is what I call it.
I’ve never ridden in a Prius V. I got to ride in the Prius hatchback, and I had plenty of head room.
Here’s the difference: in the hatckback rear seat, I have a finger’s width of margin above my head, whereas in the V, my fist still doesn’t reach the headliner. I’m 6′ tall.
The Prius C also has good rear headroom, thanks to its “breadvan” shape. Just not so much legroom.
I believe you mean traveler. Paul, the 196 lasted till at least 1977, we had a Traveler with the 1/2 V8. It was slow. Ours also had that grill. Early one looked more like a Jeep, and the last year they had square headlights. After that, it’s a guestimate.
There was the Travelall, which was the Suburban fighter made until 1975 (basically a 1/2 or 3/4-ton pickup with 4 doors and a top), the Travelette, which was a crew cab 3/4 or 1-ton pickup, and the Traveler, which was the LWB Scout II made after 1975 (along with the Terra, which was kind of an ersatz replacement for the recently departed pickups).
There was another one, basically a Travelall with no roof over the cargo area, predating the Chevy Avalanche by 3 decades or so. I so wanted a Scout II in high school, back when they were still made..
Oh yeah, the Wagonmaster. I briefly considered mentioning that, but then figured, “nah, no one will notice if I leave it out.” How wrong I was.
The Wagonmaster was almost literally a 1/2- or 3/4-ton Travelall with an open bed instead of a third row/cargo space. It was advertised as a good way to pull a fifth wheel while still having 6-passenger seating, but the truncated bed meant the fifth wheel hitch was behind the axle.
An absoutely beautiful example was shown here:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/museum/best-international-collection-in-the-world-kirkham-international-motor-collection/
I’ve always liked the Travelall and the Scout. It’s an unforgivable shame that both were discontinued when they were.
Well, the Travelall and Light Line trucks, despite their advantages in certain areas over the Big 3, couldn’t pay the bills, so I’d downgrade that one to a forgivable shame.
What was really an unforgivable shame was that IH sorted out all its labor woes and released the beautiful 50 Series just in time to get broadsided by the farm crisis and closed its doors almost for good in 1985.
It wasn’t that the full size line couldn’t pay the bills, though they did take a big hit with the first energy crisis. The bigger problem was that building Loadstars was more profitable. The demand for Loadstars shot way up during that time period and lots of those customers wanted the 392. That demand outstripped the capacity to make them.
That is why they bought the AMC 401 and installed them and made them the big engine you could actually get in 1/2 tons from the tail end of 73 production until late or the end of the 74 model year.
The full size line was made in the same factory as the Loadstar and in addition to not having enough of the bigger engines the production line couldn’t keep up. So the full size line was mainly sacrificed for the space to increase Loadstar production.
By then the MV was finally starting production so the engine problem was basically solved. The MV was also supposed to be available in the full size line in 1974 and that was a big driving force behind the new chassis under the old body that model year.
Probably the cleanest looking Scout Ive seen in quite some time. Those stripes are original, it looks like. Don’t get me wrong, Scouts do show up. But by now most are either total beaters or are modified/restored.
Whether either is ‘cool’ is up subjective…and Im pretty sure my stance on both needs no explanation. But Ill lay odds that when that prius is half the Scout’s age, it’ll be on a shelf at Winco full of Italian wedding soup.
Those are probably the licensed reproduction stripes and not the originals based on the condition, general look and color of the paint. Most of the factory stripes are available (and in non original colors if desired) made either from measurements NOS stripe kits or measurements off of trucks still wearing their original stripes. I know the guy who makes them through the most active IH forum.
Yay Scout! Boy, but were these everywhere in my Fort Wayne youth. In my own experience, the Scout II was the first SUV that was acceptable in suburban America as a suitable substitute for a normal car.
ScoutDude may jump in and correct me, but I am going to guess 1979 from that grille – one of the most attractive of the entire run.
I spent a lot of time in a 74 Scout II owned by my best friend’s family. They got it from an estate at about 4 years old. It had the 258 AMC six and an automatic, so it was none too fast. It also had a great rust preventive – three teenage kids in the family who wrecked it about every two years, requiring numerous new body panels.
The grille is the best way to visually determine what year a SII is and it is also the worst way to determine the year. Fact is people change the grilles all the time. Either back in the day as a crash repair and that was what was available in the wrecking yard at the time or because someone likes a particular version. I know a few people who have put the 71/72 grille on their later SIIs because that is the one they like and they don’t like the ones with the plastic insert like on this one.
The basic grille is the same piece for 77-79 but how they are finished varries depending on year. In 77 the vertical supports in the middle of those big slots were painted silver and in 78-79 what wasn’t chrome was painted black. So this could be a 78 or 79 or even a 77 if someone did a little painting on it.
Looking inside says it is a 78 or earlier based on the gauge surround as the 79 had the engine turned style applique on that piece. Of course those are easily changed as well and the applique is just a sticker so that is not a definitive way to determine year on a vehicle that has obviously had some refreshing done.
Wouldn’t a new Jeep Wrangler 2-door ‘Sport’ base model with the half-doors, plastic front windows, and A/C delete be essentially the same as a seventies’ Scout?
In fact, it seems like an even more appropriate ‘anti-Prius’ would be one of those huge, crew-cab, full-size pickups that are slathered with all manner of options, including monstrous V8 (or even V10) gas engines.
I despise the Prius and the culture to which it caters.
Though I have never seen it happen, I do understand that “rolling coal” on a Prius is an entertaining activity for drivers of big diesel pickups.
Given its (maybe obtuse) culture, Eugene could also embrace lots of cars that could live happily in my driveway: Ranchero; El Camino/Caballero; Bronco; Pinto; Blazer; Dart/Valiant; Volvo 145/245 wagon. The Scout is cool.
I can’t abide the Prius.
The Prius caters to people who usually see cars as appliances anyway, so they figure they may as well get the most efficiency out of them if they have to use them. Nothing wrong with that.
The people who roll coal are usually just as insufferable as the stereotyped Prius owner they hate, with the added bonus that they’re actually making life worse for everyone around them.
Avoid the extremes.
Sorry guys, Prius is the highest-tech gas-burner on the road. After 15 years nobody’s been able to match its combination of efficiency and performance. That appeals to the technology culture.
I drive a ’92 Miata on sunny summer days, so you can’t say I don’t like driving or don’t love cars.
The CC gang has car lovers from lots of cultures. Just sayin’.
The Prius made enthusiasts out of owners who would otherwise never in a million years have been car enthusiasts.
The later Ford Hybrid offerings are “higher tech” Thanks to the eCVT being designed from the ground up for plug in use they can go engine off at any speed and even the earlier versions had a much higher engine off capable speed of 47mph than the Toyota offerings. Yes they don’t beat the Prius in outright MPG but they don’t have the sacrifices that Toyota made to the rest of the car to achieve those numbers. Nor the other expenses of thing like magnesium seat frames and a wholly undersized 12v battery in the name of weight savings.
I’d also say that Honda has jumped ahead of both Toyota and Ford with the Accord Hybrid and some of that again is due to the fact that their “transmission” if you can call it that was designed for plug in use from the get go.
The Accord solution is the most elegant solution to the Hybrid and the most efficient thing that works like a CVT. As I’ve said in the past discussions a proper serial Hybrid is the way with the lowest power loss between the engine and the wheels. Stick in the clutch between the generator/starter motor and the traction motor/generator and it is hands down the winner in output power as a percentage of input power, even if it is mechanically very “low tech”
Meanwhile the Toyota/Ford eCVT is an elegant solution to the CVT problem with the planetary gear set having lower frictional losses than the pulley-belt/chain set. But it has the draw back that it consumes energy due to the fact that the traction motor/generator must sap some power out of the drive train and use that to run the range motor/generator to connect the engine to the wheels. That isn’t that big of a deal when the battery SOC is high but in a steady state cruise with the battery in the target SOC range it hurts ultimate efficiency.
I know. While I like the hybrid engine technology, I don’t like that it’s the only engine choice available. For some vehicles, like the Tacoma, the Tundra, etc. how about a diesel/electric hybrid engine. It’s the same hybrid technology, it’s simply a diesel engine.
Diesels don’t fit into the full hybrid system the way an Atkinson-cycle gas engine does. I think Peugeot’s the only one who’s tried it.
Atkinson cycle is more efficient that the usual Otto cycle, similar to diesel efficiency, but it lacks low-end torque. The electric motor is great for low-end torque, so they complement each other. A gas engine is easier to quickly stop-start than a diesel too.
For some reason people have accepted the Prius here easier than ethanol fuels.
Me? I have owned two Scouts and I have been impressed with the reliability of the hybrid system in the Prius so I have no problem with either one. I know and understand that change happens and look forward to large SUVs and trucks using the technology.
GM offered a hybrid system in large SUVs for some years but it didn’t sell well and was dropped at the end of the design cycle. It baffles me that they never extended the option to cargo vans where it would make a solid cost/benefit case in city delivery.
I can’t for the life of me figure this one out, either. Using hybrid technology in a cargo van that doubled as a minivan (you know, the Dodge Grand Caravan) seemed to make an enormous amount of sense. Even now, the small city-vans (Transit Connect, NV200, Promaster City) where the majority of the use is in a stop-and-go urban setting would seem to be perfect for hybrid use.
Instead, GM went with slapping an expensive hybrid system with little benefit into their big-ass SUV and full-size pickups. No one bought them and I suspect that failure has really put a damper on anyone else giving it a shot.
Actually the hybrid system in the full size GM trucks probably saved more fuel than any other hybrid.
Going from 16 to 21 MPG in a Tahoe saves about 223 gallons of fuel per year.
Going from 30 to 39 MPG in a Camry saves about 115 gallons of fuel per year.
http://www.hybridcars.com/chevy-tahoe-hybrid/
What really killed them off was not their viability or effectiveness, it was efficiency improvements in the regular versions.
There is at least one company that will convert your Econoline or Express to a hybrid. It is a post transmission solution so no engine off operation but it claims significant efficiency increases in the city type driving done by vans used for light delivery in urban areas. They or someone else also had a version for Panthers, another great application but they dropped it about the time the Panther was discontinued.
It is a very elegant solution a motor/generator is fitted between the transmission and rear axle with the drive shaft being shortened to make it all happen. Their computer is then takes the info from the OBDII port to determine the need to assist with acceleration or braking/regeneration.
Not only is Ethanol not sustainable and inefficient to produce, draining Midwest aquifers in the process, it substitutes fuel for food in our fields which is a dangerous precedent. Thank goodness people have finally seen through it and the subsidies are drying up. Probably the single worst alternative fuel idea ever.
I still think it’s ironic you can’t buy a Prius in green.
You could in the first two generations. First had a dark green, second had kind of a metallic Kermit. Neither seemed overly popular. But I get what you are saying…
They paint em glo green here and use em as taxis.
“Sea Glass Pearl” is as close to green as private buyers can get. That’s just as well so far as I’m concerned.
I assume the Prius One is the fleet model.
Hard to beat the old SV V8’s. We had two Scout IIs growing up – while the bodies left a lot to be desired, if there was enough power in the battery in the dead of winter to turn it over, it would start. Lots of school buses with 345’s and 392’s. Throaty, mellow, buttery smooth, low revving torquey power. My most favouritest V8 ever!
Back in my junior high and high school days (mid-, to late 70’s) all our buses were IH. Don’t know whether they were 345’s or 392’s, but they had a distinct sound.
That’s a mighty clean Scout. Way cooler than the Prius.
I remember working on a diesel Terra that came in on trade at the dealer where I worked in the ’80’s. Slow is somewhat insufficient as a way to describe its acceleration. Wouldn’t mind owning one now, though, just for something different.
I had a 1973 Scout II for a while. The sad thing about them is that the bodies are made out of compressed rust. It dissolved, even here in California!
I sold it & bought a 1960 Land Rover Series II 88.
The continued Prius hatred is fascinating. Toyota took a huge (and incredibly expensive) gamble by the creation of a completely dedicated hybrid platform, stuck with it, and it’s paid off handsomely. No one else (save Honda) has been willing to try it that way, with everyone else going the hybrid premium on an existing platform to save costs. That cost-benefit analysis simply doesn’t work to consumers.
But the second generation Prius was packaged beautifully, and was helped with some good incentives and great timing (the Katrina run-up in oil prices). Yeah, it’s a pure automotive appliance, but an exceptionally well-built, designed, and useful one. Toyota’s marketing of keeping the Prius completely unique with no non-hybrid version is what keeps it alive. If they ever make the mistake of offering a much cheaper, non-hybrid Prius, it would surely kill the hybrid versions.
Maybe for the US Toyota could spin off ‘Prius’ as a separate make?
They’re on the road to doing that anyway, what with the three versions.
I never said I hated the Prius, just the front end looks. Otherwise, I think it’s a marvelous piece of engineering, and the market has responded.
Would I buy one? Good question…
It’s not. a bad car. I just never found it attractive.
The Prius hate has a lot to do with the fact that they are dull appliances. They are impressive pieces of technology and successful beyond all expectations and I don’t think anybody could reasonably dispute that. But I have driven them and frankly I’ve experienced better driving dynamics in full size trucks.
I respect them for what they are but I have no desire to own one anymore than I have a desire to own a Corolla. If I were in the market, I’d look at an Accord or Fusion hybrid. Efficiency isn’t everything.
There is a certain stereotype associated with Prius drivers too. Some people get bent out of shape about that, but really it’s no different than the stereotypes that get cast for say pickup or Camaro drivers, among others.
And the “stereotype” of Prius drivers is why I’d never buy one. I’m perfectly okay with being environmentally conscious, but there’s just this idea of “look how much greener than you I am” that seems to persist, though it no longer accurately categorizes the average Prius driver.
I find the Prius hate fascinating too. Sure it’s not the most attractive car ever made, but other unattractive cars don’t have the hate this car does. It’s like the Prius is offensive to those who don’t like it. Who cares what someone else drives?
We have a Gen III Prius like the one above, and we bought it to replace our aging Civic. Am I your typical Prius driver? Far from, in fact the majority of my vehicles I have owned have been American iron with V8’s and carbs. I still own old American Iron and I am very passionate about the cars, the history, maintaining them, and restoring them. I am I passionate about our Prius? Not at all. Is it a good car? It’s an excellent car! It’s been one of the lowest cost per mile cars we have ever owned, had rock solid reliability,and probably the least maintenance intensive vehicle. Sure our old Civic was more fun to toss around the corners and felt peppier, but this is a family car for everyday driving. The Prius has more significantly more interior room, FAR more trunk space, better seats, along with outstanding fuel economy.
At the end of the day it’s a great family car, even though maybe not the most excited to drive or look at. Sure it’s a bit of an appliance, but that’s why I have fun vehicles too.
I like the shape. Over here it seems we got more of these than Chev/GMCs. F100s totally ruled the roost, though.
A scout is a rare sight here these days a rust free Scout even rarer, a bit more utility than a Prius though you pay for it at the pump.
Actually single digit MPG in a properly functioning sII that is stock or at least not heavily modified would be the rarity. I’ve got about the least efficient drive train combo in both of mine, the 345 and 3.73 gears, though the 4sp instead of the AT and they consistently get 12-13 mpg in around town use. By the later years the 3.73 gears are pretty rare, many of the V8 trucks left the factory with 3.31 gears to help with MPG.
The most effecient gas powered SIIs were actually the 345 powered 1980s. They had an EPA rating of 15/21 in the base form when equipped with the 4sp. That was due to the 2.73 base gear ratio and the switch to the Thermo Quad spread bore carb. The actually beat the 4cyl equipped rigs by a long shot as those were running 4.09 gears with the 3.73 a rare option.
The 196 4cyl and 232 were dropped for the 73 model year. However the gas crisis made IH reconsider and the 196 became the base engine once again in 1975. That was probably at least partially due to the end of the relationship with AMC which meant that the 258 went away that year and of course as a response to the energy crisis.
Our driveway wasn’t far off of this pic when we first got our Prius. We had it sitting along side my old Chev Suburban. I often wondered what people thought passing by seeing the two vehicles at the opposite end of the spectrum?
That Scout looks awesome! Nice stance and the paint job seems to suit it. I haven’t seen a Scout II is years around here until just the other day. I saw one very similar to this towing a trailer. It wasn’t as clean, but nice to see one on the road.
Some flat black paint away from being the Desperado movie car.