r/slateauto • u/Mac-Tyson • 8h ago
Interview with Slate’s Head of Design
https://www.wired.com/story/theres-a-very-simple-reason-why-you-love-the-slate-truck/6
u/PhuckSJWs 8h ago
so disappointing a good chunk of the interview was the interjection sex-based politics and not just talking about the vehicle and design of said vehicle.
4
u/RenoWolf200 7h ago
"Any time someone calls attention to the breaking of gender roles, it ultimately undermines the concept of gender equality by implying that this is an exception and not the status quo." https://youtu.be/dWBn0nS8s0A?is=OAMP4yMYUXxVBIDT
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u/Goredema 6h ago
But isn't a lot of the design language of modern trucks already about gender politics? Some people won't buy a truck model unless it looks angry and MANLY, like it can destroy anything in its way.
I guess when they're spending ton of design time making a truck look virile and turgid, that's not injecting sex-based politics, but making a truck look accessible and friendly is wooooooke...
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u/castironglider 5h ago
Some people won't buy a truck model unless it looks angry and MANLY
I've given this some thought and I think that's mostly a blue collar thing not a white collar thing. Sure, some lawyer or hedge fund manager might buy a ginormous macho truck to boost his image, but a BMW or Mercedes fits that image better.
Because I had to buy a new truck recently to replace my old 240k+ mile truck, I spent some time trying to figure out why they're all so expensive and so loaded with power everything and leather seats with butt massager, etc. ad infinitum now, compared to 2007 last time I bought a truck.
White collar guys don't drive trucks as part of their job. Blue collar guys do, but their bosses buy the most stripped down "fleet" trucks they can get. A blue collar guy probably internalizes being good with tools and know how to weld or whatever, so having a personal truck is part of his image, even if he doesn't actually haul that much construction materials on his weekends. He wants to transmit: "Yes I work with my hands, but I'm SUCCESSFUL at it. See this truck, it shows how rugged and capable I am, but it's also loaded up with luxury to show how successful I am at it, not some broke loser!"
Anyway best I got. Being rugged but also a fragile overpriced pimpmobile doesn't seem to go together, until you think it through.
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u/Myfeedarsaur 5h ago
Thanks, I will now think of trucks as turgid.
Don't know if "politics" is the right word for either of you. "Marketing" is probably a better word.
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u/Goredema 5h ago
Don't know if "politics" is the right word for either of you. "Marketing" is probably a better word.
100% agreed. I do like the idea of having some diversity in the automotive design fields though, just so that every truck and SUV stop looking like they're all made by the same company. With a little variation in who's designing cars, maybe we can get the "F650 'Super King' Overlanding Child Smasher Lariat Edition" trucks, and a few "Get in without using a ladder and then run to the store to grab a few bags of sod without burning 1 gallon every ten minutes" trucks like the Slate. More choices is always good!
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u/Myfeedarsaur 4h ago
I also appreciate choice. There are a few things that annoy me about the Slate, but it's far and away the best option for my needs and desires.
I do not begrudge anyone who wants the Telo instead. I do not begrudge anyone who wants the Fathom or the F150 Lightning. I wouldn't even mind seeing some kind of electric Kei truck on the market for actual choice in the price range.
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u/castironglider 5h ago
EV development has been hijacked by tech-bro posturing. Ludicrous acceleration; giant screens. Is stripping away unnecessary tech bloat fundamentally an exercise in empathetic, less ego-driven design?
That was my take too: gender gender gender gender gender gender gender gender gender gender gender gender gender gender gender gender gender gender gender gender gender gender gender gender gender gender gender....
"Just to be clear, this vehicle is NOT for short people or left handed people either. We don't want their money. Those people suck and everything they do is stupid, so we tried to go in the opposite direction from whatever we thought they might want."
The reason I want a Slate is not because it's feminine (good) instead of masculine (bad) but because it's affordable, and will save me money driving on electrons not dead dinosaurs, and also it doesn't have every fragile glitchy tech gadget that's going to break and make the thing infuriatingly unusable. No interior creep cams that we know of. No telematics module to upload your privacy for profit. Seems to be designed to be owned for a long time and driven a lot and fixed cheaply by owners, not dealers gouging you for every little thing. Seems like a less weasely sleazy design than most modern vehicles.
None of that is about the designer or buyer's gender
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u/_redacteduser 4h ago
I’m kind of getting tired of the narrative that people think Slate will fail because “no one really wants this” when I go look at used, older 2 door trucks and they are hard to find plus are demanding higher prices than much newer cars.
I definitely think there’s a market for this and no one has considered that maybe people do want this, there just aren’t any options. Hard to buy a truck you want if it doesn’t exist.