Imagine for a moment, that in just one year, you'd be able to buy a 4WD pick-up truck, with a very usable bed that is stripped down to it's bare essentials so that it meets all federal EPA and crash standards, comes in only one model, only one color, comes with only 2 seats and no stereo system but is completely modular so that you can remove the doors or even better, add on extras such as in rear seats, roll bar system and cap to make it into an SUV and do it all for just under... wait for it... $20,000 fricken dollars!!! Granted, that price tag is only possible with government subsidies being that this vehicle is all electric with only a 150 mile range but it is made in the USA and will be available as soon as next year. If you haven't seen it already, this is the all new Slate and it is the 4WD vehicle that Jeep should have been making.
Yes, this is all electric and that makes it totally gay and I get it but hear me out for a second, in spite of its gayness, they solved a problem that most car companies and especially Jeep, has yet to figure out - how to work within the system and STILL be able to offer a useable product that is affordable. Again, yes, part of the lower price tag is thanks to government help but even if you took that away, I'd be willing to bet it'd still cost less than a bare bones, base model Wrangler or Gladiator and a lot of this is because of how they approached the problem of making a new vehicle. And, what is that you might ask?
Well, being that all the body panels are made out of plastic, this as opposed to metal, they can save weight which is a big no no with the fed and more importantly, they can eliminate the super expensive dies needed to stamp out panels AND the massive factories to stamp them out in. Also, being that the come unpainted, something they don't have to deal with super expensive painting procedures that the fed requires to help keep the planet clean. Of course, if you want your rig to be a different color, Slate recognizes that wraps have become a big thing and that customers can always choose to do that on their own.
How else do they save money? By not offering a head unit stereo system and keeping the dash simple and with just basic knob controls. Want tunes? Well, they do offer a phone mount and you can figure out the rest. How do they get around the fed mandated back up cam? Well, that's in the dash. Need more seating? As mentioned, they offer a solution for that as well! I literally could go on and on but you can read all about it in this article yourself.
www.theverge.com
And I should note, I'm not saying that this is something I'd want to buy per se but I do love and really appreciate Slate for coming up with this basic truck that kind of looks like a 90's mid-size truck, one that will cost under $20k and this as opposed to the gay ass Recon that Jeep is coming out with and that will cost 3x as much or more!!
But hey, that's just me and I would love to hear what you all think of this.
Yes, this is all electric and that makes it totally gay and I get it but hear me out for a second, in spite of its gayness, they solved a problem that most car companies and especially Jeep, has yet to figure out - how to work within the system and STILL be able to offer a useable product that is affordable. Again, yes, part of the lower price tag is thanks to government help but even if you took that away, I'd be willing to bet it'd still cost less than a bare bones, base model Wrangler or Gladiator and a lot of this is because of how they approached the problem of making a new vehicle. And, what is that you might ask?
Well, being that all the body panels are made out of plastic, this as opposed to metal, they can save weight which is a big no no with the fed and more importantly, they can eliminate the super expensive dies needed to stamp out panels AND the massive factories to stamp them out in. Also, being that the come unpainted, something they don't have to deal with super expensive painting procedures that the fed requires to help keep the planet clean. Of course, if you want your rig to be a different color, Slate recognizes that wraps have become a big thing and that customers can always choose to do that on their own.
How else do they save money? By not offering a head unit stereo system and keeping the dash simple and with just basic knob controls. Want tunes? Well, they do offer a phone mount and you can figure out the rest. How do they get around the fed mandated back up cam? Well, that's in the dash. Need more seating? As mentioned, they offer a solution for that as well! I literally could go on and on but you can read all about it in this article yourself.
Slate Truck is a $20,000 American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, and no touchscreen
Would you buy a truck this bare-bones?
www.theverge.com
And I should note, I'm not saying that this is something I'd want to buy per se but I do love and really appreciate Slate for coming up with this basic truck that kind of looks like a 90's mid-size truck, one that will cost under $20k and this as opposed to the gay ass Recon that Jeep is coming out with and that will cost 3x as much or more!!
But hey, that's just me and I would love to hear what you all think of this.
will be interesting to see what people do with them. Thanks for sharing this!
