Posted on 04/24/2025 9:52:00 PM PDT by Red Badger
“ Slate Auto’s new vehicle is designed to make EVs more accessible by making most features optional add-ons.”
Add-ons. Like turn signals? Sure, why not; they seem to be an optional add-on on BMW’s and Teslas judging from what I experience on our highways and surface roads.
Kinda looks like what the Tacoma used to be, but isn’t any longer.
I read the headline quickly and thought it said, ... new combustible EV truck.
That would be one of the easiest things to tool up for.
We watched a movie recently made within the last few years using cars from the late 50’s - late 60’s. For some reason the director had the actors crank on the windows like it was some kind of a laborsome chore.
IMO, there’s nothing wrong with crank windows. Our Polaris UTV has them, my 52 Dodge has them.
And it actually looks like a truck, not that rolling rhombus of retardery that the Tesla is.
It probably is.................
If you put a ‘N’ at the end it’s ‘TACOMAN’...........
They actually used to be an ‘add-on’ option!............
Good luck with that. The panels might not rust, but the steel frame, battery box, and other stuff will. You will have to drive without the heater on in order to get any kind of range in the winter, and pulling a trailer is a no-no for range, especially when the trailer weighs nearly as much as the vehicle. '
I had a Samurai in my youth. What a blast. Put the top down and could navigate the back woods due to its narrow body and tight turning radius. This was before quads really hit the market in a big way.
Ford will likely sue.. the SUV looks like a chinese knock off of the bronco.
and ford loves to sue.
If the $7500 credit was not tied to it being a pure EV they would offer a plug in hybrid too. It is very simple engineering for a manufacturer to cut half the 150 mile pack out leaving 75 miles of range, given that 96% of all trips in the USA are under 30 miles -NTHSA and the avg 5 day commute is under 40 miles -DOT a plug in hybrid meets those needs will room to.spare. It is simple for the manufacture to add in a small 1000cc genset spinning a very small high frequency alternator feeding a Silicon carbide rectifier. 1000cc @50kw is a very small 2 cylinder and the 400-1000hz alternator is smaller than a paint can. The 170kw 400hz generator on a 777 engine is the size of a ten gallon paint can and can be held in two hands by a normal sized guy for comparison.
50kw from 1000cc is near its peak BSFC point you get 400-800v DC from the rectifier directly too the pack or motors. Mpg at 40% BFSC to the motors is in the 60 mpg range if you are using 400 watt hours per mile not unreasonable for a EV truck. The Tests Semi at 82,000lb gross weight returns 1700 watt hours per mile for reference the hummer EV is in the 500s.
The cost of the batteries removed are more than the cost of a small motorcycle sized two banger and a directly driven genset it only needs to run at one speed and the SIC rectifier does all the voltage and frequency work in electrons not gears so much cheaper with modern 800V power electronics.
The whole reason they won’t is the sweet sweet uncle sugar money is for pure EV only , that needs to change plug in hybrids fill all the needs. Your daily commute is off cheap grid power my Model 3 at 8 cents per kWh is equal cost per mile to a car getting 30mpg but it needs 43 cents per gallon petrol. The payment on the Model 3 is also half the Volvo it replaces so capex was cheaper from mile one. Having a small onboard generator and a ten gallon tank would let a 60 mpg hybrid add 600 more miles range at will and refill thay 600 in 5 min or less at 100,000 refill points it’s win win.
Someone is going to make a fortune by coming out with a small external genset that is 50-100kw feeding a high frequency alternator feeding a Silicon carbide rectifier that puts put 400-800V DC all the packs any pack cares about is input voltage it’s a matter of software at that point. Every EV could become a hybrid with such a trailer hitch mounted genset. Billions to be made, also offer that genset as a rent able item for road trips. A hitch mount takes 500lbs on a shelf plenty for a small 50kw plus 5-10 gallons in a plastic tank. The only thing needed on the EV side is a female plug that takes the 400-800V to the main pack bus and the software patch to tell the BMS to allow incoming current on that bus to either charge the pack, run the motors or both at the same time. The BMS already does this during regen braking allowing motor current to charge the pack the software only needs to be told to make that bidirectional.
if they make it in a 4x4 they might have a big market for farmers, hunters and country folk.. my Honda Pioneer UTV is over 25K with no windows or heater and it can’t drive you to the supermarket
thats exactly what happened to the last plastic/composite body car. the saturn. people thought the plastic body meant they didn’t have to wash the car in the winter..
Biggest rot boxes around now.
I like the idea of not having an ‘infotainment’ system and having manual windows, even though we don’t know how to make those anymore (plus, I see buttons and levers!). Get rid of the airbags (are you listening Trump?) and allow a hybrid version to be sold, and you’d have a HUGE market - pretty much all of the work trucks only needed for local driving.
Maybe Bezos got a good really good deal on the tooling and stamping parts from an old old Yugo plant.
I wouldn’t buy that piece of crap at any price. Even used, many on S.S. could not afford it. I doubt that most would even want it.
That truck with an in-line 6 and three speed manual transmission would be a winner.
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