InsideEVs Podcast - Can Ford's Sub-$30k Fathom EV Truck Beat Slate?

[AZFox]

Slate Drive First Impressions section starts at around 14 minutes.

Edit:
So, finally, I mean, um, we I got to sit in and ride along in a slate, whatever it was, a month ago, a month or two ago. Um, I was fairly impressed. Like, I felt like it was pretty quick, felt solid, felt fairly comfortable. That was also only like a 10-minute ride.

Um, now we're getting actual reviews. We had a contributor actually drive and review this thing, drive it for more than that, like 5 10 minutes. We've had a bunch of other reviews come out from Car and Driver others. Um, and overall the results are pretty good.

Like I think that in general you look at the slate and somebody's first thought might be, okay, well like is this thing just going to be a piece of crap? Like is it going to be on the road? Like I get I get the minimalist thing, but like when I'm actually driving it, is it going to feel like a piece of crap? And no, it apparently it doesn't.

Like all the reviewers pretty much say that acceleration is not blowing you away, but it's pretty solid. Like it feels like it has enough to get around town and, you know, has that EV like pep in its step. Gets off a stoplight. Nice.

Um, our reviewer said that it is um, uh, said that he was expecting all these like creeks and wines and powertrain noises and wind noise and he found the whole experience pretty pleasant, like he didn't really experience any of that. Um, others mentioned, you know, easy to maneuver in like parking lots, urban settings.

Um, [that] the suspension is is pretty good apparently. not too crashy over bumps. Yeah. So, all these things that you might think they kind of skimped on, it seems like at least from the powertrain and driving experience perspective, the early reviews are pretty positive. Yeah, it sounds like they've gotten the fundamentals pinned down.

 

[Freyar]

Again the "creature comforts" argument without really considering the ongoing cost. I should probably stop watching these until after I sleep.

EDIT: Glad to hear that the general review for the ride along was good enough. Good enough is A-OK for something to get me around A-to-B.

 

[AeroWolf]

I actually watched another YouTube that went further into the details on the Ford Fathom.

The YouTuber went into the fine print for all those creature comforts in the Ford Fathom, and all of them basically require subscription fees on top of a $50/month basic subscription for the required telematics.

 

[Freyar]

I actually watched another YouTube that went further into the details on the Ford Fathom.

The YouTuber went into the fine print for all those creature comforts in the Ford Fathom, and all of them basically require subscription fees on top of a $50/month basic subscription for the required telematics.

Which one? As much as I am unhappy with Ford, I do like to know what's going on so I can keep options open.

 

[AeroWolf]

Which one? As much as I am unhappy with Ford, I do like to know what's going on so I can keep options open.

Here is the link to the video

 

[Freyar]

Here is the link to the video

Ah, yes. Thanks. I've watched through that one. There are some comparisons that make me scratch my head as it doesn't keep it like-for-like, but still interesting to hear the perspective and past experience.

 

[1yeliab_sufur1]

I actually watched another YouTube that went further into the details on the Ford Fathom.

The YouTuber went into the fine print for all those creature comforts in the Ford Fathom, and all of them basically require subscription fees on top of a $50/month basic subscription for the required telematics.

was it this guy

 

[TPL]

If I'm not mistaken, and I often am, it's this one:

 

[evilsaloon]

Again the "creature comforts" argument without really considering the ongoing cost. I should probably stop watching these until after I sleep.

EDIT: Glad to hear that the general review for the ride along was good enough. Good enough is A-OK for something to get me around A-to-B.

I'm not an auto journalist, or a car enthusiast, which I assume makes me the perfect Slate buyer. I think a lot of car enthusiasts misunderstand the value that people place on their cars. Of course, we all want our hobbies and interests to be at the forefront of everyone's minds, but most people genuinely only want something to get the job done. As a tech enthusiast, I've long accepted the fact that people don't get excited about the latest Apple Silicon chip or whatever new form factor Samsung invented for their phones. Likewise, I think most auto journalists have a bias about "the average buyer" and what they value. There's a real disconnect from what the different classes of auto buyers want.

I'm not a car person. I've been trying to understand the internals of my car, but I still don't know how to change a tire or where the brake fluid cap is without digging out the car manual. I want four wheels, and that they turn where I want them to turn. I don't make money with my car, it's an ongoing expense that I want to minimize as much as possible. Surely I can't be the only Gen-Zer who thinks this way? Surely there's more people like me, right in Slate's many stated target audiences?

 

[petefromwisconsin]

I doubt that Ford can survive on the profits provided by a vehicle that sells for $30,000. They really need 25-30% margins on 60-80k$ trucks. A 30k$ Fathom will undercut their own sales. I don't see them doing it but if they do, their other offerings will have to subsidize the Fathom. They can however make a few of them and expense them out as research, which Chrysler did with their turbine engine cars some 60 years ago.

 

[BobSentMe]

I doubt that Ford can survive on the profits provided by a vehicle that sells for $30,000. They really need 25-30% margins on 60-80k$ trucks. A 30k$ Fathom will undercut their own sales. I don't see them doing it but if they do, their other offerings will have to subsidize the Fathom. They can however make a few of them and expense them out as research, which Chrysler did with their turbine engine cars some 60 years ago.

Well, it's simple. You make some, but not a lot, then you let dealers upsell the people who were willing to pay 30k into a 70k truck!

Easy peasy lemon squeezy, rocket profits!

 

[KevinRS]

I'm not an auto journalist, or a car enthusiast, which I assume makes me the perfect Slate buyer. I think a lot of car enthusiasts misunderstand the value that people place on their cars. Of course, we all want our hobbies and interests to be at the forefront of everyone's minds, but most people genuinely only want something to get the job done. As a tech enthusiast, I've long accepted the fact that people don't get excited about the latest Apple Silicon chip or whatever new form factor Samsung invented for their phones. Likewise, I think most auto journalists have a bias about "the average buyer" and what they value. There's a real disconnect from what the different classes of auto buyers want.

I'm not a car person. I've been trying to understand the internals of my car, but I still don't know how to change a tire or where the brake fluid cap is without digging out the car manual. I want four wheels, and that they turn where I want them to turn. I don't make money with my car, it's an ongoing expense that I want to minimize as much as possible. Surely I can't be the only Gen-Zer who thinks this way? Surely there's more people like me, right in Slate's many stated target audiences?

I think that puts you right in the stated audience. One issue is they aren't really taking the demos to that audience so far, with events in high rent beach areas.

 

[Freyar]

I think a lot of car enthusiasts misunderstand the value that people place on their cars. [....]As a tech enthusiast, I've long accepted the fact that people don't get excited about the latest Apple Silicon chip [...]for their phones. Likewise, I think most auto journalists have a bias about "the average buyer" and what they value.

I don't make money with my car, it's an ongoing expense that I want to minimize as much as possible. Surely there's more people like me, right in Slate's many stated target audiences?

Yup, similar stance as I have. I just wish the conversation had more about how the big current players screw you over the long term. "You get the Blooz Crooz".. yeah, but at what cost? $50/month and a file of every single trip you take that no other business has a right to have data on but gets it anyway so they can up your insurance 20-60% and deny coverage before you even talk to them?

Like you, I also see my transportation as an expense. I don't drive often, I don't need to, I need the costs to be minimal, and I need my things to be mine to decide how to fix (be it a professional job or learning how to do it myself). Maybe later on down the line if the industry stops being so invasive and controlling, I might actually become a car guy.

 

[sidneyhornblower]

I'm not an auto journalist, or a car enthusiast, which I assume makes me the perfect Slate buyer. I think a lot of car enthusiasts misunderstand the value that people place on their cars.
----snip----

I think it was Lee Iococca who famously said something like, "The average person just wants a car that can sit outside in the rain all night and then crank up in the morning so they can go to work." The auto industry knows that, but it's a lot more fun for them to make commercials for car enthusiasts.

 

[ChuckB]

Here is the link to the video

I’m still on the fence. I think his comparison was valid up until when he added all the nice to have options to the Fathom. IMO, folks interested in the basic Slate would not add all the nice to haves he added. The end comparison was a skewed high cost for the Fathom making the whole thing an unfair comparison.