Since the Governor of Minnesota Tim Walz was brought into the national spotlight as Kamala HarrisVP election, we learned many convincing details about him. But as Vanity FairAs an auto reporter since before the first Obama administration, I noticed a side trait of his: As reported in his local paper, Walz is the proud owner of a 1979 International Harvester Scout—a vintage SUV made by a pioneering Chicago farm equipment manufacturer—that he tinkers with, drives to vintage car shows, and drives around town when he’s not being chauffeured in his official state SUV.

A bit of research revealed that the vintage car is a beautiful shade of turquoise known as “glacier blue,” has a special license plate that reads “ONE MN” — for One Minnesota, Walz’s inclusive campaign slogan — and is frequently used as a photo backdrop/transportation for his dog, also named Scout. According to the Harris campaign, Walz bought the Scout in 2008 from an Army helicopter pilot; the car had previously belonged to her grandfather.

“They are American icons,” the campaign said, which explains Walz’s fascination with the model. “The governor had a friend who owned a black International Harvester, and they were very common in agriculture.” That may be partly because in the late 1970s, when you bought an International Harvester four-wheel drive tractor, you could get a Scout for free as part of a package deal called the “4-Plus-4 Deal.”

A friend of Walz, Waynes, and his son in North Mankato, Minnesota, have done some body work on the Scout to eliminate the rust that the model is prone to. But the governor has also done some work on the truck himself: He replaced the generator and did a lot of detail work on the interior. “He also got the original 8-track player working again and it sounds Robert Seger‘s ‘Night Moves’,” the campaign states. It also states: “He taught his daughter Hope, how to drive the Scout.”

As a fan of classic American SUVs (I’ve owned two 1980s Jeep Grand Wagoneers and a 1972 GMC Suburban), I can attest that the Scout is a good match for the Governor in other ways as well. First, like the Walz, it’s an honest product of the Midwest. And like the Walz, it’s rugged and reliable, but also resourceful. Launched in 1961, it’s a basic SUV with more comfort, cargo space, and road-worthiness than the stripped-down, military-based 4x4s of the era, like the Jeep CJ. International Harvester helped shape this market category—which now accounts for nearly 60% of all new car sales in America—long before Jeep introduced its Wagoneer (1963), Ford its Bronco (1966), or Chevrolet its Blazer (1969).

And although over 500,000 Scouts were produced from 1961 until the model line ended in 1980, IH was a small, independent automaker, so while it never had the popularity or name recognition of some of its aforementioned competitors, that makes it all the cooler.

“Owning and driving a Scout then and now demonstrates a willingness to be unconventional, because it is not your neighbor’s Dodge, Ford or Chevrolet truck,” said John Wiley, Director of valuation analysis at classic car insurance and information company Hagerty. Hagerty says values ​​of scouts like the Governor’s have increased 109% over the past five years, part of a larger trend in interest in classic SUVs.

These vehicles are so sought after that companies like Velocity – a well-known vintage truck restorer – can charge over $300,000 for carefully remodeled classic Scouts. These vehicles are not simply restored. They are what we call “resto-mods,” meaning they are reconditioned with all new underpinnings and sheet metal, period-appropriate paint and rust protection, upgraded modern engines and transmissions, and the technology to go with them. So they are as reliable as a new car, but in vintage style.