Article: Slate Auto CEO Chris Barman tells us how exactly it’s making a $25,000 EV

[AZFox]

Whether it is cost neutral/more expensive/less expensive I hope they ship with manual windows.

I've also been thinking about some of the cost aspects of their approach too. In terms of the manual windows, I basically decided it's purely marketing.

This. My initial gut feeling about their choice to include hand-crank windows was that it wasn't for cost reasons, rather it was for marketing purposes.

Edit: "Marketing" isn't quite what I mean. It's a cool little quirk that deliberately fits in with the ethos. I think it was a good decision (didn't at first).

 

[AZFox]

Probably. I make a lot of mistakes in character judgment.

It's super easy to do on a forum.

 

[Doctors Do Little]

My parents were both from KY. Dad here in the Glasgow area and my mother was from Jackson.

I was an Air force brat and was born in FL. We came here 31 years ago to help with care for my mother.

Nice! I promise that I know folks that know your folks….everybody knows everybody!

 

[Doctors Do Little]

It's super easy to do on a forum.

My jury is still out on you, AZFox…just sayin’.

 

[Doctors Do Little]

This. My initial gut feeling about their choice to include hand-crank windows was that it wasn't for cost reasons, rather it was for marketing purposes.

I keep having the same thoughts. It’s kind of a gitchy thing when electric windows were cheaply mastered in the 1970’s…

AWD? I get that. Electric windows? Not as much.

Still gunning for 12/2026!

 

[AZFox]

But I don't think plastic panels are any less costly to produce than stamped steel alternatives.

Similar to Crank Windows, I think there are other considerations for doing that besides production costs.

I like the idea of composite panels. No Door Dings!

I'm not negative by any stretch

I can only speak for myself. Your contributions don't seem at all negative to me. Thanks for posting.

 

[Luxrage]

I think GM's spaceframe/plastic panel architecture was genius and studied it intensely because the development of the Fiero starting in the late 1970s into the early 1980's was when I was in college studying industrial engineering. But like all things GM, when it develops innovative new automotive state of the art, for some reason GM abandons it and goes back to the status quo. The Fiero and its Transport/Silhouette and Saturn follow-ons and the Chevrolet Volt are two instances where I think GM was decades in advance of the rest of the industry; it is just baffling to me why they gave up on both. GM started an entirely new company based on the spaceframe architecture (Saturn) to progress the concept, along with trying to shed the UAW monkey on its back.

I'm just happy to see someone else banging the Fiero drum, that's the vehicle I've been most comparing the Slate to. I just hope they can figure out a cost effective way to make those composite panels on the cheap. Even Honda went away from them on the last 3 years of Element, instead opting for full steel fenders.

The crank window thing also baffles me, I don't hate it on my Geo or my old LTD that had them, but I was expecting that would be to eliminate any wiring harness going to the door. It still has the power locks (It'll be interesting for the Slate owners who opt to take the doors off). Jeeps have that big ol' harness sticking out:

 

[PACMAN]

Great article, thanks for posting. Like others in this thread have said, there’s no way I’m wrapping mine myself. If the kit’s $500, I’d be comfortable shelling out another $500 for a reputable installer who’ll stand behind their work.
-Also, that was a solid interview, the journalist kept coming back to the uncomfortable questions that many folks are thinking about. My favorite part was the last line about the nice wedding gifts 🙂.

 

[cadblu]

Not to throw more gasoline on the fire (pun intended) but I find it interesting that we can all 2nd and 3rd guess Slate's design decisions while we are only spectators. Did anyone notice Sandy's reaction to Cap EX (at the end of the Munroe video) where he pretends to gag himself? I've worked under these tense situations, and you need to know that justifying capital expenditures is a grueling task that can take months or longer. Even with favorable payback and ROI to satisfy the finance guys there will still be those that stand in the way. Examples...Those crank windows are more of a throwback vintage quirky feature than a cost savings measure. It will actually cost more to engineer the power window add on kit than to have installed them as standard equipment. Also, Slate made a conscious decision to outsource their underbody and space frame stampings as the Cap Ex for this would have been cost prohibitive. I can't say much on the FRP panels but as others have aptly pointed out, those aren't exactly cheap. There may be long term production quality issues with those FRP panels, more likely than using stampings, but time will tell. Maybe things work more efficiently in a startup where the CEO is heavily involved in every design decision.

I also agree that wrapping a vehicle is way more complex than Slate would like you to believe. My associate wrapped his car as a novice, after watching all the videos, and it still took 80 hours in total. And trust me, you will not get the same results as a professional. That said, I think I will have it installed for an extra $300, money well spent. That $800 (total job) is way less expensive than those custom Tesla colors e.g., ultra red metallic that will add $2500 to the bottom line.

 

[Trace26]

Note that GM abandoned its spaceframe/plastic panel architecture decades ago, which could be reasoning that it turned out in the end not to be less expensive to produce(?). So, my thought here is, what is Slate doing different than GM to make the spaceframe/plastic panel architecture financially viable?

I think I can help some with this question. It's the paint. Painting the plastic panels cost more than painting metal. The composite panels aren't any cheaper, but they don't need to be painted or coated. The Fiero is known for being difficult to paint if you don't know what your doing because it needs a good primer.
That's my 2 cents.

 

[evtruth]

@motorolas found a good article that has an informative interview of Slate Auto CEO Chris Barman.

Slate Auto CEO Chris Barman tells us how exactly it’s making a $25,000 EV -- The automotive veteran explains why her company can deliver a cheap electric vehicle when others, like Tesla, have failed.

Here's a link to @motorolas' likable post.

Love how the author specifically outed Tesla when they have one of the cheapest EVs you can buy, lol.

 

[bartflossom]

I have no problem with the manual windows. I have a problem with the fact that they TURN THE WRONG WAY! AUGGGH!... (but I'll get over it).....(but I bet I sprain my wrist the first 5 times I use it.)

 

[AZFox]

I've been curious why GM moved away from the technology too.

GM lost their way quite a while ago, IMHO.

The public is catching on. The video in this thread has 468K views now (3 weeks since upload).

Private Ownership of Slate Auto is a superpower.

 

[GaRailroader]

I have no problem with the manual windows. I have a problem with the fact that they TURN THE WRONG WAY! AUGGGH!... (but I'll get over it).....(but I bet I sprain my wrist the first 5 times I use it.)

It's been a few years since I have had a manual window car. My recollection is rotate forward for windows down and rotate backwards for windows up. These are opposite to that?

 

[cvollers]

S

So you are definitely not interested in purchasing one then huh? We’ll put you down as a definite No - Negative Nelly.

Or just permanent Devil’s advocate.