Suppose you have a nice SUV and That Friend Of Yours needs help moving over the weekend. Right now you have a great excuse… but with this revolutionary new idea from a car company called Slate, you could just… you know… CONVERT the SUV into a pickup and then back again. It’s quite a concept: and Scott Ott is a True Believer!
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This seems like a step up from a company I heard about years ago: they offered 2 or 3 different types of vehicles and over a weekend, you and 2 or 3 friends (one of which should be a mechanic or be mechanically-minded) would build the vehicle. At the end of the weekend, you would drive your new vehicle home. And these had gas engines.
If I just need a vehicle for puttering around town and not for road trips, the Slate could fit that need.
I’ve been following this ever since I reserved a spot for a Telo MT1 (Mini Truck 1) at TeloTrucks.com I really like the idea behind the Slate, but there are two deal-breakers for me. 1. The range. Driving around this area in the winter, I won’t get very far. 2. It’s only 2-wheel drive. The Telo MT1 is 4-wheel drive, and that is a requirement because we get snow. Also, in the summer, it gets really hot, so I’d be running the AC, which would kill the battery even more. The battery pack on the Slate just isn’t big enough.… Read more »
I was getting excited until you said EV. This would be perfect if they would make it gas and/or diesel. EV’s are not repairable, they don’t last very long, they have terrible range, and when they catch fire, they burn hot for days. Making it an EV just doesn’t fit their stated goals, and I think it might actually sink them. The shiny object syndrome with EV’s is starting to wear off, and people (and insurance companies) are realizing that they are actually pretty terrible.
Thought the same about Diesel. Range would be great, too.
Diesel really is a wonder fuel. It’s safer than both gasoline and lithium batteries because it’s more stable, and it can be extremely efficient. I’m almost convinced that VW was framed during the diesel emissions kerfuffle because their engines were too good.