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Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

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Re: Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

#301

Post by greedo »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #153

I wish the design was more function over form. Why is the grill so large? A lower front end would improve efficiency (and thus probably give another 10-20 miles of range), improve visibility, and kill fewer pedestrians. I know why, the market is nostalgia and it wouldn't sell well if it looked more like a mini kenworth which has a hood that slopes down and in and less like a pickup truck. That low range is going to t…

A lower hood would shrink the size of the frunk. Also, this isn't a tall vehicle by any means.

Re: Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

#302

Post by vablings »

bluGill wrote: post #297
vablings wrote: post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is just fundamentally not true, literally every single home in the USA is capable of level 2 charging, the question is just do they have a 240v outlet somewhere nearby to a garage or parking spot. Using apps like ABRP you can easily schedule your drip to have the optimal stops for route planning based on your battery technology, if you are doing a drive long enough to have multiple stops that should be part of y…

> every single home in the USA is capable of level 2 charging Agreed > the question is just do they have a 240v outlet somewhere nearby to a garage or parking spot. They almost never do. This is the key thing you are not understanding about my reply. We can get level 2 anywhere, but most of the time it means you have to have an electrician. > Using apps like ABRP That is my objection. When I drive a gas car don't nee…

> They almost never do. This is the key thing you are not understanding about my reply. We can get level 2 anywhere, but most of the time it means you have to have an electrician.

In my personal experience most, homes have a dryer outlet in the washroom connected to the garage at least in TX. It's no bother running a cable from the washroom to the garage.

> That is my objection. When I drive a gas car don't need an app

Any time I am making a long drive I always use a GPS app such as Waze or Apple Maps, I don't know what's on the road ahead traffic, accidents and closures the app will re-route me appropriately and optimally. If you made a drive so regularly you felt like you didn't need an app then you would already know on that route where charging stations are.

I do agree they are less common than gas stations because of a few reasons but that's set to change with time and market adoption.

Re: Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

#303

Post by coldpie »

tristor wrote: post #282
coldpie wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good criticism. It looks like the car's EV tech is average at best; definitely not outstanding. That's probably why they don't advertise it strongly, and also probably a big factor in why it's so cheap. They list some details on the Specs page[1]. They quote 200 miles of range, which is not great especially for a small car. They list a 20-80 charge time of 30 minutes so it's probably a 400V architecture, which is bec…

I pretty much concur with your take. I'm interested in this because I sometimes need a truck, but I don't want to spend a lot of money on an oversized gigantic vehicle I don't really need to have a truck the sometimes I need it. For me, that is mostly to go to the home store and back w/ materials, which is something I expect to do more regularly near the tail end of this summer onward as I ramp up my carpentry hobby.…

FWIW I just rent a truck from the home center when I need to do that two or three times a year. Small hassle but a lot easier than owning a whole vehicle.

Re: Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

#305

Post by zamadatix »

MisterTea wrote: post #289
zamadatix wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love that there are physical buttons for all of the car functions (fuck trying to adjust the temperature/audio/car settings on a touchscreen while driving) but I do feel like having an optional component for a large 1st party screen which sits in the dash with Android Auto/Apple CarPlay would be nice instead of only having the phone mount option.

I have a 2022 CR-V and thankfully has knobs for the volume, and temperature controls with a few buttons. The touch screen actually crashed on me the other day while driving. I had to pull over to turn the car off and wait for the power module to kill the power to the screen as it didn't shut off (WTF happened to off being off!) I HATE these things with a passion.

I suppose the alternative would be not having a screen to pull over and bother trying to restart. Either way, having it as a modular option wouldn't force anyone to get it the same as the options for speakers or paint don't force those choices either.

Re: Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

#306

Post by neogodless »

vablings wrote: post #149
kllrnohj wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe all of these previews are using pre-production units. Production units should be better built with better tolerances since it becomes all factory done, but that's definitely something you'd have to wait and see when it actually begins shipping. That said, given the price point and the new-ness of the manufacturer, there's all but certainly going to be fit & finish issues.

Tesla normalized bad panel gaps in production EVs. I don't really think they matter that much as say suspension creaks, performance and reliability and general useability

... in Teslas. Not in "production EVs."

Re: Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

#307

Post by greedo »

bluGill wrote: post #241
alistairSH wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll be amazed if Tesla meets their sub-$30k target for the cab. But stranger things have happened. And the Slate should have better utility, for anybody who needs a truck/SUV vs coupe. And also comes without the Musk stigma.

The Slate only tows 2000lbs, and has a tiny bed. If you need a truck it isn't for you. Maybe it works as a SUV. Of course most people only need a coupe to begin with. Too bad you can't buy any that are cheap. (that and you mostly only need a coupe, but at least once a week need something more)

I bought a house recently, and need something to haul landscape stuff around. Slate is perfect for that. I also need something to haul wood around for woodworking etc. Slate is perfect. If I need to help my kids move out of their apartment or move some furniture, this is perfect. Can't do any of that with my coupe.

Re: Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

#308

Post by baby_souffle »

aidenn0 wrote: post #275
baby_souffle wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lots of people only have street parking or their apartment complex has detached parking where they can't realistically charge overnight. But otherwise... Yeah, That's absolutely amazing to wake up every morning to a full tank/charge

My mom has an EV, and when my parents bought their condo they got a promise in writing that they could install a charger at their parking spot. Condo board reneged on that agreement and so she's selling her EV to buy a hybrid. If gas prices return to pre-Iran-war it will be cheaper than paying to use an L3 charger, and even if they don't it will be far more convenient.

Sorry to hear that the HOA is earning their reputation :(.

> If gas prices return to pre-Iran-war it will be cheaper than paying to use an L3 charger, and even if they don't it will be far more convenient.

Yeah, that's Toyota's main argument for not diving head-first into EVs. Yes, merging the two technologies means you have the complexity of both... but after a decade+ of experience, they've gotten it down to be pretty reliable.

For a lot of people, that's still the best choice assuming you don't mind the budget for wear-items / oil changes ... etc. When my current econobox is _done_, I will probably go straight to EV just so I don't have wear-items to deal with and because I either drive a few hundred miles per week or fly. I don't need to account for family road trips or anything else that make the ubiquitous fuel station network worth it.

Re: Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

#309

Post by alamortsubite »

ellyagg wrote: post #41
freedomben wrote: post #31

The color options are a much bigger deal than I think many people realize. It's been too many years since I saw the studies so I have no hope of being able to cite it, but in a marketing class in college I remember reading about how much people value picking a color they really like, that they feel matches their personality. It increases satisfaction, significantly reduces the cognitive dissonance (aka "buyers remors…

I noticed recently it’s cool to match the color of your vehicle to your house

Or clothes, if you really want to do it right, like Madeline Khan's character in High Anxiety.

Re: Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

#310

Post by vel0city »

dismalaf wrote: post #296
vel0city wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've gone on lots of 1,000mi+ road trips. I guess I need to focus on buying cars with 1,000+mi range.

And I'm guessing you bought a vehicle with enough space for all the things you'll take on that road trip right? Odds are you didn't buy a Prius and rent an SUV for your road trip... Range doesn't matter for ICE vehicles because of the speed of refueling and ubiquity of gas stations. And you know this.

I've never owned a Prius, but I've known several Prius owners. Several of them have gone on some quite long road trips, several >1,000mi. I don't get why an SUV is required to go on a road trip for a couple of adults. People often fly for travel, do you really take significantly more stuff in the car than you do when you fly? Do you normally need a thousand pounds of clothes to go away for a week or two?

I've gone on several 1,200mi each way road trips in cars like a Honda Accord and a Ford Focus hatch. A couple of those in that Focus hatch even carried four adults in the car. I just put a little luggage rack on the back.

It's not like you need a giant SUV to drive a few hundred miles. I can assure you smaller cars can make that drive as well!

Range doesn't really matter past a certain point for a ton of people. Few vehicles even go on massive road trips these days. Traveling with my little kids these days, we end up stopping just about as much in our ICE as we do on in our EV on road trips.

As I've mentioned here many times, the amount of time I spend "charging" my ICE dwarfs the amount of time I spend charging my EV, and my EV gets significantly more miles. Even with road trips factored in.

More proof people massively overestimate their vehicle needs. Thinking you need an SUV to go on a road trip, that a Prius just can't possibly be enough.

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