READER MAIL
Editors' Note: If you have a comment, please include your name or initials (AND YOUR HOMETOWN TOO, PLEASE). We do not print email addresses. If you want to read previous issues, click on "Next Entry" on the bottom of each section (we do not save emails from previous issues, however). Thank you. -WG
Slate.
A pickup that can be converted into a 5-passenger SUV? What a concept! Two vehicles in the space of one! Slate reimagines the Nissan Pulsar NX Sport Coupe, an 80’s solution to the same problem that still doesn’t exist. Much of the reason that vehicles are so expensive today is all of the FLIR gizmology and electronics for lane keeping, smart cruise control, self-parking, etc, and the sea-to shining-sea mission control dashboards. Much of it is installed as standard equipment, and increasingly requires a subscription to operate, albeit at no charge for a period of time. But what if Barman is onto something? I doubt that the Slate will be a PU/SUV kit car if it does see daylight, but whatever it finally turns out to be, it will roll out about the same time as Chevy’s Bolt, Ford’s midsize BEV pickup and maybe Tesla’s smaller-than-Y. Lastly, the problem with BEVs isn’t range anxiety, it’s charging time. I don’t want to spend half an hour, two or three times on a cross-country trip charging to 80%. Either get that down to 5-6 minutes or give me 700-mile range.
Chris Blanchard
Prescott, Wisconsin
More on Slate.
I think it's less a question of whether the Slate does get built and more a question of what the announcement could do to the auto industry as a whole.
Most of the media activity around Slate looks at the vehicle from a US perspective. However, from an Indian/South American/Africa perspective it's exactly the sort of easy-to-modify truck that could have huge implications and sales in those markets.
The question I'm wondering is when will the Chinese bring out their version? Currently they are going after the EU/US market, so there's a focus on more upscale vehicles, but with 100+ electric car companies in China, at least one of them is going to realize this is exactly what low cost countries need, and copy Slate's design either directly through licensing or piracy, or by developing an equivalent design.
The only thing missing from it, to make it perfect for low cost countries, is a bi-directional port so the vehicle could power a house as well as receive power.
Paul G.
Silver Spring, Maryland
What about that hatch?
The Celestiq looks like a proper future Cadillac, but what's with the rear hatch? I can't imagine anyone loading shopping bags, or luggage, through that small, high access "hole" without scraping the expensive paint and throwing out their back. Or maybe I'm just getting too old!
KG
Montgomery, Alabama
Cheap and (not so) fun.
Cheap, no-frills vehicles sound great... until you drive one! About as satisfying as eating a rice cake.
Frank S.
Rochester, Michigan
That hatch (again).
The e-Caddy looks great in the pictures, and I salute any brand that makes beautiful cars, even if way outside my budget. The picture that shocked me is of the open hatch. Are the owners (or their servants) supposed to load luggage over that high wall without scratching the paint?
Eric H.
Calgary, Alberta, CANADA
Limited Editions.
You have to give the Porsche "greed merchants " credit. Who else can take a basic model, invent some new colors and come up with some fancy names, some fancy sorta new upholstery, and then jack up the price since it is a "limited edition". I just wish I had thought like that when I was selling my photographs. I could have tinted the color a bit, printed it a different size, and doubled the price, claiming it to be a limited edition. Maybe had I done that I coulda been driving a new Porsche today. A limited edition, of course.
Ted R.
Raleigh, North Carolina
Progress?
The Slate specs sound a lot like my 2019 Nissan Leaf S specs...150 miles of range (which is actually 100 in the real world) and a very basic cabin, no touch screens, all for under $30k. Nissan does it with a 40kwh battery though, with 4.4 advertised miles per kwh, which is more efficient than that offered by Slate's mini Mack truck profile.
How "revolutionary" is EV performance/pricing that has been in available for a decade? Since Leaf is ending production, I think it has been shown that these specs don't really interest many car buyers, even at this price point.
From where I sit, it appears that advertised 300/actual 200 miles is the desired default EV range, not 150/100.
BTW: I like my base model Leaf very much for what it is. A car to bounce around town in...running errands, getting to the gym. But beyond those applications, my ICE vehicle is necessary.
R. Henry
Thousand Oaks, California
Jeff Bezos, $111 MM, and Slate.
Give that man one blue chip…
Great idea. Greater idea if I there is a 1.3-liter ICE variant alongside the EV.
We’ll see. Won’t we?
SFS
Up North, Michigan
From the "Pipe Dream" File.
My problem with the Slate is, if it’s electric, why the long hood? You could move the cabin forward, legs between the wheels, and increase cargo room.
Meh, interesting pipe dream that still has no future for urban apartment dwellers.
Infosaur
Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania
I Love L.A.
I love your AE Song of the Week features and Randy Newman's "I Love LA" has always been a favorite having honed my driving teeth on cruising Imperial Highway and Century Blvd back in the days when as a student at El Camino College where I was a classmate (very briefly) of some of the Beach Boys in '61. But when I clicked on the link to the official music video of Randy's signature song about LA I get "I Love Money" instead...freudian slip or just a programming error? Never mind, keep the great songs and lyrics coming along with your take on why they were important to our culture then and still can be now...
RAldenM
Incline Village, Nevada
Editor-in-Chief's Note: That link has been fixed. We apologize to our readers. -PMD