Is it? I have not really noticed a drop in range from using A/C. Nearly all EVs available in the US today have a heat pump, which has an A/C loop and a reverse-A/C loop (for heating). When it gets really cold, the heat pump is far, far better than resistive heating, but it takes about the same power load as A/C. Which does not seem to be that much (and it is not drawing power off the motor the way ICE air conditioning does).
The Bronco has fender flares that are removable with no tools.
I haven’t heard any reports of them being stolen.
It is pretty minor. Checking a recent trip when the outside temperature was over 100F, round trip it was 58 miles of driving which used 65 miles of rated range. So about a 10% range loss over the manufacturer rating, due to all factors (AC, speed, etc.).
So yeah, running the AC at full blast uses energy, but compared to actually pushing the car down the road, not that much. Running the AC at less than full blast ends up just being a rounding error.
I am not sure about other cars, but it looks like my car’s ARGG (Approximate Range Guess Gauge) bases its number not on what the manufacturer claims but on a rolling average of efficiency.
Different cars are different. On Teslas the always displayed range gauge is either a percent of charge, or a mileage number based on the rated range and percent of charge remaining. For example, a battery with a rated 300 mile range can display either “50%” or “150 miles”. The energy app in the car provides a more accurate estimate based on all the various things that influence range.
I was checking things using the Teslafi website, which logs data from my car, so I can view past trips and see how much energy they used and other various statistics, like average inside and outside temperature, average speed, top speed, etc.
That particular trip was worth checking because for some reason (I don’t recall why) I opened the energy app 18 miles into the return trip, and it showed that 2 miles of rated range had been consumed for passenger comfort (or however it describes cabin heating and cooling).
For my car, rated range is based on 260Wh/mile of consumption (or 3.85 mi/kWh). So the AC had used about 0.52 kWh so far in that trip (did I math that right?)
Same with my 2024 Kia Soul.
Well, I know my car calculates range because I have seen it change variably.
Although I canceled my $50 “reservation fee” and got my money back, I am still getting a lot of emails from Slate, urging me to reserve now (which means paying $300 nonrefundable and committing to buy at least the bare bones “Blank Slate”). If I do, delivery will be 3rd quarter 2027. I don’t know how absolute that commitment is, and I don’t know if I would have any recourse if they missed that date (September 30, 2027). That seems a long time to wait.
I get the sense, from comments on Facebook posts, that a lot of people are, like me, holding off on any commitment until they can see and drive a production model of the truck. (Slate keeps saying these opportunities to see and drive are “coming soon” but with no date commitment.) If that is true, i.e. if they are not turning as many reservations into commitments as they hoped or expected, I hope they are pushing every effort to make those test-drive events happen as soon and as widely as possible. Whether I buy one or not, I want this to succeed, because I think the concept makes a lot of sense, and is a refreshing change from the bloated floating living rooms that seem to dominate the market in this country.
An innovative project that makes me smile. The idea is a lot of fun. It would make a fine car to tinker with. I could imagine getting a fancy design for the skin that I would never get for a more expensive car. (Is zebra available?)
If enough of these things are sold, it is easy to imagine a whole industry of stuff to add to the base model. At the moment it does not seem possible to add a key fob that opens the doors when I approach. Probably some other stuff is not available at the moment.
At this price point, the Slate truck is competing with used cars. I recently bought a couple of years old Forester for the same price as the Slate. I think I got more for my money that I would have had I bought the Slate.
That, IMO is the real problem with any purpose-designed low cost vehicle.
Modern cars last a long time. But most of them depreciate at a pace that makes more sense for a much shorter-lived asset. Because the main things new cars have going for them is the shiny newness bragging rights. With the consequence that for many models, you can buy a nearly new car for half the original sticker price. But it still has all the frills of the full sticker price.
Full frills, half price is a tough market for any manufacturer to compete in. But especially a new one who’s burning capital like mad to get up and running.
And you have access to all the info and stats about reliability, common problems, etc. e.g. If you want to know how good a 2023 Bulgemobile 500 is, just ask Google. If you want to know how reliable a 2027 Bulgemobile will be, that’s guesswork, but there’s lots of similar historical data to anchor your guesses. A 2027 e.g. Slate? No friggin’ clue. Period. It’s a black hole of ignorance.
The recent history with other startup makes is not great. They all seem to suffer from significant software problems, plus one or two niggling hardware / mechanical problems that defy a solid fix.
Also technical innovations, at least the ones that are desirable and not pointless bloat. Which is more a factor for people like me, who keep cars for 10+ years, rather than for someone who trades in every couple of years.
Less software in the Slate, a lot less apparently. No driver assist, for one thing. No touch screens. Etc.
There still needs to be a fair bit of software just for battery management, in any electric vehicle. Dunno how reliable that can be expected to be, though.
I don’t know either. It wouldn’t need to be new technology, though, surely, and therefore the risk of failure is correspondingly smaller.
I hope they succeed, too, as the “blank slate” idea is a great concept. But @LSLGuy makes a great point about competition in the used market. For example, as many have said earlier, you can get a used Ford Maverick pickup (non-EV) for less that has far more features and capabilities, and if you load up the Slate with significant options, a new-ish gently used Ford Maverick could be much less.
I wish them the best but it’s a really tough market. Those who are invested in it run a big risk. They may be wildly successful but at this point it’s a long shot.
I’m not sure I’m hoping for wildly successful, but anyway successful enough to keep at it for a few years minimum. I mean, at my age I’m not sure how many more years I’ll be driving.
I noticed in their FB posts that they say they are building relationships with auto mechanics in lieu of dealership shops, although no details on that yet.
I would expect hope that the decision makers behind Slate would have enough sense to adapt or build upon existing technology for core functions like battery management. And shy away from “Wouldn’t it be cool to embed unlocking the glove box in a touchscreen menu?” as *cough* some EV manufacturers *cough* seem to be doing.
But, as you say, that’s not an EV. If someone is just starting from “I want a pickup truck”, then the Slate probably isn’t the best choice for them. But some folks specifically want an EV. And I don’t think there are a bunch of cheap used EVs on the market yet. Maybe there will be, but right now, they haven’t been around long enough for that yet.
Yeah, and cheap used EV pickups are even thinner on the ground than other cheap EVs. I’m more on the market for a inexpensive EV pickup than I am for any other vehicle. Even though I generally like all of my cars as basic as I can get them, that is particularly important to me in a truck with the proliferation of everything trending to a cowboy Cadillac. Everything that isn’t associated with it moving things elsewhere is just weight and things to break, this seems particularly important when it comes to a truck. My first truck didn’t even have a hole for a radio, and you could clean its interior out with a garden hose. The Slate seems to be the closest thing to that coming down the pike.
All of that said, I still wouldn’t buy one without the ability to test drive it. If I could and it fit the bill, I’d probably get whatever one I could get cheapest with a covered bed, hopefully with no windows for my load to smash when it shifts. Pickups are great. Covered pickups/vans/sedan deliveries are even better.
Ford’s competitor to the Slate will be the Fathom, which is set to be priced at $28,350. Pre-orders in “early 2027” with delivery eventually.
If that’s really a disguised picture of it down in the article, I’d say it’s very serious competition for Slate – for about $9K more you get an extended-cab electric pickup that’s backed up by the Ford dealer network. $9K isn’t chump change, but Ford seems to be offering a much better value proposition.