$24,950 SLATE Truck News & Info

[LSchicago]

I how far it will tow 2,000#?

Across the country if you want to keep stopping to charge it. I wouldn't use it to tow anything unless it was in town.

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[Glen Baker LLC]

Found it.

 

[El Kabong]

Yeah I don't think a Slate is going to work well for towing cross-country but that isn't it's use case.

We've come a long way, look at what $14.3k equivalent got delivered to you in 1908 .. only $468 to upgrade to acetylene headlights...

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

Yeah I don't think a Slate is going to work well for towing cross-country but that isn't it's use case.

We've come a long way, look at what $14.3k equivalent got delivered to you in 1908 .. only $468 to upgrade to acetylene headlights...

When a company talks up 1500 lb in the bed or towing 2000 lb they have to back it up.
In my opinion. Along with price, that's what killed the Ford lightning. A beautiful truck as long as you didn't use it as a truck for towing.
Ford talked about towing 8,000 to 10,000 lbs. what they left out is it'll only do it for 90-130 miles before needing to be charged.

 

[MaverickDragon]

Full Title
The $25,000 Slate Truck Has One Big Problem: The Ford Maverick.

The problem with the Slate is that it should have been rolled out years earlier before the small economical truck market was captured by Ford's Maverick.

The Slate's "sales price" has gone up, and with a closer margin to Ford's new EV truck, which will likely have better range, 4+ seats, and actual amenities, although the entry level Slate may (or not) end up costing less, I think it will likely fail in the value proposition that will hurt overall sales and leave it in the niche market category.
Edit: Oops it appears that the Slate will have AC -
I imagine their sales to those who live in hot climates will be nil, as no one will tolerate a vehicle without passenger area cooling when the temperatures are well above 100F in the summer.
Not even delivery drivers, regardless if their employers save some money, because they won't be able to afford the lawsuits when their drivers get heat stroke.

 

[MaverickDragon]

As far as you want to go with the appropriate charging stops.

Right.
Every other block.
Physics applies to the Slate except for their marketing department...

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

The problem with the Slate is that it should have been rolled out years earlier before the small economical truck market was captured by Ford's Maverick.

The Slate's "sales price" has gone up, and with a closer margin to Ford's new EV truck, which will likely have better range, 4+ seats, and actual amenities, although the entry level Slate may (or not) end up costing less, I think it will likely fail in the value proposition that will hurt overall sales and leave it in the niche market category.

I imagine their sales to those who live in hot climates will be nil, as no one will tolerate a vehicle without passenger area cooling when the temperatures are well above 100F in the summer.
Not even delivery drivers, regardless if their employers save some money, because they won't be able to afford the lawsuits when their drivers get heat stroke.

I believe A/C is standard on the slate.

 

[El Kabong]

But when a company talks up 1500 lb in the bed or towing 2000 lb they have to back it up.
Example: A small boat or a trailer to a camping or fishing area.
In my opinion. Along with price, that's what killed the Ford lightning.
Ford talked towing 8,000 to 10,000 lbs. what they left out is it'll only do it for 90-130 miles before needing to be charged.

Well, for a mere $290,000 you can get a truck having up to 500 miles of towing range with some rather more serious load capability ... https://www.tesla.com/semi ... someone should make a TopKick out of it.

I think that in general consumer EVs aren't good for towing long distances. They are engineered to squeeze the last erg of energy out of their batteries efficiently and once you add any kind of aerodynamic drag or heavy load the engineering gets smacked down by simple physics - the more mass you have to move and the more frontal area you have to push through the air the more energy you need for the task - no different that with an ICE vehicle. The amount of battery capacity needed to offset this would make a battery using current technology ridiculously large for a consumer vehicle.

The concept for one solution is already existing - the Pebble, Lightship, and Airstream powered trailer designs, for example, work to offset this with some battery capacity and E-assist motors of their own which seems a logical step towards integrating additional electric propulsion to extend range, I could see in the distant future some more modular thinking where trailers are self-powered and the controls are integrated into tow vehicles. Then you have even more batteries to charge ...

Edit: Lightship video added

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

Well, for a mere $290,000 you can get a truck having up to 500 miles of towing range with some rather more serious load capability ... https://www.tesla.com/semi ... someone should make a TopKick out of it.

I think that in general consumer EVs aren't good for towing long distances. They are engineered to squeeze the last erg of energy out of their batteries efficiently and once you add any kind of aerodynamic drag or heavy load the engineering gets smacked down by simple physics - the more mass you have to move and the more frontal area you have to push through the air the more energy you need for the task - no different that with an ICE vehicle. The amount of battery capacity needed to offset this would make a battery using current technology ridiculously large for a consumer vehicle.

The concept for one solution is already existing - the Pebble, Lightship, and Airstream powered trailer designs, for example, work to offset this with some battery capacity and E-assist motors of their own which seems a logical step towards integrating additional electric propulsion to extend range, I could see in the distant future some more modular thinking where trailers are self-powered and the controls are integrated into tow vehicles. Then you have even more batteries to charge ...

Edison motors is a interesting Canadian company building diesel electric hybrid trucks. Not 100% EV
https://edisonmotors.ca/

 

[El Kabong]

https://edisonmotors.ca/

Not fair to bring a hybrid into an EV only match!

We already know Maverick > Slate. Pretty sure the Ranchero or whatever they call it will be too.

 

[DinoLord]

Found it.

Nice AI.

How far have you towed with your Maverick?

 

[DinoLord]

The problem with the Slate is that it should have been rolled out years earlier before the small economical truck market was captured by Ford's Maverick.

The Slate's "sales price" has gone up, and with a closer margin to Ford's new EV truck, which will likely have better range, 4+ seats, and actual amenities, although the entry level Slate may (or not) end up costing less, I think it will likely fail in the value proposition that will hurt overall sales and leave it in the niche market category.

I imagine their sales to those who live in hot climates will be nil, as no one will tolerate a vehicle without passenger area cooling when the temperatures are well above 100F in the summer.
Not even delivery drivers, regardless if their employers save some money, because they won't be able to afford the lawsuits when their drivers get heat stroke.

Where do you people keep getting that there's no A/C?!

 

[Surly Old Bill]

Bill, where you getting the $5,000 amount from? I see a difference of $2195 between slate and an XL
I agree with you on the operating and maintenance cost.
My 23 Maverick has cost me around $130 for 3 oil changes that's it so far.

I'm a little confused as to when the Mav price went back below $30k msrp. On Ford's website an XL with no options is still over $30k to drive away.

 

[DinoLord]

I'm a little confused as to when the Mav price went back below $30k msrp. On Ford's website an XL with no options is still over $30k to drive away.

They're using base MSRP, before destination and such, because that's the only number we have for Slate.

 

[Edge Haley]

Doubtful - but 3 news articles in the press today that Honda has a new Element HYBRID on the horizon - I slept in my Element (with rear seats removed) many times....My 2 Dobermans loved their Element. If they keep it at about the same size I'd leave a deposit tomorrow. There are dozen of Maverick users on this site that traded in their Element for their Maverick. One can only hope!

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