POLL: What are you most interested about with the Slate truck?

[AZFox]

I think pick-up form factor should be a choice. My (2) primaries would be EV Powertrain and pick-up form factor. If it was a mid-twenties compact hatchback like a Nissan Leaf or Chevy Bolt, I wouldn't give it a 2nd look.

Same.

Tisha Johnson's small pickup design with a "timeless and familiar form" was a welcomed sight.

I wasn't considering an EV. Now that I know more I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

[SichuanHot]

Then they scam us out of right to repair.

That's a feature, not a bug for the auto manufacturers. They don't want you fixing and driving a 20 year old car for a few grand every 10 years. They want you to pony up and buy a 40k car.

 

[E90400K]

That's a feature, not a bug for the auto manufacturers. They don't want you fixing and driving a 20 year old car for a few grand every 10 years. They want you to pony up and buy a 40k car.

Eh, I don't see it this way, I think this whole right to repair issue is overblown. I have been repairing my own cars for 45+ years and have never found any of the manufacturers of my vehicles withholding information or parts that has prevented me from maintaining my fleet.

I have a subscription to All-Data for some of my cars and 3rd-party service information for others in my fleet. My newest, MY 2022, has been maintainable so far; just oil changes at this point. The dealership sells the oil and oil filters, and the vehicle uses standard metric fasteners.

And to be contrary, auto manufacturers make a significant profit from the public maintaining and repairing old cars via parts sales and dealership-level maintenance/service.

 

[bloo]

Eh, I don't see it this way, I think this whole right to repair issue is overblown. I have been repairing my own cars for 45+ years and have never found any of the manufacturers of my vehicles withholding information or parts that has prevented me from maintaining my fleet.

I have a subscription to All-Data for some of my cars and 3rd-party service information for others in my fleet. My newest, MY 2022, has been maintainable so far; just oil changes at this point. The dealership sells the oil and oil filters, and the vehicle uses standard metric fasteners.

And to be contrary, auto manufacturers make a significant profit from the public maintaining and repairing old cars via parts sales and dealership-level maintenance/service.

To be contrary to your contrary, it's the dealers who make money off of auto maintenance. They charge the labor and mark-up the OEM parts. Shade-tree mechanics use their own labor and often buy aftermarket.

You have a subscription to All Data because you own a fleet. How many individuals can afford the extra to get that info?

 

[E90400K]

To be contrary to your contrary, it's the dealers who make money off of auto maintenance. They charge the labor and mark-up the OEM parts. Shade-tree mechanics use their own labor and often buy aftermarket.

You have a subscription to All Data because you own a fleet. How many individuals can afford the extra to get that info?

By "fleet", I mean my personal fleet of cars (i.e. more than one); it's not a commercial fleet, if that is what you are thinking. And All Data-DIY is a subscription for home mechanics and costs $130 for 3-years. A lot cheaper than needing to re-wrap my Slate every 3 years at $500 a pop.

And I have enough experience that taking a car apart and putting it back together is not rocket science. A brake refurb job on a car is pretty much the same regardless of manufacturer. Since the advent of OBDII mandated by the Feds for cars MY 1996 and forward, a decent OBDII scan tool is $50 and usable on any make or model. This whole right to repair issue is over blown IMO. It's more like people don't want to pay for the detailed repair information they might need.

Dealerships buy parts from their manufacturer. A lot of independent shops buy OE parts from the manufacturer as well.

And the Slate will be an EV, so it will never break because... less moving parts... Right?

 

[Kopsis]

This whole right to repair issue is over blown IMO.

It only seems that way because automakers actually have not heavily infringed on it. What if automakers started going the Apple route of serialized modules so you were unable to use 3rd party replacement parts and even an OEM replacement would have to be installed by an "authorized dealer" so they could digitally authorize the serialized replacement? Independent farmers are already living this nightmare trying to maintain farm machinery, and we're only a few bad decisions away from the same thing happening in the automotive space.

Slate doesn't really offer any right-to-repair benefits today. But it's important to laud their efforts to preserve that as a message to other automakers.

 

[MIDgrid]

Maybe there should be a reverse version of this poll; is there anything on the list that isn't a motivation for you? I could easily say no to that question. When I consider all the reasons on the list (and I want all of them), it easily rules out every other vehicle choice that will be available in the same time frame as the Slate Truck, that I'm aware of. And I'm getting too old to wait 5 or more years for a new crop of EV's that "might" be close enough to the Slate Truck to be an option I'd be willing to consider. Sure in my not too cold climate I'd be a little happier with LFP batteries, which Slate may offer sometime in the future, and yes it would be nice to be sure that Slate will survive - but I'm willing to live with these factors and get started enjoying my Slate Truck as soon as my April reservation allows!

 

[eightOne]

Simplicity, low maintenance, modularity. This is a perfect first vehicle for the kiddos in stock form. No extra seats to give rides. No crazy tech to distract. And safety features

 

[sidneyhornblower]

Pretty simple: I just want a small pickup truck and nobody makes one anymore. I might settle for Ford's Maverick, but it's still too big and too full featured for what I want, which is a small and simple truck whose job is mainly to move me around and only occasionally haul a few sheets of plywood or something. I still miss the Chevy Luv I used to drive back in the '80s, and I'm ticked that the stupid CAFE standards have erased small pickups from our roads.

 

[E90400K]

It only seems that way because automakers actually have not heavily infringed on it. What if automakers started going the Apple route of serialized modules so you were unable to use 3rd party replacement parts and even an OEM replacement would have to be installed by an "authorized dealer" so they could digitally authorize the serialized replacement? Independent farmers are already living this nightmare trying to maintain farm machinery, and we're only a few bad decisions away from the same thing happening in the automotive space.

Slate doesn't really offer any right-to-repair benefits today. But it's important to laud their efforts to preserve that as a message to other automakers.

Okay, so we are discussing a future issue that may never come to fruition, then?

I do not think the regulations that mandate OBDII allow for manufacturers to use proprietary hardware closed from repair or replacement by non-OEM repair facilities; that is the whole impetus behind OBDII.

Perhaps there are loopholes with EV since EV do not fall under Federal emissions regulations, yet I think I recently read somewhere where CARB (i.e. California) is mandating OBDII-like repairability open source as it did for ICEV some 30+ years ago. I still doubt Slate is going to release repair information as open-source to the public considering the liabilities associated with potential electrocution risks working on high-voltage EV battery systems. Maybe they will.

In the Repair Pal thread it was reported that Slate says there will be no propriety manufacturer tools required to service the HV system (if I understand that correctly). I'm taking that with a grain of salt since I would think the unique architecture* the Slate EV battery will dictate specific battery system diagnostic tools (software at a minimum) to diagnose and service the battery.

*All manufacturer's EV batteries are comprised of unique architecture (in some form) using standard battery cells based on their service applications as a traction battery feeding a unique downstream EV drivetrain housed in unique individualized chassis.

 

[danielt1263]

... what's most exciting about the Blank Slate for people?

My requirements have not changed... I'm looking for the cheapest new EV that can tow. So far, nothing else even comes close.
Hell, even a new ICE vehicle that can tow costs at least as much.

 

[ScooterAsheville]

I’m so tired of auto manufacturers chasing trends and treating me like a moron.

I often wonder about this. Designers often seem to chase their own egos. OTOH, it's a consumner business. If you don't appeal to the consumer you don't sell. The buying public is fickle. Lead times are half a decade. So a designer or program manager is guessing what the public is going to want in five years. And when you have the public in for response testing, research has shown that they unintentionally lie - they say they want things that they actually don't buy.

Dealers will telll you that customers walk right past low cost, entry level vehicles they can afford and gp straight to the loaded and bloated vehicle they can't afford. Which is why we're now in the era of thousand dollar car payments and 100 month loan terms (Source: CarEdge's podcast yesterday).

So as much as I want to put designers and program managers on a stage and publicly berate them, who really belongs on the stage is the American car and truck buying public. We are the ones living above our means. OEMs are responding to how we act, not what we say.

OTOH, the brilliant success of the Maverick is a testament that there is a segment of the public that rushes to buy if you give them what they perceive to be a lot of car for not a lot of money (at least before the price went up 37%).

 

[The Weatherman]

EV, Small Pickup, Affordable, Modifiable

 

[Bayfire2441]

Okay, so we are discussing a future issue that may never come to fruition, then?

I do not think the regulations that mandate OBDII allow for manufacturers to use proprietary hardware closed from repair or replacement by non-OEM repair facilities; that is the whole impetus behind OBDII.

Perhaps there are loopholes with EV since EV do not fall under Federal emissions regulations, yet I think I recently read somewhere where CARB (i.e. California) is mandating OBDII-like repairability open source as it did for ICEV some 30+ years ago. I still doubt Slate is going to release repair information as open-source to the public considering the liabilities associated with potential electrocution risks working on high-voltage EV battery systems. Maybe they will.

In the Repair Pal thread it was reported that Slate says there will be no propriety manufacturer tools required to service the HV system (if I understand that correctly). I'm taking that with a grain of salt since I would think the unique architecture* the Slate EV battery will dictate specific battery system diagnostic tools (software at a minimum) to diagnose and service the battery.

*All manufacturer's EV batteries are comprised of unique architecture (in some form) using standard battery cells based on their service applications as a traction battery feeding a unique downstream EV drivetrain housed in unique individualized chassis.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think its any secret that industry backed lobby groups already try to fight right to repair cases and put out anti consumer messaging saying that small mechanic shops can't be trusted doing work. Also, the whole debacle with Hyundai and their brake pad software last month. I'm not going to say I'm super informed, but I also dont trust companies to ever do the right thing by their customers, so, the less a dealer or auto maker needs to be relied upon, the better.

 

[Bayfire2441]

Maybe there should be a reverse version of this poll; is there anything on the list that isn't a motivation for you? I could easily say no to that question. When I consider all the reasons on the list (and I want all of them), it easily rules out every other vehicle choice that will be available in the same time frame as the Slate Truck, that I'm aware of. And I'm getting too old to wait 5 or more years for a new crop of EV's that "might" be close enough to the Slate Truck to be an option I'd be willing to consider. Sure in my not too cold climate I'd be a little happier with LFP batteries, which Slate may offer sometime in the future, and yes it would be nice to be sure that Slate will survive - but I'm willing to live with these factors and get started enjoying my Slate Truck as soon as my April reservation allows!

I was thinking about doing a poll about what people are most concerned about with the Slate next but thats a good idea too.