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Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

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Re: Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

#421

Post by connicpu »

hypercube33 wrote: post #367
irq-1 wrote: post #347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another: https://www.slate.auto/en/personalization A basic truck that you can customize. > BRING YOUR OWN TECH > Bring the apps you know and love to create the experience you want. Instead of a bulky, distracting, and quickly outdated infotainment system, a Slate can come with something simpler: a smartly designed mount that fits a phone or tablet and a holder for a portable Bluetooth speaker. Heating and air conditi…

No door speakers or mounts for them, like it hasn't been a thing for 70 years irks me to no end

Slate are trying to cut cost everywhere they can to provide the cheapest barebones EV truck possible. My Volvo EX30 also lacks door speakers and while it's not top tier it's fine tbh. Volvo just put a giant speaker bar across the base of the windshield.

Re: Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

#422

Post by sandworm101 »

chabska wrote: post #399
VorpalWay wrote: post #375

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why was the clutch so heavy? Did it serve some purpose or was it just due to the limitations of the technology at the time? I have certainly driven cars with lighter and heavier clutches (I live in EU, automatics weren't popular until recently and are still far from ubiquitous) but I couldn't tell you why every model just doesn't get a light clutch for comfort. A diesel Subaru I drove had a particularly heavy clutch…

To deliver very high torque, the clutch plates needs to be pressed very hard together to generate enough friction. This also means that it take a lot of force to pull them apart, if you use a simple lever, as older machines do. Modern machines may use complex mechanical linkages to make the clutch easy to pull apart but still maintain a firm contact, but that also means higher cost and fragility. Or they use pneumati…

That, and design tolerances. A fancy clutch can be light and strong (think ferarri) but farm machines need to work in the dirt/rust and so need larger tolerances. So heavier springs and bigger .... Bigger everything. A slipping clutch in a Ferrari is annoying. A slipping clutch on a tractor means a missed harvest.

Re: Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

#423

Post by SkyPuncher »

chung8123 wrote: post #278

I bought a chinese mini excavator. It is super simple and I am sure things will break on it (I already had a qc issue with the fuel gauge) but I don't fear things breaking. With the competitors the dealer had to service everything. With the chinese one I text someone on whatsapp, diagnose remotely, and they send me a part. Honestly I like this model more. If you have a lot of money the dealer is great.

Mine comes in tomorrow. When researching, I was amazed at the simplicity of these machines. The engine is essentially available at Harbor Freight, then it’s basically just a hydraulic pump and valves. When things break, I’m sure I can find a replacement part or hack something together.

Re: Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

#424

Post by kokanee »

missedthecue wrote: post #416

I wonder how sustainable the business model is. Eventually, you saturate the market with your tractors, and if they work as advertised, they are owned and maintained for decades. A lot of people are out there farming with 60-80 year old tractors. I would suspect most of the OEM parts that need replacing are where most wear and tear is happening (the engine). Those parts come from Cummins, not this startup. In the mea…

The disincentive to provide a durable product is unfortunate. Ideally businesses pair high-ticket one-time sales with low-cost recurring sales of related products and services.

Re: Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

#425

Post by dghlsakjg »

throwaway27448 wrote: post #306
post-it wrote: post #304

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, free, and created in Canada by developers not burdened by American red tape.

I have a hard time imagining that canada has expertise in tractor software. Let's rein our nationalist tendencies in to something that approaches common sense

Canada has the highest percentage of people with higher education. There's no qualifier for that sentence. Canada is the only country on earth where a majority of people over 25 have tertiary education.

It also has a massive agricultural sector. You know how Canada is known as an oil and gas powerhouse? Agriculture is more than double the size of o+g in Canada.

I think the most well educated country on earth, with a massive, highly automated, agricultural sector might be able to reason about tractor software.

Re: Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

#426

Post by rossjudson »

jmyeet wrote: post #249
Hasz wrote: post #20

I think this is a reaction to the incredibly locked down ecosystem that most of these mfgs are pushing. However, the tech exists for a reason and is not inherently bad, the issue is the lock-in, the lack of choice and interoperability. IMO, there is plenty of space for an OEM who can play nice with others, offer an open (and vibrant ecosystem), and keep users coming back by choice, not by lock-in.

Unfortunately it's doomed as soon as you read "startup". Why? There are two possible outcomes: 1. This fails, goes away and we're back where we started; or 2. They take the bag and sell to John Deere, who then locks down the tractors in the same way to force you to buy support, official parts and so on. And that'll happen. It's a bait-and-switch so somebody can get rich. The only solution to this is collective owners…

third outcome:

3. JD buys them, competition works, others notice they can just "build a tractor that's simple", and suddenly there are more competitors to choose from. JD still can't compete, and can't buy them all...or operate on small margins.

Re: Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

#427

Post by B1FF_PSUVM »

nothinkjustai wrote: post #352
red-iron-pine wrote: post #26

Danielle Smith never met a corporate shill she could say no to I predict 6 months before John Deer gets the Alberta UCP on the line and gets a law passed that bans "unsafe tractors" (or the like)

> Please don't use Hacker News for political or ideological battle. It tramples curiosity.

Foreseeing (plausible) political takedowns is useful.

Re: Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

#428

Post by pcblues »

Hasz wrote: post #20

I think this is a reaction to the incredibly locked down ecosystem that most of these mfgs are pushing. However, the tech exists for a reason and is not inherently bad, the issue is the lock-in, the lack of choice and interoperability. IMO, there is plenty of space for an OEM who can play nice with others, offer an open (and vibrant ecosystem), and keep users coming back by choice, not by lock-in.

Software or hardware, the lock-down for dollars will blow back.

Re: Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

#429

Post by bakies »

insane_dreamer wrote: post #301
numbers wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it seems like Slate might be trying that but there's no real cars from them yet so they're just renders at this point. but yes, same concept but printers is my wish.

Yes but not a pickup please

pickup culture sucking the life out of our car industry. give me real cars

Re: Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

#430

Post by bakies »

flyinghamster wrote: post #210
RajT88 wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if we'll see a repeat of what happened in the 60's and 70's: American car companies didn't want to make small and cheap fuel efficient cars, so an upstart (Japanese automakers) came in with exactly that and stole their lunch money. These days, the big foreign manufacturers are all in the same game as the domestic ones - software nonsense. Tariffs are keeping other foreign competition out at the moment, so it…

Seeing all the gigantic and very-high-priced Pavement Princess Pickups clogging dealer lots, it's plain that the auto industry in general didn't learn a damn thing. It's easy to point fingers in all directions, but it always ends up that we get the worst outcomes.

People are brainwashed into thinking a pickup truck is the only practical car even though it's the opposite. It's not just EPA regulations, it's what people want.
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