This morning, I watched Out of Spec’s video on the Slate, and immediately went to make a reservation. The idea of all the customization options tickles a spot on my gear head brain that I think only the Honda Grom has before – cheap entry, loads of affordable customization, and simplicity of design/mechanics. Now the verdicts on affordable customization is still out, but I have hope.

People complaining about the lack of radio, power windows, etc. are really missing the point of the blank slate that the Blank Slate provides. As someone who did car audio in a former life, I’d rather add the audio that I want rather than have to come up with work arounds and half measures to tip toe around poor factory equipment that’s so heavily integrated that it’s more trouble than it’s worth to eliminate. No power windows means one less electrical circuit that needs disconnected when removing doors, and no regulator to die later in the vehicles life. No giant infotainment screen means it won’t feel aged as fast as some early 2010s (heck even some late 2010s) vehicles feel because of outdated tech.

The idea of converting it to an SUV, especially that slant back roof, is an attractive idea to me. I’ve found that I don’t need an open bed as often as I could use another seat or two, but the idea of being able to transition back and forth, as needed, is cool. The front trunk looks like a great home for the tools I’m always carrying around with me (because I have a overwhelming need to be self sufficient), and the off-road package seems like it checks the box for my soft roader needs… mostly.

That is one of the points I’m hoping to see change. The lack of an AWD option really limits the attractiveness of the Blank Slate for any type of poor traction off-roading or even northern states that see a lot of snow. Slate has shown off renders and prototypes of several different configurations, and the render of the Slate in SUV configuration with the doors and roof off just screams beach rig. But the RWD only paired with an unknown final weight of production ready (right now big battery pack with SUV kit is looking like it’ll be in the ~4,000lbs range) and an unknown weight distribution are not initially confidence inspiring for beach duty, at least for Cape Hatteras National Seashore levels of soft sand. Now if they want to take one down to Ramp 44 and run it out to Cape Point (or better yet, let me), they might prove me totally wrong on the need for AWD, but I don’t think ~4,000lbs on aired down 31″ tires is totally impossible with RWD – I just don’t think it would be as enjoyable as it would with AWD.

The minimal tech also hopefully means that if Slate happens to go the way of Fisker, the vehicles aren’t dead in the water. The biggest Achilles heel to a lot of modern autos (EV or ICE) is the overly complicated software. While it may bring awesome features, it also means it’s a lot easier to brick them via a bad update or a company collapse. With Slate throwing around “open source” when discussing some of their accessories, I’m hoping we see some open source software/firmware.

And to close, do I love that it’s back by Bezos in some capacity? No, but it does likely mean Slate has plenty of financial runway. With the truck lacking a bunch of tech, I’m not too worried, but the moment they announce required Alexa integration, I’m out.

Begin the countdown to production. Only ~1.75 years to go.

PS – Their configurator is pretty cool. I think this is where I’d end up with a Slate: https://www.slate.auto/share/KY8AMT

 

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