busybee fluffy rambles

If you’re at all tuned into the EV space, you’ve probably heard of the Slate truck, for example from this Ars Technica article.

I am super into the concept. I probably wouldn’t buy one, because it doesn’t actually fit any of my needs as described (also IMO it’s kind of fugly), but I really hope that they expand their offerings a bit. In particular, I’d love to see a four-door model happen (I don’t drive other people often but when I do they usually have accessibility concerns!), and the addition of power windows would be really nice as well.

I do have my doubts about whether it can actually launch for the anticipated price, but they’re at least getting a lot of hype right now, and I love the idea of a barebones modular vehice where you only add the stuff you actually care about.

If I were to get one I’d definitely want to add a CarPlay display and audio amplifier. Fortunately there are already plenty of things on the market that could be used for this purpose, and I’m sure those will be among the first things to be adapted for the Slate if/when the vehicle comes to market.

I also hope that the hype around this causes other manufacturers to realize that there’s a market for lower-spec EVs. I’d absolutely love to see a low-spec version of a Telo, for example.

All dimensions are in Imperial units.

I feel like I need to sing the praise of CarMax, the dealership I bought the Niro at.

First of all: They had amazing prices on things, and a no-nonsense no-haggle policy. You pick out your car online, make an appointment to test drive it, and get some time with it.

They also did an amazing job of getting it ready for me. They performed all necessary service, including replacing the tires, and did a thorough inspection.

The inspection on mine missed two points: It was missing its emergency trickle charger, and there was a small but concerning crack on the windshield. When I pointed these things out, they immediately bought me a new, official trickle charger ($300) and paid for the entire windshield to be replaced ($700) — no questions asked, no proof required.

And with both issues, I’d called their service number outside of their business hours, and their answering service forwarded my concerns along and I got immediate contact, direct from the sales representative I worked with, as soon as they opened!

They also gave me the best offer on my old car by far, and worked really hard to get me every possible tax credit on the vehicle (the best one being the sales tax credit from the trade-in to begin with), and gave me a clear and concise explanation for why the ones I couldn’t get weren’t available. Not that it matters — the original price on the Niro was already ridiculously low, and the fact they’ve paid an additional $1000 to fix the issues mentioned above is a nice bonus on top.

This is 100% my own opinion, unsolicited, and I earn no commission or affiliate fee for saying this.

I honestly feel that CarMax is how all car dealerships should be.

The only thing I disliked about the whole experience is that they still aren’t quite equipped for EV sales, and don’t list things like range specs or show the battery condition on the inspection report. (For battery condition you really should bring an OBD-II scanner and an appropriate app, anyway. My Niro was still at 100%.) This is such an incredibly minor concern that I feel like it almost isn’t even worth mentioning, and as EVs get more popular this issue will definitely go away anyway.

So, yeah. CarMax is such a good experience. They are absolutely the way that car sales should be.