[NMNeil]

Someone must have been listening because there's a new company in town who will sell you an EV truck that has absolutely no extras in the base model, but you can add whatever you want to the build.
The base model has wind up windows, no LCD screen or infotainment system, in fact a speedo, battery charge and little else, but A/C and heating are standard. It's like stepping back in time and I'm looking forward to test driving one next year.
Has an early Range Rover look to it 😀
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/new-...y?id=121051962

[clark598dahl]

Originally Posted by NMNeil

Someone must have been listening because there's a new company in town who will sell you an EV truck that has absolutely no extras in the base model, but you can add whatever you want to the build.
The base model has wind up windows, no LCD screen or infotainment system, in fact a speedo, battery charge and little else, but A/C and heating are standard. It's like stepping back in time and I'm looking forward to test driving one next year.
Has an early Range Rover look to it 😀
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/new-...y?id=121051962

Hello,
That’s a refreshingly minimalist take on modern EVs! Stripped back to essentials, yet flexible enough for custom builds—feels like a perfect blend of nostalgia and innovation. Can't wait to hear how it drives!

Best Regards,
Clark Dahl

[NMNeil]

@clark598dahl As Bezos is financing the venture in part they may be sold through Amazon, and our city council just announced that Amazon wants to build a distribution center here.
The cars will be built in Indiana so I'm assuming I can buy one on line, it will be given a temporary registration there and then shipped here to New Mexico where I can buy it as a 'used' vehicle avoiding our unconstitutional and illegal monopoly on new car sales.

[reyans428guar]

Classic off-roaders and work trucks, and it’s probably going to appeal to people who miss the simplicity and reliability of older vehicles. No endless menus or subscription features to unlock the radio! You mentioned it has an early Range Rover look—boxy, minimal, rugged, I assume? That aesthetic pairs really well with the back-to-basics philosophy. It’s probably light on weight, too, which should help with range and performance.

[NMNeil]

I took the plunge and put in my order 😎
They plan to start delivery late next year.

[Nick]

Sounds good @NMNeil - did you add any of the extras on top of the base model in the end? Or are you going completely base?

[NMNeil]

@Nick Just power windows, cause I'm lazy 😁
The good thing is that if you want to add anything later you just order it, they ship it to you, and you bolt it on.
https://www.slate.auto/en/personalization

[Nick]

That's a really interesting way of doing things - I like the idea, am interested to see how easy it actually works out to be.

I have to admit when I read the spec my first thought was around the wind-up windows - I think I'd be with you and definitely be getting the power windows lol!

[NMNeil]

My Chevy Colorado truck has wind up windows, and 'she who must be obeyed' said "You will be ordering the new truck with power windows; won't you?" 😎

[NMNeil]

An update of sorts.

[Lily]

@NMNeil simple is best 😉

[Rolebama]

I really liked the idea of the DIY concept and not being tied to a main dealer. Unfortunately I can't see our Health and Safety brigade allowing them here. (As I think I have mentioned previously, my son-in-law is a BMW Master Tech, but still not allowed to 'look under the bonnet' of an electric motorcycle.I think they would have fifty kinds of fits at the idea of a member of the public doing so.)

[NMNeil]

Originally Posted by Rolebama

I really liked the idea of the DIY concept and not being tied to a main dealer. Unfortunately I can't see our Health and Safety brigade allowing them here. (As I think I have mentioned previously, my son-in-law is a BMW Master Tech, but still not allowed to 'look under the bonnet' of an electric motorcycle.I think they would have fifty kinds of fits at the idea of a member of the public doing so.)

But the same argument could be made for owners fixing their own brakes or high pressure fuel injection systems.

[olduser]

Originally Posted by Rolebama

I really liked the idea of the DIY concept and not being tied to a main dealer. Unfortunately I can't see our Health and Safety brigade allowing them here. (As I think I have mentioned previously, my son-in-law is a BMW Master Tech, but still not allowed to 'look under the bonnet' of an electric motorcycle.I think they would have fifty kinds of fits at the idea of a member of the public doing so.)

The problem here is, common sense simply does not apply when working on electric cars, with voltages in the range 300 - 450 volts connected to very high energy battery packs, and sneaky capacitors holding enough energy to kill or maim.
On top of that, this is all connected to electronic control systems priced at £1000's per board, and there are few standard isolation methods yet.
Isolation systems are becoming standardised but slowly so the normal mechanics, "bung it back together and see if it go's" at best can be expensive or at worst can end with a big explosion and a few dead.
With later EV's we are talking 100+kWH, converted to say TNT equivalent.

1 kWh = 3.6 million joules (MJ)
Therefore, 100 kWh = 100 × 3.6 MJ = 360 MJ
TNT Equivalence:

1 gram of TNT releases about 4,184 joules (J) of energy
1 kilogram of TNT releases about 4.184 million joules (MJ)

After the number crunching it works out at 86 Kg of TNT!

Whilst TNT releases its energy differently to a battery, I think people have not got much of an idea of what 100kWH is.

[Rolebama]

@NMNeil I only worked professionally with cars for around 20yrs, so I would never claim to have 'seen it all'. I would definitely say I have seen enough though. I will never understand a lot of it, like how do you drive a brand new car to your home, only to fiddle with it to the point it burns to a rusty shell? I take your point only too well, which is why I question those cars being imported.

[NMNeil]

Originally Posted by olduser

1 gram of TNT releases about 4,184 joules (J) of energy

And 1 gram of petrol releases about 4,440 joules of energy in theory making it far more dangerous.
But if someone who is unqualified works on an EV battery pack and gets injured they only have themselves to blame, but if someone unqualified works on the brakes. suspension or steering of a car and messes it up, it can kill many innocent people.
And all claim that it was 'fixed' at another shop, when in reality they screwed it up, because why did'nt they take it back to the original shop?
And remember these death traps could be driving next to you at 70mph on the motorway.

[olduser]

Originally Posted by NMNeil

And 1 gram of petrol releases about 4,440 joules of energy in theory making it far more dangerous.
But if someone who is unqualified works on an EV battery pack and gets injured they only have themselves to blame, but if someone unqualified works on the brakes. suspension or steering of a car and messes it up, it can kill many innocent people.
And all claim that it was 'fixed' at another shop, when in reality they screwed it up, because why did'nt they take it back to the original shop?
And remember these death traps could be driving next to you at 70mph on the motorway.

I am with you all the way on that.

The point I was making is, a mechanic knows the dangers of petrol, he probably knows to be careful around a 12V battery but a traction battery is a different beast, and that is why the servicing of EV's appears so difficult and restrictive at the moment. Hopefully, it will get better when there are more people trained and isolation methods become standardised.

[Rolebama]

@NMNeil I saw too many similar things over the years, and never understood the logic with them. I had a Vauxhall with a head gasket blown. The customer argued that it couldn't be the head gasket because the nice man who worked at Blockbuster Videos had just done that very repair for £50! Head gasket set was £65, and the head stretch bolts were £12.50 each at the time. I gave up trying to explain that they had been ripped off. Just one of many incidents I came across.

[NMNeil]

It's human nature.
I worked at a fast lube place in Vegas for a short time when we first arrived and it was not uncommon to have someone in a new Cadillac Escalade with $5,000 worth of alloy rims and tyres, a $2,000 stereo system and a custom paint job spend all day driving round looking for the perfect $19.95 oil change that would use a genuine GM oil filter and Valvoline synthetic oil. Then moan that it's the advertised price even though the sign clearly said words to the effect of "For $19.95 we use the cheapest filters and bulk oil we can get our hands on"

[olduser]

But to be fair, there are many, what look like respectable garages, who will happily use lower quality lube and filter and charge the full price. Or as you mentioned, work without using diagnostic computers, unless the staff have bought their own, playing parts darts*, while the customer pay for time and parts.

* I think I picked that expression (parts darts) up off this forum way back, from a guy who had a repair/service car's at home business, as I recall, a real asset to the forum.

[Rolebama]

During my time with the AA, we were taught that disconnecting multiplugs and checking the pinout's readings would give a good indication of where faults were located. A few cars were notorious for failings caused by water ingress into multiplugs either where they connected to units, or where they were connections to main wiring looms. A few cars were also known to have faults introduced by water ingress into fuse boxes. The only real problem we faced was getting pinout information from manufacturers. Some were more inclined to help than others. There were also incidents where fuses would not pass appropriate current, but a visual check of these fuses would give no indication, so the best check was to replace with a known good fuse in the fusebox. Unfortunately, a lot of these checks could not be sensibly carried out, as opening the bonnet in rain was never considered a good idea when checking for electrical faults.
Unfortunately, some people would be more concerned about getting frozen food home, or getting to weddings, funerals, hospital appointments, picking kids up from school etc, than standing around while I carried out these investigations. So sometimes it was better to drive them to wherever they needed to be, and just have the car towed to their chosen workshop.
Even so, at the end of the month when our figures were computed, I still had a fix rate in the 90+% area.

[NMNeil]

Originally Posted by olduser

* I think I picked that expression (parts darts) up off this forum way back, from a guy who had a repair/service car's at home business, as I recall, a real asset to the forum.

We call it loading up the parts cannon; but this is America. 😋

[olduser]

Originally Posted by Rolebama

During my time with the AA, we were taught that disconnecting multiplugs and checking the pinout's readings would give a good indication of where faults were located. A few cars were notorious for failings caused by water ingress into multiplugs either where they connected to units, or where they were connections to main wiring looms. A few cars were also known to have faults introduced by water ingress into fuse boxes. The only real problem we faced was getting pinout information from manufacturers. Some were more inclined to help than others. There were also incidents where fuses would not pass appropriate current, but a visual check of these fuses would give no indication, so the best check was to replace with a known good fuse in the fusebox. Unfortunately, a lot of these checks could not be sensibly carried out, as opening the bonnet in rain was never considered a good idea when checking for electrical faults.
Unfortunately, some people would be more concerned about getting frozen food home, or getting to weddings, funerals, hospital appointments, picking kids up from school etc, than standing around while I carried out these investigations. So sometimes it was better to drive them to wherever they needed to be, and just have the car towed to their chosen workshop.
Even so, at the end of the month when our figures were computed, I still had a fix rate in the 90+% area.

And of course while waiting for you to arrive, they may well have sat with the bonnet up in the rain, why do people do that ?

[Rolebama]

I once took a customer's car for an MOT and it failed on the steering rack showing signs of excess wear. I was not happy as I had checked the car out myself beforehand and found no such problem. I obtained an Engineer's report, and complained. (At that time it was a guy at the Hendon Police Training Centre that dealt with complaints). On investigation it turned out that they had bulk-bought steering racks for that model, and on satisfying themselves that the rack on the car was fine, had the MOT status for that garage rescinded. They closed shortly afterward, and the ex-staff had trouble getting employment in the field as word got around.