That’s the interesting part, they’re buying more than they’ll ever use, but they’re not paying for more than they’ll ever use. The stuff that they’ll “never” use is given to them for free.
All those people who bought an Aveo and didn’t use the back seat could certainly have bought a Smart Car for more money and avoided having those annoying extra seats. It isn’t clear why someone should pay more money to not get extra stuff.
Some people will, that’s true, but if you want a super no frills economy car to be popular, you can’t ask people to pay just as much, or more, than they would for a typical economy car.
That’s my guess as to why it is only two. The people at Slate are certainly aware of the sales records of 2-door versus 4-door SUVs. They probably could not hit their price target while allowing for 4-doors in the SUV format.
Not necessarily true. I use my 2006 Scion xB’s back seat for carrying groceries or other purchases rather than stuffing the bags into the front passenger seat, which makes it easier to unload the car in my under-condo garage, since the door into the basement is on the driver’s side of the car, so I don’t have to sprawl across the front seat to haul out heavy bags; just open the rear driver’s side door. Back seats are useful for more than passengers.
Yes. I have a 2-door with small, but not vestigial, back seats. I could ride in them comfortably enough, but I’m small as American adults go.
My back seats, or their footwells, have stuff in them often. That’s where groceries, leftovers, small purchases, beach bag, etc., go. Sometimes I use the trunk, especially for heavy or more often sharp things that would risk the upholstery if put on a seat. But back seats get a lot of use as carrying areas too.
By coincidence the other day I looked at a different model of car that’s the same basic mission and pizazz, but lacks anything but a small narrow bench behind the front seats. The only humans who would fit there would be toddlers. And not with car safety seats, just strapped in like a package.
The idea popped immediately to mind that that car was too small to be practical for me, a single guy. I mentally listed off dozens of things I’ve carried in my small back seats in the last year-ish that would not come close to fitting in this other [true 2-seater + back shelf] car.
So no, back seats are not useless. Would a plain rectangular carpeted storage area be better? Maybe. Far less versatile though.
Back when I had horses I would put down the back seat backs and would carry six hay bales or ten bags of shavings from the feed store to the barn, or other large bulky stuff. Put the seat backs up and two six-foot persons could sit comfortably in back, with decent leg and elbow room. My Scion xB can carry almost as much as a small pickup but with the passenger option. Heck, it’s where I put the carrier when I take a cat to the vet.
For me, nope. However, we do have a car. I would buy this vehicle because I want a small pickup for hauling, in addition to the car with its fancy 4 seats (again, no camera anything, AM/FM radio, no Bluetooth anything, and I wish it didn’t have power windows).
I’m very interested in a minimal truck/suv. Manual roll up windows? Very yes. No #@!%!~!@# touch screen? I’ve dreamed of such. Only two doors? Absolutely. Hate that every truck on the lot these days is ultra-mega cab with vestigial bed.
But… I “need” 4WD and would really prefer a longer bed (at least 6.5 ft, would prefer 8). Would happily give up the frunk for a ICE range extender.
That last might be doable as advanced DIY mod (on the level with an engine swap), but the details would only be worked out if these become popular. Editing the frame to add a longer bed or adding 4WD is a much harder task.
I suspect that this is going to founder on the problem that everybody has a different “I like this but…” list.
I used to drive a small sedan, and I used to put those sorts of things on the back seat, too, just because it was there. But now I have a sports car with no back seat whatsoever, and I don’t miss having a back seat at all. I just put that stuff on the passenger’s seat, or in the trunk, instead. The lack of a back seat is not an inconvenience for me in any way. Well, the only inconvenience is that when family comes to visit I have to rent a car to drive them around in, but that only happens once every couple of years. And now that I have a new nephew that would be the case with a car like my old one, too. Four adults plus a kid in a car seat wouldn’t fit in a compact sedan, either.
On the matter of back seats, I’m with those who find them very useful. I have a compact 4-door sedan, and while I can’t remember the last time any human sat back there, it’s more or less the permanent storage area for reusable grocery bags. It’s usually where I put them when coming back from grocery shopping, because they’re more secure there than in the trunk, where they’re liable to tip over.
The rear-door access to the back seat is useful because once I pull into the garage, the passenger side doors are inaccessible and it would be a big hassle if I had grocery bags in the front passenger seat.
And I love the fact that the rear seat backs fold down and create a contiguous storage area with the trunk, which in itself is big for a compact car. It’s amazing what you can carry in that combined storage area!
Five adults – or four plus a kid in a car seat – could fit in mine (counting me as the driver), at least theoretically. I just don’t know if there’s a seat belt for the middle section of the rear seats – never needed, never checked. If not, if you had a roof rack you could do a Mitt Romney kinda thing and put the kid on the roof!
Theoretically they could in most compact sedans I’ve experienced; there are three seatbelts back there. But from experience it’s really uncomfortable with three adults back there, and I wouldn’t want to do it for anything beyond the shortest trips. Practically speaking, the back seat in such a car is suitable for three children or two adults IMO.
I love the Slate concept. And put in my $50 to reserve. I will be happy to have a small truck with a single cab option. I do wish for a bench seat and longer bed though. I’ve often wished for an affordable EV version of my old S-10 long bed.
If all someone wants is something small for hauling, the Slate could have competition from the lower end. Granted, the bed is narrow, but it’s 68.5" long, with a capacity of 1,200 lbs.