Comment by brad0
1 day ago
I put down $50 to reserve one. I grew up with an old car that I tinkered with endlessly. Mostly because it was simple enough for me to get my head around! This car reminds me of that time.
I'm hoping that they go with a lot of "off-the-shelf" electronics and mechanical parts. Standards are a blessing.
It feels like they're going with a different business model to traditional car manufacturers. AFAIK most manufacturers make a lot of their money via servicing. I'd love to take a look at what their long-term business strategy is.
You could buy an old Volkswagen bug (not the new models) for cheap. They are dead simple too with tons of parts available.
Depending on where you live you can almost build certain older cars from new parts. For the UK I believe you can get every single part of an Morris Mini either brand new or at least refurbished. For France you can probably built a Citroen 2CV for parts, including an EV version.
A friend is doing exactly that with a defender 130 . New galvanized frame, every panel new, new axles, new brakes, new transmission, transfer case and engine. New seats, new interior, new doors. Cool project.
how did you find their website? all i get are articles about the car but no links
https://www.slate.auto/en
The configurator is fun:
https://www.slate.auto/en/personalization
Thanks for the link. I see they sell portable bluetooth speakers we can mount under the dash. I like the idea of DIY wrapping both the interior and exterior; I can imagine anime fan boys like my son coming up with very wild art for these wraps. I had also forgotten cars used to have hand cranks to roll up the windows.