The Stout Scarab: The World's First Minivan?

William Stout was an American inventor known for his aviation and automotive designs. Roy Schneider, of Milwaukee, shows off his 1936 Stout Scarab, a model often called the first minivan. Photo: Sara Stathas for The Wall Street Journal
Don’t miss a WSJ video, subscribe here: bit.ly/14Q81Xy
More from the Wall Street Journal:
Visit WSJ.com: www.wsj.com
Visit the WSJ Video Center: wsj.com/video
On Facebook: / videos
On Twitter: / wsj
On Snapchat: on.wsj.com/2ra...

[@nostradamusofgames5508]

man i would love to have this to take friends and family around the town.

[@visionlightlab6094]

That thing is cooler than anything else!

[@i.davidsafian8491]

I was disappointed that most of what he said was not caught on the sound track.

[@daveconleyportfolio5192]

Back when Detroit was great. The Scarab was based out of Henry Ford's own town of Dearborn. An incredibly fertile time, when small-scale design innovation at one end of the spectrum could co-exist with Ford's massive industrial integration. Changed the world.

[@kirillluftreiter]

Old cars have such a great appearance and soul. They are all gorgeous, can't say the same about modern cars.

[@DevilMaskMedia]

I saw a list where this was called one of the ugliest vehicles ever made, but I think it's beautiful.

[@FreedomRdr]

Unusual and distinctive.

[@canerokan]

So cute! And useful! I love it

[@mklik4]

The seats definitely rock and roll..

[@dustintravis8791]

What a thing of beauty.

[@vincentl.9469]

people carrier

[@phillipkozis6823]

What a beauty!!!

[@andysolution62]

absolut stunning....

[@treyusher32]

I wish they kept more of the guy actually talking about the car instead of the music

[@siegfriedstanzel3936]

Thanks for this nice video - this car was decades ahead - many brilliant ideas were constructed by the engeneers.

[@glennhenderson9243]

Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful car. It is simply stunning.

[@HailAnts]

Creator: You really need to fix the audio! It becomes nearly inaudible in the middle.

[@Mayrboomer]

What a cool looking car! Front seats that are free standing? Not too safe in today’s traffic. Thanks for this!

[@buamp8186]

Such a crazy car. Other than the headlights, I think the styling holds up. Electric door openers and toggle ignition? Awesome.

[@Qontrakt]

Tfym the styling holds up it looks like shi

[@rgw5991]

its too futuristic even for today. Its like rock and roll fantasy car. Lovely... but you need to feel like a rockstar to drive one. Society needs more awesome people who feel relaxed about life and that life is there to be enjoyed...

[@peetre]

I agree, the sound sucks on about a third of this... but does the job. Nice clarity and interesting vehicle!

[@johnwilmott4689]

That's a beauty!

[@alanfitzgeraldsr2201]

Too cool, I truly love it 😊

[@zahirmurji]

Why did you mute the owner at times and put your music instead. You should have let him describe the car.

[@markhughes7927]

Beautiful❤

[@steveskniveshikes6909]

only seen this in L.A. noire

[@p.jauregui8006]

LOVE It!

[@uzbek1973]

Wish I have one.

[@erickurtes8924]

Was playing la niore and site seeing love seeing old cars still working

[@rockinroy]

i NEED this car...

[@rabit818]

Interior wood details is plush

[@mikesessums1921]

Best tour of the vehicle I’ve ever seen. It’s beautiful and so Art Deco. Is that a 6 cylinder in the back. Looks like top speed on the gauge is 80? I wish his lavalear mic would have been more consistent, but this is an outstanding video.

[@trentdawg2832]

Looks like a flat head ford v8

[@sean8081a]

Imagine this towing an Airstream.

[@04dram04]

Awesome car, but those loose seats are hilarious

[@boratemizsoy5882]

What did he say at the end? I didn't understand.

[@eddiec1945]

What is the name of the song ?

[@maunster3414]

Beautiful! Party car!

[@leeannkaluakini1890]

Its ugly

[@brutusvonmanhammer]

LA Noire brought me here!

[@benjamin4827]

Will look awesome next to my Futureliner. Any available for sale? I'll arrange shipping to South Africa 🇿🇦

[@RobertJarecki]

I understand that only 9 (excluding 1 concept car) were made and only 5 remain. Keep looking and be ready to pay a hefty price. 💸💸💸💸💸💸💸💸💸💸💸💸💸

[@DavidSmith-sw5kg]

A Wonderful Vehicle! This minivan was not built for soccer mom’s. I see a legit floating gambling casino. Being built back in the thirties? Makes total sense to me. 👌 Only 5 of 9 left in existence makes me sad.

[@troybrown6012]

Nice.

[@dustintravis8791]

Reminds me of a roly-poly!

[@LaithSmadi1]

Can't watch , audio extremely annoying

[@6680thSOG]

2 more things, that logo on the front of the beetle looks eerily like a computer mouse and second of all the speedometer am I going 0 or am I going 60 I just don't know

[@-fnaffonda-1200]

That was so deluxe how to i get this car

[@tirebiter1680]

No. I have actually seen one of these in a museum it has nothing in common with a typical minivan.

[@ACBlackJ0ck]

The Phelpsmobile!

[@brutusvonmanhammer]

NICE!!! I was scrolling the comments to see if there would be an LA Noire reference! What a great game!

[@matthewraquiz6635]

Nice car

[@leeannkaluakini1890]

No ugly car

[@stevengalloway8052]

Too far ahead of its time. 😏😌 Looks really nice...

[@lulaflorentino2741]

Gostei do stout scarab

[@renovationsruth6184]

No mirrors? eek! and the windows are so small...wouldn't want to have to parallel park this big bug!

[@Enzo8mmSA]

Can't decide between this and the Tartan Prancer... 🤔

[@tenorlord]

The elephant in the room about this car is that big engine in the rear and what that does to the weight distribution and steering. This thing is dangerous! It has an enormous oversteer problem, or rather understeer to a certain point and then a radical oversteer that will leave the rear of the car spinning around towards the front!! (Loose seats are certainly a bad idea too!) One more thing: nothing was muted when it played for me.

[@andyh027]

None of the test drives of Scarabs I've seen mention this being a problem.

[@irwinarnstein9384]

DIsagree. You toss out all of suspension tuning and whatever weight is where. Is the engine behind the rear wheels or over them like a newer porsche? Yes loose seats aren't great but it was a different era. It should be compared with vehicles of its time. Now, for modern driving, like many classics, if this wasn't a museum piece you could upgrade to modern springs and brakes. I did that to a 1959 1 ton truck I drove as a work horse for many years carrying up to 3600 lbs of scrap iron in one load. In that truck I put a 'modern' 1969 chevy 292 in line 6, same vintage 4 speed (granny gear) and it the truck was very simple and extremely reliable. Even with 1/4" run out on the fan the water pump did not leak (and I did replace it). The original had 30 years on it. The car is more dangerous for its structure in an accident, but again, this was a different era. Perhaps we should compare it to the tucker which was also rear engine drive and see how Tucker handled the steering issue. I also had kevlar lined drum brakes up front and the truck stopped almost as well as a modern truck with disk brakes. Jay Leno often takes his museum pieces and improves engineering but retains the design and intent.

[@sonotdown998]

This looks like something Dr. Phibes would drive.

[@stevenfisher8638]

Put a microphone on your speaker next time.

[@BRASIMETAL]

The first mini van is the A.L.F.A 40/60 HP.

[@OscarRodriguez-vm5ku]

Wow it is awesome

[@leeannkaluakini1890]

No

[@francoisnatchimie6937]

🥰

[@vincentl.9469]

a V8 is too much engine...Today they call this a people carrier and FIAT used a similar design in their 'Multipla ' model from the 50s

[@6680thSOG]

The guy looks like his car.

[@henrydlg1026]

Qui est ici grâce à Laink et Terracid ?

[@camiloandresclavijo7274]

😮

[@TheresaPowers]

He forgot to mention that the push button on the door is made with mother of pearl.

[@densek510]

no speech sound after first seconds

[@vulpine2592]

You need to switch the headphone plug back and forth every single fucking time when he stops talking :/

[@tonycavez]

I wouldn't call that a minivan

[@johnbiggins4864]

Make it electric .ditch the motor....low profile tyres...new steering geometry....you know modernise it....great shape ,like the fuller dymaxion

[@themagicboy6548]

Too far advanced and too expensive

[@matthewraquiz6635]

Who edit this? It sucks

[@elizabethmones594]

You suck

[@_-_-_-_9407]

@@elizabethmones594 ur mom