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As VW scouts a new path into EVs, automakers reconsider hybrids on the road to fossil-free driving
CASEY WILLIAMS | Auto Reviewer
AutoCasey@aol.com
On Oct. 24, Scout Motors debuted its Scout SUV and Terra pickup. Originally built by International Harvester in the 1960s and ’70s, Scout is now a separate electric vehicle brand under Volkswagen. And it’s a real truck, built on a framed chassis, that can tow more than 10,000 pounds — or run 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds.
There will be fully-electric models with up to a 350-mile range but also an extended range variant offering 500 miles thanks to a gas-powered generator. Prices will start under $60,000 when production begins in 2027.
It’s the extended range variant with gasoline generator that reveals the state of today’s electric vehicles. Driver concerns over range and charger availability are causing automakers to re-think their offerings. Through Scout, Volkswagen is predicting a need for some form of gasoline assist three years from now even as it rolls out the 2025 ID.Buzz, a futuristic electric Microbus with up to a 234-mile range and a $59,995 starting price.
2025 VW ID Buzz
“For a decade or more, we’ve seen surveys highlighting how shoppers have concerns about charging infrastructure, range anxiety, battery life, etc.,” said Ivan Drury, director of insights at Edmunds. “These concerns were largely a non-issue among early adopters. But as the market shifted to mainstream buyers, those issues are contributing to today’s slowdown.”
2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ Sport
The road to EVs will be a slower roll. For many drivers, EVs still make sense. However, you may consider hybrids and plug-in hybrids as we wait for our fully electric future.
Know Your Type
Each of us have our type, so let’s update our profiles. Pure gasoline-powered vehicles park on one end of our automative Kinsey Scale while pure electrics plug in at the other end. In the middle we have hybrids — gas-powered vehicles with
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