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That's probably true for some demographics, but not for the country as a whole. For example, this August 2024 study claims otherwise: No need, I am familiar with the playback of locally stored music in moving vehicles. Not just music downloads: I have also used CDs, cassettes, and even...

OK -- but traditional radio costs $0 per year, includes live sports, and works in places where there is no cell reception. To be fair, I'm sure that many drivers make little or no use of traditional AM/FM radios, and would be OK if the radio was an optional feature. It wouldn't surprise me at...

Why are radios "relatively moot"? To my knowledge, all new cars in the US currently have a radio as a standard feature, although some EVs are FM-only. If that's correct, then Tesla will be the first to eliminate the radio entirely (both AM and FM), since the Standard RWD 3/Y will be on the...

Remember when it was shocking to learn that the Slate would not include a radio as a standard feature? Well, Tesla has just announced two new, "more affordable" models: the Model 3 Standard RWD ($38,630 with destination and order fees) and Model Y Standard RWD ($41,630 with destination and...

The first EV pickup may have been the custom Model 3-based "Truckla" built by Swedish inventor Simone Giertz (with only two doors). Yeah, looks like fun. Would have been inexpensive to mass-produce. The three major categories of consumer vehicles are: sedans, SUVs, and pickups. Telsa had big...

The Scouts could definitely eat into R1T and R1S sales, but the current release estimate isn't until Second Half 2027. Meanwhile, Rivian claims that the R2 is on track for a First Half 2026 release. So Rivian's switch to second-generation vehicles should be well underway before the Scouts appear...

The relationship between Scout and Rivian is a lot weirder than that. Scout is owned by VW. And VW has cut a deal to use Rivian's software in VW EVs. As reported last year, that includes Scout: So the new Scouts are using Rivian software, and are copying Rivian's design language. To a large...

I agree that Tesla's priority is now on autonomous vehicles. So I don't actually expect Tesla to release a small inexpensive pickup based on the Model Y. In fact, I doubt that Tesla is working on any new models that have a steering wheel and pedals. We could still see refreshes and tweaks to...

There are credible reports that Tesla engineers did not like the Cybertruck, and tried to secretly develop an alternative Tesla pickup design: It's common in the automotive industry to produce SUVs and pickups on the same platform (for example, the Rivian R1S and R1T). Tesla produced two...

My neighbor has a late-model F-150 and the tailgate has both a backup camera and a power lock. He installed a truck camper, which meant permanently removing the tailgate. There were two quick-connect fittings under the truck (for the camera and lock) that had to be disconnected before removal...

I still have questions. OK the handle is nice, but what's going on to the left and right? Maybe the backup camera on the left? Lock mechanism on the right? Does the tailgate lock and unlock with the doors when the fob buttons are pressed? Is there a physical key as well as the fob?

No argument here. If you are going to drive an EV pickup in sparsely populated areas with few chargers, then yes, you want an EV with a large battery for maximum range. If you were going to drive a traditional F-150 in remote areas with few gas stations, you would probably want the 36-gallon...

I tried it with a Standard Range Slate, and it worked -- but only if I specified that I had a CCS adapter. Without the adapter, I got "no valid plan found". With an Extended Range Slate, the trip was possible without the CCS adapter.

As indicated in this post, I entered a hypothetical 1000-mile road trip into the ABRP EV route planner, which now includes preliminary settings for the Slate. It recommended trip segments of approximately 111 miles for the standard battery, and 142 miles for the extended range battery. Your...

For example, I picked two completely random locations -- Fenway Park in Boston and Wrigley Field in Chicago -- and got the following results, assuming a Slate pickup leaving Boston with 90% charge, traveling via Pennsylvania, and arriving in Chicago with 10% charge: Standard Range (150 mile)...

If you already own an EV, you are probably familiar with A Better Route Planner, commonly known as ABRP. It's an online utility that allows EV owners to plan road trips, with recommendations for charging stops and charging times. ABRP is owned by Rivian, but it can be used for all brands of EVs...

I bet you're right. The other company that is working on an extended-range EV pickup is VW, through the revived Scout brand. It's been reported that 81% of Scout SUV/pickup pre-orders are for the "Harvester" extended-range system, with a gasoline engine acting as a generator. Only 19% of...

Good question. In fact, this is one of the biggest question marks regarding Slate's business model. We know that Slate won't have traditional dealerships -- they will sell direct to consumers, which is also how Tesla and Rivian operate. But Tesla and Rivian still have physical stores, and Slate...

Another twist to the story involves HD (digital) AM radio. Traditional AM/FM broadcasts are analog. But in recent years, some radio stations have started broadcasting "HD" digital signals, along with the traditional analog signal. The HD signal provides superior sound, as long as you have an HD...

The Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA) has taken a position against the "AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act". Slate is not listed as a member, but Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid are. My guess is that Slate would be opposed as well.