"No touchscreen" is a really great selling point imo
this post was submitted on 25 Apr 2025
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Every smart feature a vehicle *doesn't *have is a selling point for me. I want my car to be dumb as a boot.
Yep, the more software it has, the less I want it. And I’m saying that as a software engineer.
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I fucking hate the touchscreen in my vehicle.
I dont mind a secondary 8" screen for things like navigation as long as there is no control over functionality of the vehicle on said touch screen.
My 2016 Veloster has a perfect balance
After reading the article and the website, I can't find anything that explicitly says there is no network connection built into the vehicle.
The instrument panel is a screen, and will be used to display the backup camera video. There is some computer capable of handling video processing and displaying the instrument graphics - so more than just low-level electronics to handle the battery and drive control. It could have built-in GPS, it could have 5G, it could still be collecting and sharing data on driving habits &etc, it could be subsidized by that on the backend. Just because those functions aren't displayed to the end user doesn't mean they aren't in the system.
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Fucking FINALLY.
I've been waiting for a small pickup like the old 90s 4-banger Toyota. And this is electric, simple for function, and actually affordable?
Capitalists must be seething. If it doesnt have leather interior, 19 speaker surround sound, and cost 80k, get it out of our country! /s
Small gas-powered trucks are effectively illegal in the US.
It's regulation made in response to automakers calling everything a "light truck" to get around fuel economy and emissions standards in the 90s and 2000s.The straw that broke the camel's back was the PT Cruiser being classified as a truck by Chrysler.
So, starting in model year 2012, vehicle fuel economy standards started being based on vehicle footprint. The side effect was that small, powerful vehicles designed for moving cargo more efficiently or in tighter spaces than large trucks were impacted. It's why 2011 was the last year model of the old Rangers, S10s, Dakota, etc.
That's why the new Rangers are larger than the old F150s. They have to make them bigger to meet CAFE standards.
Same issue hit the small cargo vans in 2021/22. As the CAFE standards went up, it became impossible to meet fuel economy standards for the NV200, Ford Transit Connect, and Ram ProMaster City compact cargo vans, so they were all discontinued.
New York City was changing its whole Taxi fleet to NV200s due to their flexibility and accessibility options, and now can't buy new ones because a Toyota Camry has less-strict fuel economy requirements.
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Don't get too excited about seething capitalists. Bezos is a major investor.
Article said it caught his interest, which to me means he took notice and will likely try to own it and enshitify it soon, not that he is currently behind it.
He's one of 16 investors. Source:
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a64564869/2027-slate-truck-revealed/
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Relatively affordable. It is 20k after the federal discounts and kick backs. Meanwhile, the Chinese EV market has been making cars as low as 4k. https://greenspeedx.com/cheap-electric-cars-available-in-china/
I'm not a pro China person (because one time in Ark, a Chinese team kept destroying my thatch base), but they seem to have the things. Apparently Mexico is aiming to compete in the EV market as well.
America used to have the things as well but then there was a civil war and it got banned.
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Even Europe has a tariff for EVs from China due to government subsidies. So it’s probably not 4K, but it’s also probably less than 25
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There’s no radio, no Bluetooth, and no speakers of any kind beyond for those required to play basic warning chimes.
Many will consider this a cost-cutting step too far, but the interior was designed for ease of upgrading, with easy mounting space for anything from a simple soundbar to a full sound system.
There’s an integrated phone mount right on the dashboard, but there’s nothing stopping you from bringing something even larger. I expect the low-cost Android tablet and 3D-printing communities to have a field day coming up with in-car media streaming solutions.
framework truck😭
This is 100% it.
All I want is a modular car system. Everything modular. Dashboard. Body panels. Whatever. I want 3+ cars possible on one frame, and to not need anything more than basic tools to swap parts around.
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As an FYI, (In the United States) all modern cars will have to have some kind of screen (whether built in the mirror, on the dash, or as part of the gauge system) as all cars are required to have backup cameras as of 2018.
Starting in 2029 all cars will be required to have automatic braking technology as well.
We're never going to be able to purchase new cars that are completely dumbed down ever again, but with how many lives it will save I'd say it's worth it.
I'm glad that there are some companies that are willing to offer cars with the bare minimum of features at least. I personally would prefer having automatic windows over crank, but if someone wants to save money more power(har har) to them!
EDIT: weather vs whether Braking vs breaking
Way over-thinking it.
Europe and Japan 10-15 years ago all had radios with 4x6 inch no-touch displays for pre-loaded GPS with no internet connection. They switch to backup cameras when in reverse.
America doesn't need to invent anything here, this is old technology widely used by large parts of the rest is the world.
Can we get another edit for braking instead of breaking, please? Surely all this fancy new-fangled tech never breaks? 😉
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There is also the Telo Truck. It's advertised as being as capable as a Toyota Tacoma, but the footprint of a Mini Cooper.
It's asthetic is more akin to the small trucks in Japan, though.
Edit: it does seem like it has more tech-forward features, but it is otherwise a relatively simple truck in a very manageable size.
Big bonus for Telo is that they support Right to Repair and are trying to use off-the-shelf parts where possible to enable end-user repairs. Oh and it isn't a unibody so, panels can be replaced if damaged.
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I am excited, this is what my husband and I have been waiting for - a regular vehicle with no bells and whistles just to raise the price
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Damn, an electric truck I might actually want. It's a shame it's made in America
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Sign me THE FUCK up, have been looking at 90s danger rangers to sate my small truck fix but so many of them have a car-looking front end.
This will never come to market. Perhaps in a different timeline, but not this one.
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It’s backed by Bezos. Wouldn’t even consider it for that reason alone.
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The design is bad. The front trunk is a bad use of space, and the Japanese figured this out decades ago with the Kei truck. If you want to see real utility, look at this design.
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I find this minimalism strangely appealing. Unfortunately, I do not live on a farm. I hope this thing is useful to those who do, though.
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Features I look for in a car
- 4 wheels
- radio
- power windows
- reverse cam
How hard is this?
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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.
Definitely interested…
Please make a 4x4 model I will definitely buy one.
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.
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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,”
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no touchscreen
Sounds like a dream. Or public transport. It doesn't have touchscreen either.
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Am I reading this right and it only offers 1000lb towing capacity? Isn't that kind of utterly useless?
Oh, not at all. Not at all. Now as a full-fledged TRUCK, and hauling, yeah it's pretty pathetic. But the truck platform that this uses is clean, simple, and fucking brilliant.
A lot of non-truck city people like to cite some damning statistic, something-something-87% of truck owners haven't hauled anything significant in the past year. Correct, and I think most people simply don't have that need. The number of oversized trucks I see, that go from home to cubicle work to WalMart & back home again... 🙄🙄🙄
Full-sized trash cans don't fit in a car very well. But they fit nicely in a truck. This truck can "haul"...all kinds of bulky, awkward shit that doesn't weigh much. I've got a lot of that in my life.
I could use this as a nice, basic farm shuttle vehicle. Chores. Daily driver to & from work. Camping even, obviously light tent camping. Drive-in movie theaters. Parties. "I don't have room in my car for [junk] ." Well, throw it in my truck. Problem solved, yay 🥳
It's electric, so you could even drive it part-time & fully recharge it with the fucking sun.
I adore the standard cab, small, working man's truck. It is not kind of utterly useless, it just doesn't allow you to be the manliest man that ever manned, bro. Lift kit & shoxxx for offroading, bro. Best in class for towing, bro. Extended cab, bro. It runs on endangered species of owls, bro. ...you can keep all that. I'll take this. 🤗
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If you need to tow something, sure. The vast majority of people who own a pickup don't tow jackshit. That goes for urban and rural areas.
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