Slate Truck Methodology

[zowbud]

Article: Read this article and I think there are some great innovations in their approach that could be transferrable to Scout...in particular flexibility, DIY & affordability. I know scout is already DIY but think this could provide additional insight into how far you might take that.

 

[Dana]

The bold text is the link to the article.

It is a very compelling read, honestly. It’s a lot of the things that I think were so appealing about the original Scout 80/800 in terms of versatility (do you want it to become an SUV? Throw a cap on it. Add seats and airbags and do it yourself. Also, it’s cheap). What’s not appealing to me is that Jeff Bezos is attached to this. I’m not really into the idea that even more of all the wealth in the US getting shared among a handful of guys. As much as I like this, I’ll wait until someone else co-opts this idea. I would love a $25,000 Scout. This sounds conceptually way less lame than a used car or a sedan and more like something that I could own on my own and not have to share with another person in order to own it. My life involves making decisions like “do I have what I want or do I eat and pay my bills?” so yeah, this is an appealing option. I’d rather have a Scout because I deserve nice things after losing my husband, left boob, career, and my dad, but as a dirty poor, this sounds good.

Not everyone is mechanically inclined. I was a marine engineer so, yeah, I could install airbags myself. Do I want to? Not really. Am I glad safety equipment is mandatory? Yes I am. Overall it contributes to lower insurance costs to not pay out for a bunch of deaths, as well as it’s awfully nice to not die because some idiot decided to drink and drive. From a cost perspective some things can surprise you like digital gauges are frequently less expensive than analog. Personally I want the bells and whistles. I like being comfy, lol, and Autosteer/adaptive cruise control combo makes long trips so much more relaxing. That being said, I’m okay with a stripped version available to those who want it.

150 rated miles, which is going to be less IRL, is gonna make tow truck drivers happy. When you figure in round trips it going to be pretty limiting. Not that there won’t be a niche audience but I guess I’m skeptical about long term, high volume success.

 

[Scoutsie]

Not everyone is mechanically inclined. I was a marine engineer so, yeah, I could install airbags myself. Do I want to? Not really. Am I glad safety equipment is mandatory? Yes I am. Overall it contributes to lower insurance costs to not pay out for a bunch of deaths, as well as it’s awfully nice to not die because some idiot decided to drink and drive. From a cost perspective some things can surprise you like digital gauges are frequently less expensive than analog. Personally I want the bells and whistles. I like being comfy, lol, and Autosteer/adaptive cruise control combo makes long trips so much more relaxing. That being said, I’m okay with a stripped version available to those who want it.

150 rated miles, which is going to be less IRL, is gonna make tow truck drivers happy. When you figure in round trips it going to be pretty limiting. Not that there won’t be a niche audience but I guess I’m skeptical about long term, high volume success.

True. I also have no doubt that what they’re selling is probably not what people are going to end up buying in the end. As it was pointed out, this is a low-cost thing and I do think that you end up getting what you pay for. A cheap car is a cheap car. It’s not going to last. I have no doubt that the quality would be akin to an IKEA bookcase that doesn’t last beyond one move.

It’s also nicer to see things made by people who know what the hell they’re doing, too. The fact that Scout seems to employ people at the top of their game is encouraging.

 

[Dana]

While the legacy Scout fan base is loyal as you said, it is tiny - much too tiny to support an entirely new company. We can debate whether the manufacturers or the customers created the current market but the fact is that Scout is building trucks for the largest piece of the market. They must be able to show a large TAM (Total Addressable Market) in order to attract the enormous amounts of capital needed to get a car company off the ground. The fact of the matter is that the number of people who need a "farm truck" has diminished greatly since 1960 (Some random Googling shows that half the number of people are employed in agriculture today as there were in 1960). The vast majority of trucks today are not used for "work", but instead are family haulers, commuters, trips to Home Depot, and tow campers and boats on weekends. That is the fat part of the market and the part where the current Scout vehicles are targeted.

I am a hobby farmer (10 acres w/ chickens and goats) so I could use a truck to haul feed, hay, compost, etc (currently using an '07 Diesel Jeep Grand Cherokee) but most of the time it will be a daily driver and for that I would like creature comforts.

I think Slate has found a niche that, based on posts on this board, has some appeal. I think there is room in the market for both.

Agree 100%. I guess I look at Tesla and Rivian for some perspective. Tesla started out making $120K S and X and couldn’t sell enough to make a profit. Billions and billions in the red. Once the 3 came out, $50-$60K at the time, 300m range, profitability was nearly instantaneous because the volume divided out fixed costs across more vehicles. The stripped down, cheap version of 3 sold some cars but a common post on the forums was, after a year, folks traded it in for the long range model. Rivian is working on getting volume up for the fixed cost piece.

Donuts are cheap but you gotta sell A LOT of donuts to pay the rent…steak & eggs is high per plate cost but you gotta have enough butts to pay that price. So you end up with pancakes and bacon to pay the rent. Maybe some steak & eggs to improve margins. Slate will be interesting to watch if they can pay the rent with the donut philosophy. I mean, Dunkin is still around, lol.