Ford trademarks 'Scout' and 'Bronco Scout' names

Ford is likely going to launch the "Baby Bronco" sometime early next year, but the final name remains a mystery for now. As a reminder, the "Baby Bronco" is going to be a soft-core unibody, boxy crossover, unlike the Bronco with real off-road chops to follow. A recent trademark filing from Ford might bring us some answers on the baby SUV, but it also raises some questions. The filings are for the names "Scout" and "Bronco Scout," and it was made on April 15. First spotted by Auto Verdict, the filing states that it's for "Land motor vehicles, namely, passenger automobiles, pick-up trucks, sport utility vehicles ... " and so on.
The first thing our mind goes to upon seeing these trademarks is as a possible name for the "Baby Bronco." Ford still hasn't told us what it's going to call the little 'ute, but Scout seems to be a possibility we should consider now. The "Scout" name has a history separate from Ford, but that history happens to be all about off-roading utility vehicles. It was used to denote the International Harvester Scout starting in 1960. That vehicle was one of the early four-wheel drive utility vehicles that would hatch over the ensuing decades. We'll count that as a strike for and against the name to be used by Ford, since the name makes sense in automotive history, but not Ford history.



Then we imagine there's a distinct possibility that Ford is planning on using the Scout name as a trim level or special edition version of an upcoming "Bronco." If that's the case, then we're still completely in the dark as to what Ford plans to call the little Bronco. In the end, none of this could end up actually being true, because manufacturers file trademarks for stuff that never makes its way into a production vehicle all the time.

We still have awhile to wait to find out what Ford plans on calling this little crossover. For now, we know it's going to be built on the same platform as the 2020 Escape and 2020 Lincoln Corsair. Those bones are Ford's new global architecture, which first underpinned the European Focus for the 2019 model year. It's a modular platform, so Ford will be adapting it for duty on the Baby Bronco. We asked for comment from Ford on the Scout name, and were sent this statement: "Trademark applications are intended to protect new phrases, designs or symbols but aren't necessarily an indication of new business or product plans."