Slate dedicated fan club

Another spin on this truck

The old Privia or the mini truck era is a good examples of what a huge sector of people would buy if allowed here in the U.S.. Cafe and over regulated saftey made sure we wouldn't have the freedom to choose that. Part of that is our fault. Anymore, as a fat lazy society, cant figure out what a third pedal does, dont have the strength or sheer will to manually roll down a window or couldn't even imagine life with no a/c. Big corp wins over idealistic utopia. Its no wonder the average 68 year old has a higher testosterone level than a twenty year old. Oops did I say that? Hell Yeah this little truck would be cool lifted 4wd, 6m, pushing 300hp. With todays clean tech all that could be possible... minus the above.

 

Ford raising Maverick prices pushes people over to the SR Tacoma. Maverick might be slightly more passenger friendly than a double cab, and has more seating than the Xtracab. I doubt if occupancy is major concern for most small pick up buyers.

 

I can see folks using the Slate for all those things, Slate captured the majority of the things and more importantly the things I don't want in a vehicle. The Slate reminds me of the Toyota IMV that's not sold here. I like the design, I'm not to keen on the BEV drivetrain but that really doesn't matter, the lower entry price is the best thing going for the Slate. I don't see a big market for the Slate, but the people building and selling vehicles are a better judge of that than I. Good to potentially see something else in the market.

 

I totally agree that the maverick price jump has really made it difficult to not consider body on frame trucks. When you compare the AWD 4k towing package prices you’re around $29k+. That’s too much IMHO for a basic truck. My basic needs are daily 8mile commute one way and 2,000lb towing every other weekend, seating for 4. Maverick should tick those boxes yet its price jump to awd for better traction at the boat launch is just frustrating. I find myself looking back at all the midsize trucks available for only $3-6,000 more.

I really hope the Slate comes to fruition but with an extended cab or quad cab option and 4k towing for under $30k.

 

reserved mine for $50. (Refundable) why not...looks like it could toss me around town, to the supermoto track/ local offroad park with my KTM, with bike in the back....better than my jeep and trailer, almost bought a Maverick last year....fingers crossed

 

The topper removal and conversion to pickup completely reminds me of the first 2 or 3 years of 4runner.

 

or 1st, 2nd, 3rd gen bronco's, or gm's larger blazer on the square body chassis.

 

new top gear video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCTGX8XkOvQ

of interesting note:

this video is the first mention of federally-mandated 'safety' equipment. that means 8 airbags, and forward collision warning, and auto braking. to keep it in this price range with these features is an absolute feat. the next nearest competition will be the mitsubishi mirage.

they also mention that a power window option will be available as an aftermarket add-on.

and in this video, they specifically call out deliveries being in 1.5 years from now. which is still really funny to me. they're going to entirely retrofit a factory, comply with all federal regulations for a road-going vehicle, and start shipping to customers all within less than 2 years. that will be at least 5-10 years faster than any production vehicle has ever been brought into production ever in the history of vehicles.

not mentioned in this video is that the $20k price tag only happens with the federal $7k tax credit. the tax credit that is currently being threatened to be abolished.



so assuming this hits the market at $27k, my personal upgrade list starts adding up really fast. fast enough i would realistically expect that it'll come in closer to $50-60k, which starts to make this a really tough purchase. first, i would absolutely go with the larger battery (no official price, but i suspect at least $5-10k increase--batteries ain't cheap!). then i'd likely get the fastback kit, and the suspension lift(again, no official price, but i would expect about $2-5k). then of course, i'd need to install an audio system in it, which would be fun because it's starting entirely fresh, unlike most other vehicles.

 

I got to say this before watching the video either everyone will be driving these or nobody will be driving these. I could see the truck become some thing you can rent from maybe a vending machine or how ever you rent e bikes and scooters through an app. Actual to customer sales and pricing, I really don't know since the price will be what determines sales. I like it, I also like the Maverick but mavs gone up in price and there have been complaints over quality.

Edit

These would be good for aftermarket vendor sales.

 

the important part at this moment is that absolutely everything about this is an 'if'.
if they can get production going.
if the tax credit remains.
if the price doesn't change(worth noting, they announced the starting price before the tariff implementation, and america doesn't have the manufacturing capabilities for most electronics that most typical vehicles require, not even accounting for a brand new EV of electronics)
if they can release it in 1.5 years.
if people are interested in customizing their vehicles-- most aren't. scion, mini cooper, kia, and nissan(the Pulsar!) have all tried variants of that idea, and have all failed or gone back to pre-packaged mass-market approaches.


do i want to see them succeed? absolutely. i just have a lot of trouble realistically seeing them hit any of their published targets.

 

If is right. It's probably been mention maybe I read it somewhere the availability of Mr. B's supply chain would certainly help things along there would still need to be a supply of components to chain together.

 

That video was really great. Makes me even more eager to have my own. Wonder if I can get it with a CD player and vent windows....?

One concern that is both a strength and potential weakness: the ease of screwing panels and parts on and off makes customizing easy, but it also might make it easy for someone else with a screwdriver to help themselves to whatever parts they want. I also wonder what kind of dealer support network might exist? Early for these questions maybe.

 

to be fair, most license plates use a very standard and easily accessible phillips or 10mm screw, and the majority of wheels have an extremely standardized lug size.

while plate and wheel thefts exist, they're far from commonplace.

tesla has the framework for that. literally anything tesla has done is what they'll need to do state-by-state to sell.