Article: Slate's $25,000 Electric Truck Will Be A 'Disruptor'

[SichuanHot]

I totally count myself as the anti-tech guy. I will have my Slate EV to commute parked alongside a motorcycle and two cars that are all carbureted (and happen to have crank windows as well)

I'm with you there. Anti-tech is kinda a misnomer though. I like tech, but the over integration of tech like we see with current EVs and even ICE cars is just ridiculous. You need to create an account for this and that and you get service alerts for some random sensor and push notifications. It's all excessive and not conducive to long term ownership goals, which is arguably better when it comes to environmental concerns especially since EVs consume a fraction of what their ICE counterparts do.

 

[evtruth]

I'm with you there. Anti-tech is kinda a misnomer though. I like tech, but the over integration of tech like we see with current EVs and even ICE cars is just ridiculous. You need to create an account for this and that and you get service alerts for some random sensor and push notifications. It's all excessive and not conducive to long term ownership goals, which is arguably better when it comes to environmental concerns especially since EVs consume a fraction of what their ICE counterparts do.

This is where I feel Tesla has it down to an art. One screen to control everything, hardly any buttons, easy to find everything you need, and ONE account to get set up. My Silverado EV I have to set up OnStar, then sign into Google, then sign into Amazon if I want to use Alexa (which I don't). Slate will have this down possibly even simpler with a phone / tablet app.

 

[Whitesands]

This is where I feel Tesla has it down to an art. One screen to control everything, hardly any buttons, easy to find everything you need, and ONE account to get set up. My Silverado EV I have to set up OnStar, then sign into Google, then sign into Amazon if I want to use Alexa (which I don't). Slate will have this down possibly even simpler with a phone / tablet app.

That one screen to rule them all is the biggest reason I never want a Tesla. I want the speedometer to be in front of me. Also, I don't want to have to go through menus to adjust things like the vents, why do those need motors anyway?

 

[5ohbrad]

That one screen to rule them all is the biggest reason I never want a Tesla. I want the speedometer to be in front of me. Also, I don't want to have to go through menus to adjust things like the vents, why do those need motors anyway?

I cannot stand using a touch screen while I drive. Tesla is far and away the worst offender, requiring using the screen to adjust vents, mirrors, climate as well as any other function of the car. The streamlining of production makes sense, but burying features I need while driving in multiple menus does not. If not for the screen nested controls, I would probably drive a Model 3 already.

 

[evtruth]

That one screen to rule them all is the biggest reason I never want a Tesla. I want the speedometer to be in front of me. Also, I don't want to have to go through menus to adjust things like the vents, why do those need motors anyway?

The vents are a single swipe up away. Everything is MUCH simpler than people think it is.

 

[evtruth]

I cannot stand using a touch screen while I drive. Tesla is far and away the worst offender, requiring using the screen to adjust vents, mirrors, climate as well as any other function of the car. The streamlining of production makes sense, but burying features I need while driving in multiple menus does not. If not for the screen nested controls, I would probably drive a Model 3 already.

All of the HVAC tools are a simple swipe up from the bottom, they aren't "screens" away.

 

[Whitesands]

The vents are a single swipe up away. Everything is MUCH simpler than people think it is.

That's mainly just an example of gripes I have with it. Why should I have to swipe screen to my right, when I can easily just swipe the vent in front of me? It's just another part that can fail and extra cost and complexity that isn't needed.

 

[5ohbrad]

All of the HVAC tools are a simple swipe up from the bottom, they aren't "screens" away.
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I prefer buttons to screens for tactile feedback- there is no reason to necessitate directing vents from a screen. To each their own. If you have a Tesla and enjoy it, I’m happy for you. I have driven several and enjoy the way they drive but cannot stand the center screen. My Lightning XLT retained conventional button controls for various functions and I found that preferable.

 

[E90400K]

We are at a point and time where the Chinese , Koreans could crush the Slate with their own version that would have a better performance in battery with power everything , for a better price. I am sure they are working on it if the market is there. Lots of years of building great mini trucks in Asia. My hope is we can get 300K miles plus out of the EVs and it’s starting to look that way.

I'm not sure if you have taken a car to 300,000 miles. I have taken one to 425,000+ miles and several other over 250,000 miles. It takes over 10 years to reach 300,000 miles even driving EVERY day at 80 miles per day, which is around 2 hours a day. In a short-range EV that may be a taxing effort.

 

[Dieter]

I agree with that. I get chills of all those knock off Smart for Two mini cars I saw all over in China, I think there were 5 different variations of that tiny car and had room for four passengers too.
and I think I am liking the swapping out of batteries for all the reasons we know.

I'm not sure if you have taken a car to 300,000 miles. I have taken one to 425,000+ miles and several other over 250,000 miles. It takes over 10 years to reach 300,000 miles even driving EVERY day at 80 miles per day, which is around 2 hours a day. In a short-range EV that may be a taxing effort.

 

[Dieter]

My top mileage is 175k in 2.0 2014 Escape with no issues. 10.5 years.
EVs should get more mileage than a ICE I think. Now retired I have been driving much more. I don’t have the mileage a year yet but guess it’s 18-22K.

 

[Luxrage]

That's mainly just an example of gripes I have with it. Why should I have to swipe screen to my right, when I can easily just swipe the vent in front of me? It's just another part that can fail and extra cost and complexity that isn't needed.

Exactly, one of the reasons I have a Fit for my significant other, who is NOT a car or driving enthusiast by any means, to use is because it has probably one of the best HVAC layouts of any car I've been in. I am a firm believer that you should be able to be blindfolded and be able to find your HVAC and basic radio controls. After all, if you're stressed out or lost somewhere and can't take your eyes off the road, and the window starts fogging up, you should be able to quickly crank it to full blast defrost by feel alone.

I applaud slate for using that simple three-knob layout. I wouldn't be surprised if it's some off-the-shelf hardware.