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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

#291

Post by hbsbsbsndk »

rockostrich wrote: post #232
nrmitchi wrote: post #230

I see this and I don't see it as an every day, driving-on-my-commute style vehicle. As someone who (previously) drove a 2014 honda civic, cheaper cars leave a lot of comfort for longer drives. I can't imagine this barebones vehicle being fun to drive for any extended period of time, or any extended distance, unless you'd spent considerable time customizing it to those needs (at which point, you've probably spent more…

> I do see this being great for short utility trips (think running errands, picking something up, etc), and as a utility vehicle (would be nice to be able to have an 8ft bed). Japan and the rest of the world figured this out decades ago. They're called kei trucks. You can buy pre-2000 imported ones in the US from like $5-15k depending on the miles/condition/year/transmission. I have a 1990 Suzuki Carry that is solely…

Aren't there issues with states randomly revoking registration for imported kei vehicles because of emissions/safety/whatever?

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

#292

Post by ethbr1 »

kyledrake wrote: post #210
rozap wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also love this design and I'm happy that someone is doing it. I think it's unlike anything else on the market. But, they won't necessarily be competing against other new things on the market. My wife also rides horses and we got a $5000 20 year old F250 which is very basic but has been bulletproof, and it can tow. I imagine old, basic trucks, either cheap domestic ones or kei trucks will be what this thing competes…

All micro cargo van providers have stopped building them. The Transit Connect, Metris, Promaster City and NV200 are all now discontinued. The VW Caddy isn't sent to the states. There are rumors that they will make a cargo van based on the Maverick but they make them in Mexico, and with the tariff situation I'm not sure if they will be going through with that anymore. All of the perfect compacts and hatchbacks are slo…

To give credit where credit is due, the ~$25k Ford Maverick was a decent step towards "enough" vehicle for many people, while minimizing cost.

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a64351746/2025-ford-mav...

And definitely went the other way from the industry.

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

#293

Post by jandrese »

flustercan wrote: post #89

Its a cool car, but forgive me for not getting Lucy-Footballed again by an electric car startup claiming to be able to "change the game" while never actually getting any cars sold.

Yeah, the completely unrealistic timeline, price point, and the fact that the company is only now looking to hire engineers sets off my "fun looking product that will never be available for sale" alarms. I don't think they even have a prototype built yet, everything you see is just a render. They have not even started planning how to start building the factory.

The price point is assuming the R&D is already paid off, the factory is built, the supply lines are optimized, and they're building a million of these things every year. History has shown that you can't start off with a cheap mass produced car as your only product because mass production requires way too much startup capital. The success stories started with hand built extremely expensive cars that were used to pay down R&D costs and keep the company afloat while they built the factory for the mass production model.

About the only way I see this happening is if Bezos goes all in and dumps an outrageous amount of money into getting the production line running knowing that he won't see a return for at least a decade or more, and I don't think he's quite that generous. Also this assumes that cheap lightweight powerful batteries become widely available in the next couple of years.

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

#294

Post by 0xffff2 »

goodness wrote: post #275
JackC wrote: post #225

> It only seats two yet has a bed big enough to hold a sheet of plywood. Not really the point of the article, but, does it? This[0] says the bed is 60 inches long and 43 wide, and plywood is 96x48 inches. Is it like, any vehicle fits plywood if you cut it to the size of the truck or stack it on top? [0] https://www.thedrive.com/news/the-slate-truck-is-two-feet-sh...

That appears to be the bed width between the wheel wells. I assume it would fit width wise on top of the wheels, which is still in the bed. As to the length, not even most full size trucks are long enough to fit the whole sheet. I guess the main point is that you wouldn't have any trouble getting the sheet of plywood home.

8 foot beds do exist. They're very rare nowadays with nearly every truck being a super-extra-mega cab 4 door.

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

#295

Post by babyent »

taylodl wrote: post #43

I LOVE it! THIS is the kind of truck I'd be looking at to replace my 1998 Ford Ranger. Here is what could be potential deal-breakers: - Lack of a mobile app. Minimalist design is great, but I still want an app to manage charging and be alerted to any vehicle issues. - Lack of good charge management and battery conditioning. Either that, or a cheap and easy to replace battery pack. I'd really like both! - Comparable h…

They could offer an API kit or sdk so people could make open source apps for it.

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

#296

Post by Suppafly »

hedora wrote: post #208
Suppafly wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's meaningless to compare a small city truck to something like a full-sized truck, they are totally different classes of vehicle. I get that ford doesn't make a small electric vehicle, but that doesn't make the lightning the "closest offering".

Is there another EV offering that's closer and available in the US?

>Is there another EV offering that's closer and available in the US?

No, that's the point, it's filling a niche that basically nothing else does right now. The closest alternative would be a small electric car paired with a small utility trailer. Something like a Nissan Leaf and one of those $500 trailers from harbor freight. Which added up and with discounts probably costs fairly similar to this.

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

#297

Post by the__alchemist »

pnw wrote: post #268
the__alchemist wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't want or need analog: Just don't enshittify the digital! CAN bus is a great system; don't IoT it or use dark patterns.

I doubt CAN bus will be around that much longer, I know several EV manufacturers are actively phasing it out. Yes, it was revolutionary in it's time but it's a 40 year old standard that doesn't have enough bandwidth for the requirements of modern cars, and it was designed before security was even a thought. It's also unnecessarily complex wiring that adds weight to the car. Even the updated FD standard is only 8 mbps…

It's a tool that's more than sufficient for most things. Video isn't one of those, and it's a 2-wire bus, so I don't see what the wiring concern is!

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

#298

Post by potato3732842 »

ryandrake wrote: post #96
taylodl wrote: post #43

I LOVE it! THIS is the kind of truck I'd be looking at to replace my 1998 Ford Ranger. Here is what could be potential deal-breakers: - Lack of a mobile app. Minimalist design is great, but I still want an app to manage charging and be alerted to any vehicle issues. - Lack of good charge management and battery conditioning. Either that, or a cheap and easy to replace battery pack. I'd really like both! - Comparable h…

> - Lack of a mobile app. Minimalist design is great, but I still want an app to manage charging and be alerted to any vehicle issues. Noooooooooo! No apps, please ! Finally a car not tethered to and dependent on your phone, and we already have our first request to app-ify it! EDIT: Ughhh, according to the video that another user posted, it looks like there's an app, and yes, "updates" go through it :( > - Lack of go…

> - Bucket seats. I need a bench seat so I can take my wife and dog. Think weekend glamping trips. Picture 8 shows a bucket seat. It doesn't look like that would work.

Take her car on those trips then. You wouldn't complain you can't take a Miata camping, why would you complain you can't take a 2-seat pickup? camping? The product isn't trying to do everything. It's trying to be the minimum viable truck and be good at it. And just like the purpose built roadster you give up unrelated stuff, like family hauling.

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

#299

Post by tw04 »

ryandrake wrote: post #96
taylodl wrote: post #43

I LOVE it! THIS is the kind of truck I'd be looking at to replace my 1998 Ford Ranger. Here is what could be potential deal-breakers: - Lack of a mobile app. Minimalist design is great, but I still want an app to manage charging and be alerted to any vehicle issues. - Lack of good charge management and battery conditioning. Either that, or a cheap and easy to replace battery pack. I'd really like both! - Comparable h…

> - Lack of a mobile app. Minimalist design is great, but I still want an app to manage charging and be alerted to any vehicle issues. Noooooooooo! No apps, please ! Finally a car not tethered to and dependent on your phone, and we already have our first request to app-ify it! EDIT: Ughhh, according to the video that another user posted, it looks like there's an app, and yes, "updates" go through it :( > - Lack of go…

>Noooooooooo! No apps, please! Finally a car not tethered to and dependent on your phone, and we already have our first request to app-ify it!

What car is tied to your phone? A mustang mach-e, for instance, does not require your phone at all. It has a FOB for opening the doors and starting it, you can program the charging times from the in-car screen.

The app is optional, exactly as it should be. This car DESPERATELY is going to need an app when it comes to charging whether you know it or not. With no in-car screen you'll have absolutely no way to control charging which WILL come back to bite you.

>Yes to a simple battery system!

"simple" in this case will add cost. Nearly every EV has the battery as a part of the structural frame of the vehicle for a reason (there are some niche exceptions in China). Nothing is impossible, but I don't see them making the battery easily swappable, while also being structurally sound, and keeping the low price point.

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

#300

Post by jandrese »

goodness wrote: post #275
JackC wrote: post #225

> It only seats two yet has a bed big enough to hold a sheet of plywood. Not really the point of the article, but, does it? This[0] says the bed is 60 inches long and 43 wide, and plywood is 96x48 inches. Is it like, any vehicle fits plywood if you cut it to the size of the truck or stack it on top? [0] https://www.thedrive.com/news/the-slate-truck-is-two-feet-sh...

That appears to be the bed width between the wheel wells. I assume it would fit width wise on top of the wheels, which is still in the bed. As to the length, not even most full size trucks are long enough to fit the whole sheet. I guess the main point is that you wouldn't have any trouble getting the sheet of plywood home.

In my old Ranger there were a couple of spots in the bed where you could put a couple of 2x8 beams across it and have a place to stack 4x8 sheets. You did have to lower the tailgate, but they didn't stick out past the end of the lowered tailgate so there was no special requirements (flags etc...) for hauling them. It was very convenient. I would hope this truck has a similar feature, since it's almost free to add and increases the utility greatly.
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