Slate first drive review video - Jay Leno's Garage!

[MotoGary]

I doubt we will learn anything new.

 

[jmcarter]

I will place a lot of weight on Jay’s views. His YouTube content and his modeling as a “car guy” we can identify with simply places him on top. Also looking forward to a review by Alex on Autos.

 

[clofan]

Oh cool, thanks for the heads up. I'll watch here in a couple hours

 

[E90400K]

I will be by the channel. Even if we don't learn anything new, I just look forward to getting Jay's take on it. (unless he hates it of course)

Just to remind folks, Jay really liked the Cybertruck...

 

[E90400K]

Last I checked the internet is open every day of the year (even on holidays). Slate has every opportunity to put out new information any time it wants. What all of us want to know is what is the real, exact price for the straight-off-the-assembly-line, monochrome gray Slate Truck. Most of us also want to know what the price is for the 84.3kWh battery.

If Jay drives a prototype Truck then his opinion is useless.

 

[bloo]

If he's driving a pre-production truck, then his observations will have merit.

 

[cadblu]

If Jay drives a prototype Truck then his opinion is useless.

Maybe, but may we infer that the full production version will be much better than what he reviews today? They do say it's a prototype (see below):

"Jay Leno gets an exclusive first look at the Slate, a revolutionary new electric truck prototype built in Warsaw, Indiana." Designed by industry veterans from the early days of Tesla, Slate is on a mission to rebuild American manufacturing by offering a truly affordable, customizable EV for under $30,000.*

* Does anyone else here find it interesting that this truck priced in the mid-twenties is now being touted as costing under $30K. Are they really both the same?

 

[bloo]

There's always 5 or so people who show up to say "just buy a Maverick", "needs a range extender", "it needs AWD and 6 doors to carry my average midwestern household of 8 children and two large dogs uphill both ways in the snow at a 60 degree angle", and, inexplicably, "the price keeps going up so it'll be $35k or more by release".

The $7500 federal incentive was part of "under $20k" from the start. The incentive went away and they switched to saying "mid-twenties", which is a less numeric version of <$27,500.

Notable from the description though, the "230-mile" figure contradicts Slate's current extended battery number on the specs sheet of 240 miles.

The criticism is worse than that. People are dismissing Slate because it's electric. There is open hostility to EVs right now. Some see the US government as forcing EVs down our throats. This is laughable, of course. Yet these guys see a full-on conspiracy. How is Slate supposed to fight against that?

Oh... and I really hope the 230-mile range is a mistake. I was hoping for the estimate to go up, not down.

 

[Johnologue]

The criticism is worse than that. People are dismissing Slate because it's electric. There is open hostility to EVs right now. Some see the US government as forcing EVs down our throats. This is laughable, of course. Yet these guys see a full-on conspiracy. How is Slate supposed to fight against that?

Oh... and i really hope the 230-mile range is a mistake. I was hoping for the estimate to go up, not down.

Slate doesn't need to fight that conspiracy. People who actively hate on EVs whenever they're mentioned aren't anyone's target market, they're just annoying.

I also wouldn't actually worry about numbers fluctuating slightly. It doesn't necessarily mean anything, people throw around different numbers with different rationale constantly. $25k isn't a real number, it's just how people are handling "mid-twenties", which is deliberately vague (and "under" 20k was always vague). Then people say "under 30k" after adding $5k for the SUV kit or other add-ons, then they quote each other.

I've also seen people give out higher range numbers when talking about different versions of the Slate, suggesting that maybe the SUV kits will add range by being more aerodynamic? It's a rough estimate of a rough estimate.

 

[E90400K]

Maybe, but may we infer that the full production version will be much better than what he reviews today? They do say it's a prototype (see below):

"Jay Leno gets an exclusive first look at the Slate, a revolutionary new electric truck prototype built in Warsaw, Indiana." Designed by industry veterans from the early days of Tesla, Slate is on a mission to rebuild American manufacturing by offering a truly affordable, customizable EV for under $30,000.*

* Does anyone else here find it interesting that this truck priced in the mid-twenties is now being touted as costing under $30K. Are they really both the same?

I'm as much a fan of Jay Leno as anyone. To me he is one of the most authoritative automotive enthusiasts on the planet. He knows more about automotive history and especially American automotive history than the most seasoned automotive experts and even industry veterans. On top, he doesn't need any money and does most anything automotive related (content) for the pure joy of interest in it. It's why we all take such interest and importance in his opinions on things automotive.

Let's hope we learn some things new today.

 

[clofan]

90 second warning, the stream is live

 

[The Weatherman]

I thought the review went well and I noticed the truck was very quiet. The suspension looked a little stiff, but that may change on production units.

Overall, good video.

 

[bloo]

That. Was. Terrible.

 

[Letas]

Fine video, nothing too groundbreaking or new to come from it that I observed, perhaps someone else picked up something. Jay and Doug are two of the biggest "car guys" online, so this review will certainly get more eyes on the car. Comments were a mixed bag. The in-car driving portion seemed a bit loud from a road noise perspective, but could be attributed to mic setup, prototype, no music, etc.

 

[bloo]

I doubt we will learn anything new.

You were correct.