Pics & Impressions from Slate showing in Denver today

[ScooterAsheville]

I don't know if this is feasible from a manufacturing viewpoint. But it would be cool if, down the road a few years, Slate offered differently stained body color panels. Then, instead of wrapping, customers could swap panels.

So I could buy a dark red stained thermoplastic Slate. And you could buy a gray one. And then we could swap a few panels and have tons of fun. Our Slates could become quilts that morph over time. Slates could become patchwork quilts, driving conventional people to distraction and giving them headaches when they pass us on the road.

Or to put it another way, our Slates could become rolling Rubik Cubes. I'm visualizing a poor man's version of the classic BMW art cars.

 

[granite_slate]

Sounds more like a DIY VW Harlequin concept. Individual cars were built as solid colors, and then “scrambled” together at the factory. This one is a red base:

Car and Driver: VW Harlequin

Love me some BMW art cars though. The Warhol M1 is my favorite; I visit it every chance I get.

 

[atx_ev]

I don't know if this is feasible from a manufacturing viewpoint. But it would be cool if, down the road a few years, Slate offered differently stained body color panels. Then, instead of wrapping, customers could swap panels.

So I could buy a dark red stained thermoplastic Slate. And you could buy a gray one. And then we could swap a few panels and have tons of fun. Our Slates could become quilts that morph over time. Slates could become patchwork quilts, driving conventional people to distraction and giving them headaches when they pass us on the road.

Or to put it another way, our Slates could become rolling Rubik Cubes. I'm visualizing a poor man's version of the classic BMW art cars.

if they publish the specs I bet 3rd parties start producing colored panels.

 

[SLATEchad]

What are the clamps on the struts for? Why not no struts and just use a single prop bar?

I think they likely feel like this will be used and opened a lot more than the standard hood covering the engine bay, as this is meant to be a storage space. I'd be annoyed about having to hold the hood up and set the prop bar if I've got my bag in one hand or whatever I may be loading up.

 

[AZFox]

The clamps were there to keep people from closing the hood onto other people’s fingers.

This. For one reason or another they installed the clamps to keep people from closing the frunk.

The company is engineering an experience. The experience of futzing with a prop bar is a PITA, so they opted for hassle-free struts.

 

[Adam W]

Y'all pushing for a prop bar are crazy. Even though it's in the front, the hood covers the Slate's trunk. Can you think of any regular car that has a prop bar to hold open the trunk?

Edit: i must have skipped a whole page of the conversation, as i now see others already made this point.

 

[Daemoch]

Thinking of it as a storage area that you're going to be getting in and out of all the time.....yah, struts might make more sense. I normally prefer prop rods on a hood, but on this one I'm going to have to say struts are the better choice.

 

[Daemoch]

Y'all pushing for a prop bar are crazy. Even though it's in the front, the hood covers the Slate's trunk. Can you think of any regular car that has a prop bar to hold open the trunk?

Edit: i must have skipped a whole page of the conversation, as i now see others already made this point.

For some reason I'm noticing my browser keeps dropping the last page of comments on this Forum until I hit "Submit". Might be a website issue.

 

[Luxrage]

Struts give you that nice 'psweeeeeeee' noise when they go up. Can't get that in a prop rod!

 

[Doctors Do Little]

Struts give you that nice 'psweeeeeeee' noise when they go up. Can't get that in a prop rod!

Ha! "Click" is certainly not as satisfying. (But better than my Lightning frunk currently -- (silence = not working)).