The “American made index” is a list that tries to measure how much of a car is made in America. It’s different from just thinking of an “American car” as a certain brand or style.
The Ford Mustang is one of the most famous American cars ever made. Here, the host is saying it feels like the most “American” choice, even though they haven’t read the article yet.
Fremont, California is where the Tesla Model 3 is assembled. The hosts are using it to explain why the list can call a car “American” based on where it’s made.
The Tesla Model 3 is an electric car. In this episode, it’s ranked as the most “American” by a list that looks at where the car is built and where parts come from.
The Jeep Gladiator is a pickup truck. It’s ranked near the top on the list they’re discussing, and the hosts say it matches what many people think of as an American truck.
They’re talking about the “ethos,” meaning the car’s image or what it represents culturally. The point is that a car can feel “American” to people, but a data-based list might rank something else higher.
The Ford Expedition is a big SUV. The host says it shows up somewhere in the middle of the list, which helps illustrate how the rankings don’t always match people’s expectations.
The Ford Explorer is a popular SUV model. The host mentions it with the Expedition to show that some Ford vehicles do rank, but not always the ones you’d expect.
The Toyota Corolla is a common compact car. The host is pointing out it shows up on the list, which suggests the ranking is based on where it’s built and what parts it uses.
The Acura Integra is a smaller sporty car from Acura. The host is saying it’s on the list of cars that are considered “American” by the index, even though it doesn’t fit the usual Mustang/truck stereotype.
The Toyota Tundra is a pickup truck. Here it’s mentioned as a surprise on the list, because it’s apparently built with enough U.S. content to rank highly.
The Kia EV9 is an electric SUV. The host includes it in the list of cars that rank as “American” because of where they’re built and where parts come from.
The Lincoln Aviator is a luxury SUV. The host says it’s on the list too, which supports the idea that the “American” label here is about production and parts, not just brand image.
The Toyota Camry is a regular passenger car (a mid-size sedan) made by Toyota. It’s known for being a common, everyday choice. In the podcast, it’s mentioned as one of the cars included in the discussion.
“Dumpster fire” is slang for something that’s a total mess. The host is joking that the answer should be an actual car, not something that’s just a disaster.
The Jeep Wrangler is a Jeep that’s famous for being able to take the roof and doors off. The host likes it because it’s fun to drive open-air and still feels old-school with features like roll-up windows.
“Roll-up windows” means the windows go up and down in a more old-school way, not just with buttons. The host is saying the Wrangler still has that traditional feel.
This is a diesel engine that’s 2.2 liters in size and uses a turbocharger. The turbo helps it make more power, and this engine version is included in the recall being discussed.
A “Hemi V8” is a V8 engine design associated with Chrysler that uses a specific shape inside the engine for combustion. In this story, it’s one of the engine types affected by the Wrangler recall.
JDM means “Japanese Domestic Market.” It refers to cars made for Japan, and the hosts are saying Japanese buyers expect a different level of fit-and-finish than some American-built cars provide.
The Nissan Murano is a mid-size SUV made by Nissan. It’s the kind of vehicle that’s built for regular driving but has the higher seating position of an SUV. The podcast mentions it because of a translated notice related to the car’s information.
The Toyota Highlander is a family-sized SUV. The hosts mention it because Toyota also includes a warning for Japan buyers about cosmetic finish differences tied to overseas production specs.
Sometimes cars of the same model can have slightly different paint color. That can happen because of differences in how the paint is mixed or applied at different factories.
Polishing marks are tiny visible streaks or swirls left on the paint after someone buffs it. They show up when light hits the surface at the right angle.
“Tolerances” means what problems are considered “acceptable” before it’s a bigger issue. The host is also talking about dealer pricing—how much profit they make—when they discount a car for issues like hail damage.
Stellantis and Jaguar Land Rover are working together on production. The host is saying that could mean some Land Rover models get built in the U.S., not just in the UK.
A carpool lane is a special lane on the road meant for cars with multiple people inside. It’s there to encourage people to share rides instead of driving alone.
DOT refers to a Department of Transportation, the government agency that sets and enforces transportation rules. A DOT pamphlet in this context is an official guidance document explaining how to comply with specific traffic regulations (here, carpool lane behavior).
Concept
HOV lane behavior
HOV lane behavior just means the rules for using the special lane that’s meant for cars with enough people. The story is saying people can get confused about eligibility, and officials respond with official guidance.
The Mazda CX-50 is a small SUV meant for everyday driving, with a slightly more rugged vibe. Here, the host talks about renting one for a week and using it for a long trip, then compares it to a bigger SUV option.
The Chevy Traverse is a bigger family SUV with more space. In this story, it’s mentioned as the alternative to the Mazda CX-50, but the host picks the smaller car because gas costs are high.
Two-lane roads are roads with one lane going each direction. The host is saying that taking these smaller roads made the drive more interesting than staying on the big interstate.
I-80 is a big highway that people use to drive long distances quickly. The host is saying the trip is more scenic when you get off that highway and take smaller roads.
The Ford Cougar is a car name that Ford has used. In the podcast, it sounds like it’s mentioned more for the name and a joke than for detailed car features. The conversation doesn’t provide enough detail to describe it beyond that reference.
The Dodge Charger is a sporty four-door car made by Dodge. People often talk about it in terms of performance and how it sounds. In the podcast, it’s mentioned because of comments about exhaust noise and sound.
“Fart can exhaust” is slang for a loud, obnoxious exhaust. It usually comes from an aftermarket muffler that makes the car sound more like a “rasp” than a refined growl.
They’re talking about a couple of different popular car models—one sounds like a Honda Civic and another sounds like a Dodge Charger. The point is that the cars at the event weren’t all the same.
Fiat Chrysler was an earlier version of the company that eventually became Stellantis. It’s part of the same corporate family as today’s Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep brands.
“Chrysler LH” is the name for a shared car design used for several Chrysler/Dodge models. It’s why different cars from that era could feel similar in shape and engineering.
“Cup Two” is a specific brand/model of performance tire. They’re grippy tires, and the host is saying they installed a set of them along with a new windshield.
The windshield is the front glass you drive through. Replacing it can cost a lot because it has to be installed correctly and may involve extra work beyond just swapping the glass.
“Sticky tires” are tires that grip the road really well. When you drive more aggressively with tires like that, you can end up dealing with more road debris—like rocks hitting the windshield.
Pikes Peak is a well-known race where cars drive up a mountain road. The speaker is describing what it was like right before the event, with race cars coming in for checks.
In the podcast, “Master” seems to refer to a highly experienced mechanic (a “master tech”). It’s not a specific car model. The point is that the person has a lot of experience working on cars used in events like Pikes Peak.
They’re saying the company will use the same basic “car skeleton” for different body styles. That helps them offer different-looking vehicles (pickup, SUV) without redesigning everything.
A vehicle wrap is a large vinyl graphic applied over the car’s paint to change its color or add designs. The host mentions the brand making its own wraps as part of the personalization/accessory plan.
This is a Porsche-run location where people can go for special driving events and car experiences. The hosts mention passing it on the way to their event.
“Modular” means the product is made from parts that can be changed or rearranged. Here, the speaker is saying the vehicle can be configured in lots of different ways.
Term
configurations
“Configurations” just means different versions or setups of the same vehicle. Like different options and layouts you can choose.
Concept
out of the box thinking
They mean the idea is unusual compared to normal car design. Instead of a car that’s basically the same for everyone, this one is built so you can change parts and personalize it easily.
“On the ground floor” is a metaphor for joining a new product or company early, before it’s widely proven. Here, the host frames Slate as being at an early stage where early team members believe it could become a major shift in how cars are built or sold.
The Volkswagen Beetle is a famous small car made by Volkswagen. The host is comparing it to today’s “people’s car” idea—something affordable and practical that lots of regular people could actually buy and use.
EVs are electric cars. They run on electricity from a battery instead of gasoline, and the host is saying they usually feel a bit boring or “appliance-like” to them.
Crank windows are side windows that you raise and lower manually using a handle (a mechanical crank), rather than using power switches and electric motors. They’re often associated with older designs or simpler, more analog-feeling interiors.
Self parking is a feature that helps the car park itself. The host is saying other companies focus on gadgets like this, while this car feels more focused on basic driving.
This is about the idea that a car can be personalized beyond just performance tweaks—through styling and visual identity. The hosts connect that to “what gives a car soul,” treating customization as part of the ownership experience rather than a purely mechanical change.
A livery is the car’s “look”—the colors and graphics on it. Here, they’re showing lots of different custom designs people made for the same kind of car.
Concept
affordable and accessible
They mean the car is priced and offered in a way that more people can actually buy it. It’s contrasted with special programs that only some people can use.
Term
engineering team
The engineering team is the group of people who design the car. In this story, they’re saying those engineers thought about how to make the EV easier for more people to afford.
The aftermarket is everything made by companies other than the car brand itself—like extra accessories or replacement parts. “Beating the aftermarket” means they’re offering those options first.
3D printing is a way to manufacture parts by building them up from a computer design. For cars, it can make it easier to create custom accessories or special parts.
Proprietary means the company controls the design or technology. Here, it implies some brands don’t want outside companies making parts that fit their cars.
Term
arrow trim rings
Trim rings are decorative pieces that go on a wheel to change how it looks. They’re the kind of add-on you can swap to personalize the car’s style.
Westfalia pop-top tents are camper add-ons for vans where the roof lifts up to make room to sleep. It’s a classic “van life” setup people associate with older VW buses.
It means the car’s outer body parts are made from a strong plastic material, not steel. That can help the car weigh less and not rust, but it can affect how expensive or tricky repairs are after damage.
Here, “bonded” means the plastic parts are glued or chemically attached to the metal frame. That can make the structure feel more solid, but repairs may need special materials and steps.
“Five star crash rated” means the car scored at the top level in crash tests. It’s a sign that the vehicle is designed to protect people well in crashes.
“Direct order” means you buy the car straight from the company instead of going through a typical dealership. That can affect how you order it and where you go for add-ons or installation.
“Certified” means those centers are officially approved by the company to do the work. That matters because doing a wrap correctly affects how it looks and how long it lasts.
Wheelbase is the distance between the front and rear wheels. A short wheelbase can make a vehicle feel more nimble, but it can also react more quickly over bumps and in turns.
Range is how far a vehicle can travel before it needs to be recharged or refueled. In electric or plug-in contexts, range is often a key concern because it affects real-world usability for daily routes and work schedules.
A powertrain is what makes the car move—like the engine or electric motors and the parts that send power to the wheels. They’re discussing what kinds of setups might be available.
There's gotta be a warehouse with nothing but dung beetle pamphlets that just no one
parents know about, you know. Pueblo, Colorado, home of the vintage government pamphlet museum,
right this way. Well, just think in 30 years or whatever it's been, right? We have gone from
having to send off to our government for pamphlets and information to, you know, the Internet,
the World Wide Web or whatever we call it, to now chat GPT and basically being able to just get
any answer to any question instantly at any time. It's just, you know, the quickening of the pace
of things, you know, but in any case. What a time to be alive, right guys?
Yeah. I'd kind of like to just go back to the 80s and stay there if I'm being honest.
Well, yeah, especially you, right, you know, with the cars. I know it wasn't perfect, but in
retrospect, it seemed pretty, pretty great, didn't it? It's a lot better than where we're at now,
I think. Yeah, yeah. It's, that's for sure. It's, so I had a CX-50, a Mazda CX-50 for a week,
rental, not a press car, rental. Spent my own $400 on this thing, but we had our,
we had our big Samoid mixed dog and I didn't want to return a press car full of white dog hair.
And it was an interesting thing because I've heard so many good things about this car. Car and
driver goes on and on about the CX-50. Now granted, this one had 15,000 hard rental miles on it,
and it stunk. Perfectly good car. It was that or a new Chevy Traverse and, you know, with gas as
expensive as it, as it is, I figured the smaller vehicle would be better. Perfectly good car to
drive across the country, but just nothing, nothing special, right? It was nothing special.
But I had a really interesting experience driving back because I dropped my wife and daughter off
for a memorial service in the Twin Cities. And so it was me and the dog
driving back from the Twin Cities to Colorado. And so I got to drive on some of these back roads
and things and realized like Nebraska is actually quite beautiful once you get off I-80, right?
You know, there's a lot to see. There's some really beautiful small towns in the northeast
part of Nebraska in particular. But took some two-lane roads through, I guess they call it the
Sandhills area, sort of the central and western, northwestern region of Nebraska,
and drove through a town called North Platt. I don't know if you know North Platt. It's one of
these farming towns, railroad towns, you know, all these towns are like this. The main drag goes
over Viaduct, over the switching yard or whatever, and there are great elevators and this and that.
But very like John Cougar Mellon camp, right? And I just happened to be there on a night where all
the local people were in their cars, you know, basically going back and forth cruising on the main
drag, you know? And it was fascinating. There's a restaurant called Runza. And if you don't know
Runza, it's, I think it's pretty much Nebraska specific, but it's basically a hot pocket. You
experience it. And it's got ground beef in it. Yeah, it's quite good. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I'm
hanging out with my dog in a Runza, in the Runza parking lot watching this, this basically this
show go go by. And it was so interesting to see what these young people, not everyone was young,
but what these people in this small town, I'm guessing probably 15,000 people,
like what these young enthusiasts are buying, because I thought it was going to be like all
F 150s and old American stuff. And there certainly was that there was some really cool,
like lifted 70s Ford pickups and things. And Lindsay, oh, I saw a car, like at early 90s,
Ford F 150 today, that was, do you remember they did like a splash? And they did like a,
there was one called a night NIT. Yeah. Do you remember this? It had like the graphics
package. I had seen one in years. It was so cool. And you saw one today. You saw it today. And I
didn't have my phone was dead. And so I wanted to take a picture for you so badly. But
some city here in North Platte, they were so cool, right? And they seem tiny now. That's the
other thing. They seem so small compared to like a new full size pickup truck. But yeah. So there
was definitely that era stuff as well. But it was the diversity in cars that really impressed me
because I, you know, there's everything from these old trucks to there was a tuned beat mini,
right? There were a couple of older BMW three series. There was a convertible,
like terrible exhausts, you know, fart can exhaust, charger civics, you know, Dodge and
trepids, if you remember those. Oh my gosh. Yeah, because it was what it was the, the Dodge and
trepid, the Chrysler Concorde. And then there was the Eagle something or other. Do you remember
the Eagle brand? There was I do. I really, I like had a, you know, Will Farrell in old school
like blacked out moment one time at work. We were talking about it was when Stellantis,
you know, Fiat Chrysler became Stellantis. And I was in a meeting discussing the name change
with one of the companies that was doing some work for the company I worked for.
And one of the people on the call said, well, which brands is, you know, Fiat Chrysler or
Stellantis? And without thinking, I went Dodge Chrysler Jeep and Eagle. Oh, that's amazing.
And I'm like, and yes, I did grow up in the eighties. Yeah, yet you don't remember the
government pamphlets. Let's go figure. But no, I was more focused on the cars, I guess.
I think those are called the Chrysler LH cars. I think that's what they called those. And I
remember when those came out, they, you know, they were like God's gift. People thought they
were wonderful, right? Well, the design was just so wild because that was such a wet shape. I
remember seeing an Intrepid for the very first time. My dad was in the car business. So I grew
up around Chrysler Dodge dealerships mostly is, is what he was a finance guy. So I was always,
you know, he had demos that he'd bring home from the dealership. And I remember the first
time that I saw an Intrepid and I was like, wow, this thing is like really wedge shaped.
I remember the windshield was so laid back. And yeah, it was, it was unlike anything, you know,
to go from like an eighties LeBaron to something like that was so radically different for that
company. It was pretty wild to see, but you don't see him anymore. You don't see any cars in that
area anymore. We had a Dodge Dynasty, I remember, for a long time as well. And when's the last time
you saw a Dodge Dynasty? I mean, it's been years. That was the real boxy one, sort of like a LeBaron,
right? Yeah, absolutely. Vinyl roof, maybe if you, you know, paid up crystal good ornament,
I believe, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Those are all gone. And yet you see like GM cars from that
era. You see all those old Buick's still around, but you don't see that Chrysler. Chrysler Dodge,
not so much. Yeah, not so, not so much. It was just, it was really interesting to see what,
you know, what these kids were into. And for such a small city, there sure seemed to be a lot of
automotive enthusiasm going in circles. And it was, it was kind of cool. I mean, I guess if you
live there, there are probably not a lot of twisty roads. So, you know, you go up and down the main
drag, but it was cool to see. Again, we always hear kids are into cars. Well, these kids sure were.
And, you know, I was a little jealous of the guy with his girlfriend in the 70s pickup truck going
down to the Sonic or whatever. I mean, that guy had it figured out. If you talk about going back
to simpler days, I think it still exists. And it's, it's a North Platinum or Aska, but anyway.
That's cool. I think you have to go to little towns to get that fuel. You know,
the big cities, not so much, but I think you get out in middle America.
There's still Dragon, Maine and going to Dairy Queen or Sonic. Like you said,
it's just, that's cool to know that that's still happening. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah.
Plus they don't have to over there properly. So you got to figure it out.
Yeah. No GT4s though. So yeah, well, disappoint. But yeah, you have to come to that car show for that.
That's, that's, that's right. Well, I just got a new windshield in my car and four new
cup twos. Any, any guesses on what that total was? So four tires.
You had to get a windshield put in? The GT4?
I did. Yeah. It's my third windshield. We crack them out here.
Holy moly.
Especially when you're chasing a Spyder RS with sticky tires, but
shout out to everybody, Eric. But yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'm curious because I got a rock shift in mind when we were road tripping back from Kansas City
to Seattle. So I'm kind of curious for personal reasons what that costs.
Yeah. Well, the total was 4900. Wow. Which is a lot for four, you know, four tires on a windshield.
And a windshield. Get them while you can.
Yeah. Yeah. And just the windshield was 1900 bucks. I think that was the installed price. But
you know, tariffs and everything else the last time a couple years ago was 1200. That's
what it's gone up in two years is 700 bucks. So, but yeah, at least now, now I'm good for a while.
But yeah, that was a shock to the system. I've bought cars cheaper than that.
We all, right? 100%. Wow. Yeah. But shout out to Porsche Colorado Springs despite the price.
I mean, it would have cost me that anywhere. And at least at Porsche Colorado Springs,
I can trust them. I know it's going to be done right. All the Pikes Peak drivers were there
because this was the Friday before the race, right? With the Friday before the.
Okay. Ended up sitting down with Jeff's work, you know, in the waiting room and this kind of thing.
It was very cool to see these race cars just driving down from the hill.
Yeah. Driving down from the mountain. No license plates or anything. Giant wings,
you know, just coming in to get a little air or get something checked or whatever. And so it was
a real hub of activity and pretty special. We're so lucky we've got a dealership like that here.
And I didn't go to the race this year. I heard it was great and good weather and everything else.
It sounds like you did it in a more comfortable way though. You still got to see everybody
and you didn't have to get up in the middle of the night and fight the crowds. I mean,
it's pretty surreal to just walk into the Porsche dealer and have Jeff's work sitting there. And
you know, you still got to see everybody. I think I'd rather sip an espresso on a comfy couch.
Totally. Right. Right. Right. Up on a mountain. Yeah. Shout out to Jason Schmidt down there,
who's one of their master techs. And he works on a lot of these Pikes Peak cars. And he took
time to take me to my car and show me what was going on and this and that and just a hell of a
nice guy. And it's just kind of cool though, you know, to that he's the guy that's working on Jeff's
Warts car. Right. He's looking at working on my GT4, you know, you're in good company. Yeah. So,
so pretty cool and good company indeed. And all right. So you are festooned in all this slate
stuff. And I've heard a lot of buzz on Instagram and through friends and stuff today
about the slate launch. I don't know a whole lot about slate other than this has been a long time
coming. They have promised this really budget friendly EV pickup truck, which is very basic,
but I think that's what appeals to me. But start from the beginning because I want to know everything
there is to know about slate. And I want to know about this amazing launch that I didn't get an
invitation to, but it seemed like a lot of our friends were there as well. So it looked like a
blast. Yeah. Tell me about it again at the beginning, right? Well, so they did their they
sort of launched the brand a year ago, April. So April 2025, they did an introduction of like,
here's the company, here's what we're doing. We intend to produce an entry level EV that,
you know, we want to make EVs accessible to many more people who have been locked out because of
price so far. And one of the hallmarks of their vehicles is the versatility and sort of customizability,
because there are it's the same platform, you know, same footprint, but you can have it be a pickup
truck, you can have it be like kind of a Bronco looking with a slope roof. It looks that to me,
and Tori was with me this morning, we were talking about it, that one looks like one of the big
two door Range Rovers from the 90s, which, you know, and that that's a little Easter egg if you
listened to our episode with Subaru of America's Dom and Fonte last week, because Dom just picked
up one of the Range Rovers of those. That's right. But so there is a slate that is very reminiscent
of that silhouette. Okay. And then they also have a square back SUV that looks like a baby
defender or Tori described it that way. And it's very accurate, especially from the back,
it really does look like a defender. And you can take the tops off like you do on a Wrangler or
the new Bronco, and they have the bars that come down and have it be like a four seater SUV with
no top like a beach mobile. And infinite possibilities, like they're making their own
wraps, they're going to offer, you can see behind me just a small selection of the colors
that they're going to offer. But they will also not actually in the showroom. But yeah,
who's to say, I mean, look at my outfit. Who's to say whether I am or not.
If you're not watching, there's a rainbow of colors behind Lindsay right now. So
like it is reminiscent of the Porsche showroom, you know, or design like 30 reds. I'm looking at
like 30 reds over your right shoulder. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm blocking all the greens, but
I mean, Tori, maybe you can talk more about the accessory area, because that was
just as remarkable, I think. It's pretty fascinating. So yeah, I, you know,
it's funny because we, so it's kind of nostalgic for us because a year ago,
after the first Slate event, Lindsay and I had our first and pretty much last date. And so Slates
always kind of been this weird special thing with us because we equated to like an anniversary of
sorts. So when she said earlier this week, hey, I got invited to Slate thing, I put your name on it
if you want to come with. I am not Mr. EV at all. I love old cars. I love noisy, you know, I'm not,
I'm not an EV guy. Ironically, the last couple of weeks, all of her press cars have been EVs. So
I've slowly been coming around to, you know, okay, I might be able to see myself with this.
So when she said it was Slate, I was like that, that'd be kind of cool, you know. Right. I was
like, let's, let's, let's do the Slate thing. So we're driving to Gardena. It was actually right
near the Porsche Experience Center across the freeway from there. So we're literally passing
the little muffler man holding the flag on the way. And which is super cool. And we pulled up
and they have repurposed this building. It's super cool, like architecturally awesome.
They've redone everything inside. It's an old brick building. So right off the bat, they got me.
I'm like, this is a really cool space. I like it. We walk inside after we check in. The bricks are
all weathered inside. It's kind of reminiscent of like something you would see in Nashville,
like antique archeology that's like repurposed some old factory or warehouse. Super cool space.
We walk in, they've got all of these cars displayed on these shipping containers.
And I was like, wow, these look really cool because I, Lindsay went to the first event,
I did not. And so this was my first time to actually see one in person. And I have to say
in pictures and in magazines, the truck looks really, really tiny. And I was like, who's
going to buy this? You know, it doesn't look like something that really is practical.
When I saw it in person and all the different configurations, I was like, okay, I can see now.
It's almost like a Lego set and it's very modular and you can customize it. There's got to be an
infinite amount of ways you can customize this thing, but they had the wall, like what's behind
Lindsay right now of all the colors, totally like Zonderbunch type of showroom. And then next to it,
they've got all of these different interior squares and you can customize the colors of
dash inserts on the dashboard. You can customize the grill. You can customize literally every
part of the car. You can take off with simple tools and like a Lego set, you just plug in what
you want to see. And it was, it was such an, an interesting concept that I've never
seen before. Of course, Jeeps, you know, to some extent have that level of customizability, but
this is something literally, I think a six year old with an Allen head, you know, bolt or screw
driver could do. And so to walk through, I mean, there was one point they have a wall of nothing,
but I'm sure your kids had crocs and there's little charms that you can put on the crocs to
customize them. They literally have a spot on the dashboard where they have these little charms
that you can customize the car. And it's like, this is, it's so, it's so out of the box thinking
that it just might work. And you know, on the way to the event, I talked to my friend, Jason
Torchinsky, I was like, Hey, we're on our way. The slate event, are you going to be there? I
always check with him to see if he's going to be at a press event because, you know, I like to
run into him and we catch up and he's a Volkswagen guy. And he's like, no, I'm not there, but David
Tracy from the Autopian was yesterday, he should check out his article. He's already written it up,
he got to drive it. And I read the article and I was glad that I'd read the article before I went
in because he nailed it. This little car has soul. It's, is this the most, most
usable car? I don't know yet. Do I know who's going to buy it? No, Lindsey and I were trying to figure
out like who's going to be the customer, who's going to, is it going to be college kids? Is it
going to be people that have a mobile detail business or a landscape business that needs
something cheap? Maybe. Nobody knows, but it's at the forefront of a crossroads in the automotive
space that is just really cool. And, you know, we talked to all of these people that were on the
engineering and design team today. They all had come from other manufacturers. A lot of them,
I think, were probably ready to retire. And when they heard about what was happening with Slate,
every single one of them was like, you know what? This is something that I want to be a part of.
This is me getting in on the ground floor of something that I think could be revolutionary.
And I stand behind it and I want to be involved. And it was so cool to see how personally invested
every single one of these people from the design teams were with this car, truck, whatever you
want to call it. And it's, you know, I can't help but draw parallels between this and the Volkswagen
Beetle when it must have come to the US source for the first time because it's such a funny looking
little car. You know, back then, I mean, it was the bigger, the better, longer, lower, wider,
Cadillacs, Chevy's. And here comes this funny looking little car that absolutely revolutionized
the automotive industry because it was a car that anybody could buy, anybody could afford,
anybody could use. It was the people's car. And I don't say this lightly. I think
late could be the next people's car. I really didn't want to like this car, Ryan. And I left
there with just this renewed sense of, is this something that I could buy? Could I use this?
Could I find a spot in my garage for this little car because I was so moved by what they're trying
to build? You mentioned soul. What is it that imparts the soul, right? Because I just did this
press car day where I got to drive, I don't know, a couple dozen cars or ever Lindsay did something
similar. Yeah, some cars did seem to have that others were, they were dead inside. Right? So,
what is it? Is it the honesty of the thing? Is it, you know, is it, is it that it's what you see
is what you get that it's not trying to be? I think it's all of those things because in what's
so ironic about it is me personally not being a huge fan of EVs, I've always thought they were
like an appliance. You know, oh, this is just a toaster. This is just a, but for whatever reason,
this little car, you just look at it and you're like, it's, it's kind of cute to look at. It's
got crank windows. It's very no frills. It's, it is, it's what you see is what you get. It's not
trying to be something that it's not. I just love everything about it. It's, to me, I was telling
Lindsay earlier, it's kind of like an underdog. You know, you've got all these companies trying to
out do one another on bells, whistles, wireless, this self parking that this seems to get back to
the root of driving and I love it. I just, it's, it's super no frills. Like there's nothing on the
dashboard really, you know, there's, there's not much for an interior. Everything is a lot of
plastic. There's, but it just seems fun. And the fact that you have these, these limitless ways
to customize it and personalize it and make it your own, I don't see that with other car makers.
It's sure you can do stuff to trucks and lift them and put rims on them. But I mean, they had,
they had an entire slide show going the entire time we were there showing nothing but different
liveries that different people had created. There were like 1980s trapper keeper looking
plates. There were futuristic cyberpunk looking liveries. I mean, it was, it was,
it was unbelievable to see. And I've never seen another car manufacturer embrace the
personality of these cars like I saw us late today. And everyone you could tell was just
excited to be there and finally be able to show this thing off. Yeah. Well, and I think because
there are manufacturers like we mentioned Porsche and the Saundra bunch program,
but that's not accessible to most people. This is something that is affordable and accessible.
Like we could talk to one of the people on the engineering team. And he said when this idea
was first coming to shape for the company to like when sleep itself was first taking shape,
they said at that point, you know, we're looking at people where
a lot of people were only making 50,000 a year, or that was the median income or whatever. And
they're like, if the average car price is also 50,000 a year, that doesn't track like that's not
a viable situation. So can we make something that is more affordable, gives people an entree into the
EV space if they want it? And one thing that he mentioned too is he said a lot of people were
limited in the vehicle options that are available. They were being forced to work in jobs that they
could reach by a bus. And they're like, what if we gave them the ability to work like way more
flexible, open up their options? That's fantastic. And then also like the economic
positive impact of that can't be overstated. And I think, you know, sort of what gives a car
soul, I think it's the ability to make it yours. You know, when we had Lara on, she talked about
she looks at cars a lot of times as sort of an extension of like your personality, or it's a way
to show like say something about yourself. You can think of it as an accessory. And it's,
you know, it's how you show up in the world. And I think sleep like really is the embodiment of the
ultimate way to say something about yourself through your vehicle before you, you know, even get out
of the car. So it's so how are these customizable elements customized? Is this something that
doesn't come from the factory? Is this all stuff you can do on your own to your point, Tori? Like
what do you is this like going into a sushi restaurant, you check off the options on a
little piece of it? Like how does this all work? How does this all come together?
I think both. I think you're able to buy a bare bones blank slate, no pun intended.
And then you customize it from there. You can, I believe there is a configurator,
you know, much like Porsche's like we all do late at night when you've had a few too many beers and
you want to build a car, but you can't afford it. So I do believe that there's boxes you can check,
but they also said that that what was it 40,000 or something. I mean, some ungodly amount of
service centers that they're going to have. And what's really cool about them is they're beating
the aftermarket to the punch. They're designing all of this stuff. They're going to invite people to
3D print parts for this car. So they're really embracing like, whereas anyone else like say,
Porsche, you know, I'm sure they probably have a problem with people making parts or, you know,
they want the proprietary stuff. Whereas they're like, Hey, have fun with it. Go crazy. We're
putting this out to the world. This is your blank canvas. Do what you want. Their slogan is literally
we built it. You make it. And I love that. They're embracing the personalization of this car. But I
mean, if you would have seen what they had set up today, it was mind blowing. I mean, they have
different arrow trim rings that can go on the wheels. They have different wheels. They had
a like a Westphalia pop top tent, like what was on old BW buses that you could put on. They have,
I mean, it's an infinite amount of different ways you can customize this car. I cannot wait.
It's going to bring so much color back to the streets, because so many people are going to
design them themselves. And it's not just going to be dull silver cars everywhere. I'm really
excited to see all of these crazy, you know, you're going to see ones that have Hello Kitty on it,
probably. And you're going to see futuristic ones. And, and he'd been mentioned, he was like,
you know, we're going to, people have already said that if they're, you know, Pittsburgh
Steelers fans, you're going to see Pittsburgh Steelers, you know, on on plates. And it's going
to be cheap enough that they can probably swap them out during seasons. You know, if you all
of a sudden become a Green Bay Packers fan or whatever, you can customize it to that, which is
really cool. Are the body panels plastic? They are. Yeah, it's like a plastic composite. But then
like the door frames, he was saying, actually are bonded to a metal inner structure. It's a five,
it's a five star crash rated vehicle. So they are safe. But I mean, I don't think we've seen
this in Saturn, right? I can't think of another car that's had plastic composite body parts.
But we have homecomings. Right. Right. 11 of the things that really struck me, because so
we heard from the CEO and then one of the presidents and then we actually got to chat with
one of the engineering team one on one. And one of the things that the CEO mentioned,
because they want to encourage and facilitate people customizing these and putting their own
spin on them, he said, we even went through and made sure that there was a particular angle that
can be really tough to do a wrap on on a car or a particular, you know, shape. And he said,
we made sure that we minimize those if not eliminated them to make it even easier for you
to put the wrap on yourself at home if you want. And like they like Tori said, they're going to have
these, you know, service centers and they're not dealers because it's a direct order, you know,
set up just like Tesla, you order it online. But then you can go to these certified slate
centers and they will either you could have them do the work if you wanted or they will help you.
And yeah, he's like, we wanted to make it as easy as possible for you to not only pick your wrap,
but like Tori said, change out the wrap if you want to.
Right, right, right. Can you get a bench seat?
In the back, I think.
That I don't know. I didn't see. So they had they had mock up interiors set up that you could
actually like switch out the little panels. I didn't see a bench seat. I didn't see. I mean,
just the two seats, you know, normal type of seats, but I didn't see a bench. Yeah. But
that's not to say someone's not going to come up with it. I think.
Totally. I think if people are paying attention right now,
they would be smart to start developing parts for this thing because I think it's really going to
be that popular. I think if they're going to encounter a problem, it's going to be that they
cannot keep up with the demand quick. Interesting. Well, if I owned like a plumbing company,
I'm replacing my 30, you know, Ford, a conalign vans tomorrow with these things, right?
A hundred percent. And we were even talking about landscapers. You see a lot of
landscapers down here in the LA area. You know, they got rakes and all their yard stuff and whatever.
They're almost always like 80s trucks.
Many. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, exactly. And I mean, when those things stop running,
which eventually they probably will, like this is a great option for them. It's not going to,
you know, electric, you know, I mean, that is the future. And especially here in California,
you know, the engineer had a great point. He's like, you know, with smog and everything, he was
like, this is this is a good option for everybody in Southern California. You know, you don't have
to worry about that. It is it's a clean car. And honestly, the power was more than adequate.
They took us down a purposely bumpy road because it's like, OK, it's kind of a
short wheelbase car. Like how's it going to handle? It was fine. I was worried about getting in it.
I'm almost 62. And I was like, this thing looks pretty tiny on the outside. Sure. I don't know
what witchcraft they did. But when you sit in this thing, I probably had another 68 inches
of headroom in it. It was it was bizarre. Like it didn't look like it would be that big inside.
But interesting. Interesting. So tell me about the powertrains because I have heard that range
can be an issue, but I also assume that much like the roll up windows, you can option up to other
other things, right? There are probably other powertrains. So right now my understanding was
originally there were a couple options. There was an extended range battery pack, I believe,
and then there was just the standard. And when they started looking at the data of what people were,
I guess, preordering or putting reservations in for everyone was opting for the bigger,
you know, obviously with the EV range is everything. And I think I believe I could be
wrong. Lindsay can correct me. But if I was paying attention correctly, I believe they
upped the range like 50 miles. Now the range is 205 miles. And they're not even offering
an option. They just automatically upgraded the range to that because they were like,
it doesn't look like anyone wants the 155 option or whatever. So everything is going to be 205
mile range now, which is pretty nice. So will there be an all wheel drive option?
So they are famously mum on that a little bit. It was kind of a never say never.
So the CEO talked about the range and what he said was that after they launched and they
announced what the range was going to be consistently, like Tori was saying, what they
heard from people was is there any way to increase the range because and that was across the board.
And so they were committed to and I just checked my notes and the starting price will be $24,950.
And then obviously you option it the way that you want and the price goes up accordingly.
But he said we committed after we got all this feedback and it was consistently the same thing.
We said, okay, we need to find a way to increase the range and we're committed to keeping the price
under $25,000. And so as of today, they have done that they're announcing that, like Tori said,
they've added 50 miles to the range. And he said they had taken pre-orders. And then before the event
this morning, they opened up the actual reservations where you could get a spot in line.
And by the time he was speaking at the event on the West Coast, which was shortly after nine o'clock,
he said we're already at 10,000 reservations. Really? Wow. And I imagine with as far as range and
all that, the way to more range is another motor and battery pack and all that. And so that would
also have more power. And I'm sure it's just they'll grow into that. I'm sure that the car is built
for expansion. I'm really intrigued. I think it's a third or fourth car for a family like mine.
It makes a ton of sense. You know, five star crash rating, you know, my daughter drive it to
school. You know, the utility of a pickup, especially has a lot of appeal where I've never
been a pickup truck guy. I've never owned one, never really desired to own one. But something
like this fits in the garage. You know, it's just it would be such a great runabout, right? Costco
runs that kind of thing. I mean, it just it sort of seems like there really are no great downsides.
I mean, we'll see. I mean, I know the association with with Amazon and Jeff Bezos and all this,
you know, they've gotten some grief for that. But it sounds like this is really its own entity.
And it's really doing their own thing. And you know, it's yeah, I'm intrigued. What does it cost
to put a deposit down? And when do you know $300? Oh, even I can afford that. Right. Yeah. I did
read there's going to be some financing options as well. But I believe $300 is what it that's all
it takes to reserve your spot for one. And then when it gets a little closer to delivery, as I
understand, then they'll contact you and, you know, then you can configure it how you want,
modify it. And then they'll have a little better idea. But supposedly, according to them today,
deliveries will start end of 2026, beginning of 2027. So they're coming soon. Everything's built
in Indiana. They've repurposed a huge factory up there, look to say to the art, beautiful,
beautiful factory. It's the old Mitsubishi plant, I think it was. No, I think it was not
printing plant or something. Oh, okay. Okay, maybe I'm thinking of Bloomington Normal Illinois,
but yeah, okay. Could be. Yeah, I mean, and we were talking on the way up, you know,
knowing what little we knew before the event about who might be the target audience. And I was
saying, given the price point and the utility, like you said, Ryan, my first thought was college
students because that's a group that needs to move regularly for a few years. And, you know,
the versatility of the car. In theory, you could turn it into a pickup truck when you're moving
into school and moving out. And the rest of the year, you can make it an enclosed SUV that seats
four. But what was so interesting when we were talking to the engineer was he mentioned, and it's
people who kind of buy one and tuck it away because it gives them the option of having a truck
without having to go buy one of the big full size pickups, which are expensive these days.
And if you don't need one all the time, but trucks can be really nice to have one when you need one.
And this gives you the option of buying one, it doesn't break the bank, you can tuck it away,
it fits in the garage. It's kind of the best of all the world.
Yeah. I see this being towed behind, you know, RVs. I see this as like the snowbird vehicle down
in Florida, you know, when you live in New York or Chicago or something. I see this in, you know,
like beach communities, right? In California, it could almost take the place of like a Myers
Manx or something or even a golf cart, right? Where maybe you had a golf cart or one of these,
you know, you've got a slate. It's just, it really sounds like a commercial, but what's that?
And we literally were talking about that, you know, you have a lot of these communities in
Florida and California, these beach communities, everyone's got these golf carts and, you know,
the engineer we were talking to, we brought up that point. And he goes, you know what, in a
lot of cases, like those golf carts are just as expensive as what we're asking for the slate.
I mean, those things have gotten really expensive. They're lifted, they have wheels on them, they
got huge stereos on them now. Like this, it could essentially, you know, I'll make this point too.
The other thing that I'm excited to see happen is this may be the car that finally gets younger
people more interested in getting their driver's license, more interested in not taking Uber
everywhere. You know, this may be the car that, that kind of gets the millennials and the younger
generation, right? Local again, you know, instead of having to rely on other people or taking mass
transit or because they're going to feel like they're not polluting the environment, it's an EV,
that might be the thing that gets them excited about driving again.
Right, right. Yeah, because it'll be the new hero car of the villages in Florida for all the
swimmers. There you go. Oh yeah. Well, and in a lot of ways, with all of the customizability and,
you know, you can see the bright colors behind me. And they had, at the event, Tori mentioned,
they had sort of miniaturized interiors. And so you could go over and play with, they had pieces
set out. And so you could see how easy it was to swap them out. At one point, somebody had put,
you know, three different colors across the dash, which, you know, that's not going to be everybody's
cup of tea. But depending on like, if you had one of the amazing 80s exteriors, you can color
coordinate to your heart's content inside. And so I think in a lot of ways, I think one of the
reasons a lot of people gravitate to vintage cars is because of all the bright colors and the joy.
A lot of the reason we come to driving is because it brings all of us joy. And I think these cars
are going to help bring some of the joy back to everyday life, for sure, but just cars in general
and driving. And like Tori said, like sort of be like a happy, you know, entree, enticement back
into like, hey, driving is supposed to be fun. It brings a lot of us joy. And these cars
are, you know, joy embodied. And so yeah, I'm excited to see what people do with them.
You didn't get to drive them, you rode them, but you haven't had a chance to drive one yet.
So I'm very interested and I trust David Tracy's opinion. He seems to know what he's, what he's
talking about generally. So if he, yeah, he thinks it drives well, then I'm guessing it does. And so,
you know, it just, it seems like a very compelling, we've talked about this before, but this is
probably the right car for a lot of people, right? And yeah, interesting to see like where this pulls
people though, from not just golf carts, but like, where will people jump ship, you know, to go to a
slate? You know, will it be the people like the Rivian crowd, right, especially with, you know,
the new, you know, our two or whatever, right, or to your point, Tori, is this going to be the
new people's cars? This like going to be the, you know, what's the word I'm looking for? Like,
you know, just the great equalizer, right? I could see people to your point, like what a
beetle used to be, right? You had poor people, you'd have wealthy people. I mean, it was,
it didn't really, it didn't really matter. It was sort of like the, the, I don't know, the anti-status
car, right? And yeah, I love that because it's been a long time. Yeah. Yep. I could see, I could
see millionaires in South Beach driving this to get, you know, a coffee and I could see broke
college kids, you know, working three jobs to stay afloat using this. It's, it is the great
equalizer and I do think it's going to be the next people's car. I really feel strongly about that.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So what are you speccing for yourselves, each of you? How are you speccing
me? But they, it was really cool because the ones that they had on display were reminiscent of,
if you've seen the beach break Defender livery, which is the beautiful blue with the white roof,
and then it's got the kind of sunset stripes. And so they had them done in like reds, oranges,
and yellows, different variations of that. And actually, and the one that looked like a Range
Rover, they had in kind of a metallic burnt, orangey, I mean, I'm assuming it was a wrap,
you know. Yeah, I'd have to go with the Defender. And I mean, I probably would go with some sort
of variation of like the sunset colors, because it just looked fantastic. And I know it would make
me smile. And I have to say, like we got to ride in them, and we both were really impressed when
we got out. And the ride was, there was plenty of feedback from the road. And like Tori said,
we were in Gardena, we were near the old Shelby headquarters too, if anybody knows where that
is. And the roads are not great. Like they are decidedly in need of some TLC. And the cars were
super comfortable. When you get feedback, it's not vague, like you're definitely aware of what's
going on on the road, you're very engaged, but super comfortable. And one thing that really
caught my attention, because this is not the case with all EVs, but the one pedal driving was
incredibly comfortable. Like some of them, it can be quite jerky. And this was very pleasant.
Right, right. Yeah. What about you, Tori? I really liked the open top. I think I would go,
I think I'd go with the open top. I like the kind of exposed roll integrated roll bar,
you know, on the on the back, like three quarters. And I'd have to do probably something 80s vibrant,
you know, purple, turquoise, pink, white, something that looks like it would be on the beach in,
you know, Miami in 1985. I mean, that, that would just be so cool. And I kept, you know,
during the slideshow presentation, they're showing all of these liveries on the screen and like,
there were a lot of 80s kind of throwback inspired liveries. I was really impressed. Like I was like,
this is cool. I like where the creativity of this is going. And I mean, there were a couple that
looked like, I mean, if you remember trapper keepers, like that's kind of what they look like
were trapper keepers. When we were a kid, I just, I loved it. It was really cool. I'd probably do
something like that. But I did like the baby defender. Like that was even the spare tire treatment
on it was very reminiscent of the defender. A lot of the people that worked, one of the guys that
Evan gave me a ride and he came from scout. And so you could see kind of some parallels with
scout. You could see it was cool. Everyone just kind of put their own little thing in and
everyone was so passionate. That's what I, my big takeaway was it was so cool to see
a team that was so passionate. And all of their hard work has led up to basically today.
You know, I mean, all these people were going on, you know, Red Bulls and coffees for a week. And
Lindsay had a good friend that was there that was lovely to talk to. And, you know,
you could tell poor thing was on borrowed time, but she was so proud of everything that they
accomplished. And you could really feel a sense of that accomplishment just talking to them and
how excited they were to finally be able to show it with the world. And the fact that they were
able to keep the price under $25,000. A lot of people said they'll never be able to do it.
You know, the Reddit pages were just flaming them left and right, like, oh, they're baiting
and switching everybody. No, they did it. They absolutely did it. And my hands off to them because
it's good luck, Trondy, that, you know, the engineer we talked to, he's like, you know,
it's really easy to take the last iteration of a car and build upon that and make it something
special. He said we had a blank whiteboard. And that's where we started. And the fact that we've
come this far in so little time, and everyone is so enthusiastic about it, man, my hands off to him.
I mean, it was a really, really, you felt like you were kind of watching history. That's how I
felt today. It was cool. Yeah. I mean, it's a rare, rare thing these days, right? It really is.
I mean, I've been to press launches before and, you know, they're all kind of the same, right?
I mean, some are more exciting than others, but this one, you just felt like a buzz. It was a
weird, you know, electricity joke aside, like there was a buzz about it. And it was really cool.
I was very glad we went. I really was. Yeah. I'm glad you guys went too. No, this is interesting.
It's really, you know, I'd seen the, I'd seen the articles. That's interesting. Seems kind of
novel, but I don't know that I ever really desired one. And I think maybe that's, maybe that's
changing. So yeah, stay tuned. I think the story is just getting started. And hell, maybe we'll
end up with three slate owners on the show to go with our Porsches. But that's going to be our,
that's going to be our two car solution, a slate and a GT4. Yeah. Absolutely. I
mean, that's a great two car solution for sure. So, well, we're at an hour. I'm so glad to hear
about the slate. I think it's really cool. Like I said, I'm really excited. I'm eager to see how
this thing plays out and maybe we'll have someone from Slate on in the weeks to come to tell us,
to tell us more. We'll see. But in the meantime, we've got some great episodes coming up, including
the Pebble Beach Concours new president, Vince Finaldi. He's coming on in about three weeks and
some other great people as well. Our old friend Lynn Woodward is coming back in a couple of weeks
as well. So it's super excited. So yeah. So please stay tuned, you know, and don't forget to tell
your friends about us as well. But it's been a long day, guys. Should we wrap this up?
I think it's about that time. It's been fun, but it was long for sure. Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely.
Well, I'll hand the mic to you here, Lindsey. Yeah. Well, thank you so much to everybody
for joining us. Obviously, thank you just for being here. Ryan, it was so good to see you.
We appreciate all of our listeners being here, liking, reviewing,
and sharing show with their enthusiast friends. Remember to always be driving
where that car show and we'll see you back here next week.
About this episode
“Slated to Win?” follows That Car Show as the hosts bounce from “the slate launch” to a bigger question: what counts as “American” when cars are built across borders. They dig into Cars.com’s American made index, a Jeep Wrangler fire-risk recall, and why Japanese-spec expectations can clash with U.S.-built fit-and-finish. The conversation then returns to Slate’s modular, customizable, budget-minded EV pickup concept—complete with range, pricing, and a “people’s car” vibe.
This week, on That Car Show… it is a crew show, with friend of the show (and Lindsey’s husband…) Tory Alonzo sitting in for Dan. The most “American” cars you can buy in 2026, what the Japanese market thinks about the quality of JDM cars built in the US, and yes, the Slate Launch. Grab a drink, sit back, and enjoy. It’s That Car Show.
This is an audio-only episode.
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