Is the EREV going to be a flop?

[Mousehunter]

Reminds me of a joke.

Friends are friends when they say what body.
Good friends say they have a spare shovel.
Great friends say they own a backhoe.

Or an infamous thread years ago on a user group, where the OP asked how to get blood stains out of a cheerleaders uniform and a couch. Never was sure if it was intentional trolling, or just a question that obviously demanded it - odds are that is where I saw the friends joke.

But yes, morbid humor is probably inappropriate and not really good for marketing use.

 

[cyure]

Reminds me of a joke.

Friends are friends when they say what body.
Good friends say they have a spare shovel.
Great friends say they own a backhoe.

Or an infamous thread years ago on a user group, where the OP asked how to get blood stains out of a cheerleaders uniform and a couch. Never was sure if it was intentional trolling, or just a question that obviously demanded it - odds are that is where I saw the friends joke.

But yes, morbid humor is probably inappropriate and not really good for marketing use.

My best friend in California called me once and said I need you to go to Starbucks with me, the cold case detectives called and want to talk to me about a man they think my uncle murdered. . Long story short he murdered someone and someone in jail had flipped many years later and he is in jail!

 

[J Alynn]

Reminds me of a joke.

Friends are friends when they say what body.
Good friends say they have a spare shovel.
Great friends say they own a backhoe.

Or an infamous thread years ago on a user group, where the OP asked how to get blood stains out of a cheerleaders uniform and a couch. Never was sure if it was intentional trolling, or just a question that obviously demanded it - odds are that is where I saw the friends joke.

But yes, morbid humor is probably inappropriate and not really good for marketing use.

But everyone laughs at it because fundamentally we are all civilized (most) and the humor serves as an escape

 

[6-ScoutFamily]

I feel like I'm the target market for EREV. Most of my driving can be done on EV only, but there are a few places that I go to in Michigan (the Upper Peninsula/Lake Superior area specifically) that I do not believe there are chargers within 100 miles. It's dirt road / two track for 45+ minutes North of Tahquamenon Falls toward the final destination. See red circle in the attached image.
View attachment 14101
There's no way I am trusting the ONE 7kwh charger in Newberry to be working, that's not even on my way to get to my destination. It's close to 2 hours to get from the Macinaw bridge to the destination. Having an EV only would also not allow me to drive around anywhere up there. So it's a big hard no for me regarding BEV.

Exactly! This is the thing that many BEV advocates are clueless about (not this group). Once you are out of the major corridors (“the Sticks”), you might be able to get somewhere, but exploring and getting back can get iffy quickly.

 

[speedrye]

OMG-tears rolling out of my eyes. That was FANTASTIC!!! ️️. I don’t give out 2 gold stars very often. I think the two of us should be hired for the marketing team.

That, sir, would be a terrible idea for all of the best reasons.

Most people I see on a daily basis have a pretty good sense of humor, and those that don't wouldn't choose to drive a Scout anyway. Positioning Scout as fun with a dark side could be very good marketing for an EV company, getting away from the traditional eco-warrior vibe that is off-putting to many, making them harder to convert. Don't market the Scout as an EV. Those that want an EV will already know what it is. Just market it as a better truck or a better SUV. Show off the functionality in humorous/risque ways.

 

[BartMan Terra Total EV]

That, sir, would be a terrible idea for all of the best reasons.

Most people I see on a daily basis have a pretty good sense of humor, and those that don't wouldn't choose to drive a Scout anyway. Positioning Scout as fun with a dark side could be very good marketing for an EV company, getting away from the traditional eco-warrior vibe that is off-putting to many, making them harder to convert. Don't market the Scout as an EV. Those that want an EV will already know what it is. Just market it as a better truck or a better SUV. Show off the functionality in humorous/risque ways.

No I am sticking with Eco warrior. We have already lost anyone that would be off put by this when Scout didn't offer a diesel or V8 model.

 

[speedrye]

No I am sticking with Eco warrior. We have already lost anyone that would be off put by this when Scout didn't offer a diesel or V8 model.

Good point coming from a Terra perspective. Full size truck buyers don't even want the turbo-4 options in their trucks from most of what I see, so for the Terra, you might be right. The full-size truck EV market is remarkably small, but there aren't any competitors really with the Lightning going away.

 

[J Alynn]

That, sir, would be a terrible idea for all of the best reasons.

Most people I see on a daily basis have a pretty good sense of humor, and those that don't wouldn't choose to drive a Scout anyway. Positioning Scout as fun with a dark side could be very good marketing for an EV company, getting away from the traditional eco-warrior vibe that is off-putting to many, making them harder to convert. Don't market the Scout as an EV. Those that want an EV will already know what it is. Just market it as a better truck or a better SUV. Show off the functionality in humorous/risque ways.

Btw are you in design as well-based on comments assume you are. And if so-I get why our humor overlaps

 

[speedrye]

Btw are you in design as well-based on comments assume you are. And if so-I get why our humor overlaps

Yup, residential. Framer/builder originally, plus years working in a custom Jeep shop during school. I might be at a desk mostly nowadays, but I've still got the twisted/crude blue-collar humor.

 

[J Alynn]

Yup, residential. Framer/builder originally, plus years working in a custom Jeep shop during school. I might be at a desk mostly nowadays, but I've still got the twisted/crude blue-collar humor.

Make sense. Pretty much been a residential designer for last 20years with a brief jump back to commercial architectural design but lasted less than a year-I missed the residential

 

[speedrye]

Make sense. Pretty much been a residential designer for last 20years with a brief jump back to commercial architectural design but lasted less than a year-I missed the residential

25+ years with the same small firm. I won't do commercial simply because I don't have commercial construction experience. If I'm designing something, I know I can go out there and build it myself, exactly how I've drawn it.

 

[mastertroll]

So, the more I read about how the Harvester is actually playing out, the more I wish I would have reserved the BEV.

Less electric range, smaller battery, worse towing capacity, the complexities of the 4 cylinder engine. It all seems like we are getting an inferior version of what the Scout could be.

When I first heard about the Harvester concept and made my early deposit, I was imaging something more like a generator. I could drive into the mountains a few hundred miles, set up camp, turn on the generator and charge the truck for another full battery of 300-500 miles. But its just not what are we getting.

Thoughts, disappointments, disccusions?

I think it will succeed if Scout follows a strict set of parameters.

 

[Scoutsie]

But everyone laughs at it because fundamentally we are all civilized (most) and the humor serves as an escape

Why is it that artists/designers are all into the rough chuckles? Are we just wired different?

 

[J Alynn]

Why is it that artists/designers are all into the rough chuckles? Are we just wired different?

For architecture it’s the gray scale of the world vs the black and white approach which makes everyone critical of everything so best way to deal and defend is to offer sarcasm since smashing bats to skulls is frowned upon

 

[Scoutsie]

There's a reason dead hookers are the de facto standard for measuring trunk space, but sadly reality has changed over the years. Hookers vary much more in size nowadays than in the 80's, so I'm thinking we should take a different, though equally offensive, approach for marketing.

Camera pans across six giant rubber ducks in the cargo area. "Scout: Some men have rubbers too big to fit on their dashboard"

@cyure - I could come up with equally distasteful ads for all kinds of groups so women don't feel left out by the above ad.

Okay. I am someone who appreciates a rough chuckle, but I gotta say that this one I’m finding distasteful for a specific reason. I’m part of a certain population of women, namely women who have been sexually assaulted. Like in the last few years.

I’m not going to touch the psychology of why some men decide to do violence against women because what the hell do I even know about it, but I am going to rip into making jokes about it. It’s not funny. It’s not. This isn’t a way of turning a bad experience on its head. This is making light of a scary thing that women fear. It’s punching down, not up.

 

[mastertroll]

Exactly! This is the thing that many BEV advocates are clueless about (not this group). Once you are out of the major corridors (“the Sticks”), you might be able to get somewhere, but exploring and getting back can get iffy quickly.

I'm very familiar... I've been stranded once and been close many times. I travel with RV cords and adapters.


How did this post get derailed?

 

[cyure]

Okay. I am someone who appreciates a rough chuckle, but I gotta say that this one I’m finding distasteful for a specific reason. I’m part of a certain population of women, namely women who have been sexually assaulted. Like in the last few years.

I’m not going to touch the psychology of why some men decide to do violence against women because what the hell do I even know about it, but I am going to rip into making jokes about it. It’s not funny. It’s not. This isn’t a way of turning a bad experience on its head. This is making light of a scary thing that women fear. It’s punching down, not up.

Oh @Scoutsie I am so sorry you had that experience in your past. I don’t know what to say other than I am glad you are here.

 

[Logan]

Okay. I am someone who appreciates a rough chuckle, but I gotta say that this one I’m finding distasteful for a specific reason. I’m part of a certain population of women, namely women who have been sexually assaulted. Like in the last few years.

I’m not going to touch the psychology of why some men decide to do violence against women because what the hell do I even know about it, but I am going to rip into making jokes about it. It’s not funny. It’s not. This isn’t a way of turning a bad experience on its head. This is making light of a scary thing that women fear. It’s punching down, not up.

I'm so sorry to hear that, but also, I love that you feel brave/comfortable enough to step in and say this.

I can't say anything that would wouldn't sound like pandering, other than saying, that I'm also not a huge fan of marketing that is super on the edge there. Especially not from an automaker who has spent this much time discussing/pushing "community".

I get that creative marketing is often good, but the above way, isn't something I'd really want to show to my friends/family as a "look, here is this brand that is coming back, that I'm excited to buy" sort of thing.

Sort of like the ACDC song "Big Balls". Its something I'd expect from from an edgy band full of mid-20's rock and roll singers. But I wouldn't expect an automotive brand to co-opt as their official marketing strategy.

 

[J Alynn]

So out of curiosity, where does this ad fall? This is what lead me to saying off beat advertising can be memorable

Google Search

 

[cyure]

So out of curiosity, where does this ad fall? This is what lead me to saying off beat advertising can be memorable

Google Search

Offbeat, memorable and two consenting adults.

We need offbeat that doesn’t divide. We are a community after all.