Slate Truck Announced

he spends all his time singing virtues of the 6th gen but is refuse to trade in his 5th gen. We all know what he is doing.

 

Fair enough.

That's fine. But, I was just saying that you can get into a 4Runner for less than $60K.

 

In you view 45k(plus tax and T&L) 4x4 suv is a reasonably priced vehicle for everyone?

 

I've made both positive and negative comments about the 6th gen. I've even explained why I don't want one.

No.

But, compared to the rest of the market, $45K for a BOF 4wd SUV seems pretty normal right now.

 

I guess my initial post in here was pretty useless, so I deleted it.

I don't dislike the idea of inexpensive, basic vehicles. I'd just rather see something like this with an ICE engine option.

I suppose it could be nice for running around in the city and hauling supplies for home projects.

Edit: also, I suppose a benefit of manual windows is that it doesn't draw power from the battery. I hadn't thought of this earlier.

 

Chances are this will disappear altogether from lack of funding. A new startup can feasibly only build pricey, low-volume vehicles. Think Tesla in the Roadster days or Ineos making the Grenadier. This phase is necessary to get enough of a foothold in the market to come up with the $6 billion or so needed to tool up for mass production.

 

Did you skip over the discussion about the $7K tax credit?

 

I guess it depends on how much Besos gets involved. A cheap vehicle that you could buy on Amazon and have delivered to your door seems like a worthwhile venture.

 

Why the ICE? That already exists in the form of a Maverick or Santa Cruz.

 

Meh it'll be 30k or more..

Why we can't have that toyota hilux for like 15k or the custom 10k truck (s. Korea?) - someone will post it here some

 

I was just going off the advertised price.

Side note: I'm not really thrilled to know that my taxes are being used to pay people to buy EV's. I wish the government would cancel these programs and let people buy EV's because they actually want them.

Just personal preference. But, I'm sure an EV works fine for a lot of people.

 

I follow a few auto blogs, and whenever trucks come up, the comment sections are always full of commenters wanting exactly this, a simple truck without screens and electrical gizmos that's the size of an 80s Toyota mini truck.

Yeah, you're not going to haul the family across the country while towing an RV, but as a daily around town runabout that can handle trips to the dump and lumber yard, this could be great. It would also be great for fleet use, such as auto parts delivery.

I can see there being buyers for this.

 

I get how you’re feeling but I have a more positive opinion of this incentive.

There’s a lot of things that companies won’t tackle left to their own devices, especially short-term loss for long-term gain - so the government offers sweeten the pot and incentivize certain decisions.

In this case it’s to promote early adoption by consumers and tech research by manufacturers since electric cars still have some of that infrastructure chicken-and-egg problem and the development won’t be put in if they’re not going to actually be put into a product.

That and it’s also a strategic goal - whether using less fuel as a nation, having more competitive offerings/less catch-up to do if electric cars do take off in other markets US manufacturers are in, etc.

there’s so many things I rather not pay for (interstates in North Dakota? Who lives there?) but alas, we’re generally all stuck together and the whole point is for this entity to (ideally) have everyone in mind and give everyone access. Same way USPS delivers to everyone in the nation. Plenty of routes are not economically feasible but I absolutely want whoever lives in the middle of Montana to get their mail.

Edit: Removed more off-topic bit at the end and added more instead

 

As I said, I don't have anything against inexpensive, simple vehicles.

I still don't know how much overlap there's going to be between those looking for a cheap, simple pickup and those wanting a 2wd EV.

I definitely see there being buyers. I just don't see it being appealing to a lot of the people on this forum, myself included.

 

I would think the this may be of interest to retired suburban guys, on a budget, who drive to the hardware store and the old man breakfasts every week. (More of them then you would think) Also young urban hipsters if they ever figure out how to street charge an EV.

 

It’s like a modern version of an 80’s ranger. Remember how many people used to drive single cab 2WD trucks. Rangers, S10s, Toyotas and Mazdas were everywhere.

 

A lot of people didnt pay attention to the Ford Lightning release and first wave of buyers (remorse)
People with plenty of money bought them up front to be in the latest and greatest ($95,000-$110,000) and were promised a 250-320 mile range and were getting 150-170 and IF they hooked to a trailer or boat they were lucky to get 70-80. One owner on his first day hooked to his boat and got stranded with a dead battery in about 65-70 miles if i remember. At least he looked nice and shiny and new.
The thing with gasoline is its easy, plentiful, and cheap and there is a gas station on every corner so when you run low you can easily just pull over, take a right, and pull into a gas station. The EVs are not that easy and you have to plan trips around stops. Thats fine when you load up and it tells you that you have 320 miles of range, and you'll stop at a station 290 miles away but you (whoopsie) run low at 230 miles and cant make it to the charging station and there isnt one within 40 miles of you............. Then you are screwed.

 

My neighborhood has a lot of older guys like this who still roll in their early 2000s 2wd 4 cylinder regular or extended cab Tacos. These are guys who live in paid off 2m+ homes and probably sitting on 8 to low 9 figure portfolios who haven't worked since their late 40s or early 50s.

Meanwhile our local BART station and apartment complexes are full of late model Tacos and 4Runners.

 

I have had about 11 or 12 regular cab 89-2004 Toyota pickup and tacomas. I absolutely love them and still own a 1992 regular cab 2wd and they are a blast to poke around on and just ride back roads and zip in and out of stuff. They are small, nimble, easy, cheap, and reliable. Using 100% gas and being easy on the throttle i have gotten 27-29mpg out of them pretty easily. Kinda crazy with all the new technological advancements and EPA emissions standards and regulations and we cant get that kinda MPG out of any of the current model trucks. They're bigger, heavier, tires are bigger, and tuning isnt the same. I certainly wish we could go back to old style stuff all the time.

 

No it is not. You just live in a bubble in which 45k SUVs are "normal"

The vast majority of Americans who work for a living don't have money for a 45k BOF SUV to commute with. 60% of the country can't come up with 1000 dollars for an emergency. Millions of people can't pay back their student loans and clamouring for student loan forgiveness.

 

Looks like they've been working on this quite a bit in the background, a factory site acquired in Indiana: https://www.theverge.com/news/658223/slate-factory-electric-truck-location-indiana

CAFE footprint standards killed the small combustion truck - last compact Ranger rolled off the line 14 years ago; last single-cab Tacoma rolled off the line 11 years ago. Oddly enough I think the EV powertrain is what makes this truck even viable.

 

The pre-Taco pickups were great little trucks that will never be able to be replicated. I remember when my cousins used to work at NUMMI that cranked those out for the US market, one time when I was about 10 I visited the plant with my uncle and it was literally kid in a candy store moment for me seeing so many pickups of bright colors lined up for shipment.

 

When we get invited to the friendly get-togethers and friends-givings and get to catch up with all our 40yo friends who all have different lives so we dont get to see each other every day we try to catch up. Its so crazy how many of them are in platinum f250s, platinum expeditions, AT4 GMC trucks and Tahoes and when the topic comes up of how much things cost these days they all pretty much in unison say
"meh, its just a note"

Me, i roll in a number of older, paid off vehicles. They all look new, nice, and are nice models with modern amenities and typically everyone looks at me like i am rich because i have so many "nice" vehicles but i bought them one at a time at a fraction of new price and paid them off and have held onto them and make them look nice. One of my friends has a 2024 F250 Tremor with all the bells and whistles, sticker was $96,000 and he traded in something, and put $20,000 down, and still has a $1,300 a month note. That along with a massive house he is probably having to cough up $3,000 a month for and his wife is in a 2/3yo platinum expedition as well. I cant see having $5500-$6000 a month in HARD notes that you cant get out from under. This along with cell phones, insurance, TV, cable, internet, light bills, groceries, he's probably having to come up with $8,000 a month just to get by. Kinda nuts people put themselves in those situations, its easy to see that many have gotten themselves into debt they cant pay and are getting behind. The 30 / 60 / 90 day mortgage in arrears reports are getting worse and worse. Something like 8% of all auto loans are 30 days behind, something like 4% are 60 days behind and like 2-3% are 90 days behind. The credit card debt is the highest its ever been at over $1 trillion. Crazy to think people are buying groceries on credit cards and then having to pay 20+% interest on it as well.

 

Okay, now do tariffs and jobs lost over the years due to NAFTA, China entering WTO and IT Outsourcing.

 

I have had 8 or 9 of the 89-95 trucks, all 22RE regular cabs. I love them and always look for the Japan models. Those engines held up better. The Japan models had the crack dash problem that the US market models didnt have but the Japan models were the better of the two in terms of long term reliability. My first was an 89 regular cab 4wd and man i wish i could have it back today. My current beater is a 92 2wd regular cab, it looks nice for its age and the interior is mint. I run to the co-op and gas station and drive it back and forth to work sometimes. AC still cranks loud and it drives nice. It doesnt weigh anything so the tires seem to last forever.

 

That's the paradox of America. We are the world's most important consumer market because financially illiterate Americans heavily depend on their credit to finance purchases. But if everyone is prudent then we get Japanese and Chinese style domestic stagnation. China is the way they are because their consumers have tightened their belts since the late 2010s and their government and exporters have been using other countries to make up the margins.

 

If you charge at home and leave each morning you should be fine for most trips.

 

If you put significant enough miles on the EV to require it to be charged nightly, you would be racking up so many miles, the depreciation on that EV would wipe out any savings on gasoline.

 

Totally agree, but I'm thinking about it in the other direction. The people who have a smaller budget and need a truck occasionally aren't going to buy a bare bones second car that will sit most of the time. They are also unlikely to buy a very specialized vehicle at a decently high price compared to used options.

I can't see the Slate usurping something like old Rangers and Frontiers for people who want a truck, but are on a budget. An easy $10k in savings will buy a lot of gas.

And despite the talk on enthusiast forums, I don't think people looking to spend 20-30k will be satisfied with zero creature comforts. I actually think the Slate is too expensive for what it claims to be.

 

That was true ten years ago. Nowadays though, older simple Rangers, Tacos and Frontiers in good condition are fetching higher and higher prices already. With all the new trucks being turbo'ed and computerized everything even parking brakes, the days of cheap used easy to repair used truck is coming to an end. In a few years when the supply of lightly used 3rd gen Tacos dry up, a mid 20k relatively simple new truck will look better and better, even if it is electric, unless Toyota somehow decides to build a small budget model below the Taco.