Build Quality

[Ronnie]

My best car ever was a 1998 Hyundai Tiburon FX, so if the Slate's along those lines, I'll be content. (I may never forgive Hyundai for renaming the Tib the "Genesis Coupe", jacking the price up into the heavens, and then ruining the styling, but hey.) I took the Tib all the way to Deadhorse, Alaska, at Prudhoe Bay on an 11,333-mile, 12-day solo road trip, and it made the miles fly by.

I'm planning to be really happy with a Slate truck, even if it can't take winding roads as hard or go for insane distances with only utterly minimal gas-and-go stops. Of course, my biggest adjustment won't have anything to do with performance or styling or build quality. My biggest adjustment is going to be going from proper 3-pedal driving to 1-ish pedal EV driving.

Oooh, heavy mod idea: Add a "clutch" pedal that, when pressed, commands the motor to run at a level that approximates the feel of coasting out of gear. It's a necessary safety feature to prevent inadvertent clutch-foot brake application, I tells ya! 🤣

Clutch pedal and twin stick, 15 gears 🤣

 

[Kopsis]

I've not yet seen anyone (cough... internet influencers) ask these types of questions. They are all so wowed by the transformer stuff, they don't think to ask how it actually works.

Not that I have any desire to defend influencers (the very term makes my skin crawl), but those really aren't the kind of questions Slate typically answers (unless you call "we'll have more info on that later" an answer). Some of that is because they haven't made it through design validation yet, but I also suspect there's a lot of info they're trying to hold as trade secrets for as long as practical.

 

[CorvusCorvax]

I've not yet seen anyone (cough... internet influencers) ask these types of questions. They are all so wowed by the transformer stuff, they don't think to ask how it actually works.

When the vehicle gets in the hands of real journalists, then the engineering behind seals will be made clear. Obviously, Slate's engineers aren't just going to slap some crap together and say "good enough" in the hopes that everyone will just ignore issues. I mean, maybe at Ford they can do that, but they can get away with that because people will put up with a certain level of crap product. I think Slate knows very well that they do not get that much grace. These vehicles are going to be used primarily for practical purposes, and they won't get their investment money back if they don't sell a pile of these guys.

If you have ever been part of something someone has never done before, you'll understand the pressure.

 

[CorvusCorvax]

Not that I have any desire to defend influencers (the very term makes my skin crawl), but those really aren't the kind of questions Slate typically answers (unless you call "we'll have more info on that later" an answer). Some of that is because they haven't made it through design validation yet, but I also suspect there's a lot of info they're trying to hold as trade secrets for as long as practical.

And the fact that the vehicles that have been shown to those folks have all been the test mules, I don't know that there's much to know from the current vehicles about the final design of the seals and drains. As far as we know, they are prototype place holders, one-offs just to show the possibility, not the mature design choice.

 

[EV Trek]

And the fact that the vehicles that have been shown to those folks have all been the test mules, I don't know that there's much to know from the current vehicles about the final design of the seals and drains. As far as we know, they are prototype place holders, one-offs just to show the possibility, not the mature design choice.

Seems to me those they were using were driveline and suspention validation units. That is what they focused on, the driving dynamics not the fit and finish, obvious since they had the dashboard covered on all of them.

 

[Johnologue]

There are reasons to be optimistic. For one, Slate is treating it as a manufacturing and hardware product, so it's one of the main things they have to optimize. But it's also critical to their big "idea" of modularity.

The history of mass-production is about improving tolerances and fit to make parts "interchangeable" between units. Mass-production wasn't a new idea when it happened, it was made possible by improvements in precision tools.

Slate's premise is having customers fit parts onto trucks that they weren't made with. So, every bit of precision they can gain on manufacturing tolerances is even more precious. I'm sure they recognize that.

I also think this is actually one of the major advantages of something people dismiss.

The Slate Truck only has 2 doors.
Doors are big panels on hinges full of moving and actuated parts. For perceived build quality, they're one of the most frequent points of contact for owners, and one of the strongest first impressions on test-drivers. Most automakers give special attention to the sound and feel of their doors closing as a matter of quality and brand image.

Having a single door to fit on either side of the passenger cell has to be a huge advantage for their limited resources on QA, manufacturing, and meeting those more demanding tolerances of their modular design. If Slate succeeds, it will be because they didn't make a 4-door cab.

 

[Rocks]

The larger the advertising spend at a given publication, the better the chance the reviewers (and the editors) will minimize the minor flaws.

Slate has not spend big in traditional and blog media. And until they do so, half of every review will be about window cranks and lack-of-sceens.

 

[Johnologue]

When the vehicle gets in the hands of real journalists, then the engineering behind seals will be made clear.

It's not all been "influencers". The Autopian has done a lot of reporting on Slate and they're, in my opinion, some of the best in the business - experienced auto journalists who ditched Jalopnik to make an independent site.

Their Slate reporting spends a lot of time (and puts out whole articles) others wouldn't on nerdy details, and I highly recommend it.

 

[E90400K]

When the vehicle gets in the hands of real journalists, then the engineering behind seals will be made clear. Obviously, Slate's engineers aren't just going to slap some crap together and say "good enough" in the hopes that everyone will just ignore issues. I mean, maybe at Ford they can do that, but they can get away with that because people will put up with a certain level of crap product. I think Slate knows very well that they do not get that much grace. These vehicles are going to be used primarily for practical purposes, and they won't get their investment money back if they don't sell a pile of these guys.

If you have ever been part of something someone has never done before, you'll understand the pressure.

Actually I have done exactly that.

 

[E90400K]

Not that I have any desire to defend influencers (the very term makes my skin crawl), but those really aren't the kind of questions Slate typically answers (unless you call "we'll have more info on that later" an answer). Some of that is because they haven't made it through design validation yet, but I also suspect there's a lot of info they're trying to hold as trade secrets for as long as practical.

Seals are and drains in a pickup bed are are trade secrets? Nah.

 

[EV Trek]

There are reasons to be optimistic. For one, Slate is treating it as a manufacturing and hardware product, so it's one of the main things they have to optimize. But it's also critical to their big "idea" of modularity.

The history of mass-production is about improving tolerances and fit to make parts "interchangeable" between units. Mass-production wasn't a new idea when it happened, it was made possible by improvements in precision tools.

Slate's premise is having customers fit parts onto trucks that they weren't made with. So, every bit of precision they can gain on manufacturing tolerances is even more precious. I'm sure they recognize that.

I also think this is actually one of the major advantages of something people dismiss.

The Slate Truck only has 2 doors.
Doors are big panels on hinges full of moving and actuated parts. For perceived build quality, they're one of the most frequent points of contact for owners, and one of the strongest first impressions on test-drivers. Most automakers give special attention to the sound and feel of their doors closing as a matter of quality and brand image.

Having a single door to fit on either side of the passenger cell has to be a huge advantage for their limited resources on QA, manufacturing, and meeting those more demanding tolerances of their modular design. If Slate succeeds, it will be because they didn't make a 4-door cab.

I did notice on many of the videos the comments about how solid the feel and sound of the doors closing.

 

[sidneyhornblower]

Indeed. Early Adopters are taking some risks and presumably they know and accept that.

Indeed. And that's why I remain interested but haven't pulled the trigger yet. The biggest risk is that Slate simply won't last as a company. There's a ten-year battery warranty, and a good bumper to bumper warranty as well, but if the company folds in three years, what good is that warranty? I'll ultimately make my decision - and it'll be a leap into the unknown - based on whether I think Slate will exist as a company long term. The number of innovative electric cars whose companies went out of business is much longer than the number of car companies, EV or otherwise, who didn't go out of business. I want to own something American made from a company that'll be around indefinitely, so I'm really hoping Slate bucks the odds and makes it.

 

[Orley]

Indeed. And that's why I remain interested but haven't pulled the trigger yet. The biggest risk is that Slate simply won't last as a company. There's a ten-year battery warranty, and a good bumper to bumper warranty as well, but if the company folds in three years, what good is that warranty? I'll ultimately make my decision - and it'll be a leap into the unknown - based on whether I think Slate will exist as a company long term. The number of innovative electric cars whose companies went out of business is much longer than the number of car companies, EV or otherwise, who didn't go out of business. I want to own something American made from a company that'll be around indefinitely, so I'm really hoping Slate bucks the odds and makes it.

So how long are you planning to wait before you buy?

 

[Paul]

Anything any of us say would just be opinion. I've seen a whole span of predictions on this site. The more skeptical minded would say that it's a first vehicle from a new OEM in a new factory, developed in a rush, and engineered and tested and built on a tight budget - so don't expect much. But there's an opposing narrative that the Slate crew is experienced, the vehicle is simple, they're only building one variant, and they stuck with proven tech - so it will be super reliable and high quality.

So you kind of have to choose the narrative you want to believe and wait for the thing to hit the road. And even then, we won't know until a few years have passed. That's just cars. They have to hit the road by the thousands and be driven by us abusive humans in the ice and snow and potholes and heat. We have to slam the doors and scratch the plastics, spill our drinks, have the dog pee on the seats, or the kids barf. All that fun stuff. And don't forget that we have to smash into each other now and then to see how safe it really is, and how expensive or not it is to repair.

I wish I could give a more reassuring answer. I say choose the narrative that lets you sleep well and run with it.

This vehicle Will be less than half of what a 4Runner cost new and a lot less than that for the Porsche.... So match your expectations with what you're paying for and if it's pretty good then that is astounding For the price. They have said 100,000 mile 10-year warranty on the drivetrain and battery, so there is that depending on how warranty repairs are going to go. It's always a gamble with a startup.

 

[tubes]

On my list of things to do today is pre-order. I am slotted for Q2. I will not check the box to move it up. If this pans out, I'll be with you all as an early adopter, but not first shift, and I'm fine with that. I'm glad a lot of you are willing to be on the front lines. I think it will be really fun for you. As an early Saturn owner, I had a ball being the only one in town with a Saturn. And although the internet was crude back then, we still communicated over usenet and shared a lot of our experiences. I think we excited some people, and scared others off. That will happen with Slate too.

The wife signed off on possibly losing $300. I don't think that will happen, but we'll see. As for losing $25k, I don't see that either because I'm pretty confident this company will run for at least a few years no matter what. Say it does go bust at year 3 and my vehicle locks up. Well, that's still not losing $25k if I got 3 years out of it.

I'm rambling here. It is a little nervous being an early adopter. But also exciting to be part of something badly, badly needed in America. We have a bunch of citizen whiners. "Everything is too expensive! I can't afford a car!" Well, how about this? "But it doesn't have a power window or standard leather seats? I'm out." Arghh.