Mike, I will be following this subject closely. Last year I spent $40,000 on a Chevy Equinox to tow 4 down and it has lived in the shop since purchase do to electronic issues. I now believe most "new" vehicles are too electronic heavy with electronic transmissions, shifting, autostart/stop, etc. A simpler rearwheel drive vehicle (EV , Hybrid or ICE) as a toad option is greatly needed.
This truck looks dirt simple. It doesn’t even have a radio or expanded instrument cluster. But you can plug your phone or tablet (with optional mount) into the dashboard to see everything.
The stock 51kWh battery with 150-mile range is reasonable for a TOAD or even a weekend grocery getter. And if they can enable TOAD regenerative brake charging while being towed, that would reduce the electric load at campgrounds. Fingers crossed that they can get this into production.
Thanks Mike. Although this sounds barebones there is so much duplication of tech in cars today. If you provide 12v charging a smart phone will provide radio, podcast, GPS and more, just give it a comfortable spot. BT to speakers and you set. As long as there is a/c for the south and globe warming I can live with manual windows and locks.
Curb weight is 3,602 lb (1.634 kg), max payload is 1,433 lb (650 kg), and towing capacity is rated at 1,000 lb (453.6 kg)
More info at https://newatlas.com/automotive/slate-auto-ev-pickup/
Mike, I will be following this subject closely. Last year I spent $40,000 on a Chevy Equinox to tow 4 down and it has lived in the shop since purchase do to electronic issues. I now believe most "new" vehicles are too electronic heavy with electronic transmissions, shifting, autostart/stop, etc. A simpler rearwheel drive vehicle (EV , Hybrid or ICE) as a toad option is greatly needed.
This truck looks dirt simple. It doesn’t even have a radio or expanded instrument cluster. But you can plug your phone or tablet (with optional mount) into the dashboard to see everything.
The stock 51kWh battery with 150-mile range is reasonable for a TOAD or even a weekend grocery getter. And if they can enable TOAD regenerative brake charging while being towed, that would reduce the electric load at campgrounds. Fingers crossed that they can get this into production.
Thanks Mike. Although this sounds barebones there is so much duplication of tech in cars today. If you provide 12v charging a smart phone will provide radio, podcast, GPS and more, just give it a comfortable spot. BT to speakers and you set. As long as there is a/c for the south and globe warming I can live with manual windows and locks.
It has HVAC with cruise control standard. Plus a top speed of 90 MPH.
Considering the "20k" Tesla-2 is actually made by ace engineers, it's even more likely this thing is vaporware...
Considering it's a Bezos project, do we even have to mention his other engineering/budgetary fails?
I wonder if we will see these on the lawn at the White House
This would be a great TOAD. Ask them how much it weighs.
Electric truck, flat towed, low price point is intriguing.
I like the concept of manual windows, too.
Any idea on weight?