Update: Ford's EV 'Model T moment' Announced

[Tran]

NEWS: The “Model T moment” that Ford CEO Jim Farley has promised for next week will involve a line of affordable EVs assembled in Kentucky with batteries from a new Michigan plant.

Ford informed its suppliers that its projections for a new EV pickup truck will be 190k units annually.

Jim Farley recently revealed that a small crossover riding on the same new EV architecture will follow the mid-size Ford EV pickup one year after it debuts in 2027, but the platform is designed to accommodate up to eight body styles in total.

 

[Dorbiman]

Crossovers and midsize (large) trucks. No thanks.

The new Ranger, Colorado, Frontier, etc are all almost the exact same size as my 2005 Silverado. Wild how big "midsize" pickups have gotten.

 

[AZFox]

the platform is designed to accommodate up to eight body styles in total.

That's a lot of body styles!

If it's larger than a Maverick, it too large.

 

[Daemoch]

There's no infotainment type setup built into the Slate. So adding a bunch of it bundled with a subscription, while also cross promoting the BT speaker and "Bring your own Tablet/Phone" seems pretty counter messaging. Plus, there's nothing stopping me (and a lot encouraging me) to build in my OWN infotainment unit - which is what I want to do anyways. Stick a Nuc in the dash, add my own screen and audio setup, and play Mario Brothers in the parking lot. Heck, I modified my 2000 S10 to be a rolling stage with it's own PA. I'm pretty sure I can do me better than Slate can do me; just sell me the truck already!

There's entire websites/forums dedicated to PC tuning your vehicle, complete with custom made software and hardware. Go to any fancy car show and you'll see oodles of them. I hope Slate focuses on just the core truck and leaves the crazy tuning and customizing to the aftermarket and skips trying to sell stuff as a subscription. Maybe they will license it out for 3rd parties; that would make sense and create additional revenue streams. I guarantee Slate wont be able to compete in the quality or variety that dedicated 3rd parties like Alpine, Soundstream, Hoosier, Eaton, MSD, Borla, Holley, Foose, or any other aftermarket car company out there can and will do. But a TRUE "Made to fit, Slate approved!" 3rd party product line would probably sell better than rando-made ECUs from XetYuYu on Alibaba or Amazon.

And thats before you realize some idiot is going to figure out how to run the whole thing on a Raspberry Pi.

 

[KevinRS]

I think those are just choices they are presenting.
You can run it with no speaker or phone at all.
You can buy or print a bracket to hold a bluetooth speaker you might already have, or one you buy, anywhere from $20 to $200.
You can buy one or more of several speaker options that go in the dash, and probably 3rd parties will be selling those too.
Any speaker options would work with apps you already have, subscription or not. Local radio station has been advertising that you can listen at work with their app, no reason that wouldn't work in the truck if you want local.

My only question on bluetooth speakers: do they work for hands free calling?

 

[Trace26]

Didn't know this existed, pretty cool!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Model_TT

 

[Letas]

There's no infotainment type setup built into the Slate. So adding a bunch of it bundled with a subscription, while also cross promoting the BT speaker and "Bring your own Tablet/Phone" seems pretty counter messaging. Plus, there's nothing stopping me (and a lot encouraging me) to build in my OWN infotainment unit - which is what I want to do anyways. Stick a Nuc in the dash, add my own screen and audio setup, and play Mario Brothers in the parking lot. Heck, I modified my 2000 S10 to be a rolling stage with it's own PA. I'm pretty sure I can do me better than Slate can do me; just sell me the truck already!

There's entire websites/forums dedicated to PC tuning your vehicle, complete with custom made software and hardware. Go to any fancy car show and you'll see oodles of them. I hope Slate focuses on just the core truck and leaves the crazy tuning and customizing to the aftermarket and skips trying to sell stuff as a subscription. Maybe they will license it out for 3rd parties; that would make sense and create additional revenue streams. I guarantee Slate wont be able to compete in the quality or variety that dedicated 3rd parties like Alpine, Soundstream, Hoosier, Eaton, MSD, Borla, Holley, Foose, or any other aftermarket car company out there can and will do. But a TRUE "Made to fit, Slate approved!" 3rd party product line would probably sell better than rando-made ECUs from XetYuYu on Alibaba or Amazon.

And thats before you realize some idiot is going to figure out how to run the whole thing on a Raspberry Pi.

Create the problem, sell the solution.

 

[BahamaTodd]

Ford had their presentation today. No vehicle shown. But it will be a midsize EV pickup starting at $30k. Production to start in 2027 in Kentucky.

 

[Dorbiman]

Ford had their presentation today. No vehicle shown. But it will be a midsize EV pickup starting at $30k. Production to start in 2027 in Kentucky.

Hard to believe this is what they consider in the same vein as the Model T

 

[BahamaTodd]

Hard to believe this is what they consider in the same vein as the Model T

They are calling it the universal EV platform. Many other vehicles are coming later.

 

[Dorbiman]

I'm more referencing price. Starting at $30K doesn't seem groundbreaking to me. That's right around the same price as the Equinox EV

 

[Doctors Do Little]

I'm more referencing price. Starting at $30K doesn't seem groundbreaking to me. That's right around the same price as the Equinox EV

$30K gets you what, though? As we've already speculated to death, $30K is going to get Slate with bigger battery? Is $30K going to get you the not-Mav-not-Ranger with 2 doors in XL trim? Or 4 door in XL trim?

 

[BobSentMe]

$30K gets you what, though? As we've already speculated to death, $30K is going to get Slate with bigger battery? Is $30K going to get you the not-Mav-not-Ranger with 2 doors in XL trim? Or 4 door in XL trim?

Dealerships won't order 2 door models. If you want the cheapest $30k version, you're going to have to jump through hoops, I guarantee it.

 

[Doctors Do Little]

Dealerships won't order 2 door models. If you want the cheapest $30k version, you're going to have to jump through hoops, I guarantee it.

Sounds like a 4-door XL tweener.

 

[skidoofast]

Though I applaud ford

what do you get for $30k
2wd? 4wd
Long range battery or a standard battery
Super short bed

and will it be $30k we are talking 2 years from now
Will dealers order the $30k option
Will dealers mark them up - this is particularly interesting because dealerships make their money off of service - much of that is greatly reduced with an EV