How else am I going to keep up with Coast to Coast AM?
Stranger
My EV is a little larger than I would like, but it was the one that fit my needs best, with adequate range. It cost about as much as a Tesla Y, but I chose it based on how the inside was, which is much more appealing to me than just about everything else (outside it is not quite ugly, but that is not the part I look at while driving). I wish it was not so much a computer with wheels, but I wanted the brand new car experience this once.
My daughter had a 2013 Scion iQ until last week when the entire passenger side was wiped out by a pickup at an intersection. A car that fit her needs perfectly. It was bare bones, but it still had and AC and a sound system. She probably would have been okay with her phone as a sound system, and it looks like the Slate at least comes with AC.
OTOH when the Scion was pronounced DOA she bought a RAV4 and loves what it brings like sensors, lane warnings, and comfortable seats, so I think she’s past the Slate stage in her life.
My 1985 Chevrolet Cavalier. I deleted the standard radio (a $155 credit) took delivery of the car with a plastic cover in the dashboard and went to an audio store and had a super-deluxe radio installed for $200.
I have to be serious about the size, having a larger vehicle is just too limiting in this city. This is 1" longer and 2" wider (apparently) than my Subaru Impreza hatchback. Hard to beat for the space inside (as an SUV) for carrying stuff. Plus there’s even room under the hood (the “frunk”) for more stuff.
The manufacturer’s site showed an interior shot, and it sure didn’t look like there was anyplace for the backup camera display, unless it was in the rearview mirror. Which would probably be fine. But wow, that un-upgraded interior is dead plain.
Eh…not so sure. There is a reason the Volkswagen Beetle took off. It was freaking cheap (original didn’t even have a gas gauge). Not to mention all the little, cheap Japanese cars that flooded into the US in the 70s.
New car costs are crazy expensive these days. I think there would be a lot of people that would snap-up a $20,000 car. Use your phone to play music. Or better yet, if the car had slots to add your own stereo.
150 mile range is kinda shit though. These things never get their max advertised range and batteries get worse over time. Kinda weird it is a pickup truck and not a small sedan (how much weight can it carry as a pickup and what does that do to the range?). Commuter for sure. Not suitable for any long haul.
I think that may actually be a smart choice, to fill a niche. It would be, if I’m not mistaken, the only small EV Pickup (or SUV) on the market in this country. For my needs, it wouldn’t need to carry much weight, just tools and stuff, and I wouldn’t expect to use it for trips (although I would probably get the upgraded battery). I think there might be a lot of people who would find something like that useful.
That TELO MT1 will sell for about $35,000, so, significantly more than the Slate EV Truck.
Wiki links
I don’t get why any new manufacturer starts with anything but a SUV platform in the US. Tesla’s first car should have been the Y, given the demand for SUVs. I’d avoid the truck sector as a first car because despite no one doing anything that couldn’t be done by a Smart ForTwo 99% of the time, the market insists a truck be able to tow a small continent across frozen tundra at a minimum.
Well, they might be closer once the Slate is kitted out with the same level of amenities.
Two factors would influence my personal choice, before cost: interior space, and the Slate’s ability to have SUV configuration. But that’s just me. I don’t know how the market will react. I am glad, however, to see there is some competition in this niche.
Of course neither the Slate nor the Telo truck has been produced yet, so no guarantee that either will be at the promised price. Or that the companies will survive. I think it would be easier for an established company like, say, Nissan to use the Leaf platform to create an electric Frontier pickup.
The success of the Ford Maverick suggests there is a demand for small trucks. That is no guarantee Slate can stay in business selling small trucks, because historically low priced vehicles have also been low margin vehicles.
150 miles isn’t all that far. Hell, it’s not uncommon for me to do that much in a weekend day. Though as a non-first car for a family it could work.
I read that there are optional bluetooth speakers, with the thought that users would use their phone’s as the source. Just remember, streaming doesn’t work so well where one doesn’t have cell service.
I have a feeling that this vehicle is going to be like trying to buy a ticket on one of those budget airlines. You want to fly from Point A to Point B? That’ll be only $43. Oh you want to carry on something as small as a laptop bag…or sit…or breathe (you don’t think pressurization comes for free, do ya?) - that’ll be $4257.86, which is way more than the legacy carriers who charge you for all of the basics in the cost of your ticket.
Those extras may very well take you up the $5-10 thou making it in line with the cost of other vehicles…that already come with those amenities/colors.
Remember folks, wraps are not nearly as good as paint. They don’t last as long/fade out after 3-5 years & they’re only look as good as the installer’s competency. Want to keep this car & want it to look good in a couple of years? There’s a maint cost that you won’t have on the competition vehicle that costs a bit more upfront.
Nissan already has another EV in their lineup, and it is very close to being as useful as a small pickup. But, it is relatively expensive compare to Slate or Telo, and its load rating is under half a ton net (after two American-type passengers, that leaves about a full beer cooler, a barbecue grill and a couple of steaks).
Christ, you do realize, I hope, that you are an outlier? The number I have seen is that the average daily drive is around thirty miles or so. So this vehicle would not work for you. It would still work for many other people.
Every time we discuss this, there is always someone who describes why it would not work for them.
You can get a new Maverick for $24k, that’s with 4 doors, room for 5, equal payload, power windows, A/C, and stereo standard.
I’m all for new low cost designs, focusing on utility, but it needs to actually be low cost / high utility, not $3k more and with fewer amenities. Like when the Smart cars came out, I thought, it’s a tiny 2 seater and more expensive than multiple sedans that seat 5.
This truck would fill 90% of my needs, but the 10%- the 400+ mile trip up and back from Durango- is a show-stopper.
Unless it supports ultra-fast charging, and there’s one in Kayenta.
It wouldn’t be my only vehicle and these days I put about 2000 miles a year on a car, rarely even 50 miles a day. I’m retired so no commuting distances and I could drive the perimeter of my teeny tiny state on one charge.
The question is how many people have low usage requirements that I do.
Here is a page listing the average daily mileage depending on the total number of vehicles in the household.
In a one-vehicle household the average daily mileage is about 50 miles, according to the 2022 National Household Travel Survey. In a two-vehicle household, the first vehicle averages nearly 60 miles in a day; in a six-vehicle household, the first vehicle averages over 70 miles per day. Daily miles for the second vehicle in each of these categories is less than 60% that of the first vehicle.
I loved their marketing where, before they had the big announcement, they just parked a Slate on a street in California. Then parked another one (different wrap, different street)… to see if anyone noticed.
The colors/wraps/type were pranks. One truck had baby seats installed on the roof, and was for a company that’d pick up your crying baby and drive it around until it fell asleep.
