Diesel rabbit pickups with a slight modernization 6mt granny but still non-turbo but stronger more rust resistant body would be a nice option, nothing is a real 50mpg anymore
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Slate EV Pickup
- Thread starter E365
- Start date
Acceleration was not the Rabbit Diesel's strong point. I chose my highway entrance ramps carefully. Long and downhill was what you needed, but once on the highway she would cruise right along with traffic. Excellent in snow too. Contrary to what some experienced mine fired right up in the winter after running the glow plugs a bit.
Try the same with a 1970 Subaru 360, makes a rabbit look like a race car
I can imagine the Subaru 360 was a lot of fun though! I learned to drive on an early 1960s VW bus with I think 36HP. I can feel that long rubbery shifter now and the metal accelerator pedal with almost no spring since you usually just pushed it to the floor.
Slate Auto has no relationship to Amazon corporation.
Jeff Bezos is an investor and it would be possible you would think that they may have a way to market through Amazon. But Amazon is not in control of the company.
I do agree if this truck ever takes off, you can almost imagine being able to buy products through Amazon, but we really don’t know that yet
Amazon already has “ Amazon automobiles” and a relationship with Hyundai for their used vehicles and I think some others so the automobile angle is valid but not new to Amazon
That’s why the Amazon guy left the board
https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/07/jeff-bezos-rep-leaves-slate-autos-board/
good one @captainbeandip . something to be said for a small, light low power vehicle; being able to run it 100% flat out and not come into the realm of jail time speed. Like the Isuzu diesel pickup I drove at work for a little bit. It fun running wide-open 99% of the time, like a classic 2-stroke motocross bike: full throttle > full brakes > full throttle [repeat]
You're missing the forest for the trees.
You will be able to use Amazon points and gift cards towards the purchase and installation of aftermarket accessories.
Those accessories are what will term Slate's long-term profitability based on the business model they have delveoped.
So yes, Slate is very much integrated into Amazon when it comes to its eventual success. Amazon will likely serve as Slate's primary fleet customer for a very long time because that market takes years to effectively crack.
At this point, we don’t know if any of this is true.
Even your post before acknowledges that.
I was just pointing out your last sentence on what makes it sound like Amazon is involved with Slate and it is not.
However, like any new product, they might make themselves involved, but that will be up to slate.
Slate is not a project or venture of Amazon and Amazon has nothing invested in Slate. I was just pointing that out because others who read that post might think otherwise.
I would suspect that you’re thinking is probably on solid ground. Should Slate market on the Internet Amazon would seem like a smart move. Amazon already markets Hyundai company used cars and since Slate doesn’t have dealerships, this might make sense or be a problem.
There is also Costco, Sam’s Club, Walmart. I have no clue, but of course with Bezos the CEO of Amazon unless there is a legal hurdle in there somehow such as Bezos as CEO of Amazon might have a conflict of interest selling a product he has a strong financial interest in on a Amazon platform he is CEO
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I hope---if it actually comes out--it doesn't get Maverick'd once it ends up being popular.
I averaged 50.1 in my Camry rental a few weeks back driving over two mountain ranges and generally driving 10 over on the highways.
The Mavericks with the hybrid will get over 40 if you drive reasonable.
The other thing is, back in the early 80s when we had things that got 50, the speed limits were lower. Things also could not get out of their own way, so there's that as well. Had a friend in HS with a diesel Rabbit and I think it had 53HP. I think it would do 70 flat out in top gear. But it did make cool diesel noises, which as teenagers we all thought was neat and novel.
Good luck wrenching on that Camry! Some of us yearn for simpler things we can maintain ourselves. No doubt today's cars have all sorts of performance and safety improvements, but a quick perusal of BITOG points out how you can struggle to keep your trunk closed, requiring a $600 part and who knows how much in diagnostic and installation and programming charges. Of course the Slate will have lots of computer controlled stuff, but it is refreshing to see a somewhat simpler vehicle.
When I write about cars I see myself as an umpire.
A ball is a ball. A strike is a strike. Every vehicle is judged on its merits.
But when I write about the companies who make the cars, I see the world differently.
Who is choosing to make a vehicle that is designed to fail due to a known defect?
Who is trying to squeeze out a deal with lawyers instead of fixing what's wrong?
Who is actively fighting right-to-repair legislation while bemoaning the fact that they can't find and train enough technicians (whose work they want to monopolize)?
Slate strikes me as the first automaker that I genuinely like for what they're choosing to do. The current designs are simple, upgradeable, durable, and inexpensive given that they haven't even achieved any real scale as of yet.
But most importantly of all, they are basing their entire business model on making the owner WANT to upgrade their vehicle. In otherwords, you can easily customize and change what you drive as time goes on.
To me, that philosophy is what can eventually change how consumers look at cars and trucks. From consumable products to durable ones that can fit many stages of ownership. I know we are not there yet with solid state batteries and other challenges but Slate's success would be a very healthy start.
If we pursue that mindset of owning a 'keeper', and encourage owners to actively work on and modify their vehicles without having to deal with the fear and mysticism that comes with working on anything automotive, we are doing some real good for our society.
I hope they crush it. If they get the ball rolling, I'll look forward to writing my first new car review in many, many years.
A ball is a ball. A strike is a strike. Every vehicle is judged on its merits.
But when I write about the companies who make the cars, I see the world differently.
Who is choosing to make a vehicle that is designed to fail due to a known defect?
Who is trying to squeeze out a deal with lawyers instead of fixing what's wrong?
Who is actively fighting right-to-repair legislation while bemoaning the fact that they can't find and train enough technicians (whose work they want to monopolize)?
Slate strikes me as the first automaker that I genuinely like for what they're choosing to do. The current designs are simple, upgradeable, durable, and inexpensive given that they haven't even achieved any real scale as of yet.
But most importantly of all, they are basing their entire business model on making the owner WANT to upgrade their vehicle. In otherwords, you can easily customize and change what you drive as time goes on.
To me, that philosophy is what can eventually change how consumers look at cars and trucks. From consumable products to durable ones that can fit many stages of ownership. I know we are not there yet with solid state batteries and other challenges but Slate's success would be a very healthy start.
If we pursue that mindset of owning a 'keeper', and encourage owners to actively work on and modify their vehicles without having to deal with the fear and mysticism that comes with working on anything automotive, we are doing some real good for our society.
I hope they crush it. If they get the ball rolling, I'll look forward to writing my first new car review in many, many years.
Maverick got bloated all to heck, right?
Edison Motors as well.
The upfront cost and cost of repairs are much lower though.
You could actually rebuild that motor with much simpler tooling for example.
In a rational world said vehicle would also have lower registration and insurance costs.
Maverick was a $19,999 basic mid size truck with a pre-order that took 3-5 years to get
that became a ~$27,000 basic midsize truck that balloons to $50k if you add Cruze control.
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