Are HVAC knobs electronic

[malewizard]

Not everyone is getting the Bluetooth or the Telematic module. Trading back and forth for different customers would defeat there design plan for the long run. So any knobs are going to be the most simplistic design function for costs. It is not possbile to make this DIY truck a comparitive model to other current trucks or autos and their features. Once you start adding all this "Stuff" (esthetics and ego builders), back onto the basic SLATE,then your basically trying to get a 40k truck for 26k,and thats never gonna happen. It's a low end EV truck,and you either take it as that,or you start adding all the stuff you are use to having on the 40k models,and defeat the entire purpose, of lower cost and DIY capabilities.

 

[hi-im-jeff]

It's a low end EV truck,and you either take it as that,or you start adding all the stuff you are use to having on the 40k models,and defeat the entire purpose, of lower cost and DIY capabilities.

This is true, but none of these parts are expensive these days. Rotary encoders are very cheap, and software scales. A lot of the "fancy" features in cars today are to reduce costs (e.g. glass roofs are generally cheaper overall than steel roofs, but car.manufacturers have everyone convinced they are a premium feature). I really feel like a lot of the engineering on this truck is performative (are crank windows really more reliable or less expensive in this time period? Will they be supportable down the road if there is only one supplier worldwide making them? On the other hand "it has crank windows" has gotten them a large amount of press coverage.) but that's important to tell the marketing story. There is a very good likelihood that these switches are being led into some microcontroller, so making them act as if they are old school mech knobs. I think a lot of the time the marketing team is influencing decisions here, but that's important to get the truck to sell.

 

[malewizard]

The entire HVAC system has been stated as "analog",without micocontrollers. (I never post something that appears as official unless I have checked and double checked,even confirming with A.I.)

 

[AZFox]

At the same time.... the nature of Slates battery (and same can be said of all EV's out there now) make it unlikely that any will be viable in 25 years; chemistry suggests this is the case.

25 years ago high-quality meant built-to-last.

Now 40% of the cost of an average new car is electronics. (Yikes.)

Most MY2026 and MY2027 cars, EV and ICEV alike, stand little chance of lasting to last 25 years, IMHO.

Who knows, the Slate FN could be an exception to that.

There's a possibility that 10+ years from now a Battery Swap could breathe new life into into an FN by upgrading it to a battery that's better than the original.

 

[Doctors Do Little]

25 years ago high-quality meant built-to-last.

Now 40% of the cost of an average new car is electronics. (Yikes.)

Most MY2026 and MY2027 cars, EV and ICEV alike, stand little chance of lasting to last 25 years, IMHO.

Who knows, the Slate FN could be an exception to that.

There's a possibility that 10+ years from now a Battery Swap could breathe new life into into an FN by upgrading it to a battery that's better than the original.

From your mouth to God's ears!

 

[hi-im-jeff]

The entire HVAC system has been stated as "analog",without micocontrollers. (I never post something that appears as official unless I have checked and double checked,even confirming with A.I.)

Any chance you can share sources? All I can find are basically saying analog as "has physical knobs" not "does not go back to the CAN bus and has uCs in the loop". Assuming that you are right I'd love to see more in how they're doing that while maintaining everything else a vehicle like this needs.

 

[FlyHappy]

25 years ago high-quality meant built-to-last.

Now 40% of the cost of an average new car is electronics. (Yikes.)

Most MY2026 and MY2027 cars, EV and ICEV alike, stand little chance of lasting to last 25 years, IMHO.

Who knows, the Slate FN could be an exception to that.

There's a possibility that 10+ years from now a Battery Swap could breathe new life into into an FN by upgrading it to a battery that's better than the original.

Nothing you're saying is wrong.
Buuuuut... even old "built to last" cars (if not lost to structural accident or rust) rarely get drivetrain replacement to extend life. I mean, sure, enthusiasts and nostalgists might replace a failed/tired engine/tranny on a <fill in the blank vehicle> , but if we're being honest, we have to admit that most get parted out/scrapped for economics.

I mean, as the most direct comparison, how many old (but not ancient) compact pickups (Ranger/S-10/Toy/Nissan) will merit a major 5k+ replacement project by their owners? Some, surely, but not many. This is less about vehicles, and more about societal values and cold cost/benefit priorities in the western world.

 

[hi-im-jeff]

Nothing you're saying is wrong.
Buuuuut... even old "built to last" cars (if not lost to structural accident or rust) rarely get drivetrain replacement to extend life. I mean, sure, enthusiasts and nostalgists might replace a failed/tired engine/tranny on a <fill in the blank vehicle> , but if we're being honest, we have to admit that most get parted out/scrapped for economics.

I mean, as the most direct comparison, how many old (but not ancient) compact pickups (Ranger/S-10/Toy/Nissan) will merit a major 5k+ replacement project by their owners? Some, surely, but not many. This is less about vehicles, and more about societal values and cold cost/benefit priorities in the western world.

+1 to this, 20-30 years ago thrown rods and grenades transmissions were common, now we complain about electronics, but pulling and replacing a module is significantly easier (if it's not cheaper that's because the automaker is fleecing you) than doing a full engine swap because one of your conn rods decided it didn't want to come to work today. My 94 S10 ate timing chain covers like they were cookies, but my last 4 new vehicles haven't had a single issue in my time of owning them (granted, none of them ever went out of warranty while I had them). It used to be a big thing for a car to make it to 100k, but there really isn't anything on the market today where most of the cars can't

I think we romanticize the older cars quite a bit, and forget just how thdefinition of "reliable" has changed over the last 50 years or so.

 

[malewizard]

Any chance you can share sources? All I can find are basically saying analog as "has physical knobs" not "does not go back to the CAN bus and has uCs in the loop". Assuming that you are right I'd love to see more in how they're doing that while maintaining everything else a vehicle like this needs.

Yes I posed the query to A.I. (any of the current ones), asking about any official announcements about the reason for design, and any confirmation of the HVAC system and how it will be implimented. Any way you want to phrase the questions of course. And simply copy and paste the answer to the forum.

 

[hi-im-jeff]

If you're using AI like this, make sure you ask it for sources, then go verify yourself. Just asking them for the answer like this is going to end up with a decent percentage of hallucinations.

 

[RevMS]

Nothing you're saying is wrong.
Buuuuut... even old "built to last" cars (if not lost to structural accident or rust) rarely get drivetrain replacement to extend life. I mean, sure, enthusiasts and nostalgists might replace a failed/tired engine/tranny on a <fill in the blank vehicle> , but if we're being honest, we have to admit that most get parted out/scrapped for economics.

I mean, as the most direct comparison, how many old (but not ancient) compact pickups (Ranger/S-10/Toy/Nissan) will merit a major 5k+ replacement project by their owners? Some, surely, but not many. This is less about vehicles, and more about societal values and cold cost/benefit priorities in the western world.

Full sized American trucks built in the last quarter century are a lot more solid than ones built in the previous half century. At least here in the south there is almost no rust cancer as was so common in earlier ones. The last two full sized trucks/SUVs we've had are on their second engines and second or third transmissions ... and while they are well over 300k miles show no signs of their age other than where they've been literally banged up ... a deer ran into the door on our 2006 Ford Expedition and a tree fell on the bed of my 2005 Dodge Ram 2500. Both of them should be around for many years.

 

[AZFox]

Buuuuut... even old "built to last" cars (if not lost to structural accident or rust) rarely get drivetrain replacement to extend life.

I think you read something into what I wrote that wasn't there.

New vehicles face longevity challenges because they're more complex compared to vehicles of the past.

Add economic strategies of automakers (e.g. subscriptions, planned obsolescence) to that and things do not bode well for most new cars lasting two decades or more.

A 2001 Lexus is repairable at the local auto repair shop. I don't expect a 2026 Lexus to be nearly as repairable in 2051.

Preferences have shifted toward mOaR fEaTuReZ and away from built-to-last as an the predominant indicator of quality. (Not for me! Just saying.)

The Slate FN's simplicity improves its chances being repairable long into the future.

 

[FlyHappy]

I think you read something into what I wrote that wasn't there.

New vehicles face longevity challenges because they're more complex compared to vehicles of the past.

Add economic strategies of automakers (e.g. subscriptions, planned obsolescence) to that and things do not bode well for most new cars lasting two decades or more.

A 2001 Lexus is repairable at the local auto repair shop. I don't expect a 2026 Lexus to be nearly as repairable in 2051.

Preferences have shifted toward mOaR fEaTuReZ and away from built-to-last as an the predominant indicator of quality. (Not for me! Just saying.)

The Slate FN's simplicity improves its chances being repairable long into the future.

not sure I misread much.

yes, agreed that the 25 yo Lexus is more repairable then the new one on the Lot.
at the very same time, not many folks are willing to replace engine or transmission in such a vehicle, even at 15 years of age. Frankly, a battery pack replacement will be of similar, relative cost. My opinion.

 

[Doctors Do Little]

not sure I misread much.

yes, agreed that the 25 yo Lexus is more repairable then the new one on the Lot.
at the very same time, not many folks are willing to replace engine or transmission in such a vehicle, even at 15 years of age. Frankly, a battery pack replacement will be of similar, relative cost. My opinion.

Mostly materials or labor, or a heap of both? I’ve exchanged plenty of pacemaker batteries back in the day, and a couple of golf cart LiON batteries, but nary a BEV battery.

 

[AZFox]

at the very same time, not many folks are willing to replace engine or transmission in such a vehicle, even at 15 years of age. Frankly, a battery pack replacement will be of similar, relative cost. My opinion.

Got it. You are assuming

1) The battery will need replacement.
2) Batteries will remain expensive in the future.

I don't expect either of those will be very likely.