alt Hacker NewsI'm not up on the Maverick, but the comparison chart for the Slate EV feels pretty misleading:
- the Slate's range is now 205 miles across the board, not 150/240
- both the REO and Slate start as 2-door 2-seaters with pricier models adding capacity, but the chart boasts the REO seats "up to 6" while the Slate seats "2 (5 costs extra)"
- for repair costs, the REO just says "mechanical - affordable" (?) while labeling the Slate as "battery pack - $$$$". But an electric powertrain is far simpler and requires virtually no maintenance for 100,000+ miles, while an ICE engine requires regular oil changes, brake pads, timing belts, transmission work, etc.
- completely skips the cost of fuel over electric charging; between that and maintenance, the TCO of the REO is significantly higher
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If you buy the common reliable gas engines, and stick to timing chains, you really don't have to do much. Our 4runner has 260k miles and hasn't ever had anything done but engine oil, trans oil, and differential oil. Trans and diff oil will still be done on electric cars.
I have a 300k Ford F250 gas that also hasnt had anything done basically.
And while for trucks the electric vs gas is huge, my Chevy Volt costs per mile about the same to operate on gas vs electric, because electricity is $0.46 a kwh in my California region.
> I'm not up on the Maverick, but the comparison chart for the Slate EV feels pretty misleading
Well as a Maverick person, I'll say the following as far as 'hmm' about the chart.
For starters, You get it either in a Turbo 2.0 or Hybrid 2.5. The Hybrid 2.5 is an old but very proven design, no direct injection [0]. Also the Hybrid transmission is far simpler than most modern automatics/DCTs.
The Max spec towing Capacity is indeed 4K (with the tow package, which also requires AWD,) however it is uncertain whether an extra 500 pounds would make or break things; Keep in mind that Ford also wants to keep selling 'bigger' trucks like the Ranger [1].
But as far as listing the Hybrid battery as a 'Big Ticket Item' I can't help but chuckle. It's a paltry 1.1Kwh. As far as everyone can tell, as a car part of course it's way more expensive than just buying a home backup battery with that capacity, but at current prices replacement with labor is estimated around 3K and that's still way cheaper than a Transmission or an engine.
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All of that said, I think this is definitely trying to hit a certain market, and if it actually launches, and the Engine/Transmission choices are reasonable, that this would be a disruptor, but not necessarily for the consumer market.
This seems to be more targeting the fairly neglected 'low-end' of the commercial truck segment. Specifically the 2 door with "Drop-side flatbed"; IOW the sides drop down.
It's a body on frame; the challenge with the Maverick as a 'Fleet vehicle' is that they are Unibody and total out very easily. Versus with BOF trucks, I once worked at a place where the auto body shop we used was owned by my company's owners... made it cheap to keep things running I guess.
A lot of fleets unfortunately would not find 205 miles a safe enough range for their usages; That's almost certainly why they are doing this 25 gallon tank to get to 600 miles of range.
> transmission work
Eh, If I did get one I'd get the MT. Which I think is the closest to where this is targeting a 'niche consumer'. The "I want a cheap MT truck, I don't want a silly Rotary dial to pick a gear[2]". They are advertising it's 'repairability'; which again seems to be language targeting farmers sick of being locked out, but also the kinds of people who really don't mind doing that stuff.
But again, They are claiming a long powertrain lifetime.
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Really at the end of it, What they are proposing sounds a lot like a Hilux Champ, Again I'm super curious to see what engine/transmission they plan on sourcing for this.
That's assuming this is a real thing, after all; the last decade has seen lots of cars that end up as vaporware or don't get past this phase.
[0] - Some DI setups result in carbon buildup long term.
[1] - Despite not offering US the Ranger Hybrid that is in EU.
[2] - To be clear I love my Maverick and intend to drive it into the ground. But I also bought in when the first year, the value per dollar is somewhat worse on new models.
> feels pretty misleading:
this is called "marketing". :)
Having owned both gas and electric cars, I think the reality is probably not what either side thinks.
You have to take electric cars into the shop too. But range problems aren't as much of a problem for adults if you plug in every night and don't forget. If you're the type that forgets to charge your phone, it might be. and if there's no charging in your domicile it might be an issue.
But gas cars are also bad for the people who forget to charge their phone. Or change their oil. or any type of routine maintenance that could turn a trouble-free gas car into an extra trouble gas car.
I think electric cars (and their batteries) last lots longer than people expected. And gas cars are trouble-free up until a certain age when things not only need to be maintained, but replaced and then you need a good relationship with a mechanic.