Arnie Saviano had a dream: a simple and rugged vehicle for hunters, sportsmen, and developing countries. Here’s the story of the Saviano Scat.

A.P. “Arnie” Saviano (1921-2013) was a classic Motor City kind of guy: a self-made man with big ideas.  While he was learning drafting and engineering at night school, he worked the day shift at Progressive Welding, the forerunner of Creative Industries, the famed Detroit dream car builder, and other area shops. In 1953, he founded his own successful company, Saviano Industries of Warren, Michigan. An avid outdoorsman, Saviano envisioned a simple, compact car ideal for hunters, farmers, and basic transportation in developing parts of the world. He called his vehicle the Saviano Scat–an acronym of Saviano Cargo and Touring.

With his wealth of experience in production and prototyping for the Detroit automakers, Saviano kept the Scat design strong, simple, and inexpensive. The chassis was formed in rugged rectangular steel tubing with beam axles and leaf springs front and rear, while the body shell was heavy 16-gauge steel with simplified pressings. Wheelbase was 80 inches, while curb weight was under 1,700 lbs.

Mounted up front, a Kohler K662 industrial engine (above) drove the rear wheels through a Borg-Warner three-speed conventional transmission. With a displacement of 67.2 cubic inches, the L-head opposed twin produced 26 hp and was good for 50 mph and 25-30 mpg, according to the company. The Scat received a number of friendly writeups, including in the July 1960 issue of Popular Science and the Chicago Tribune. 

The utilitarian cabin (below) featured a plain dash with minimal instrumentation, a fold-down rear seat, and flat rear cargo area. The steel doors and top assembly were quickly detachable for fair-weather use. The projected list price was to be around $1,300, while options included a propane fuel system for indoor industrial use.

Saviano Vehicles, Inc. made plans to manufacture the vehicle in British Honduras (now Belize). From there it was to be shipped to developing countries around the world as a knock-down kit in a wooden shipping crate that could also serve as a garage. When the Central America plans fell though, the project was sold to the Tuff Kote Co., which also failed to bring it to production. In his later years, Saviano devoted his time to family, the outdoors, and to improving his adopted retirement home, the city of Harbor Springs, Michigan. What became of the several Scat prototypes is unknown.