If you’re not excited about Ford’s upcoming Universal EV platform — which Ford developed secretly at its west coast Skunkworks with the goal of offering a competitive sub-$30,000 compact pickup truck among other frugal EV options — you should be. I just got an exclusive up-close look at the little electric pickup dressed in camo at a Long Beach park — it is way smaller than you think. And that’s awesome!
Rejoice, world! For far too long, we have had to deal with the scourge of ever-growing pickup trucks. Every time a new generation of a truck comes out, we learn that it’s longer, wider, and taller.
The old Ford Ranger, for example, looks like it had a few too many cheeseburgers between the early 2000s and now:
I’m pumped. Not only is Ford finally bringing back a tiny pickup truck — one seemingly even smaller than the Maverick, which itself is larger than the old Ranger — but the brand is going to offer it in EV form at a relatively reasonable price point. I’m amped, and ever since touring The Blue Oval’s skunkworks facility, I have been excited to learn more about what the thing will look like.
Well, The Autopian now has the best idea of any publication on the internet thanks to these spy shots that Autopian video manager Griffin and I took. Let’s first start with this horrible photo I took of the an old Ford Ranger tailing Ford’s prototype (OK, technically it’s the Mazda version of the Ranger, but you get the idea). It’s not that easy to tell the scale, but look at the Mazda and look at the F-150 ahead, and it’ll be clear that the new Ford EV is tiny:
Now let’s get to the nice shots; let’s first check out the side profile without getting too distracted with camouflage that looks like wrapping paper for a baby gift (seriously, I see soccer balls, teddy bears, sailboats, hearts, painters trays, bicycles, hearts… my 14-month baby would love this); Ford has some fabric covers obscuring the shape of the vehicle’s nose and its cab, but the rear does look nice and squared off. I’m standing on a 6″ curb there, to give you a sense of scale:
The windshield looks quite raked, the ground clearance looks modest, and the wheels look fairly small for a modern EV. The second row looks fairly large (at the expense of bed length — if I had to guess, that’s a 4-ft bed), and the wheels appear to have aero-caps. This is definitely a street-focused truck meant to optimize range. I just hope it doesn’t look too soft at the nose like the first-gen Honda Ridgeline.
Look at the size of the two adults in the front of the truck in the image above; that should give you an idea of just how small this thing is.
It’s really hard to distinguish the shapes on the truck’s body due to that camo; turns out, my son’s wrapping paper is absolute gas as car-camo. There appears to be some kind of something jutting out from the bedsides.
Speaking of the bed, that’s how it looks inside. It’s modestly-sized, but can probably easily fit a Ford 289 V8 longblock.
While the taillights are just little rectangular cutouts in the “wrapping paper,” I can see a bit of the headlight lenses through the camo, though in truth, I can’t really learn anything of value through that netting. I can tell you that appears to be a small grille opening built into the bumper, and is that a radar sensor in the center of the grille? There appears to be a piece of tape over the center of it, so maybe not. Above that center…thing… is what appears to be a front camera. Man Ford did a great job on this camo; I’m grasping at straws here.
The big thing is scale. America appears to be about to get its first-ever small, affordable, practical electric pickup truck, and I’m far, far, far too excited.
I just like small pickups, is all. I drive a Jeep Comanche around LA, and I regularly think to myself: This is perfect. An electric small pickup truck, especially a four-door? It could be the ultimate daily driver.
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Check out the video I shot above to see a bit more of Ford’s Universal EV Platform EV pickup truck.
Someone on the discord mentioned it, but I feel like the cover on the back of the cab means there’s something significant under there, probably a midgate. That would certainly help with the small bed problem.
If only Ford would make a two door anymore. I am not pumped for this, it looks like a sedan with the back cut off.. Ford does small cars well historically, but I know it will be a bloated, heavy, over complicated thing. That’s apparently what people love these days though.
Unfortunately the truth is 2 doors don’t sell anywhere near what 4 doors sell, even for trucks. The majority of trucks never get used for truck things even.
For a modern mini truck, you can’t build it cheap enough to be profitable as a 2dr. Vehicle purchases are largely irrationally aspirational, even though people are buying capability they never use.
You aren’t wrong. I just hate the reality of it.
Same. That’s why they’ll have to make my GMT400 illegal to drive before I’ll get rid of it. With engine swaps and aftermarket parts, it’ll become a ship of Theseus before I willingly take it off the road.
Reality Bites
Since small 2 door pickups don’t exist any more, anyone that made one would have that entire market to themselves. Kind of like how the few remaining minivans on the market sell just fine because they each get a third of the market.
That still requires that small portion of the market to be big enough to be worth it.
For your example, 395k minivans were sold last year between Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, and Kia.
If the small truck market is over 300k, hell yeah it’s a great idea. My suspicion is despite dozens of us here at the Autopian wanting a cheap, small SCLB pickup, the vast majority of buyers prefer or don’t care enough about a 2dr to pick it over a 4door.
The take rate on regular cab pickup trucks was 3%, according to Ram.
I know this is fun and all for the US based Autopians but it might be really helpful to compare this Ford thing physically to something similar that already exists like the KGM Musso EV.
Whilst the Musso EV is clearly compromised in quite a few ways based on Australian media reviews, it strikes me as being in much the same wheelhouse as this…
Not sure how that could happen, as we don’t have any KGM anything here to physically compare? I’ve never even heard of one until you mentioned it, they aren’t ignoring it; just ignorant regarding (I’m assuming) Chinese EVs.
Really disgusting hearing that Ford doesn’t think you should be able to repair your own car though. You guys going to cover that?
“They don’t want people to fix their car,” Trump said. “They want a bill that prohibits people from fixing”
Why buy a Ford with this attitude.
Cause Jim F is super cool bro! Did you know he has race cars! Dave will write 10 articles all about it again soon.
An OEM’s reputation for quality is worth more than the sales lost to home wrenchers.
Look at Ford’s wet cam belt disaster. We’ll never know how much that was down to a fundamental design flaw because it’s entirely masked by all the people who topped up the oil with the wrong spec.
It’s not the people who didn’t read the handbook who’ve had their reputation destroyed, it’s the company that let you have access to the filler cap.
That said: wet belts always seemed like a dumb idea, and everyone knows that no one reads the manual.
In summary: there is a happy compromise somewhere between making washer fluid refills dealer only and letting Jason chainsaw up an 800 volt battery pack.
The wet belt/wrong oil issue also extends to everyone who just went to Joe’s corner quick oil change shop, Merle’s backyard mechanic, or anywhere other than the dealer for new (probably synthetic) dino juice. Even to most mechanics, oil has 2 qualities: Full synthetic or not, and what viscosity.
As for right to repair, the unfortunate truth is even auto engineers don’t do their own repairs anymore. People who fix things themselves are a dying breed across the board.
The first time I designed a turbo installation for an OEM I was also converting my MX5 to turbo power in an old farm shed. Both projects benefitted from the other.
I’m in a minority though.
Absolutely, and I’d argue gearheads are the last line of defense preventing cars from going full pants on head. Then again I think many people would be perfectly satisfied with self driving pods, if it allowed them to play with their phone the entire time.
I don’t think I’d trust Trump to be a reliable witness to the meeting. While I’m sure the manufacturers discussed repairability, dear leader has built a career out of always having the worst and most infuriating take.
Why are you taking the president at his word?
Because he is probably right just this time. Only because they wouldn’t have done a meeting if they were OK with the right to repair bill.
And they’ll probably make a million-dollar donation to his ballroom fund or some other BS and he’ll rubber stamp whatever they put in front of him.
It’s a bill in congress, only thing he can do is Veto it or not.
I’m surprised David didn’t jump in the bed. It would be so nice if they realized that not everyone wants a four door.
The only thing tiny about it is the length of the bed. Would if kill manufacturers to NOT make all the things Krew Kabs? Or to shorten the nose so to lengthen the bed?
If you want a truck that will be used to carry more that a weeks worth of groceries by the first owner, Ford does make the F-250.
Sure but then you have to live with it.
Maverick has a short bed and it does just fine. There’s also crash regulations to consider. Trailers, Ned extenders, and ladder racks make up for a lot.
“Maverick has a short bed and it does just fine.”
Sure for a single bag of mulch. How about a king sized mattress? Or multiple 4’*8′ sheets of plywood?
“There’s also crash regulations to consider.”
Vans and minivans have to provide those same crash protections with short hoods and they do just fine.
“Ned extenders, and ladder racks make up for a lot.”
This is true but those also work on the aforementioned vans and minivans. The primary difference between an van and a truck is the open bed so since its clear that’s what those buyers want why not give them as.much of it as possible instead of this vestigial rump? It reminds me a bit of the bussleback Cadillacs of the late 70’s. Yeech.
Who tf is putting a king size mattress in a truck bed? I can get like 15 sheets of 4’x8′ plywood in my Maverick. This past week I got 1 10ft 4×4, 2 10ft 2x4s, 5 8ft 4x4s, 16 8ft 2x4s, 75 6′ fence pickets, and five 40lb bags of gravel in the bed np, although I did use a Harbor Freight bed extender so the 10′ lumber wasn’t freely hanging out the back.
This new EV bed does look too small, though. Anything smaller than the Maverick bed would be a deal breaker for me.
I’ve hauled oversized stuff in my Maverick as well.
Like 2, 6×8 prefab fence panels:
https://imgur.com/a/IdiIRUD
And a 6+ foot tall cabinet:
https://imgur.com/JwFWk7l
But I agree; if the bed was any smaller, it probably would not be very practical.
Now imagine how much more you could haul in a minivan.
“Who tf is putting a king size mattress in a truck bed?”
Guilty.
Sure, and I personally think a lot of folks who use trucks would be better served by vans. But paying more to carry around a bed full of air is The American Way ™️ gosh darn it.
Should say Bed extenders, not ned
Man, Slate is gonna have to up their game if we’re getting an electric Maverick that’s Slate sized. Ford will actually sell me one of these.
Not if Ford dealerships have anything to say about it
Sad but true – Their dealers are the reason I won’t even test drive a Ford. Or a Chevy. Heck, even the local Toyota dealer seems to be transitioning to the stereotypical US dealer experience.
Some are better than others…
If you’re willing to travel, some dealers play straight. Granger Ford in IA sells/sold new Mavericks at 3% below invoice all day long. Custom order just what you want. Put down a $500 non-refundable deposit (reasonable, to avoid non-serious buyers), and wait for it to come in.
No pressure to add crap. I think Long McArthur Ford also has pretty solid pricing. Both of these dealers hype up their internet sales, so to maintain a good reputation, they don’t do any typical dealer BS.
I was more referring to the fact that many US dealerships will stop at nothing to steer a customer away from buying an EV.
Yep. Dealers hate EVs since there’s little maintenance that they can overcharge the owners for.
Good thing Galpin has a Ford dealership and I live on the West Coast
Super interesting seeing the side and perspective. Looks sort of ute like. Kinda like a 4 door falcon ute.
David, thanks for the running workout to capture video and pics of the EUV truck! Love the excitement you’re projecting on this small truck. Many of us here are with you.
I’m hopeful that there are real, regular door handles, like on the BEV Subaru Trailseeker and Toyota twin Woodlands.
Plus hopeful that HVAC vents are manual and lots of physical HVAC, etc. buttons.
Great work by you and Griffin working (what I guess) after hours.
Cheers
I suspect they’re fixed with buttons on the inside (especially seeing where the camo has been affixed), but maybe David saw them in operation at the media day?
What is the cost of the traditional (gosh, do I have to call ’em that?!) and the type that are electronic/capacitor/other?
At least no silly flip out piece like some BEVs, please, that would get iced over from sleet.
I couldn’t say, but it would also depend on supplier contracts and cost of scale.
My old Volvo 700-series wagons had stationary handles, and a nifty trigger-like mechanism inside that fell nicely in-hand for the user’s first and second fingers to actuate. Tangentially the interior handles were even better with a pleasantly-ergonomic pull-lever (moving from fore to aft) inside but on the top of the doors’ armrests. It was fun having passengers try to figure out the mechanism without being told, and seeing how they liked it compared to the typical pull-out handle seen in most vehicles.
My very favorite modern door handle is on the Lincoln Continental and Aviator. Also a stationary handle, but with a button inside the handle. The Continental wins many extra bonus points for having the handles integrated into the windowsill and belt-line chrome garnish. Just lovely form AND function.
Thanks. At least hopeful that the door handles aren’t flush. I recall Ford having a ‘bounty’ thing to reduce aero Cd and weight, but it seems flush handles can’t increase travel distance all that much.
Regarding scale, seems that handles from another existing Ford currently in production would be an easy decision, i.e. Maverick.
Agree about the integrated handles of the Lincolns you mentioned.
I’m not even sure I need “regular” door handles. I just want ones that have logical mechanical back-ups in the event of an emergency.
The way Hyundai handles door handles is fine; they are mechanical handles that electronically pop out making them easier to grab. But the actual latch mechanism is still 100% mechanical.
I just wish it was an EREV rather than an all-electric.
I think this is a net good, and I’m glad that Slate and this thing are moving us in the right direction towards cheaper EV’s meant for the average person, but the proportions of the door line to roof line seem off.
The proportions of the cab to box are even worse.
Look closer at the images, especially the one from the rear passenger side view. The window sills are about 3-4″ below the camo edges, with the body ending about 1.5-2″ above the door handles, and the sill itself extending about an inch above that. So the bottoms of the window are actually lower than they are in the Maverick, for comparison, which has the bottom of its window sills at about the same plane as the top of the bedside.
The roofline looks low. The beltline looks high. The door camo looks like it is encroaching on the side window glass. The camouflage looks like it extends above the bed rail to me and the back of the cab is being obscured. The scale of it looks right. It’s gonna have stupid looking techno wheels. Squares inside circles. It’s tiny and I think that will mean limited range. Not a lot of space to stash batteries. I could see the frunk being skipped for battery space.
This will not be for work. This will be a city/suburb truck. Suitable for commuting and general transport with light truck capability. The 4 ft bed is plenty big enough to to the kinds of truck things a small property needs. Bags a mulch, gas for the lawn mower, carrying a bike, etc… If the back of the cab opens and the back seats fold flat,the bed will go from 4ft to 6 or 7 ft pretty quickly making it more capable.
It’s interesting and I look forward to seeing more of it.
people on every EV truck article love to go “Ok but will it tow my horse trailer from New York to texas on one charge? if not then don’t bother making it”
And even if it did tow the horse trailer from ny to Texas on one charge, they still wouldn’t buy it. They’ll keep moving the goal post on something else.
Nome to Miami and back without a charge while towing a 45 ft trailer with slides!
Plus, commenters seem to think regular cab trucks sell. They don’t, that’s why they are fading away.
If you have a vehicle and want more bed space, buy a trailer. If you have a vehicle and need more seating space, not much you can do about that other than buying a new vehicle, or hopefully it comes with a midgate.
I hope they sell lots of these. Because every EV sold helps another Mustang GT get built. Because… you know… emissions credits.
That’s if they come back in the next Admin, which the big3 are going to fight tooth and nail.
Right now the only thing preventing more Mustangs from being built is buyers.
Emissions credits??? Did you just wake up from a 9 month coma?
I love the look of regular cab, shortbed trucks, but am always surprised when I see one. I recently saw a late model (current bodystyle) GMC of that configuration, I was shocked – I didn’t think that was even available.
My first vehicle ever at 16 was a reg cab/shortbed squarebody Chevy. It’s funny, the 6.5″ bed is fairly long these days. Even then though, I often wished I had the K5 Blazer version instead for the more interior room.
Totally. Anybody looking at an EV and thinking about towing is in fantasy land. Unless we suddenly develop an arc reactor, the technology isn’t here yet for EV towing.
It’s a minitruck, like the old Nissan hardbody. Urban/Rural runabout is what those were meant for, and what this will be good at.
I agree there will likely be no frunk, it’s really not necessary when you have a bed and a full size back seat. Not to mention all the EV electronics have to go somewhere. If that somewhere is under the hood, you open up volume for more pack capacity.
I’m not interested in buying one, but it makes way more sense than the 6000+lb EVs dominating the road today. Hope it’s successful.
The scale is good. Four doors is a negative for me, but one I’m used to by now. The price point goal is good. The greenhouse is too short and windshield rake too extreme and likely to cause a blind spot or disappearing hood even though it is a small truck. The massive camo on the back of the cab makes me think there’s a midgate under that shroud, which would be awesome. Cautiously optimistic and glad to see the effort. Still rather have a Telo at this point, though Ford will undoubtedly make it to market first. Guess we’ll see.
How many two / three door cars are left out there that aren’t sportscars or proper work vehicles?
Not nearly enough, in my opinion.
Fully agree. The only reason I have a 5 door hatchback is that 3 door hatchbacks don’t exist anymore.
4 ft bed? Not terribly useful.
I see countless Mavericks with their 4′ beds getting used more than the HD trucks, even those without the moronic lift kits, big wheels, and cosplay tires.
A steeply raked back windshield on a boxy vehicle always looks weird. Once you notice it, it’s hard to unsee it.
As much as I hate the direction Ford is going, I would love to like this new truck.
This having 4 doors makes it way more practical over a slate. though Slate open air looks so fun
no thats exactly what i expected. ford made an EV Subaru Baja.
Can we get seats in the bed? Is there enough legroom for the passengers? Just think a three row EV pickup!
I am near the front of the line for a Telo and this is the one pickup I have seen that could potentially pull me away from that. Hoping we get some substantial details (range, whether we get buttons, whether there is good storage up front, etc.) very soon!
Ditto. If they announce that this thing has a midgate, I’ll be cancelling my Telo reservation.
…congratulations on the scoop and kudo’s to the tipster!
I can see this being a run-away hit for Ford as long as it doesn’t feel like a penalty vehicle, it’s going to check off a lot of boxes for a lot of people looking for a low cost, efficient EV. If the ride/interior is on par with other 30K offerings (Bolt/Leaf/Kia/Hyundai) the extra flexibility of the short bed is going to attract a lot of people. Won’t replace anyone needing serious hauling/towing or AWD but it looks good.
known brand for delivery and service (check)
low cost (check)
4-seater (check)
utility (check and double-check with add-on covers and bed caps)
decent range (maybe check)
fastish charging (maybe check)
The big unknown will be towing/hauling capacity. Even with probable low ratings I’d expect they’ll offer a 2″ hitch for bike racks and such.
Let’s hope the dealers don’t screw the launch up with add-ons and market adjustments.
They absolutely will. They’re dealers; they can’t help being scummy.
I’m right there with you.
Hoping that this “skunk works” division also yields direct-to-customer sales where possible to avoid the stealerships. And/or that Ford prevents obscene markups from sabatoging what could very well be a successful model.
“Calling all cars. Calling all cars. Be on the look out for… the new Ford truck covered with… oh you’ll love this… duckies and bunnies.”
The car crash scene in that movie always kills me
https://youtu.be/23nV8O568GQ
You farging stingy basTAGE
Watch out! You’ll be deported to Sweden
Small is good (that’s what I keep telling her)!
This or the Slate. I like how the Slate is a regular cab. I’d even take some small jumpseats to make the bed a bit bigger. Either way, I’m glad to see it.
I’m also excited about the slate but I really want to sit in it before they collect my non refundable money. I Do NOT fit an older Tacoma at all so I’m a bit worried . I’m hoping I fit in one of these trucks.
I’m dying to know pricing on this vs Slate. Plus if Slate does well in general. Honestly feel like Slate won’t be as great a value as people think considering economies of scale on startup vs an established OEM
The base price for the Slate will be with a short range battery. If you want comparable range plus things like power windows and a radio you’ll need to add them $$$. The lack of a full set of safety features like available blind side monitoring on the slate was one of the reasons I got my deposit back. Still I wish slate well but they have stiff competition if you get into the $30k range
I have been feeling that one big piece missing from EVs that people love about older cars is the ability to make it your own. An ICE car you can tune it, change exhaust note, lots of good stuff. EVs you just plug in and drive. Slate is kind of slam dunking on making it your own thing which nobody else is at this time
Not having those nannies is a HIGHLIGHT of the slate. The Ford is for people who can’t pay attention when they drive because they want to scroll their phones instead of drive. The commenters here have solidified that in my mind, repeatedly. There is a large group of people who cannot fathom that some people do not love modern tech.
Things like blind side monitoring, if done right, are hardly intrusive. Just the other day I got an audible from my car as I turned on my blinker to change lanes ( it looked clear). Just then some idiot went flying up from behind me. Aborted the lane change and he flew past me… a where the f did he come from moment.
I’m against self driving but I appreciate the car keeping an extra set of eyes looking out for me. Too many crap drivers out there!
IMHO Slate is taking the minimalist approach too far so safety and convenance suffers. Roll up windows are the best example. They cost more and offer no real value but Slate loves to market them. If I’m solo in a vehicle and I want to open the passenger window I’m fine with a push button and rather not have to add an extra clunky protrusion into the cab to add a motor at the crank so Slate can sell it as a DYI project.
I think you’re missing the add on effects from not having those features.
Manual windows are cheaper than electric, period. Electric only becomes cheaper than manual if you have a huge economy of scale for the electric version, don’t sell many of the manual version, and build millions of vehicles per year.
If manual is the only option, you save the wiring. You save fuses. You save switches. You save packaging all those items. Offering an add on kit for aftermarket sales moves all of those costs to the aftermarket buyer pool. Significantly more expensive for them, but completely optional.
I’m pretty sure the supplier of the manual window regulators and setup parts costs more than the electric drives/switches/wiring when purchased at the OEM level. Supply and demand. There’s few places where SLATE can source their manual window parts (IIRC they come from Brazil), but electric window components are quite common and if you’re already installing fuses, wire harnesses and switches in the vehicle, then adding a little more isn’t going to be a big hit.
20 years ago having manual windows would certainly been cheaper, but now I’m not sure. Only Slate would be able to confirm direct.
I was one of the first inline for the SLATE, but their market-driven bare-bones baseline is not as pragmatic as I think it should be. They want it simple, but they made it dumb. No one I know complains about power windows or power mirrors. That’s pretty simple tech, but SLATE doesn’t offer it. For a 20K EV I was willing to accept that, but at $30K the compromises for sake of marketing aren’t my cup of tea.
Blind spot monitoring is that big of a selling point to you? Or is it that plus other features? Genuinely curious.
I’ve never had any sort of blind spot monitoring other than moving my head while checking mirrors.
It’s more on principle. BSM, emergency braking, etc are examples of car tech that actually can help and are now low enough cost for every vehicle even in base trim. ( not interested in self driving stuff. Just safety stuff).
You might drive for years and they never activate, but the onetime your emergency brake kicks in, you’d be very thankful. I’d rather have them and not need them than the other way around
I consider them now a baseline like seatbelts and airbags. Ive always insisted that my daughter’s vehicles always had the safety tech.
I disagree it’s “now low enough cost for every vehicle even in base trim”. I package these systems in modern vehicles. It’s over a hundred dollars per vehicle between sensors, modules, and wiring. Once you add in the engineering/calibration time, it’s several hundred per vehicle.
You can spread out the engineering cost on a F150 to where it’s minimal, but for anything less than a million units the cost is drastic. Safety tech is one of the single largest cost/complexity drivers in a modern vehicle. Just about every other system has become simplier by contrast, with the exception of self driving tech.
I consider a few extra hundred on a $30K purchase acceptable. Nothing is going to be free, but unlike years past where manufacturers would only offer the safety features in up-scale trims or as part of a $2K option, It’s nice to see even the lowest entry-level cars have full safety features standard.
The ‘tech’ is pretty much going to be the same for every vehicle model across a line, so the same sensors in an F-150 might also be re-tasked, along with the software, etc in the $30K EV. The savings in scale doesn’t have to be limited to a specific model if a manufacturer is willing to raid the parts bin.
It’s a good selling point, and I also think any extra cost is often offset by the lower insurance rates for vehicles so equipped.
You missed my point completely. It’s not a couple hundred for you to buy it, it’s a couple hundred for the manufacturer. You pay a couple thousand more to pay for the components, engineering, and calibration. Also, Slate doesn’t have cost sharing from other vehicles they make. Adding BSM, emergency braking, etc, to a 150k unit/per vehicle with no benefit of cost sharing may add 5-8 thousand to the purchase price.
Wrapping all the safety tech into every trim is a significant part of trimflation, which is a large reason why almost every vehicle is more expensive than it used to be. It goes hand in hand with Fed mandated equipment pushing up pricetags.
I got ya. Sure for Slate every penny counts, but still not sure what the true Delta was for them to go with manual vs power windows from the start, and don’t know what they’ll charge for the DYI power window kit that looks like something out of a JC Whitney catalog from the 1970s.
Same with the lack of power mirrors though I don’t think there’s an after-market option for them available.
I do prefer a simpler vehicle, and some things like the plastic body panels, I think SLATE did right. For $20K I was more than happy to get a vehicle with a lot of compromises, but my point being, at $30K for an EV they’re going against some stiff competition including competition with those standard safety features that I value.
I that in hindsight, I think they leaned much too far into the DYI/minimalist features and marketing play to the point that it will hurt them.
I think it’s mostly a problem of they didn’t know what they didn’t know, and are now figuring out exactly how expensive federal compliance is.
The other massive factor working against them is the economy of scale. Compared to every other automaker they’re operating at a small fraction of scale. The more modern features you have, the faster that pricetag eclipses what competitors would cost.
Sticking with an EV only approach instead of using and ICE version as a profit center is likely what will kill Slate in the long run.
I’d be happy with manual window, lock, and mirror. I didn’t own a vehicle with power windows/locks (that worked) until 2021. Same vehicle had keyless entry, but both the fob and receiver were dead. I was forced to fix it otherwise I had no way to unlock the rear doors.
A few hundred dollars is cheaper than an insurance claim.
*edit* I saw your reply how it adds four figures to the vehicle price. Even with that there’s a lot to be said for peace of mind and not having to deal with repairing or worse replacing an otherwise good vehicle because the operator was able to avoid an accident.
Considering I’ve met maybe a handful of people who set their side mirrors to the sides instead of redundant rear view mirrors, I understand why BSM is such a wanted feature. BSM on my vehicles is simply called “looking in the mirror”.
Same goes for AEB when people are on average paying more attention to their phone vs how they’re driving, or using AEB/Adaptive Cruise to maintain follow distance in heavy traffic.
I’m glad these types of people spend more money to have these features. It makes them less likely to hit me, (although I’ve had to swerve out of the way from idiots blindly merging into me, with BSM clearly illuminated, multiple times this month).
For those that use their mirrors properly and do not drive distracted, it’s a significant cost penalty. There’s also the false confidence effect these systems introduce, which tends to make people drive even worse.
Respectfully disagree. You can’t predict what happens, and for arguments sake let’s say you’re driving along in the city, and that cup of coffee you’ve started sipping on has a loose top that wasn’t quite snapped on correctly by the fast food worker at the drive up window. .. you go to take a sip, the top slips off, distracts you for a second as hot coffee splashes onto your shirt. You look down … while at the same moment that F150 in front of you does a hard brake at a yellow light. – Emergency braking just paid for itself.
Even the best drivers can get distracted through no fault of their own, and I think basic safety features (not LIDAR, RADAR and not that self-driving crap) but just cheap basic side and front sensors; I don’t think they are in the thousands of dollars. Probably add less than $150 at at the manufacturing point? Just a guess, but common electronics and cameras are cheap.
See all the entry level vehicles from Hyundai/Kia/Toyota and they come standard with all the BASIC safety features even in the lowest trim levels.
That said, it’s nice if you can turn off the safety features if not wanted like turning off lane keeping in a Miata when you’re practicing hitting the apexes on your way home 🙂
Thankfully, there is an inexpensive way to add power windows to the Slate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uG6grzdUf8
It seems every day the value proposition of the SLATE takes a hit.
If this is $30k, then the slate HAS to be $25k to even compete, IMHO. Simple concept aside, why else would you choose a slate over a Ford pickup?
I think this is good, and if this pickup can help drive down the cost of the Slate, then I think I am still interested in one. If not, it’s this that may replace my old pickup.
That watermark is awesome, though it feels like it could use a touch more Torch. Like it could say “…that website that gives you funny feelings inside.”
This is amazing, but I’ll still a little stung by the whole “look, you’re finally getting the Fiesta back again isn’t that great we’re sure it’ll be sold for a long time to come” thing from the last decade.
You’re Welcome (fix your headline)
As someone who adores his dad’s Comanche and is eagerly awaiting the day it is given to him, I love this. I will seriously need to rethink a Slate, depending on how pricing looks.