Episode 02: We'd Be Crazy Not To

When I was six or seven, my dad bought an International Harvester Scout—gold with a white top. In hindsight, it was a strange purchase. My dad has always been a car guy, not a truck guy. On top of that, he purchased it from a friend who ran a dealership, a potentially unwelcome complication should the Scout underperform. But most important, I remember my mom hated it. Why would she want to drive a big, boxy vehicle with a spartan interior? An inauspicious start all around. 

I think my dad’s master plan was to have a truck for duck hunting trips with his friends. As that was only one week a year, the family got the benefit of the Scout for the other 51 weeks. My only memory of that truck was that we took it camping and the emergency brake stuck after it was engaged. My dad had to drive the Scout into town in reverse to get it fixed. I could be wrong, but I think he decided to get rid of it shortly after that camping trip, a move that probably engendered much goodwill in the household. We rarely spoke of it again. 

So I was intrigued when I learned that David Murray and his best friend, Tom Gillespie, were devoted to Scouts and actually had a decades-long history with them. Nothing in my own experience suggested that sort of connection made any sense. As I learned from this episode—thanks in part to Brian’s research—the Scout enjoys a legion of fans and followers across the country. 

I hope you find this episode illuminating. If it doesn’t make you want to run out and buy a Scout, that’s okay. But you’ll have a far better understanding of the person driving a Scout the next time you see one on the road. Knowledge is power.