$24,950 SLATE Truck / SUV Info & News

[ONEBronco]

It won't make it to market because it will be regulated to death by the big players.

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[Administrator]

Lots of good info revealed during the press event.

Watch: Slate Truck Official Reveal - Press Event Stream

 

[Tricky Mike]

https://www.theautopian.com/heres-the-engineering-behind-jeff-bezos-20k-slate-ev/

I must admit I'm kind of smitten, which is strange new territory for this ICE/manual diehard.

 

[adam1991]

It won't make it to market because it will be regulated to death by the big players.

And even if it does, this whole "$20K truck" thing is just marketing smoke and mirrors to grab attention to convince the investors to continue investing and wait for returns.

In the end, it will be a $45K to $50K piece after you accessorize it the way you want.

Consider the history of things like this (coughTeslacough): what are the odds that at launch, the bare bones model won't be available but instead (a) it will be fully accessorized to jack the price up, and (b) the "gotta have it first and now" crowd will happily overpay for it? (See: 6G Bronco.)

 

[adam1991]

https://www.theautopian.com/heres-the-engineering-behind-jeff-bezos-20k-slate-ev/

I must admit I'm kind of smitten, which is strange new territory for this ICE/manual diehard.

Because conceptually, it's the small basic pickup truck we've all been wanting for 25 years but have been denied for various reasons.

And I agree with you wholeheartedly.

Me, I'd be perfectly happy with a base truck as a 3rd/weekend car in the fleet.

I'm just not convinced this thing as the marketeers describe it today will ever come to fruition.

 

[tock13]

I reserved one for kicks. It would be the absolutely perfect commuter for me. 100 mile round trip would save a ton in gas and looks to be a pretty cool rig. No frills is perfect. I’d only upgrade to the bigger battery.

 

[Brian_B]

The more and more I think about it, the more I think - why wouldn't I just get a Maverick instead? About the same price.

 

[adam1991]

The more and more I think about it, the more I think - why wouldn't I just get a Maverick instead? About the same price.

A buddy of mine was in the market a couple months ago. 20 years ago, he had the Explorer Sport Trac and liked it--so he went back to Ford to look.

His wife is a big Prius fan, so he tried the hybrid Maverick. Right size, right drivetrain. But he HATED the vehicle--said it was cheap and felt and drove like it.

While he was going to look at the Ranger, he found a lightly used Colorado at a dealer near him and went that route.

 

[CobraKaiSG]

once you start optioning it, you'll be able to get many 30-45k vehicles for same or less, like a ranger that you will enjoy much more

 

[Black_Stallion13]

Will end up being over $30k easy after the options everyone will want and then you have a vehicle smaller than a maverick, with poor range, no towing capability (I’m assuming), no AWD. I applaud the idea but it would be silly not to just pay what will likely end up being $5-$7k more for a traditional vehicle. Wish somebody would do this concept with like a 1.5 liter ICE and a stick shift a la Suzuki Jimmy.

 

[Brian_B]

His wife is a big Prius fan, so he tried the hybrid Maverick. Right size, right drivetrain. But he HATED the vehicle--said it was cheap and felt and drove like it.

Well, to be honest, that is entirely the point of the Maverick - and the Slate. To be cheap.

That said, doesn't excuse the fact that it may drive like crap. I've ridden in one for about 10 minutes and at the time it felt pretty cramped, and I already have an older F150, so not exactly in the market for anything anytime soon. But good feedback to hear.

I also had a Sport Trac and loved it.

 

[adam1991]

Well, to be honest, that is entirely the point of the Maverick - and the Slate. To be cheap.

That said, doesn't excuse the fact that it may drive like crap. I've ridden in one for about 10 minutes and at the time it felt pretty cramped, and I already have an older F150, so not exactly in the market for anything anytime soon. But good feedback to hear.

I also had a Sport Trac and loved it.

yep. Believe me, he was trying to save a buck. It's his nature. That he tossed that out the window that quickly, and moved up to the Ranger-level product, speaks volumes to me.

 

[Tricky Mike]

The more and more I think about it, the more I think - why wouldn't I just get a Maverick instead? About the same price.

For me, the Slate wins with a bigger bed, less complexity/maintenance as a pure EV, less tech to age out, and the single cab looks better. I like the idea of the Maverick but the tiny bed and hybrid/CVT are big turnoffs. Going to the EB solves the latter but then the gas savings goes away and it's easy to talk yourself into a bigger truck.

 

[Brian_B]

For me, the Slate wins with a bigger bed, less complexity/maintenance as a pure EV, less tech to age out, and the single cab looks better. I like the idea of the Maverick but the tiny bed and hybrid/CVT are big turnoffs. Going to the EB solves the latter but then the gas savings goes away and it's easy to talk yourself into a bigger truck.

I think more than anything I kinda like the no frills, add what you need and not what you don't approach of Slate.

The range limitations on an EV don't bother me - most of the trips would be down to the hardware store and back, about 40 miles round trip.

But.. electric prices do bother me. I know in my head that it's supposedly cheaper than gas, but I look at my California power prices and my already sky high electric bill and my gut doesn't want to give another dime to those utility companies no matter what... Won't lie, I would be ~sorely~ tempted to throw a cheap Predator portable generator in the back and just let 'er rip to charge the sucker (I know that would cost ~much~ more than grid power, but it's the principle of the thing).

For being a MUCH less complicated drive train - you are absolutely right there. I'm hoping that EVs start to hit commodity level (like they are in China now) and we can really start to see costs come down across the board. The fact that a Maverick XL and Slate are cost competitive (before incentives) I think speaks a lot.

 

[adam1991]

but the tiny bed and hybrid/CVT are big turnoffs.

ah. So you don't know how the Ford hybrid mechanism works. You hear that it doesn't have a transmission with discrete gears, that it varies continously, and you say it's a "CVT"--and by that, you mean a van Doorne belt thing that Nissan infects the world with.

Nothing could be further from the truth. There are many ways to create a transmissions without discrete gears; the van Doorne belt thing is only one. You can't just say "it's a CVT therefore it's junk". No, Ford uses the same hybrid mechanism that Toyota uses. Look it up.

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