Extra, Extra....Read All About It!

[bb00799]

You are welcome. It looks like Idaho National Labratory has taken the torch from Oak Ridge. https://inl.gov/feature-story/how-molten-salt-could-be-the-lifeblood-of-tomorrows-nuclear-energy/

Also, private industry is working on it. There are several molten salt startups (MicroNuclear, Kairos, TerraPower, etc). IIRC none of them are going with Thorium though. Which makes sense - the Feds have to sign off so not changing too much at once is probably smart. Uranium is a known quantity while thorium has a few things to work out (though it sounds like the Chinese are on their way).

INL is a great national lab with some super talented folks, but I hope that Oak Ridge leans a little more on Y-12 and gets back into the game. Oak Ridge has double the budget of INL and was the birthplace for the first "real" nuclear reactor (U-Chicago's was not designed for continuous use)

(I did my graduate degree with backing from ORNL so I have a lot of love for that messy messy place)

 

[Chaz26]

Volkswagen has just recalled what appears to be all of its U.S.-model ID.Buzz vans sold so far, and the reason seems to be sort of serious — albeit one that's new to us. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the ID.Buzz's third-row bench seat is simply too wide.

Volkswagen Is Recalling the ID.Buzz for a Reason We've Never Heard Before

NHTSA is going after the electric throwback's third row in an effort to ensure seatbelt efficacy.

www.roadandtrack.com

That's such a dumb recall. It is clearly two seats, and if someone wants to be stupid enough to sit in the middle then that would be natural selection at work if there was an accident.

 

[cyure]

Ioniq 9 pricing. Interesting.

2026 Hyundai Ioniq 9 EV Offers up to 335 Miles of Range for $60,555

Pricing for Hyundai's futuristic three-row electric SUV has been released before its arrival at dealerships later this month.

bit.ly

 

[LastDayScout]

New 2025 VW Taos headlights…hits a little too close to home for me!

 

[cyure]

New 2025 VW Taos headlights…hits a little too close to home for me!
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I see what you mean but these and the ones on the Hyundai Santa Fe look like dog bones to me. The Scout doesn’t.

 

[J Alynn]

Ioniq 9 pricing. Interesting.

2026 Hyundai Ioniq 9 EV Offers up to 335 Miles of Range for $60,555

Pricing for Hyundai's futuristic three-row electric SUV has been released before its arrival at dealerships later this month.

bit.ly

That’s really nice. Understated and classy but pricey for a basic SUV. Details are appealing. Lime the idea of second row swivel seats.

 

[J Alynn]

New 2025 VW Taos headlights…hits a little too close to home for me!
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Funny. But not. VW designers couldn’t think of anything so they said let’s steal Scouts design. Maybe this will confuse the VW dealers and they’ll think they got the right SUV-

 

[cyure]

In my local news today. They also have a battery tech for EV training program at the community college. Might be something Scout could look at doing is partnering with a local community college for their training programs.

Rivian executive Julie Hoeniges named to ISU's Board of Trustees

Gov. JB Pritzker has named a Rivian executive to the board of trustees at Illinois State University. Julie Hoeniges is director of trade compliance at Rivian. She is an ISU graduate.

dlvr.it

 

[J Alynn]

In my local news today. They also have a battery tech for EV training program at the community college. Might be something Scout could look at doing is partnering with a local community college for their training programs.

Rivian executive Julie Hoeniges named to ISU's Board of Trustees

Gov. JB Pritzker has named a Rivian executive to the board of trustees at Illinois State University. Julie Hoeniges is director of trade compliance at Rivian. She is an ISU graduate.

dlvr.it

I read a story from Blythewood news and their entire community college is adapting to train for SM. Jamie probably knows more but when I saw the story I was very impressed with the forward thinking

 

[LastDayScout]

In my local news today. They also have a battery tech for EV training program at the community college. Might be something Scout could look at doing is partnering with a local community college for their training programs.

Rivian executive Julie Hoeniges named to ISU's Board of Trustees

Gov. JB Pritzker has named a Rivian executive to the board of trustees at Illinois State University. Julie Hoeniges is director of trade compliance at Rivian. She is an ISU graduate.

dlvr.it

Scout is doing so. I saw a solicitation for training machines for future scout employees. It was for a technical college near the factory.

 

[cyure]

Scout is doing so. I saw a solicitation for training machines for future scout employees. It was for a technical college near the factory.

Excellent!

 

[Chavannigans]

I read a story from Blythewood news and their entire community college is adapting to train for SM. Jamie probably knows more but when I saw the story I was very impressed with the forward thinking

Now that is some positive news!

Love to read stuff like that.

 

[Tyler88]

Scout's 'Harvester' Gasoline-Powered EV Range Extender Will Be Built in Mexico

A naturally aspirated four-cylinder VW engine will give the Traveler SUV and Terra pickup truck 500 miles of range, Scout says.

www.thedrive.com

Not sure how I feel about this but it was kind of expected since most VW engines that are sold in the US are currently made in Mexico though I would definitely prefer the range extender to be made in the US.

 

[cyure]

Scout's 'Harvester' Gasoline-Powered EV Range Extender Will Be Built in Mexico

A naturally aspirated four-cylinder VW engine will give the Traveler SUV and Terra pickup truck 500 miles of range, Scout says.

www.thedrive.com

Not sure how I feel about this but it was kind of expected since most VW engines that are sold in the US are currently made in Mexico

Wow 80% Harvester reservations according to the article.

 

[J Alynn]

Scout's 'Harvester' Gasoline-Powered EV Range Extender Will Be Built in Mexico

A naturally aspirated four-cylinder VW engine will give the Traveler SUV and Terra pickup truck 500 miles of range, Scout says.

www.thedrive.com

Not sure how I feel about this but it was kind of expected since most VW engines that are sold in the US are currently made in Mexico though I would definitely prefer the range extender to be made in the US.

@Jamie@ScoutMotors -is this legit news or strong assumption news

 

[THil08]

@Jamie@ScoutMotors -is this legit news or strong assumption news

It said it was reported in the Earnings call for VW Group, I wonder if there’s a transcript of it.

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4779667-volkswagen-ag-vwagy-q1-2025-earnings-call-transcript

Was never mentioned, safe to say that was assumption.

 

[J Alynn]

It said it was reported in the Earnings call for VW Group, I wonder if there’s a transcript of it.

And VW dealers still think they are getting Scouts so wondering if it was discussed as possibility and someone made assumptions or not? I feel like these engines were obvious front runners but glad I’m doing BEV as I’ve been told for 30+ years that German engines go forever and Mexicos are very good performers. That’s been from acquaintances that did service on VW’s

 

[Tyler88]

It said it was reported in the Earnings call for VW Group, I wonder if there’s a transcript of it.

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4779667-volkswagen-ag-vwagy-q1-2025-earnings-call-transcript

Was never mentioned, safe to say that was assumption.

At least it was an assumption since I prefer if it is possible they should just make the range extender in South Carolina with everything else so less tariff worries etc.

 

[J. Sweat]

From The Drive article:

“Per Automotive News, VW Group CFO Arno Antlitz confirmed during the company’s earnings call that the Harvester will be a naturally aspirated four-cylinder of unknown size that will be assembled at the company’s engine plant in Silao.”

I don’t understand why VW is talking about this in their earnings call if Scout is a separate company that VW merely invested in.

Edit to add after skimming the transcript:

The VW Group clearly sees Scout as their own. They say, “We are ramping up Scouts” and “We are driving Scout forward because it's the really biggest single promising segment -- automotive segment in the industry. Pickup and rugged SUVs in the US is, from a profit pool perspective, really the most attractive segment, and this is why we are driving forward.”

“Second, I would understand completely your question, and I still understand it, but I would understand it if we would stick to 100% BEV strategy for Scout. But having a really convincing concept introduced with a range extender, with engine coming locally from Mexico for 500 miles of range, really positive customer feedback on that topic and they basically 80% rate for the preorders moving to that range extender, we are much more optimistic that we can hit the planned volumes first. And second, yes, there are also chances to include other activities in the factory in South Carolina, and we also look into that as well.”

Sounds like we’re going to be buying Scouts at VW dealerships to me. Then again, I don’t know, maybe they can say it’s the same as not buying a Porsche at a VW dealership.

 

[Chuckles]

From The Drive article:

“Per Automotive News, VW Group CFO Arno Antlitz confirmed during the company’s earnings call that the Harvester will be a naturally aspirated four-cylinder of unknown size that will be assembled at the company’s engine plant in Silao.”

I don’t understand why VW is talking about this in their earnings call if Scout is a separate company that VW merely invested in.

Edit to add after skimming the transcript:

The VW Group clearly sees Scout as their own. They say, “We are ramping up Scouts” and “We are driving Scout forward because it's the really biggest single promising segment -- automotive segment in the industry. Pickup and rugged SUVs in the US is, from a profit pool perspective, really the most attractive segment, and this is why we are driving forward.”

“Second, I would understand completely your question, and I still understand it, but I would understand it if we would stick to 100% BEV strategy for Scout. But having a really convincing concept introduced with a range extender, with engine coming locally from Mexico for 500 miles of range, really positive customer feedback on that topic and they basically 80% rate for the preorders moving to that range extender, we are much more optimistic that we can hit the planned volumes first. And second, yes, there are also chances to include other activities in the factory in South Carolina, and we also look into that as well.”

Sounds like we’re going to be buying Scouts at VW dealerships to me. Then again, I don’t know, maybe they can say it’s the same as not buying a Porsche at a VW dealership.

Volkswagen Group is the parent company based in Germany. Since VW is an investor in Scout Motors, it is relevant to VW shareholders who have a right to know how VW is spending its money. Scout Motors is an independent company, not part of Volkswagen Group of America (responsible for VW, Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, and Lamborghini in the USA, along with Electrify America and Volkswagen Financial Services).
It's not a surprise that the Harvester engine is coming from Mexico. VW doesn't make engines in the USA, and the cost of importing a tariffed engine is still cheaper in the short term than building an engine plant here from the ground up.