I LUV the concept, if you know what I mean. But, I'd rather get a barebones 4-door hatch like the OG Rabbit. If the back seat is made easy to remove it is amazing how.much cargo you can carry in one. Too many times in life I need to carry more than 2.people.
Slate EV Pickup
- Thread starter E365
- Start date
they just released the ID.Polo in Europe, and it starts at $25K euros, but it won't come here.
CleanSump
Site Donor 2026
Well, it is what it is and not an SUV.
How about a Scirocco?
Lines on those are so classy, real drivers car (Sad I was a bit too young/poor/stupid) to buy one of these back in the day)
I have always been interested in the little guys trying to make stuff happen. (Elio motors was one that seemed promising and fell apart). Slate seems to have their plans well in place. They have lots of do it yourself tutorials for installing all their accessories, or they have partnered with RepairPal shops (which I think is CarMax?) if you want someone else to do it. They make a big margin on accessories compared to the vehicle itself, so they can cater to folks that want cheap or that want custom.
Its definitely not for everyone. But I also had an old Ford Ranger with the 4 banger and a 5 speed just to haul metal for recycling or grabbing a fridge or "truck stuff" that didn't mean "haul stuff". This seems like it could be a great fit if it's a secondary/tertiary vehicle or have a limited commute.
I wanted a Maverick when they came out, but Ford saw how much demand there was and has jacked the price up a ton on those. This might find that same level of demand.
Its definitely not for everyone. But I also had an old Ford Ranger with the 4 banger and a 5 speed just to haul metal for recycling or grabbing a fridge or "truck stuff" that didn't mean "haul stuff". This seems like it could be a great fit if it's a secondary/tertiary vehicle or have a limited commute.
I wanted a Maverick when they came out, but Ford saw how much demand there was and has jacked the price up a ton on those. This might find that same level of demand.
Slate is switching from USA-made NCM cells to (almost certainly) Chinese-made LFPs
https://www.freep.com/story/money/c...-details-mid-20s-electric-pickup/90492827007/
https://www.freep.com/story/money/c...-details-mid-20s-electric-pickup/90492827007/
Cool idea and concept it’ll find a home somewhere someplace and for someone.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the price is around 30,000+
That was my understanding too.
However I’ve gotten so used to not believing that you will be able to actually buy a vechicle at the starting prices from manufacturers claims.
Being Jeff Bezos is involved I do think it’s possible he will break that perception!
I own an F150 but I find that my utility trailer is better than the truck for most “pickup” duties. I quickly found out that throwing rocks or firewood into the truck dents the box, even with a heavy duty rubber floor cover and it’s not easy to get sand and gravel out of the inside of the tailgate. I can throw stuff in the trailer with no worries about the 3/4” plywood floor. Anything in the truck box, even with a rigid cover, is subject to dust on dirt roads. And the trailer is lower and much easier to load or unload. An SUV and trailer combo is a better solution for most truck type duties.
You skipped the good looking generation:How about a Scirocco?
Do we have rose tinted memories of those 80’s-90’s VWs? I did love my first car, a 1980 rabbit, but it was so unreliable I got rid of it by 1987 with only 80k miles. Had to replace the fuse box, resolder wires in the distributor, rebuild the starter, respray the rusty bumper, and replace struts several times. Every one I’ve ever driven vibrated so bad you had to steady the rearview mirror with your hand to use it.
Depends upon what VW you're talking about.
Our '81 Vanagon was rock solid and never gave any odd problems.
But it won’t have any market with a 150 mile empty range at that price either.
Mazda mx30’s had a roughly $13000 selling price because of limited range, it’s just too much of a penalty box at that point.
Hopefully the base vehicle stays in the $20-$25k area even though most folks will buy options ballooning the price to $30k+ since the base vehicle doesn’t even have speakers .
My guess is that this is what they plan to do but with Amazon exiting god only knows.
My experience with early Rabbits was very favorable. Many times here I've mentioned my Rabbit diesel that was the cheapest car I've ever run. Purchased well used for $200 with an odometer broken at about 150K I used it to commute 120 miles a day for two years into Boston and got a steady 50-55mpg, only occasionally changed the oil, and performed no other maintenance. I then sold it back to the previous owner for $200.
It's unique enough that a 150 mile tange will be enough to keep it on the radar... until the competition comes.
This would potentially be a good fleet vehicle if they can build it to scale. The fact that it's hitting the prime of the Ford Maverick price range speaks volumes about their long-term goals, and why Ford decided to be the first to build an EV that will take on Slate.
One aspect I've been wondering about is whether you could someday use your Amazon points or gift card balance towards the purchase of a Slate.
If Amazon decides to give this new brand a sales boost that would be a brilliant way to do it.
This would potentially be a good fleet vehicle if they can build it to scale. The fact that it's hitting the prime of the Ford Maverick price range speaks volumes about their long-term goals, and why Ford decided to be the first to build an EV that will take on Slate.
One aspect I've been wondering about is whether you could someday use your Amazon points or gift card balance towards the purchase of a Slate.
If Amazon decides to give this new brand a sales boost that would be a brilliant way to do it.
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2021
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I also had a diesel rabbit back in the day. The car was ugly as hell (creamy beige color) and only had about 40 horsepower on a good day, but it was fun to drive. I felt like a race car driver every time I drove it, slamming through the gears just trying to keep up with normal traffic.
One fun memory I have is once when I pulled into a gas station and started filling up at the diesel pump. The guy across from me yelled "Hey, you know you're putting diesel in your car?" I said "Yeah, thanks". Then he said "No, I mean you're going to wreck your car". I said "Yeah, thank you". Then he started yelling to other people "Hey, this moron's putting diesel in his car". Then another guy joined in and both of them were yelling and telling me how stupid I was. I eventually finished and gave them a little wave and drove away.
I do miss that little car. It was tiny, but could haul a surprising amount of stuff in it's hatch, and actually was surprisingly fun to drive (while getting 50 MPG)