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A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

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Re: A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

#181

Post by danans »

robertlagrant wrote: post #155
danans wrote: post #90

From the related Ars article[1]: > Rather than relying on a built-in infotainment system, you'll use your phone plugged into a USB outlet or a dedicated tablet inside the cabin for your entertainment and navigation needs. How is a "dedicated tablet" different than an infotainment system, other than not having vehicle telematics and controls? Also, a regular tablet UX would be dangerous while driving, and typically th…

> Also, a regular tablet UX would be dangerous while driving A passenger could operate it.

A passenger can do that today with just a tablet in their lap. Why attach it to the dashboard?

Re: A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

#182

Post by snowwrestler »

modeless wrote: post #55
Invictus0 wrote: post #31

If Slate succeeds, it would be the total inversion of Tesla's original masterplan strategy of starting with a supercar and then slowly working their way down the value chain. And what's really astonishing is that, not only is this the cheapest electric car in the country, it's one of the cheapest new cars in the country, period. https://www.cars.com/articles/here-are-the-10-cheapest-new-c...

It's a very different market today than when Tesla started. Tesla's strategy of starting at the high end was necessary to build electric cars from scratch. New competitors can start with existing supply chains and a base of engineering expertise. I do think Tesla has lost sight of their original plan, though. They should have kept going through one more generation of significant cost reduction/increased volume after…

I think Tesla looked at what is selling in the U.S. market and pivoted to the Cybertruck. Small, cheap sedans and wagons just don’t sell that well at retail anymore—in part because people don’t like them, in part because of safety concerns, and in part because there is a huge backlog of cheap used vehicles.

Re: A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

#183

Post by hedora »

patagonia wrote: post #164
cityofdelusion wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't really compete in a any real sense when the labor price differential is so massive and the companies and supply chains are directly subsidized. The price does not reflect the product, but all its inputs.

I never said that I’d expect that a US automaker would “win”. I want the best car at the cheapest price to be made available. And for that to be done within a level playing field with regards to safety / workforce / environmental / labor regulations. My expectation is that US automakers do not win, even with subsidies. But I do think keeping an industrial base in the US would be worth that compromise.

Historically, tariffs guarantee the local market will not win.

Tariffs (the "chicken tax") are directly responsible for US trucks being so expensive. They have no foreign competition in the US.

Environmental regulation loopholes cause US trucks to be so big, which is a related problem.

It's probably possible for US manufacturing to compete directly with foreign manufacturers, but they have no incentive to do so now that Trump extended the chicken-tax to all imported cars.

Re: A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

#184

Post by gotoeleven »

ryandrake wrote: post #72
seanalltogether wrote: post #24

Hand crank windows is a weird choice, are the locks manual as well?

This is a plus, in my book. The fewer crappy electrical gizmos the better. I had the same question, hope the locks are manual with no keyless entry or hackable key fob.

Why the downvotes on this comment? If you're not sufficiently curmudgeonly to sympathize with this sentiment, there's lots of other cars for you. I'm sure you can find a subaru outback with a built in purple hair dyer or whatever you want.

Re: A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

#185

Post by dublinben »

ryandrake wrote: post #38
dogline wrote: post #11

It's a $20k, street-legal, EV modding platform. Sounds like you can mount your own infotainment system. Just an electric motor, battery, and chassis, and the rest is up to you. Isn't this what we've been asking for?

Yea, it's pretty exciting. I'd like to see how much more they could strip out to reduce the price and still have a viable commercial product. I guess I'm living firmly in the past, but $20K still seems to be a high price for a car. Then again, I haven't bought a car new since the 90s, so I'm probably just an old fart who hasn't grokked what things cost today. I still remember the day when the base-model Corolla start…

The average price of new cars sold in the US last year was nearly $50k. The manufacturers make more money from expensive cars than cheap cars, and people keep buying them, so that's what they sell. Before they canceled the Fit, Honda was selling almost 10 times as many of the larger CR-V each year.

You can find numerous new cars for sale in Mexico for under $15k USD.[0] Even Europe has several new cars under €20k.[1] These are the same manufacturers we have here, but lower cost models that are only sold in lower-income countries.

[0] https://compra.autofact.com.mx/blog/comprar-carro/mercado/au...

[1] https://techzle.com/the-cheapest-new-cars-of-2024

Re: A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

#186

Post by mcoliver »

This is amazing. More car manufacturers should get out of the infotainment business. tablet tethered to a cellphone for reception, and a connection to OBD2 for car data is all you need and allows for easy upgrades/replacements when things fail.

I do think they should keep in mind that people will want to do this and at least design the dash to easily accept a tablet mount (vesa standard), amp mount (plug and play Pyle 120v?), speaker wire, and speakers (6x9 or 6.5”). That’s an easy hour install if everything is standardized, accessible, and doesn’t require drilling.

Would also love seating for 5.

Re: A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

#187

Post by cmrdporcupine »

tayo42 wrote: post #95
ramesh31 wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>"If this can’t compete head to head (no tariffs or other import restrictions) with BYD and the like, then I don’t know why one would get excited." Would you prefer our roads flooded with cheap Chinese EVs that are the automotive equivalent of Shein hauls? Protectionism has its place in certain areas, and I would say building a thriving domestic EV industry that isn't beholden to a single weirdo is one of them.

Do Chinese Evs break down a lot or aren't repairable?

I drive a Polestar 2, which is a Chinese manufactured EV, and it's better quality than most North American vehicles.

The Munroe Live episode on it should disavow people of these biases. He ends it with a strong warning about people's weird biases about Chinese manufacturing.

Re: A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

#188

Post by vid »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #94
ty6853 wrote: post #35

I love it. However I wonder about the overlap between people that need a truck and this particular truck. I have only owned trucks when I needed to go out in the middle of bumfuck nowhere with a payload, in places with poor access to electricity. If I need to go in bumfuck nowhere without payload then there is no need for the truck, and if I need a payload in the city it's just way way cheaper to have it delivered wh…

In my experience "bumfuck nowhere" has better access to electricity than the city. Every farmer has a welder plugged into a handy accessible high amperage socket.

My experience of rural areas is that few are actual farmers. After all, farming has largely consolidated and become automated. Most country people just don't want a city lifestyle. They might have some of the accoutrements of a farmer and have added lifestyle (enjoyable/fulfilling) overhead and significant attitude (independence & sometimes xenophobia) for themselves, but it's a lifestyle choice. Therefore most don't have a welder (though they probably know someone who has one).

Re: A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

#189

Post by JKCalhoun »

Rover222 wrote: post #169

150 miles of range is pretty terrible, especially when it's winter and you have a load in the back. Suddenly that's 70 miles of range. I get that it's a bargain price, so that's the tradeoff. But a pretty bad one.

I expect an extra battery option will be a thing.

Re: A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

#190

Post by disgruntled1901 »

soared wrote: post #153

Does this strategy even make sense? You can charge $20k for a car. Why wouldn’t you add options that cost you nearly nothing but some amount of buyers will opt in for a meaningful revenue increase. Charge $1k for paint. Even if 95% of people don’t do that, 5% of orders just increased their revenue by 5%. Paint doesn’t take engineering time.. just spend $500 and let some other company do it. This is why trims exist, h…

> Paint doesn’t take engineering time.. just spend $500 and let some other company do it.

Are you sure you read the article? The is explicitly addressed.

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