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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

#521

Post by [deleted] »

floxy wrote: post #340
jandrese wrote: post #293

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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,…

>I don't think they even have a prototype built yet https://insideevs.com/news/757237/slate-ev-spotted-los-angel... https://insideevs.com/news/757649/slate-auto-truck-suv-revea...

[deleted]

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

#522

Post by perihelions »

floxy wrote: post #340
jandrese wrote: post #293

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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,…

>I don't think they even have a prototype built yet https://insideevs.com/news/757237/slate-ev-spotted-los-angel... https://insideevs.com/news/757649/slate-auto-truck-suv-revea...

In rebuttal:

- "This doesn't seem to be a working vehicle. The Autopian's David Tracy climbed underneath and didn't see any powertrain or proper suspension components, indicating this is a non-functional show car."

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

#523

Post by anannymoose »

HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #194
PaulHoule wrote: post #14

I like it. My wife runs a riding academy and we use a Honda Fit the way some people would use a pickup truck: we can fit 10 bales of wood shavings in the back. [1] We’re dreading when it fails because they don’t make the fit anymore and compact hatchbacks seem to be on the way out. Recent experiences have made me a bit of a Buick enthusiast and I can see driving a 2005-ish sedan except that I won’t get those sawdust…

Most small SUVs should be fine though. You switched between wood shavings and hay bales, but I reliably fit 7 hay bales in a 2005 Saturn Vue (wife always managed to get 9 in there), which means that 10 bales of shavings should not be a problem since they're much smaller. TBH, I think a minivan would make it even easier.

I run a Honda Pilot for this reason. With the seats folded I can haul 8’ lumber or 10’ PVC pipe inside the vehicle, no tie down needed. If I need to tow, I have a 5,000LB tow rating so most anything around the property is possible with a good trailer for a couple thousand extra.

I bought reasonably used, spent about 30k instead of 50k+ for a comparable pickup truck which lacks the ability to haul 7-8 passengers when needed.

Also has the benefit of being one of the most “Made in America” vehicles out there, #3 IIRC.

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

#524

Post by 83 »

potato3732842 wrote: post #298
ryandrake wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> - 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…

> You wouldn't complain you can't take a Miata camping, why would you complain you can't take a 2-seat pickup? camping?

Because 2-seat pickups used to function this way. It's okay to pine for functionality that has been lost, particularly when a new product like this comes along and gets your hopes up.

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

#525

Post by guywithahat »

The issue with this is they claim the cost savings came from not having a screen and other silly features, but that’s not where money is spent.

The real cost savings came a tiny, 150 mile battery. It could easily be <100 miles loaded up after a few years of use, which means there are very few use cases for this truck, and it certainly doesn’t make sense without the tax credit. Cool idea, but there’s no getting around the price of batteries

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

#526

Post by mrWiz »

os2warpman wrote: post #227

People say they, and many other Americans, want a cheap and simple truck. They're lying. I know you don't believe me but it's true. Automotive sales numbers are public information. Every single time a VIN is stamped into some metal, that record is public. The gradual decline in the sale of small, simple, cheap trucks is well documented. People want full-sized trucks. People say they love manual transmissions, too. Th…

> if their strategy is to make up the difference on upgrades, they're not selling cheap trucks anymore.

They are very explicit about not offering upgrades, and the benefit that has on simplifying manufacturing.

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

#527

Post by floxy »

mrweasel wrote: post #480
itsoktocry wrote: post #379

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's a cool concept... looks good to my eye, small trucks are neat And it's barely a truck, 1000-lb towing capacity. A VW Golf can tow twice as much.

Makes you wonder if they picked that form factor to appeal to a certain market segment that's current underserved? I love the concept, but at $20.000USD it's to much. My guess is that they'd need to hit 15.000USD for the extend range version. Two minor thing I would chance, as others pointed out: Bench seat, and the second: Just make the holes/mounting options for an after market stereo. Hopefully this is successful…

>at $20.000USD it's to much.

Tell me you haven't purchased a vehicle in the current millennium, without telling me?

>15.000USD for the extend range version

Buy a used one in 2035 with 80k miles?

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

#528

Post by rockostrich »

hansvm wrote: post #325
rockostrich wrote: post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> used, 100k miles or so, if you shop around $2k-$3k should be doable Where are you finding a 100k mile Honda Fit for $3k? Before I bought my current daily driver, Honda Fits were on my list to look out for and in the central NJ area I never saw one in decent condition around that mileage for less than $5k. Even looking now I see people trying to part out theirs for $2k or looking for $4k for a 200k mile one. I messa…

Sorry I wasn't clear. You can get a motor with 100k miles from a totaled car for $3k, including the labor to replace it. To your actual question, I bought mine (2008, manual) in 2018 for $5k with 100k miles in The Bay, and it took about a month of waiting for a good deal to crop up. I've put another 100k on it without issue and plan to drive it a long time. Inflation and the chip shortage have roughly kept up with de…

Damn, that's a great deal. And yea, $5k seems to be about the bottom of the barrel in terms of getting a decent car.

For my "daily" driver (I drive a few times a week and it's rarely more than 20 miles), I ended up buying an imported WRX on an auction site. Cost more than a used Honda Fit but it's a ton of fun to drive.

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

#529

Post by blt »

As a car audio enthusiast, the biggest obstacle to putting a system into a new high-tech car is bypassing the deeply-embedded infotainment system while retaining decent aesthetics and steering wheel controls. The idea of getting an electric drivetrain and new-car safety with a 90's-style blank canvas for audio is amazing.

I hope that the noise isolation and intended speaker mounting locations are good!

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

#530

Post by 83 »

germinalphrase wrote: post #509
itsoktocry wrote: post #363

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You can probably squeeze an extra decade out if you're willing to swap out the motor or transmission In many parts of the country (I'm Canadian, I assume the same for the US) the body and undercarriage are going to rot before the drivetrain goes.

This is the issue with mine here in Minnesota. Rust is the car killer.

If you stay on top of fluid filming or wool waxing you can largely avoid this. I've got 7 winters of WI slush and salt on my truck and just a few nickel sized spots of surface rust on the frame so far.
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