Wait. Why the hell wouldn't you paint it? Does it at least have a clear coat?
this post was submitted on 25 Apr 2025
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Am I reading this right and it only offers 1000lb towing capacity? Isn't that kind of utterly useless?
Equivalent towing capacity of a Chevy Impala, so yes.
This is less of a truck and more of a truck-shaped go-kart.
I have an older Ranger. I don't do much truck stuff. The bulk cargo area is the draw, not the weight capacity. The heaviest load I carried was 800lbs of plywood, which was 15 sheets or something. I have a 4x8 trailer that can also help haul bulky household goods for moves, a motorcycle, lumber, or furniture. While the trailer is rated for 1700lbs payload and weighs 300lbs itself, I have never put more than 500lbs on it, despite filling the 4x8 floor stackef 4ft high. I made the trailer before getting the Ranger, so now they're redundant and never actually hauled together.
If you're already towing, this probably isnt the truck for you. If you aren't towing, it provides an option to tow something if you have to. The reason I chose the Ranger is because it's cheap, gets good fuel economy, and has the capacity to grab full lumber sheet goods on my commute home. While I could find a 30mpg car for the same price, I'm still in the mid 20s. Maybe I could spend 30k on a newer F150 V6 and get similar, but then it costs 10x what I paid. Bulk space and handling scratchy cargo is the main goal. I think of the Slate as being what the Ranger should've been now.
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I don't need a truck, but this is perfect for people who want to take a bunch of mountain bikes out to the downhill mountain bike park. Throw 5-6 bikes in the back, take the riders in a separate car.
That said, I hope they come out with a smaller wagon or sedan with clearance (so a hitch can be installed for mountain bikes).
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This is a truck I’d actually feel comfortable driving. Unlike those gender affirming, semi truck adjacent, embarrassing pavement princess trucks that you see everywhere now.
It only seats two yet has a bed big enough to hold a sheet of plywood. It only does 150 miles on a charge, only comes in gray, and the only way to listen to music while driving is if you bring along your phone and a Bluetooth speaker.
Instead of steel or aluminum, the Slate Truck’s body panels are molded of plastic. Or, as Slate calls them, “injection molded polypropylene composite material.” The theory is that this makes them more durable and scratch-resistant, if only because the lack of paint means they’re one color all the way through.
By eliminating paint, and thus eliminating the paint shop, Slate’s manufacturing process is massively simplified. So, too, the lack of metal body parts. “We have no paint shop, we have no stamping,”
Plastic with no paint is not going to do well in places like the Southwest. But I’m sure that getting it painted or wrapped won’t be a huge deal.
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You know what... Give me an option for a bigger battery, and ensure that replacement batteries are going to be available for a while, and I'll definitely look into it.
The article says they will have a 240 mile battery upgrade available at some point, that can be done at some yet undisclosed service center (article assumes a car service chain).
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How are they going to get around the backup camera requirement? I guess it could be done through your phone but that sounds like it might be a support nightmare.
The article states it will display the backup camera feed on the dashboard screen
Europe and Japan had backup cameras with no touchscreen on cars 10-15 years ago. The radio head unit just switches from a small 4x6 inch LCD display to back up camera when in reverse.
The rear view mirror has been used in The past as a mini screen and I liked it. And if you unhook the camera in my Ford it would flash the little screen blue for a moment then realize nothing was hooked up and would turn off. Though you could just unhook the mirror connector and it would be just a mirror as well if you want to disassemble the interior to unplug it.
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Aight but does it have cruise control? If so it's still too much. But they're almost there.
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Now make it a panel van and I'll be interested