Were you first drawn to the Slate itself or the headline price?

[BeachHead]

I believe it was the ‘Value’ proposition it offers. So it’s a combination of price and product that makes it attractive to me.

That's me also. It was the whole package that got my interest: anticipated price and anticipated product. Now, when it comes to decision time, we will see if the actual price and the actual product still make sense. Lots of time for either of those things to change enough that the value evaporates.

 

[bartflossom]

I selected "must have" simply because from the second I read about it, and then saw the intro video, I knew I must have it. I've wanted a small electric truck forever.

 

[AZFox]

As of now Minimalist Design is in the lead with Utility a close second.

Didn't expect that. It's encouraging.

 

[TikiCaster]

Minimalist Design, Value Prop, Price and I love the fact it is a 2-door! That is getting harder and harder to find!

 

[Susan]

I've been wanting a small 2 door electric truck for years. And the price seems to be right.

One thing I really don't want is a built in infotainment center that pushes ads, which I hear some automakers are doing. I really don't want to have to put an ad blocker in my car!

 

[SLATEchad]

Definitely the value proposition as others have said. I love the design (I’ve always enjoyed boxy SUV’s) and I love the idea of working on a car for fun projects with all the customization options as opposed to being on back with bloody knuckles and oil drilling all over me changing what web fluid is due this month. If they don’t keep the price down it will lose a lot of its appeal though. Hoping for $25k or less for the base, and $3k or less for the extended range battery. Lots of people I see keep saying there’s no way they keep the base price below $27 or even $30k, but I think Slate knows they don’t have a market if the price is too high.

 

[Luxrage]

• Looks cool
• Price
• Minimalist
• Customization

I'm one of those holdouts that pickups (and even some SUVs) should be two doors. Growing up we had nothing but coupes and two-door pickups, in highschool we all had two door coupes and two door trailblazers and the only SUVs I lusted over were Broncos, Navajos, 2-door Tahoes, etc. I just think they look better. Heck, one of the big selling points for me with the Element was that it looks like it's a two door.

I find my four-door Fit perfectly practical but from appearances... Let's just say it was runner up to a two-door Civic Si hatch that I couldn't find clean examples of!

I eat lunch in my car at work a lot and the idea of being able to run the AC without the engine on alone puts me on team EV, I just don't like round crossovers and don't want a Tesla due to their interiors.

Put a white spare tire cover on it, white text decal, and the white roof and it's good enough for me, welcome back Geo Tracker Jr.!

 

[atx_ev]

Creating a poll to determine whether you were drawn to the Slate for its looks or the price. Let’s be honest.
I added a few other possible responses.

minimalism. I hate modern infotainment systems. My wifes mercedes locked the pin the other day so I couldnt login to the infotainment. That was very frustrating.

My tundra has a minimal bluetooth system for the audio. I use the nav on my phone. I use google assistant on my phone to control the phone functions verbally.

The mercedes mbux system is already obsolete and in 5 or 10 years it will be a dinosaur.

letting us use our own devices is *much* better.

I like the small size, my tundra is too big. My wife refuses to drive it. It can be hard to navigate narrow city streets and park in downtown parking garages.

for me cars have bad depreciation. I use them to go from point a to point b and I dont use them for fashion. I wont decorate the slate at all. I want to pay as little as possible for a car and the slate is great. Ideally I would pay under 30K all in for a blank slate.

 

[findude]

May main draw is probably nostalgia, I put a lot of miles on a Datsun 620 pickup back in the day and it was tremendously versatile and economical at the same time. I also know there will be an EV of some kind in the fleet within the next couple of years, so it's a decision I'll have to make.

 

[SichuanHot]

for me cars have bad depreciation. I use them to go from point a to point b and I dont use them for fashion. I wont decorate the slate at all. I want to pay as little as possible for a car and the slate is great. Ideally I would pay under 30K all in for a blank slate.

I'm with you there. I like to use my cars as they were designed, not baby them over the fear of losing resale value.

 

[RetiredOnPaper]

HELP! I can't stop playing with the Maker. I'm actually more excited with this then I was with my Tesla.

 

[ScooterAsheville]

Now that the incentives have vanished, for me the only real appeal of the Slate is that it is a 174" two door runabout.

 

[Doug T]

I chose Minimalist Design but for a kind of nerdy reason. Watching the Munro Live video, I was struck by the simplicity and elegance of this design. EVs have always had the potential to be the simplest and most reliable of vehicles, and this Slate truck fulfills this potential.

The drive train consists of an EDM (Electric Drive Module) mounted between the rear wheels. It is connected to each of the wheel hubs by a CV axel and connected to the battery by a short high voltage cable. And that is it. That is the entire drive train!

An EDM is a single unit consisting of an inverter, electric motor, reducing gears, and differential. This one is 500mm long (about 20 inches). In the video there is one sitting on a table and therefore it must weigh about 200 pounds or less. This module is mounded to the chassis by 6 bolts. Electric motors have low failure rates, but this unit should also be relatively easy to repair or replace.

The front suspension is a tried, true, simple, and inexpensive MacPherson strut. This design dates back to the 1940's and has been used countless times, from economy cars to high performance racing machines.

The rear features a cost effective De Dion suspension. This design dates back to the 1890s and was first used on a steam-powered vehicle. It is simpler than independent rear suspensions and has less unsprung weight than an E-Axel. I had to look up unsprung weight after watching the video.

In my view this is a strikingly elegant Minimalist Design.