It’s backed by Bezos. Wouldn’t even consider it for that reason alone.
this post was submitted on 25 Apr 2025
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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.
I have owned a Nissan vanette, And let me tell you, it's a van-full of nope! Steering is super weird, as the wheels are under you, the feeling that your knees are going to be what crumples in a crash is unnerving, having the engine right next to you (it's between the front seats) is smelly, warms up one of you thighs, but just one, even in the summer, and a slew of other shit. Standard layout for me, at least Eurovan layout.
Counterpoint: One of the first things people buy for a truck is a container for the bed for things they don't want to be in the weather but also not in the cab.
A front-trunk eliminates this need which also frees up bed space.
Exactly, you can usually tell someone actually needs a truck if it's got a stainless box behind the cab. Obviously there's still people who cosplay as truck drivers that will have them too, but there are other signs you can use to tell them apart.
The front trunk is a safety feature called a crumple zone and is objectively safer to be in a crash with.
Hm. Interesting point.
Maybe as we move our economy away from cars, and people dont all have to be drivers, we could also move away from cars that are poorly designed specifically around bad drivers.
You need infrastructure to actually support an alternative, otherwise cars are a necessity for many people to get to work and the grocery store.
Yeah, it would be nice to not need cars. I feel like this is a step towards function and away from vanity. Which is a good thing, even if it's not the end goal.
That is true, except I'm talking about utility primarily. Garbage trucks already fulfill the design I'm mentioning and are used daily in most cities already.
Are you saying that because a heavy duty, highly specialized, utility vehicle, doesn't have a crumple zone that the Slate truck is a bad design?
In my view the Slate truck is designed as a work vehicle. It's for people who need to both hual things, and have a place to store tools. It's trunk is perfect for that.
The Kei, and box trucks that we have in the US (which would have been a way better example for you to use.), are great for delivery vehicles. Jobs where you load things up and come back with an empty truck.
There's a place for both form factors. The Slate is not a bad design, it just doesn't fit what you think the use case for a small truck is.
Americans won't buy a Kei truck though. Granted, the frunk is a marketing concession, but it's a fine one, if it can help push the market away from huge and expensive SUVs.
Or, more succinctly, don't let perfect be the enemy of good.
Americans can't buy them new because of the so-called Chicken Tax. We can only import them if they're speed-governed, or at least 25 years old.
Even with those restrictions, lots of Americans want them, including me. There are quite a few importers bringing them over, including one that just started up in my area. They're desirable enough that major media outlets are running articles about how people who need to get real work done covet kei trucks.
Yes, Americans would buy them. Americans are buying them.
Americans won't be able to afford anything anyway pretty soon.
no touchscreen
Sounds like a dream. Or public transport. It doesn't have touchscreen either.
Glad someone has the balls to produce a truck people actually want. Give me power windows, locks, radio, cruise and a cheap radio and I am fine. I guess I throw in 4x4 because I live in Colorado.
I would love to also see an ice or a hybrid version of this truck too. This is exactly want so many people are wanting right now. Very excited to see this EV when it hits the road
They can't legally make an ice version of this truck because of how emissions laws work in the US.
But does it break when water ?
Frugal design. I love it.
I hate that Bezos backed them
The msrp of this truck is $28000. For having nothing in it that is absurd. Not to mention the rebates put it at 20k but you still have to pay upfront which deters most people from getting. Overall shit truck, shit design, shit price.
This is cool, except you'll never be able to guarantee it'll make it to market to specification. They should try a small form factor too, with the same 2 seat option, even giving you the option to make a kei truck-esque experience.
Overall, looks solid.
No stereo is the only thing I would change
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.
I pretty much do and I'm kinda stoked, cautiously
If I can have a Linux truck that works and can tow something if need be... I'm down
Linux truck
And has to resemble the late 1970s-1980s body styles because of the kiss methodology. I'd love me a 1972 C10 or a 1981 F150 with Debian.
Oh fuck yeah
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No stereo is fine if it has ports for me to just buy my own car stereo kit and add it afterwards. I don't see the point of no paint, like don't you need it to protect the metal from the environment
It's no paint because the body is plastic. It's not even black plastic coated grey. Just grey plastic.
I see, are there any other all plastic mass market cars out there, I'm just not sure how that material holds up in terms of wear and tear and accidents
Look up Saturn plastic body panels. The hood, roof, and top of the trunk we're still metal.
I had one as my first car. I got rear ended once, and the plastic parts were mostly fine (a little paint chipped off), but the metal top got bent. The trunk itself worked and I never fixed the metal.
Edit to add: the car was made in 1999, I think I bought it in 2008 and had it for about ten years. I got rid of it because the electronics were getting gremlins. Neither the paint on the plastic or metal panels had issues except for the mentioned fender bender.
Saturn used to have door panels set up in their dealerships and encouraged kids to jump on them. I was one of those kids.
Perfect except for it being a truck. Why is North America allergic to small cars?
I have an answer for this that's from my personal life if that's helpful.
I've lived either in the great plains or in the rural south my entire life, and I only found out a year ago you can pay $20 to rent a pickup truck. So up until that point, I thought, every group (of friends or family) has to have a person with a truck in it, in case someone needs to move, or in case of an emergency (like a tornado effing up their house and now you have to clear the property).
When I found out that renting a truck is so cheap, I was so mad! All that time wasted paying extra for more car than I needed! I prefer something small and cheap and efficient, personally, but so does everyone else I know so I always wound up with the truck. (And I helped a LOT of people move over the years as a result.)
Obviously this is n=1 but at least it's my story? And my answer is legit, "ignorance and being too poor to own my house, and landlords like to jack rent on someone staying in one place every year so you have to keep moving to avoid that needless creep of fees."
Trucks are incredibly useful?
Sure but not every single person needs a truck? My comment isn’t even intending to hate on trucks, I literally just want a small car that’s electric. I don’t drive often and I want something that’s electric but doesn’t take up much space
My hope is this will be another nail in the coffin for the giant bro dozers. Everybody I know who does actual real truck stuff have been crying for this exact vehicle for years. A small (in American terms) utilitarian vehicle for getting your truck stuff done. Essentially an American kei truck
Plus I think there have been a lot of small smart-car sized EV offerings, but I can’t really think of a small truck besides the Telo truck.
See, tariffs work!
/s
We’re owning the libs now! Now we can all buy any EV we want! It’s all computer.
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