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Aside from being backed by Bezos, this seems like Lemmy the car. Under 20K, an EV, no stupid touch screen, designed to be repaired and modded, and even crank windows.
I bet the catch, aside from Bezos, is the range or charge speed.
I don’t think that it has a cell modem, either, because it sounds like it eschews a baked-in entertainment computer:
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a64564869/2027-slate-truck-revealed/
Roll-down windows come standard, as do manually adjustable rearview mirrors. An audio or infotainment system is noticeably missing, too. Instead, your cellphone or tablet serves these functions, with a dock for the former included and one for the latter available as an optional accessory. Better like the sound coming out from your phone or tablet’s speakers, too, because the Slate lacks speakers, though the brand’s accessory division will gladly hook you up with a set.
Honestly, if you took my last year of comments complaining about privacy-infringing cars and those complaining about changes to what a truck is, this does kind of look to be addressing both. Gotta see what the actual production vehicle is like in real life, of course, but…
When I say the truck is small, I mean it. At 174.6 inches, it’s about 2 feet shorter in overall length than the 2025 Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz. And to use the Wayback Machine to a time when compact pickups were actually compact, it’s roughly the same size as the compact pickups of 1980: the Toyota truck, Chevy LUV and Ford Courier. Notably, no other automakers have offered trucks of this size in America since the mid 1990s.
Yeah, like the “inexpensive, no-frills utility vehicle” that pickups originally were.
because the Slate lacks speakers,
I mean, I get they need to cut costs, but come on… a damn radio wouldnt have killed them
Honestly, as long as it’s easily DIY upgradable (accessible speaker mounting locations, standard DIN panels, etc) I am all for this. Most OEM audio systems are stupidly overpriced and suck complete donkey balls compared to what you can get for a few hundred bucks at Crutchfield and install in an afternoon.
For the last 20 years or so, most factory audio systems are so integrated into the rest of the electronics that they can be an absolute nightmare to upgrade unless you are a pro, which means you get the worst of both worlds: garbage audio, AND a steep upgrade path.
The Citroen AMI doesn’t have speakers either, it comes with a Bluetooth speaker instead, which you can use outside the car. It makes sense if you just think of the entertainment stuff as something that shouldn’t be part of the car and can easily be upgraded/replaced down the line.
You spent hours in that thing and phone speakers are not made to be louder than traffic and drive noises, especially not for so long. Also a radio offers traffic and accident news from local stations. And if they cheap out on speakers I am quite sure they also don’t offer USB ports to charge the phone you run in lieu of a build in system
Speakers are optional. I built one on their site. Speakers are available.
They shouldn’t be an upgrade. Basic speakers are like 50 bucks, for an item that costs 20k, thats a drop in the bucket
This vehicle is clearly meant as an errand truck, not a roadtripper. It wasn’t that long ago when base model work trucks didn’t have a radio or speakers installed.
Quit getting pissy over something that doesn’t even exist yet.
I don’t think that it has a cell modem, either
So it’s not coming to Europe then.
Is there a requirement for big brother data tracking over there?
No but the emergency assistant system is required, and for that you need a cell modem.
Cars must be able to autonomously call emergency services. You don’t need a SIM for that, or for that matter have the modem switched on all the time.
Standard Range (52.7 kWh) (est.): 150 miles
seems like but manageable for most people
That’s not 150 miles of actual driving range, it’s more like 75-100miles of actual range.
They do say that they also offer a larger battery pack with a 240 mi range, but yeah, even so, it’s not gonna be a great vehicle for long-distance highway travel compared to a current ICE vehicle. Fine for a commuter, though.
Don’t buy a truck if you’re just a daily commuter, that’s just plain dumb. Get a BEV with much better efficiency and a tow hitch for the occasional needs.
A bacon egg vehicle?
Battery Electric Vehicle
But…it has a battery? What makes the difference?
I very much doubt their target market is people commuting to the office.
No, the catch is that it isn’t real.
@ me when it’s rolling off the production line.
Until then…it will have
you will be able toUntil then…
it may have
you may be able toNothing they say exists until it exists
well its less it doesnt have a touch screen, the touch screen is an optional purchase.
the range iirc in some overview is 2 options, one was i think 150mi, the other was 240mi
From my other link, I don’t think that the touch screen is an optional purchase. I don’t think that they’re selling any entertainment computer to have a screen on. It says that they come standard with a smartphone mounting point or optionally with a tablet mounting point. But the car computer is bring-your-own, and not built into the car. Which…is what I’ve wanted, because computers age out a lot more quickly than cars do.
I assume that there’ll be an OBD-II slot that one can hook up to to feed data about the car to the phone/tablet. There’s software that can make use of that. Dunno if there’s any other data typically exposed to car computers other than what that provides.
As long as it gets 50+ miles range reliably in winter, it’s perfect as a commuter/weekend project truck. I generally look for 150 miles range for this, since winter can cut effective range in half. I don’t care about charge speed since I’ll just plug it in at night.
Good news, its range is 150 miles.
It will need to have a screen to comply with safety standards. A back up camera is mandatory.
The Citroen Ami is a “cycle car” under French law and doesn’t have to meet the same standards.
It has a camera on the tailgate and the instrument cluster is a display.
Please keep in mind that this is after tax incentives. So let’s just assume the tax incentives are zero and call it 27,000 just to be on the safe side.
Looks about right.
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a64564869/2027-slate-truck-revealed/
The Slate Truck is a bare-bones EV that’s expected to cost a little under $27,500, which can drop to less than $20,000 with the federal EV tax credit included.
Whoa, now that raised an eyebrow. Doesn’t look like the truck bed is ridiculously high. This checks a lot of boxes, and my crap vertebrae agree.
Definitely following this company.
No mention of safety in the article. Does a manufacturer of this size have to do crash tests?
Also, this sounds like the Spirit/Ryanair of cars. Everything costs extra.
For years, I drove ~10-20 minutes to and from work. Mostly stroads and freeway. I could never justify buying an extra nice car because I didn’t use it that much. Same for a nice car stereo. I’d just listen to NPR and talk radio for news, traffic reports, and maybe a quirky story about some cultural oddity or eclectic artist. If I spend thousands on a sound system it goes in my house, where I live and vibe. Now I work from home, ride my bike everywhere, and a tank of gas can easily last me a month. My current car was purchased for about $20k. If my car died for some reason, I don’t even know if I’d be willing to part with 20k to replace it. I appreciate that these guys are building something for ordinary people and not another faux luxury lifted minivan the size of a garbage truck.
I can see a lot of retired people buying one of these to drive to their once a week bridge tournament or bingo night.
I can see a lot of retired people buying one of these to drive to their once a week bridge tournament or bingo night.
They would be far better served with a regular car instead of a pickup
If you need a car just once a week you shouldn’t own a car at all. Take the bus!
You are assuming everyone lives within a mile of a bus stop and has a safe road with sidewalks or bike lanes to get to that bus stop.
Indeed
The majority of people in the US don’t have access to busing.
What if, and here me out here, what if, and that’s a crazy thought, what if cars don’t have be ridicules in size and battery capacity is actually used more efficiently rather than carrying dead weight.
But I need my land barge to potentially carry 9000 pounds and 6 people for at least 400 miles without a break, even if I can barely manage to satisfy one of those criteria once a year. Otherwise it’s a miserable failure that must be mocked.
available slated for Q4 2026
I see what you did there.
Is this a $20k kit car or a $20k truck that they build for you?
Both options available
239 miles / 150 miles for big/small battery in angry eagle units.
What is up with those pickup trucks anyway? Why do so many people in the U.S. (and elsewhere) buy them?
Everything that you put in the back is subjected to weather and one of first additions people buy is a cover.
Compare that to a mini bus or transporter, you can transport as much or more than with a pickup truck, protected from weather, and you can add or remove chairs, if you need to transport people.
If you have a transporter, you can also much easier furnish the inside with racks etc, to improve space use.
- Sometimes you need to move a thing that is oddly shaped and doesn’t fit within the confines of an enclosure
- Depending on what you’re hauling, you may want separation between the cab and the payload. Like if I’m moving dirt, I’d rather not have it rolling around my cabin
- Easier to clean, just take a hose to it without needing to worry about soaking the cabin
- Access isn’t limited to just the door, which can be useful when unloading something
- Sometimes you need to move a thing that is oddly shaped and doesn’t fit within the confines of an enclosure
Like what? And is that a common use case?
- Depending on what you’re hauling, you may want separation between the cab and the payload. Like if I’m moving dirt, I’d rather not have it rolling around my cabin
Or just put down a nylon sheet, put the dirt on top, fold the nylon sheet over it and bind it down. Now it is covered under and over and will not fly around.
In most cases I guess people will just buy prepackaged earth in bags. That also doesn’t fly around.
Sure, if you are one of the very few people that work in the woods or on a field, where this common use case, then alright. But that would not explain why those cars are so common.
- Easier to clean, just take a hose to it without needing to worry about soaking the cabin
Buy a bus with removable carpet, then you can just hose it down as well. Many buses have a small step, which separates the cabin from the back, so water will not flow into the cabin.
- Access isn’t limited to just the door, which can be useful when unloading something
There are many different rear door types and sliding side doors on the side that provide ample and easy access. This isn’t difficult or complicated.
That didn’t convince me that pickup trucks are not a very specialized vehicle for just some uses, while transporters and mini busses are much more useful for all kinds of purposes. Be it furniture, tools, sport equipment, electronics and other sensitive equipment, and people. While also being good at hauling the occasional dirty stuff, if you just put something underneath.
Like what? And is that a common use case?
Furniture is what comes to mind
Or just put down a nylon sheet, put the dirt on top, fold the nylon sheet over it and bind it down. … Buy a bus with removable carpet, then you can just hose it down as well.
Sure, you could do that, or you could use the right vehicle for the job.
There are many different rear door types and sliding side doors on the side that provide ample and easy access. This isn’t difficult or complicated.
Until you want a pallet of something. Would be nice if that van had a removable roof so they could just drop it in there 😉
What it comes down to is that trucks are versatile and people like them for it. If you don’t see utility in having open access, then that’s fine, but a lot of people do.
Cool but now I’m worried this is being spammed everywhere. New capitalism marketing at foot?
yea im already slightly tired of seeing this truck after the day(s) it’s been promoted.
Really? This is the first place I’ve seen it. Then again, I use an ad blocker everywhere.
Every news website is covering it. I think I’ve spotted most of 10 articles around the place.
The law of well-marketed unreleased goods dictates that this vehicle is not going to meet any of the promises mentioned in the articles. I hope to be proven wrong, but just like video games: don’t pre-order, wait for it to come out and be reviewed.
Sounds like the non-commercial version of the DHL StreetScooter Work (L), with those even the passenger seat is an optional extra. Trouble was that while it’s the perfect vehicle for last-mile distribution routes most companies doing that kind of thing (like bakeries) don’t have the finances to back up an actual car producer, and DHL didn’t want to become a car producer. Taking over the company to get their hands on the trucks, yes, but bringing it to scale so they wouldn’t have to subsidise it? Not their business. And German car manufactures don’t want to build it because small bare-bones vehicles don’t have margin, anything smaller and less fancy than an actual van doesn’t make sense to them given the fixed cost of their production lines. Don’t worry, though, the inventor got the rights back, production is moving to Thailand, new vehicle is in the pipeline, with the core components (chassis etc.) designed for a 50 year lifetime. I’m sure DHL will figure out how to deliver delivery vans.
One thing that makes me nervous is that there are so many screws exposed. It seems like it would be really easy for thieves to just walk up with a hex key and steal your bumper or panels… 🤔
The panels are plastic, so while this is a concern, they probably wouldn’t get much for them. Bumper I’m less sure about.
A buddy of mine got his Tacoma tailgate stolen in broad daylight during a kid’s football game… I hope any really valuable parts are secured…
Curb weight 1634kg
This was the standout spec that might make me consider one.
I’ve been looking mainly at small hatchbacks/SUVs, and they all seem to weigh in at over 1800kg. And many are over 2000kg. Excluding Aptera…
What makes that spec a priority for you?
Tires? General handling? Crash safety for others?
+1
Weight is everything. Removing it makes almost literally every aspect of a car better, and it’s usually a terrible negative for EVs.
150kWatt and a top speed of 145? That’s kind of insane?
Wait a minute, mph not km/h I guess.
Yeah, 145km/h might be a liiitle under powered. I drive between 120km/h to 130km/h on the US interstates.
How are you doing kph in the US?
Every car I’ve owned has had a way to change the speedometer from freedom units to ✨ metric ✨ .
For knowing what speed I should be going, I roughly follow these numbers. (Note, these are not equivalent.)
- 35mph -> 50km/h
- 60mph -> 100km/h
- 70mph ->110km/h
Also, very roughly 10km ≈ 5mi.
However, most of the time I just follow the flow of traffic.
I voluntarily switched to metric like 10 years ago, so meters, celsius, grams, etc make more sense to me now.
You missed the joke.
I was making a joke as if kph and mph were physically distinct things and only one of them worked in each country.
Squinting your eyes on the smaller numbers on the speedometer. I do it all the time!
Where’s the bullet point for Bezos? Hard pass if that shit bag is involved in anyway.
He’s a billionaire, and he’s a normal billionaire at that. Investing is literally the only thing they do.
