Everyone is curious about the $24,950 Slate truck, a completely outside-the-box electric pickup that champions simplicity, affordability, and customization (the truck can be converted from a truck to two styles of SUVs!). On Monday, I had a chance to talk with Slate’s engineering team and also drive the truck. Here’s what I thought.
Monday was one of the coolest days in my automotive journalism career. I not only got another chance to experience the gradual birth of this startup automaker, but I visited its brand new design headquarters in LA, talked with its nerdiest engineers, and even got behind the wheel of one of the most exciting, hotly-anticipated vehicles in the car-world today.
Here’s my video review:
I’ll get into what it was like driving the charming little EV truck in a moment, but first here’s a look at the new design headquarters building in southwest LA:
The large warehouse-ish section of the building appears to have recently been a Habitat for Humanity Restore (basically a furniture-Goodwill), though the most impressive part of the facility is its entrance, which gives off vibes you might expect from the entrance of the old American Motors facility or perhaps the old Packard plant:
The tunnel between that entrance and the warehouse area is very cool:
Leaving the tunnel I was greeted with a vast open area filled with lots Slate trucks and SUVs, as well as nerdy employees eager to talk about their baby:
It was in this space that Slate had set up a bunch of modules so journalists could learn about the truck’s engineering and especially its modularity/personalization.
Slate Focuses On Smart Compromises, Not On Cutting-Edge Technology
Slate is a very different company than any other I’ve covered since becoming an auto journalist. The entire team does not try to prove that its vehicle is a state-of-the-art piece of engineering. There’s no discussion about fancy megacastings, there’s no talk about how the team has built some kind of complex coolant valve or heat pump to eke out the last bit of vehicle efficiency (the Slate uses a basic PTC resistance heater for cabin eat), there’s no mention of AI or autonomous driving or exotic materials.
This is a small team of fewer than 200 engineers — many hailing from Chrysler, Nissan, Tesla and other OEMs — who together have been tasked with creating a vehicle with these main attributes: safety, durability, reliability, customizability and affordability.
Whereas most automakers want to show journalists how they came up with the most advanced and most efficient solution, Slate freely tells journalists that it considered a manual steering rack, leaf springs, drum brakes, a body-on-frame architecture, and other bits of what one engineer referred to as “yestertech.” (Drum brakes seemed like an ideal option for this truck, but per Slate, the supply base for drums has dried up).
“We did a decision matrix for everything,” Slate told me. The leaf spring idea, for example, didn’t work because, in order to package the battery, Slate would have had too short of a leaf spring pack, causing the suspension to “build rate too quickly” and ride too stiff, one engineer told me. The same engineer said the truck’s crank windows only just made it into the program. “Nobody manufactures [manual window regulators] in the US, but they do in Brazil,” he said. Choosing this over an electric window, he continued, saved the company $40 per vehicle; that’s a fortune in vehicle-development terms.
This is all very unique; an automaker is proudly saying that, unconstrained from legacy vehicle architectures, it looked into ancient technology instead of simply taking at face value that this old tech doesn’t belong anymore. All in the name of affordability.
A Totally Different Battery Pack With Improved Range
Those window cranks may come from Brazil, but the Slate truck is still expected to be built of 60 percent US/Canada content, with 12 percent from Mexico and the rest from other nations. The Slate truck’s battery pack, for example, has a capacity of 65 kWh gross, 63 kWh usable. Assembled in Illinois, the pack’s LFP cells are from Chinese supplier Gotion. This is a significant change from the 52 kWh NMC pack from South Korean manufacturer SK that Slate initially chose, reportedly in part to qualify for the now-dead federal tax credit.
Slate says it stepped the base battery pack up due to overwhelming demand for the upgraded battery. “[Looking at] online reservations, people were opting up,” President of Vehicles Chris Barman told me. The 52 kWh pack that Slate initially showed at its debut last year promised a 150 mile base range, while a 84.3kWh upgrade was to offer 240 miles on a single charge. Now there’s just that single 65 kWh option whose size — along with some aerodynamic and thermal tweaks to the Slate — has brought expected range up to 205 miles.
A Conventional Body With A Weird Suspension
Also on display was the Slate’s Body-In-White. Aside from emphasizing safety (Slate says a 5 STAR NHTSA rating and an IIHS Top Safety Pick were requirements), Slate wasn’t trying to convince anyone that the chassis was anything exotic. It’s all steel, it’s built using conventional methods, and the truth is, even Slate knows it’s not the most efficient design as it’s made up of 250 separate pieces welded together (with some adhesive, as well). “[It takes] a lot of investment to get a casting going,” a Slate engineer told me, saying it was challenging to find a casting company interested in working with a startup. This engineer implied to me that further optimizations could be a possibility in the future.
The stampings making up these 250 components come from multiple suppliers and are not made from any particularly surprising materials. There’s cold rolled steel for the outer parts and the floor; this provides a nice surface finish. There’s a dual phase advanced high strength Steel for the front crash structure. There’s hot stamped boron steel for beefing up the door ring that’s subjected to side crash tests, and the rest of the truck is high strength, low alloy steel, as it’s cheap and easy to stamp, giving flexibility to Slate’s stamping suppliers.
A few little things I noticed on the body: At the very rear of the bed are standoff brackets for mounting the back of the outer bedside panel. Those brackets feature floating cage nuts that allow for quite a bit of adjustment so a line worker can get the panel installed just right: 
Here’s a look at where the battery pack mounts to the body (Slate says it is not structural, though it acts as a shear plane). It’s a wide battery pack, but it is short because it has to mount behind the front subframe and ahead of the rear drive unit, which isn’t far behind the back of the cab:
Speaking of the drive unit, I’m fairly sure the second box from the bottom here is pointing to its front mounting brackets:
The other boxes are pointing to the mounts for the five-link DeDion Tube rear suspension. It’s a great setup for an EV, as our in-house suspension engineer Huibert Mees explained in his article. “A De Dion makes perfect sense for a low-cost truck-like EV,” he mentions in that piece. “It’s relatively cheap, easy to make and due to lower un-sprung mass, will work better than a live axle or e-beam.”
Here’s a peek at the drive unit and its mounts; notice that there is no rear subframe. There’s just the axle and the control arms, while the motor is held there in the center, mounted to the body at the locations shown above. The motor’s halfshafts reach between the control arms to the center of the rear wheel hubs. You’ll also notice an absence of a sway bar; Slate says it didn’t need one due to the combination of a low center of gravity and the DeDion tube’s naturally low roll center:
One question numerous journalists have asked is: Will there be an all-wheel drive option? Slate would not answer, but I slid under the truck to see if I could tell whether the company “package protected” for a front drive unit. And I think the answer is: probably. Check out the shape of the sway bar links:
There appears to be a clear path from the center of the front hubs inboard to the front subframe. Have a look at the open space just inboard of the front hub centers — there’s a nice look at the AC compressor, too: 
I don’t know that I see an obvious place to mount a drive unit, but I’d say an AWD variant seems possible.
Since we’re in the front, I’ll point out the 12-volt battery tray mounted to the front firewall/bulkhead. It looks like swapping the 12-volt battery is going to be an easy job for Slate owners, as there’s a removable cover in the frunk:
Also up front is the MacPherson strut suspension, which we may as well look at:
There are parts of that body-in-white that are obviously designed around the IIHS Small Overlap Rigid Barrier test — things like the front rail and that SORB enabler at the bottom rear of the wheel well:
It’s an 860 pound body-in-white, and its construction is not supposed to blow anyone’s mind. It’s supposed to be simple, affordable and fun. And that last point you can’t really test unless you actually drive the thing. So I did just that.
What’s It Like To Drive The Slate Truck
Slate gave me the chance to drive its truck around the company’s new design headquarters in southwest LA. Though the vehicle I drove was built in Slate’s Warsaw, Indiana factory (annual production capacity: 150,000), it was a Design Validation vehicle built using early tooling. This is worth mentioning because, even before entering the vehicle there were some obvious fitment/trim imperfections (for example, the fasteners holding on the front fenders were loose, one display vehicle had a center console that popped off with little more than a light push, some weather stripping was loose, etc). This is not at all unexpected for a development vehicle, especially one so early that it has cloth covering up the whole dash:
Showing me the loop and introducing me to her team’s pride-and-joy was President of Vehicles, Chris Barman. She encouraged me to hammer down the accelerator pedal and keep up speed through rough patches in the road. So that’s what I did.
After pulling down on the beautifully-executed column shifter that makes the most of the truck’s interior volume by not wasting useful space, I was off, and right away one thing became obvious: An electric car’s power-to-weight ratio just doesn’t mean the same thing as a gas car’s. I say this because my dad used to drive a 2010 Chevrolet Equinox; it weighed just under 4,000 pounds and its 2.4-liter inline-four made 182 horsepower. The base Slate truck weighs 4,048 pounds, and its single rear electric motor produces 181 horsepower. The Slate is not only quicker from 0-60 mph by at least a half a second, but it feels about 5 million times quicker around town, especially between about 30 mph and 60 mph. The Equinox feels like a dog, but the Slate feels legitimately eager to move — maybe not right off the line, as it does take a bit to get going, but certainly once you’ve gotten moving above about 20 MPH. The vehicle’s ~12:1 gearing helps make the most of that motor’s power output in town, which is the environment for which Slate optimized the truck’s performance.
You may wonder why the company didn’t just shove a more powerful electric motor in the truck given that the EV revolution has given the world cheap horsepower (seriously, you can buy a lightly used Tesla with 1000+ horsepower for 50 grand these days). Slate says it just wasn’t worth the expense. A higher power electric motor would take up valuable packaging space and cost more (in part because of the extra copper in the motor, and at a certain power level you’ll add cost beefing up the driveline). Based on my drive around LA, I feel Slate made a smart call, here, though I am curious if I’ll feel the same while hauling the truck’s 1,550 pound max payload or towing at its 2,000 pound limit.
Especially when in a densely populated city, it often takes me a little while to become acquainted with the vehicles I review, as I don’t know how they respond to inputs, I don’t know their dimensions, and I’m not used to their sightlines. I felt at home in the Slate almost right away, and that’s largely because of its compact size (it’s only 6 inches longer than a VW Golf!), its great forward and rearward visibility (though over-shoulder blind spot visibility isn’t amazing due to the thick B-pillar; smart use of the mirror helps here), and its responsiveness. Not to mention the tilting and telescoping steering wheel, the supportive seats, and the roomy cabin (if you’re over 6’2″, it might be worth sitting in the truck and assessing long-distance leg comfort, as there is a wheel hump), which together made the truck quickly feel like an old friend.
Helping aid in that comfort is the truck’s ride and handling. I won’t pretend that I took the thing through tight turns at triple-digit speeds; I’m not trying to get anyone killed, and these are public roads. So while I can only say that the handling seemed totally acceptable for around-town driving, I can say more about the truck’s ride; it seems really solid.
The course I drove the truck on was a true indictment of America’s infrastructure. One road specifically, MLK Jr. St., looked like the aftermath of a severe earthquake, with massive buckles, deep potholes, and cracks everywhere. A white sedan ahead of me had no clue what to do, slowing down and speeding up as it tried avoiding the minefield that was this public road.
The Slate didn’t care. That MacPherson strut front suspension, with its 8.25 inches of travel, and that wacky five-link DeDion tube coil sprung rear axle offering 8.7 inches of wheel travel both handled the course with confidence. The damping felt on point, never soft enough that I worried about bottoming out or feeling like I was in a boat, and never overly stiff to where I worried about my teeth falling out of my skull or about lifting a tire off the ground and potentially losing control. The truck’s standard Kenda tires remained planted on that terrible road, and it was clear to me that the thing is ready to take on all the crumbling asphalt America’s cities can throw at it.
Road noise felt reasonable to me, and I will admit I did break an occasional speed limit to get an idea of how well the truck kept wind noise out. The cab has a very upright profile, and while that helps give the truck its handsome styling, it also risks both efficiency and NVH. The A-pillar red spot on this CFD image illustrates the area I was most concerned about:
During the drive, I did hear some aero noise going about 55 mph. My test was short, and the road was one I hadn’t traveled before, so it’s hard for me to quantify anything, though wind noise does seem like something Slate is working on. After hearing me mention it, Chris Barman chimed in, saying, “You commented earlier on the wind noise. There’s still more refinement that we have to do to make sure that we get the dimensionals tuned in on the roof of the vehicle. So the next one you drive should sound better.”
When I was in the passenger’s seat, I asked about wind noise as well and how Slate balanced the upright profile with NVH. “We know that it is an EV, which means that when [ICE noise] goes away you can hear a lot of other things,” Barman replied. “The team has really been working on a very good balance of a Noise, Vibration and Harshness package…But there will be some noise that the vehicle has. It all comes down to a tradeoff of cost and benefit, and we’re going to work to find what we think is the best balance for our consumer.”
Steering was well assisted, and the 37-foot turning circle is tight. Regenerative braking is strong, slowing my truck down with vigor as soon as my right foot lifted off the accelerator. Strong regen is the only option; Slate does not plan to offer adjustability. I personally am all for it, as one-pedal driving is fun and efficient, though there’s something about Slate’s setup that needed to bake in the oven a bit longer.
When I touched the brake pedal lightly, there were times when the pedal just sucked itself down towards the floor; Slate tells me it’s still working on tuning the regen/friction brake blend, and that consumers should not expect the pedal to move on its own without driver input.
As I pulled the truck back into Slate’s headquarters, I couldn’t help but feel a bit surprised. Especially after seeing the Ford $30,000 EV prototype in the flesh, I had spent a lot of time thinking about the Slate’s vulnerabilities in the marketplace — the fact that it has two doors, the fact that it costs more than significantly better equipped cars, the fact that its range is relatively modest — and I had let this put a damper on a product that, in many ways, I think we should be celebrating.
It’s a simple pickup truck, and it’s reasonably cheap. Is it the cheapest? No. Is it the most practical for families? No. But what the Slate has going for it is this: It is, by far, the most soulful new vehicle an American consumer will be able to buy for $25,000. And it won’t even be close.
It’s All About Customization
I asked Chris Barman what it is about the Slate that she thinks will compel people to buy this truck over a competitor (I was alluding to the new Ford truck), and her response was quick: “I think the customization.”
It became clear during this media event that Slate knows it cannot succeed by simply marketing its vehicle as an inexpensive EV. The Slate has to be a cool car that just so happens to be an affordable electric vehicle. And though some of the truck’s coolness is a product of its size, its quickness, its ride, and of course its chunky, squared-off design, it’s the customization element that has the potential to really allow the Slate to stand out.
Just look at the three vehicles above. There’s a squared off SUV, a fastback SUV, and a truck, all with unique liveries. And yet, all three of those are built on the same Blank Slate. It’s one vehicle that can transform into three different models, and within each model the number of potential customizations is enormous.
For example, let’s talk about the wraps, which start around $500 for a full-body applications (accents can be had at $100, partial wraps start around $300, and custom graphics can reach up to $2000 — Slate says it’s working to ensure than, even if people don’t want to DIY it, they have an option to have a full wrap done for under $1000 all-in), and are expected to last between three and five years. Slate says it plans to offer over 100 wrap colors at launch, as well as the option to provide owners with infinite choices in the form of a custom color of their own:
Slate spent lots of time at this event talking about how it designed the vehicle to be wrapped, pointing to something called the “Coach Line,” which they say was specifically added to the vehicle’s side to split up the large panels so that people wouldn’t have to try to manipulate a large piece of vinyl, and could instead use two that meet at the seam molded into the plastic body panel (I’m not convinced this is the only reason for that seam, since this lines up perfectly with the clamshell hood’s edge). Slate also says it had to develop its own adhesive to make laying the wrap on the plastic body panels easy and durable:
Slate says it is creating something called “Slate University” to help people — via video and paper instructions — with DIY’ing not just wraps, but all of the brand’s over-175 accessories. Among those accessories is the SUV top, in standard and fastback form. Those will cost you $5000, so if you’re among the 60 percent of buyers whom Slate expects to opt for the SUV, you’ll be dropping at least $29,950.
The customization options for the Slate are immense. You can, for example, change your whole dashboard color for around $60. And if you want to change your whole interior color it’s around $500.
The personalization options for the vehicle’ interior include new seat covers (the stock covers are zip-offs):
The center console and door card colors can also be changed out:
And so can the rear side trim panels when in SUV mode:
The image below shows colorful round bezels for the window crank and HVAC dials, plus little trinkets for the dash vents, and what appears to be a door pocket.
In the center you can see radio faceplates in different colors, with a demo radio on the bottom left of the photo — the center speaker is $250, the outer speakers are $150 for the pair. On the right side are door panels and on the far right are center console lids, which are the exact same part as the door armrests — a clever bit of parts-sharing.
The steel wheels can be “wrapped” with nice, colorful vinyl donuts:
There are multiple grille options and turn signal/taillight bezel options:
Slate has even worked with Diode Dynamics to offer multiple turn signal patterns — something that seems fairly complex from a regulatory standpoint, though Slate says they were able to self-certify fairly easily:
On top of all this, Slate plans to open-source a lot of its designs to encourage new ideas from others, who can sell their products on something called the Slate Marketplace.
I Don’t Know If It Will Succeed, But I Do Know It’s Cool
It’s a two-door, regular cab pickup truck with crank windows and no radio. On paper, selling this thing could be challenging, but I don’t want to focus on predictions about the Slate’s marketplace success, I just want to tell you what I think about the truck. It is really cool.
It looks fantastic, it’s small on the outside and roomy enough on the inside. The power is perfect (at least when unladen), the suspension seems comfortable, and the customization options are absurd and fun.
It’s not perfect, and believe me, I have done all the value-comparisons one can imagine. Yes, a Chevy Trax costs about the same and has way more amenities. Entry-level Nissans and Hyundai economy cars are in a similar boat. And as far as EVs go, the Bolt offers a lot for only a few grand more. And maybe Ford will have something competitive for not much more. I can go on and on, but there’s one thing that seems almost certain:
At the end of this year when it hits the market, the Slate will be the most soul you can get in a new car — gas or electric — for $25,000. And that has to count for something.
Put an optional 660cc ICE powerplant in it and this would allow Japanese Kei cars to push their way much further into the American market. This is the way.
Just watched the whole video and I wanted to see how the square back tailgate and glass worked and not in the video. oh well.
I also wanted to see that, but based on the visible hinges at the top of the window and the tailgate being carried over, I’m sure it’s a “lift the rear window and drop the tailgate” situation, which is what I want.
I did not see handles on the video for the glass. I will need to rewatch. It could be drop tailgate and then raise glass.
Ah, good call.
Fair point. We were so focused on the content with the Trucks and hammering that home that there is a bit of oversight on the SUVs. Hopefully, we’ll get our hands on it further along in the development of the car, and we’ll get an answer for you.
This is a great option for people who do not do “truck things” with their trucks.
Second and subsequent owners will (and fleet customers). I can see it replacing all the 30-year-old 2wd Toyota pickups being used for real work around LA…eventually.
I can see these in bare-bones trim working as parts runners/go-fer vehicles for various commercial outfits. Both in super-anonymous un-wrapped form and wrapped with the companies’ latest advertising/marketing designs depending on their needs. Electric power will be fine for short distance, around-town driving. Every time it goes back to the shop to wait for the next run, it can plug in for a bit to alleviate any range anxiety.
Yup these will be perfect for auto parts stores.
I can fully see them ordering them pre-wrapped in company livery.
For some reason O’rielly’s, at least around here just uses plain white trucks with the only markings being the unit number. Some Napas do mark theirs while others don’t.
Autozone doesnt mark any of their vehicles either.
In my (Canadian) neck of the woods they all run liveries. Napa even still has the little hats on a lot of theirs.
Yeah I occasionally see a Napa truck with the Hat.
“Yup these will be perfect for auto parts stores.”
And utility companies.
NAPA around me used Chevy Sparks for the longest time as their parts delivery vehicles.
Same and now they use Bolts. Cheap to buy and run and they have the benefit of a covered cargo area to keep all those shiny cardboard boxes from getting wet when it rains.
It’s also more secure cargo area that it can be locked.
Around PHL area its Autoparts Warehouse and for some reason they use Hyundai Accent or Kia Rio Hatchbacks
The reason is that they were the least expensive vehicles available.
It has a 1500lb payload and a low load floor height.
Other than bed length, this should be very good at doing truck things.
the 2000lb towing is right on the money for most small utility trailers that people tend to buy as well.
I hate the load height on most modern trucks. Pushing a motorcycle up ramps is much easier when it’s a low bed height.
Unloading my 80 gallon compressor from my F150 was a nightmare.
I retrofitted the tailgate with the integrated step, just cause the truck was so damn tall.
We just moved, a short distance, and had multiple offers to borrow large pickup trucks. Instead, we sought out the one friend who has an old 2wd Ranger to help with one trip of large plants, specifically for the lower load height, and ability to maneuver it in a tight driveway. All the large trucks would have failed at the task, but the little old Ranger was perfect for the one trip we needed an open bed, for a couple 10-12 foot tall, heavy plants.
Who are we kidding? Every person with a truck thinks they do “truck things” 24/7 and need an 8′ bed, 4WD, massive tow rating, etc. then just end up driving back and forth to their work parking lot 20 miles away 98% of the year. You should see the local infrastructure company near here, parking lot chock full of full-size and larger pick up trucks that the employees drive there to then get out and get into the company trucks and use those for the day.
Not every person with a truck is like this. Some of us still drive 2WD regular-cab, 5-speed trucks with 6-foot beds.
I’m interested in what the homebrew/aftermarket contingent can do with accessories and customization on this. It seems like I could 3D print new headlight enclosures on my own right off the bat.
As well as the front turn signal and rear light covers, for well below what they are charging. It won’t take long before someone does a basic design for those things and posts it someplace for people to use.
Seems like it wouldn’t be difficult for them to make an ICE powered version later on down the line if they (or someone) wanted to swap it with say a Ford 2.3, a 5-speed and an 8.8 out back, just sayin….
No transmission tunnel.
Well, it’s steel, so cutting the floor and making a tunnel is very doable
True.
It would probably be easier to put in a FWD drivetrain at that point. It has the same front track width as a Prius if you were still worried about efficency.
I like the squareback but I hope the rear seats are easy to remove and all the molle panels still work in the squareback.
Zip-on/off seat covers are a great idea, more manufacturers should borrow this.
I appreciate the simplistic interior, especially the large door pulls that double as armrests, which remind me of the ones on the Maverick in a good way. Reusing lids in multiple areas is also delightfully clever.
Metal handles on the outside are interesting, though I wonder how they handle heat. If they’re anything like the ones on vehicles my parents had when I was a kid they can get too hot to handle (pun intended) in the summer sun.
$25K still seems too dear especially for a bare-bones model from an unproven company. Maybe they should have borrowed from Ford’s playbook with a $20K introductory model and then raise the price as popularity increases.
Would I buy one? Maybe, though for how I’d want it (two-row compact EV SUV) I’d be in similar territory to a newer used Volvo EX40/XC40 Recharge, which is proven, has doors for the rear passengers, independent suspension, disc brakes, and can be serviced at any of the three Volvo dealerships in my area.
All the glorious colors. The test vehicle looks like a piece of Fruit Stripe gum.
Hopefully the intense flavor lasts for more than 2ms.
I see someone else has experienced the fleeting pleasure of Fruit Stripe gum.
There’s a reason they came in that big ass pack.
That’s why you bought some Fun Dip to go along with the Fruit Stripe at Ben Franklin . . . to get that sugar high back.
Or you just skipped the Fun Dip stick and poured the powder straight down your neck with a Giant Pixy Stick. Chasing the dragon back then was fun.
Pixy Sticks – hardcore, man.
Yeah, the little paper ones clogged up when they got wet with your slobber and nobody was gonna look for scissors to cut open the giant plastic ones so you just gnawed off the top like a crackhead beaver. Haha this has gone sideways from the original topic and I am here for it.
Wow this… triggers a whole lot of coked-out (figuratively?) childhood memories for me lol.
Dont forget your candy cigarettes!
Had a pack a day habit one summer when I used all my tickets from an arcade jackpot to buy like, 50 packs lol.
*stares disapprovingly at lunch salad*
Those were the days.
Wax “coke bottles” filled with brown sugar water.
I HATED those but loved Necco wafers so my opinion matters not.
*chews candy off necklace, snaps neck with colored, sticky elastic*
New England Confectionary Company. I drove by the MA factory and/or office from time to time when I lived in Boston many moons. They made awful candy for more than a century.
There was a story about this company in I think the wall street journal years ago. Apparently the rail road track goes right into the factory so they can get their raw sugar delivered in proper volume w/o it getting wet.
Too bad that supply chain quirk didn’t help them make tasty candy.
Oof yeah. Necco wafers are rough. But I also liked the weird hollow styrofoam meets body-of-Christ things with candy bits inside. If anyone remembers those, those may be objectively the worst candy of all time.
Better or worse than the orange “circus peanuts”? Sounds similar. I will eat those occasionally.
Orange circus peanuts are what dense air tastes like.
I will eat a circus peanut when presented with one. But I can’t say I’ve ever enjoyed one?
I have a problem.
Haha, oh shit I loved those.
That’s why I bit off off the top of a Red Vine and filled it with Pixy Stix powder. Sweet AND sour yums.
Holy shit – next level. Props.
You and I . . . we can be friends.
Diabolical. And also brilliant.
The first time I ever experienced giant plastic Pixy Stix was at a circus. Dad had his pocket knife, so getting into it was no big deal, but for some reason I was really self-conscious about tipping that thing back for all the world to see. Dad ended up giving me one of those paper hot dog wrappers so I could pour out the Pixy Stick and lap it up instead.
Fun Dip is using sugar “recreationally.” Moving on to Pixy sticks means you have a problem.
Mmmm, I liked the Fun Dip stick more than the powders.
Like a pale Sweettart.
The wife just gets Big League Chew, and when the flavor starts fading, she just dumps about a spoonful of Nerds in her mouth to give it more flavor.
She’s a keeper
Going on 20 years now. 🙂
I just configured a Slate as I’d want it. Zero upgrades to the interior. Just a fastback SUV, with the non-steelie wheels and fog lamps. Not even a wrap (which they quote at $500 without labor). Over $34k.
I’ll go back and read the article now, but this thing doesn’t have a chance, no matter how fun it is to drive.
I did the square back with a roof rack and trailer hitch and nothing else and $31K oooof.
I was assuming that it would be ~2k for a topper (and I don’t know why the fastback is more expensive… just… why?). This is just crazy.
I feel like they didn’t even do any analysis of the competition. They knew they were differentiating on two things: fewer features and lower price. They nailed the fewer features part, but they totally whiffed on the price.
I could go grab a really nice hybrid Maverick in a awesome blue for 34k today if I wanted. Why would I want a Slate again?
From the jeep world, people seem to really like the fastback look and are willing to give up the space for the look and pay more for it.
Or if you are looking at the square back a Bronco Sport is about the same and you can get a color already on it.
You gotta figure that a major part of getting the base price down was to raise the price of accessories. I didn’t think they’d go that far though. $5k for the topper is a big oof unless maybe the rear seats are included.
The SUV kits include the top, roll bar, seat, and air bags. I was hoping for a bit less but there was no way a bolt in system with an additional set of airbags was going to be the price of a Jeep hard top.
My ideal configuration would be the hatchback without the rear seats, airbags, etc. I want as close to a shooting brake car as I can get. But I don’t see that happening. Also, for me to be really interested, it would have to have 800V charging, AND be comfortable for a 6’3″ person for an extended period of time.
Well Griffin was comfy at 6’2″ so you should be good from a comfort perspective.
Depends on the torso-to-leg ratio, I reckon. 34″ inseam can be somewhat limiting in some vehicles for leg comfort.
I know the video is long, but they do cover this pretty thoroughly 🙂
At work, so I can’t watch video through the firewall, and refuse to watch video on my phone.
That’s fair.
They would probably never offer the top without seats and airbag. The airbags are incorporated into the rear roll hoop which is required equipment to get the top. If they did offer the roll hoop with or without the airbags, inevitably someone will just get seats and install them on a vehicle which has a factory roll hoop with no airbags. That person will also inevitably get in an accident with someone in the back who is injured and their lawyer will claim some kind of manufacturer negligence because they bought this vehicle with no rear side airbags for the rear occupants.
Seconding Max Headbolts’ comment to you earlier: the car was plenty comfy for me, full stop. I also cut a part of the video where Chris said they had two giants on staff, one at 6’4 and another at 7′, and those guys were both adamant that the car is cozy enough for them to get in, and they both seem plenty happy.
I’m pretty sure the fastback is more expensive since it comes with a hatch while the square back version reuses the back of the cab.
My opinion – the Slate was optimised to collect tax incentives and manufacturing credits. A couple years ago every Slate sold in a CARB state would have collected about $25,000 in manufacturer credits.
So they stripped out everything they could and were counting on the $7500 to $10,000 in customer tax credits to get someone to buy such a low spec and stripped down vehicle. Now that they credits are gone for both customer and manufacturer the product plan makes no sense.
And by the time the rug got pulled they were so far along they are just going with it and hoping that in 2 years maybe some of that comes back?
That is my guess. I can’t see a path to profitability for a limited volume and US assembled truck priced at $25,000.
If CARB wins their lawsuit the $20,000 per vehicle manufacturer CARB credit will come back.
That would make this make much more business sense for Slate…
The article states they are hoping full wraps will be ~$1,000 installed. Which, isn’t a bad deal. Especially when companies like Rivian charge $2,000 for any of their color options.
The difference is that the wrap lasts 3-5 years while paint lasts 20+ years.
I wonder how that compares to projected average ownership lengths.
2/3rds of new car buyers keep their vehicle for 5 years or less.
That said – the Slate isn’t targeted at the typical new car buyer.
I figured as much. Even though a wrap and paint ain’t apples to apples comparison, I still don’t think $1k is bad value. Basically unlimited color choices, it protects the stuff underneath, cheaper, but limited lifespan.
Unlimited color choices is a strong incentive for a very small segment of new car buyers.
Maybe there are enough that care about customization to meet Slate’s small market. That said – Scion was also all about customization and they didn’t last even with the deep pockets of the largest and most profitable automaker in world.
That was the one thing I wondered, how is to to actually drive? It’s awesome that it gives off a great first impression. With this news, I’m mildly optimistic that this may succeed. I hope to see many of these on the road.
The linked YouTube video has a brief test drive.
I’m glad they went with a 65kWh battery, but it must be aero that keeps the range so low. My Bolt has 66kWh and can easily do 250 in the city.
But what about battery management? Is the battery air cooled? Is there conditioning to make charging go faster? My kids took my Bolt on an intercity trip with 40F weather and had to CCS for an hour and a half to get back home because the battery was too cold to take a full-speed charge. That would keep me from doing any travel in winter in the Slate.
200 miles sounds like a lot of range until you’re trying to run errands after work in February and have only a hairdryer for cabin heat. Can we get a heat pump in there for better winter performance?
Despite my griping here, I do like the truck and I hope that when I’m in the market again they are still there and have been able to make some small improvements. It does seem like something that will suit me fine in a few years when I retire and don’t need a family vehicle or daily commuter so I’m keeping it in mind.
I’ve gone EV and I don’t want to go back to ICE at all, but when the Bolt needs to be replaced (it’s a 2019, so I’ve got a lot of time yet) I’m concerned there won’t be any affordable EVs on the market. I’m really hoping Slate succeeds and is well established by the time I start shopping again.
Pretty sure Slate said a heat pump was a no-go due to cost.
The optional telemetry module mentions it enables battery preconditioning so it is available, not sure if there is going to be a way to manually enable it. I’ll have to imagine the majority of these will live off level 1 or 2 charging and rarely see a fast charger.
Which is dumb because if you already have to have an electric ac compressor how much different in cost is one that can reverse refrigerant flow for heat as well?
On face value, your point sounds right. But I don’t think the bean counters would lie about it. If it was cheaper, they would have done it.
I also can’t imagine resistive heating is as detrimental to range as something like a full size SUV. This thing is small, even in SUV mode. Not a whole lot of volume to heat.
I do wish they had a larger battery. It just seems like it needs to be in the high 200’s now to be successful. I agree with your comments. Our Bolt EUV drops down to 140ish range in the winter. That starts feeling really restrictive with how slow it charges. The Slate is still charging at a pretty slow 120kw. Still much faster than the Bolt, but that’s still a 30 minute+ charging session to get another 60-90 minutes of driving.
I love the customization options though, and I find that exciting. If they can keep wrap costs under $1000 or DIY, that really opens up options.
Another Bolt owner here. Yes, this Slate is faster charging that an old Bolt but slower than a 2027. I personally just can’t see a place for Slate in a world where the 2027 Bolt exists. Someone just REALLY needs to want a 2 door truck because financially this vehicle doesn’t make sense – especially when looking at the prices for accessories.
Yeah, the resistive heater means I have to decide if I REALLY like this thing, cause it’ll be an in/around town vehicle only.
Thanks David… great to get your perspective first hand!
I really want to love this and I do in so many ways but there are a couple of questions and concerns, and I’m sure I’m not alone.
While people seem to be nostalgic for a simple two door cab, I would really like to see some storage behind the seats. I’ve had two door, extra cab and four door trucks. I think that an extra cab would go a long way. Or at least some storage behind the seats.
Choosing this over an electric window, he continued, saved the company $40 per vehicle. $40? C’mon… really? Do the masses want this?
And in New England, I want at least FWD or AWD. RWD just won’t work.. for me.
I like the sentiment behind this but, in the end, I think that it will be close. And there will be no cigar. I hope that I’m wrong.
PS a wrap that lasts only 3-5 years is fine for a more expensive car but is silly for a cheap vehicle. I also think that they are overestimating the skills of the average DIYer. At least offer it in one painted finish.
The car builder says that the wrap will take two people 12-16 hours to complete, and hint that you really don’t want to do it yourself. That’s after paying $500 for the wrap itself.
So if you want this car in a normal color, even something banal like white or black… it’s already going to be close to 30k without any other options ticked.
I get where their head was at – scrap EVERYTHING that is not essential – but the starting price of 25k does not come close to making up for it. A car this spartan needs to be 20k tops.
I was thinking there wasn’t enough in-cab storage until I saw the size of the frunk. That’s a major advantage this has over old 2-door pickups.
Yeah, I Agree, the biggest flaw I had with my two previous trucks was multiple stop shopping trips, or big grocery runs. The sizeable frunk alleviates those concerns.
Well it is storage but it isn’t in cab, which I would prefer but I do like the frunk.
They are right that a $40 cost savings is HUGE for an automaker but they missed the point with where to cut costs. A huge win is saming cost on something the customer will not see or car about. Saving $40 on a feature that 99% of new car buyers things is an essential feature is just dumb. Same as taking out the radio and then charging $400 for one as an DYI option.
We’ve had 40 years of pushing FWD over RWD for traction in inclement weather. But that’s when the motor (weight) sat over the front axle.
I have to think the better weight distribution of an EV would make RWD far better than we’re mentally positioning it for snow/ice.
It has drum brakes???
that wasn’t clear… did they consider it or actually do this? I may need to re-read
Said they considered it, along with other stuff. I’m curious too.
Not an uncommon choice for EVs since regenerative braking can do a lot of the work. Sucks for those of us that hate changing shoes, though!
At least with an EV the regen does most of your braking. My friend had a second gen Prius that didn’t need its first set of front brake pads until ~145k miles. The rear drums lasted the rest of the life of the car.
Shoes last a lot longer than pads, and I imagine on an EV with regen braking, they’ve got to almost be a “lifetime” item.
No, I don’t take the term “lifetime” seriously.
Pads and drums have been lifetime on my hybrids and EVs. When I sold my 2005 Prius at 185K miles it had more than 50% of friction material remaining front and rear. (Rear had more wear)
That said the drums on the rear of the 2nd gen prius were crap. They would rust up grind for the first couple stops anytime it rained because they went from not getting used at all to coming on at 7 mph when the car transitioned from regen to friction brakes.
Drum brakes would be a good choice. EV regen means you use your brakes far less than a normal car, and rust on disc brakes can be an issue. Drums are cheap and last a long time in EV use.
Thankfully, no.
They considered it but said they couldn’t find reliable supply for drums.
Because nobody uses them anymore, and rightfully so.
Did I get stupidly excited seeing all the colors available? Yes. But please god bring some color back to vehicles.
I believe the colors are wraps, even on the interior plastic parts.
But, yes, yay for colors! Especially fun ones.
You’ll be less excited to hear that the colors are temporary wraps that cost $500 each, and you still need to find and pay a shop to install them.
That change to the battery offering seems like a smart move. I can see them still needed a larger battery down the road, but I think the old 150 mile range was going to be such a low take rate that it would have been nixed within a year.
I feel like this could do well, tariffs aside, in (Southern) Europe and South America as a work truck.
Good point. I think that this has a better use case in other countries than in the US.
As a Spaniard I like the fastback SUV.
But we are not big on BEVs and the truck is just a no go. If they can price it level with a Sandero (~ €15,000) maybe, but still would be hard.
Still $5K too expensive and to have a hard top should not be another $5K. I looks like they are trying to make the money with the accessories.
I blame this site for getting my attention a few months ago, I didn’t even know they existed (well, going to exist). But I’ve been following it since & I’m still very interested in replacing the Crosstrek with this. I don’t even need the extended battery, the regular is plenty for my 26 mile work commute 5 days a week.
Add the back for my dog and carrying costume bins. Maybe do my own Star Wars wrap locally.
You definitely need this. Would look great in Imperial livery.
Get a wrap that looks like the exterior of a battered, war weary X-Wing
Does the $5k SUV roof adder include everything for the rear seats as well? Also, if you option it with the SUV roof at time of purchase, do you still get everything needed to swap back to a truck?
Yes it includes seats, the roll cage and airbags if ordered from the factory that way, unsure but unlikely to include the pickup roof though if not purchased later as DIY though
While I’m a huge fan of using “traditional” solutions, did they say anything about protecting all that steel from corrosion? Or, will these be rusting away in areas outside SoCal, like old Japanese pickups used to? The same goes for the modular body options – will a rear window defroster and wiper be available?
Based on these photos, they’re bigger (on the outside) than I expected. Hopefully, that means the inside will be big enough to fit my corn-fed, beer-drinking, midwestern butt, in the pickup form.
They talked about e-coat; I also have a photo of the truck going through what appears to be a salt/slush-bath. Seems like they’re doing the standard barrage of anti-corrosion testing for a steel vehicle.
Then it def needs a Rusty Jones window sticker…
Most cars are still primarily steel…
. . . and most major manufacturers do multiple things to protect against corrosion that they didn’t do 20 or 30 years ago. I was just asking if Slate was planning to do the same thing? Or, just paint it and call it good, in order to keep prices down?
This is the perfect pickup for about 90% of truck owners. We don’t need massive super heavy duty trucks for getting groceries or runs to the garden center.
Yeah, but never forget the lesson of the Toyota T100. They did huge amounts of research to find out what the typical full size pickup truck driver needed. So at launch, the base engine was a four cylinder, the big engine was a V6, no V8 available, and only a standard cab was available.
And they couldn’t give them away.
But it was what typical full size pickup truck drivers needed.
Wasn’t what they WANTED, though.
Very true. Unfortunately the vast majority of truck buyers think bigger is better…
and they also think more expensive is always better.
But will still complain that the Slate is too expensive even though it’s 15% less expensive then the closest competition.
YES! Also, people blame a gov./bank/college conspiracy for high college costs when it is just people thinking expensive colleges are better so colleges raise prices.
I was on the team designing the Instrument panel for the T100 at VDO, and we were given the impression it was going to be massive seller and would be a very lucrative contract for us. Hah…what a let down that was!
It is WILD the depth of knowledge, experience, and expertise in the comments section on this site.
I’d say the neatest car I designed for was I did the circuit board for the clock on the 928. A very minor part of the car, obviously, as I think the Germans did all the rest, but a car I would very much love to have had.
I’ve spent a fair amount of time in a T100 and your team did a great job.
Folks will buy more capability than they need for a variety of reasons.
…none of them good, IME.
Generally, yes, but at least they’re buying, and buying new a lot of times, which is more than a lot of folks do.
How is the back seat space for the SUV versions? I would love to get the truck version but the family situation dictates 4 seats are a requirement.
The linked video has two adults in the back with good room for both, no elbow touching. Same in the front. But like a coupe the front seat has to move forward to yield backseat access.
I’m a bad member, I never watch the videos.
lol. same.
:(((((((((((((((((
:(((
It starts at 28:00 in the video.
I’d still like to see David do a full “Will it Baby?” once they start handing out press loaners.
Good luck with other brands customizing your vehicle like this. Just the fact that Slate is opening a whole “store” to make your vehicle with actual color, thats a big win. You get bored with a color? Swap the wrap. You want to add ammenities later on? Just do it.
One thing missing on the review, how easy or different cranking windows on a 2027 vehicle work compared to something from the 90s? A lot of turning to open the window or does the window moves fast enough up and down?
My Ranger I have to do a lot of turning but its easy. My old Beetle is a workout.
Re: the window crank: You’ll want to watch the video, as you and I were apparently thinking along the same lines! (I’ll probably write it up in text form this afternoon for those who prefer their pictures without motion).
My son works for the USPS and the manual window regulator on the new postal vehicle is proving to be one of the many weak points on the thing. It has a window in a window (like the Subaru SVX) and they are repeatedly breaking. The carriers roll them down and if they apply any additional force once they bottom out, it jumps the window out of the track.
I can’t use the cheap window regulators on my Beetle, or the knob breaks off with the force it takes to close the windows. It’s a 72 so the knob is rubber. I had to order German made ones and so far no issues. About 18 years ago I took the regulators apart, cleaned and greased them. Maybe it was because I was 15 and didn’t do the best job, but there wasn’t much difference.
David, quick question right off the bat before I read and watch the whole thing.
I’m 6’2″ and not svelte, so in the vein of will it baby, will it large angry mammal?
6’2″ is right on the border for long-distance comfort (for short/medium-distance, no problem at all). I recommend sitting in it. If you were 6’1″, I’d say you’re fine, but 6’2″ is on the edge in my opinion (Slate says they have a 7-footer who fits comfortably, so we all have different takes on this, which is why I say: Test it out and report back please!).
Thanks David. Just having memories of dehydration induced leg cramps in the beater work S-10 while stuck in traffic on the woodrow wilson bridge
It’s all down to proportions.
I’m a little taller, but could fit the S10 acceptably, but the old Ford Ranger ran out of headroom.
Hell, old full size trucks were shitty for people with long legs.
we have a single cab 250 at work to tug the boat around DelMarVa, and I’m fine driving it, and right on the edge as a passenger
The ReStore is more of a Goodwill for building materials than for furniture. You can get some great deals on things like kitchen cabinets and light fixtures.
Maybe it varies by location. One near me seems like 80% furniture. Or maybe it just seems that way because the furniture takes up more floor space.
It does. Been to the few in Norcal and the one in Sacramento has not much but the one in Marysville is practically all furniture. Probably whatever comes in the door I suppose.