If they actually follow through on making the Slate as privacy friendly as they claim in this article, and it doesn’t have any major flaws, I’m gonna go ahead and say this is perhaps one of the best options for someone in need of a mini-truck/SUV hybrid.
Even if you don’t like Jeff Bezos, the fact of this existing opens the door for smaller competitors to enter the scene.
Canada is getting 3% more ev competition due the recent 49k chinese imports deal even if they’re banned from entering the USA, Americans will have an easier time checking out the models on their travels and then they will ask their-out of-touch politicians why they don’t also have similar options.
The future is EV!
Renault is entering the CDN EV market in 2027.
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Does every EV startup in US have to make a pickup? Such a stupid country.
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EU just made driver facing cameras mandatory for all new cars so I guess Europe is not much smart either.
Just to be clear, this “truck” is absolutely tiny. It’s several inches shorter than a Toyota Corolla. I think it’s pretty great for a city dweller that occasionally has a need for a bit more carrying capacity.
Edit: with the one big caveat that a lot of city dwellers don’t have access to charging at home.
Because all you idiots buy are pickups?
Do you have a source for the second claim?
I have to admit I missed that to. They have hidden it behind innocent looking names and ADDW and DDAW. Starting next month it’s mandatory in all cars that are sold in EU.
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=intcom%3AC(2023)4523
https://smarteye.se/blog/what-to-know-about-ddaw-and-addw-systems/
Driver facing camera systems can be consistent with privacy, as long as they don’t record or transmit any data other than a single dimensional metric of how distracted or drowsy a driver is (or even discrete binary state of yes/no) and timestamps when that state was detected.
A closed loop system that merely keeps that data for the current drive and maintains it solely in the vehicle’s own systems can be consistent with privacy principles that nobody else should know anything about how a car is being used, except what can be observed from the outside.
Yes, it’s all true.
Too bad those systems are closed sources and we can’t verify they do any of those things.
My biggest issue with them is not even the privacy. I think at some point we sadly will have to accept that driving is not a private activity anymore. I mean you can still try driving a very old car and try to avoid traffic cameras but it will be harder and harder.
For me the biggest issue that those systems are extremely annoying. In my experience they fail to accurately recognize the speed limits so will beep at you constantly even when you drive below the speed limit. People say they also struggle with sunglasses and many normal activities. I expect driving those new cars to be constant struggle with alerts about nothing.
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645 words, and no mention of Jeff Bezos
Any chance this design is open source, so I can build my own?
Or is this just proprietary corporate trash?
if you really want to build your own, buy a kit car. they’re cheaper.
Any chance those kits are open source?
I mean it comes with a manual how to build it and the one I’m looking at is a 67 lotus. You tell me how that open sources because software is not my field
There have been a handful of open source car projects like the Tabby EVO, but most of them seem to have stalled out somewhat. The Tabby EVO website appears to be down, though you can see it through the wayback machine.
Kit cars based on common off-the-shelf parts may be an easier route for people wanting to build their own car from scratch.
This is heavily backed by Jeff Bezos btw, so, don’t get too excited
(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
┬──┬ ノ( ゜-゜ノ) chill out bro
Hey, I’ll chuck Bezos’s table over if I want!
(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻
(I do love that new text face, though lol)
That’s it…
(╯°□°）╯ /(.□. \）
┬──┬ ノ( ゜-゜ノ)
You think tables grow on trees?
(ง’̀-'́)ง
hey i heard there was a table fight goin on y’all want any tables thrownSome do. Indirectly.
Yeah that sucks. Its the only new vehicle I’d ever consider.
It’s still pretty neat. I love how it’s modular. I’m often wishing I had multiple types of vehicles for various occasions. Too much playing GTA 😅
Also, that customizable dash would be amazing with a 3d printer.
Agree!! Ah such a neat idea. I do with a 4WD version existed
I ordered one day 1. There are a lot of drawbacks though. I don’t care for trucks. This would be my first one. I appreciate the exclusion of a modem but…not even so much as wiring for an aftermarket audio system is dumb.
My largest concern remains the future of the company. As the article states, most consumers don’t care about privacy. They expect connected everything. And I don’t think a small truck is viable in the US market.
Further, the price is still too high. You can get a Chevy Bolt for the same price, with many more comfort and convenience features. This will be an unfortunate result of the company’s small size and low volume.
Nevertheless I will vote with my wallet and hope I’m wrong.
Who wants a big truck? I don’t think you know what people who actually need work trucks want
Everyone wants big trucks. That’s why they buy them by the boatload. They’re the top selling vehicles in America by a wide margin, and have been for a long time. And it’s why no one even makes small ones anymore.
Those people have no need for a truck. They are in the market for a penis replacement.
I’m talking about people who need trucks for work. They want smaller 4x4 trucks.
I didn’t mention any specific group of people. I said “everyone”.
What type of truck they need for work is entirely dependent on what type of work they’re doing. Going bigger instead of smaller is often a safe bet.
It’s not purely a demand side thing. It’s also a regulatory change. The CAFE standards were updated in 2010 to require a sliding scale of fuel economy standards where larger vehicles were permitted to have less efficient fuel economy ratings. Small trucks sat in an unviable zone of too small to be allowed to be fuel inefficient, and too big to actually be fuel efficient, so they were phased out right around 2010.
Now, fully recognizing that small trucks are in demand, and that EVs don’t have worry about fuel economy standards, several manufacturers have made plans to occupy that niche with EVs.
And how many people are buying EVs in general? It’s a very small amount % wise. And with the tax credits disappearing it seems the EV market is just about being abandoned entirely. Ford made an electric version of the best-selling vehicle in America, and it was fantastic, and almost no one bought it, and they discontinued it a couple years later. Same story for Tesla’s and GM’s trucks. Americans don’t want EVs in general, much less pickup truck EVs, and much less than that, tiny 2-door electric trucks.
Again, I very much hope I’m wrong, but that’s the impression I get from my observations of the market.
Conveniently ignores the decades of politics, corruption, and outright fraud that took place to create this situation
Let’s assume that’s true. Did the politics, corruption and fraud end at some point?
I mean, I guess I do? I want a 2 door truck that’s wide enough for a bench that will sit 3 people and a bed that’s at least 6.5 foot long. So, 90’s style F-150 or 1500. What they’re offering is too small for me to be interested. But I’m actively hoping they make a bigger version in the future.
Alternately, I’m kind of hoping their stuff is modular enough that I could electrify an older gasoline truck. Doubt they’re actively looking to sell kits to the hobbyist market, but that would be awesome.
That’s ridiculous. You want a van.
not even so much as wiring for an aftermarket audio system is dumb.
Not having power windows too. I get the point of simplicity, but you gotta have at least some basic conveniences.
And I don’t think a small truck is viable in the US market.
Isn’t the Maverick super popular?
I mean, you can get power windows with it, I just wonder what that add-on will cost.
I recently drove a Uhaul with manual windows and definitely don’t need that in my life again, lol.
The Maverick has 4 doors
Not having an AWD version is a non-starter for me up here in the frozen North.
That’s where you just need a diesel. Don’t forget that blockheater! And a torch to reheat the fuel line and the gas tank or fuel pump.
Hopefully they’ll add one later.
Bare bones indeed
“Making it privacy-friendly”… I really really don’t like the language here. There is absolutely 0 need to make anything privacy-invading, out of all products cars probably the least. So it isn’t really hard to do this at all, just that companies like that free consumer data.
Now if only it were body on frame too then I could finally own something like my first vehicle (a '98 S10) again.
S10 🤝 Ranger
When I first heard about this truck I was seriously considering selling my Tacoma for one, until I found out it is unibody.
If the bed is long enough and shaped right, is there anything else fundamentally bad about unibody architecture?
Yes, repairability. If my quarter panel gets damaged on my truck, i can replace it and not total the truck.
You can replace quarter panels on unibody.
Not sure why the downvotes. Folks dont know how cars work or clearly havent worked on them. Body on frame is the best for repair and longevity.
Also unibody rust=totaled.
Frames rust much faster.
Bed isn’t long enough. It’s only 5’.
Also it can only tow 1000 lbs :(
Probably not eligible to be sold new nowadays if it doesn’t in include all the safety standards.
Like apple claims to protect its users privacy I guess. It ends up being a matter of trust with now a days mobile phones with wheels and motor
If they really don’t include a modem as they claim, then it would be truly fundamentally different, and apple’s privacy claims would not be an apt comparison.
If a user does not install the Slate app, there would be literally no way for the vehicle to collect any information whatsoever, it would be like driving an EV from the 90’s, if they had better batteries back then. That would make it stand out as the only privacy respecting modern production vehicle I’m aware of, besides toys for the rich like a Morgan.
no stereo is not bare bones, it’s malicious compliance. ugly pos anyway, same as they do most evs, on purpose to hurt sales so they can point at sales and say nobody wants evs and in this case also say people do want it to phone home and have android auto and saas subscriptions.
Wut. Just use your smartphone for stereo. Maybe byo external speaker
