Slate pickup: Toyota, are you listening?

[DanInDenver]

Slate EV pickup. Single cab two seat 5’ bed 50” wide.
$27,500 or $20k if the tax credit holds.
It’s like a Toyota pickup from the 80’s one reviewer said.

 

[nuclearlemon]

like a toyota pickup from the 80s if toyota pickups were ugly as sin

 

[DanInDenver]

Point taken. But size wise, cheap, utilitarian and simple purpose vehicle.
If it proves popular maybe more companies offer similar vehicles.

 

[DaveInDenver]

It'll be built like a shitbox unibody but at least looks better than a Rivian. Put a frame under there, 2TR and make it cab and chassis, then you'd have a winner at $27,500. I mean, it kinda reminds me a 70 series pickup profile.









Of course the easy solution is to just sell the Hilux Champ. Body on frame, small truck, 2TR. Ding, ding, ding. You could buy TWO of them for $27,500 without any government hand-out. It's no looker but for cheap utility it'll do. It's 1,785mm (~70") wide though. I'm not sure why 50" is important, the 84-88 mini truck is 1,689 mm (~66") wide. Are we looking for side-by-side replacements?

Toyota Hilux Champ Truck - Price & Specs 2025

Toyota Hilux ChampThe Toyota Hilux Champ is a new entry-level pickup truck from Toyota, launched in November 2023.

www.toyotahiluxchamp.com

 

[Hulk]

I am enthusiastic about any new American manufacturer building vehicles on American soil. The Slate pickup looks cool and utilitarian to me, and if you can really get one for $27.5K, they are going to be a hit.

This is a level of creativity we haven't seen from Toyota in a good long while. The 250 is a nice vehicle, but it's an old man car. Ford had no hesitation in bringing back the Bronco with a removable top. Toyota is not the fearless creator of cool vehicles they were in decades past. Toyota is now the conservative, legacy incumbent that will be outpaced by new, innovative companies.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Toyota is not the fearless creator of cool vehicles they were in decades past. Toyota is now the conservative, legacy incumbent that will be outpaced by new, innovative companies.

Toyota's always been conservative, pretty much the textbook of dull and reliable transportation. It is the owners who take a blank canvas and build and use them in interesting ways.

 

[DanInDenver]

The 70 series is irrelevant here, is and will always be unobtanium.
My thesis is maybe this and other manufacturers offerings may Ding, Ding, Ding that bell a little louder and Toyota may work on bringing that Hilux here or build them here.
50” bed width over the wheel wells would allow 4x8 sheets to fit in the bed with gate open. Goes to its utility. Not mine as I haven’t thrown 4x8’s around in a long time and hope to never again.

 

[DaveInDenver]

The 70 series is irrelevant here, is and will always be unobtanium.
My thesis is maybe this and other manufacturers offerings may Ding, Ding, Ding that bell a little louder and Toyota may work on bringing that Hilux here or build them here.
50” bed width over the wheel wells would allow 4x8 sheets to fit in the bed with gate open. Goes to its utility. Not mine as I haven’t thrown 4x8’s around in a long time and hope to never again.

I'm not saying this thing is a 70 series, just using it as the global example of basic utility. Everything you need, nothing you don't. The profile is obvious, keep the driver dry and fit the cargo in the smallest footprint practical.

Toyota has only sold a truck that can completely fit a 4'x8' on the floor in the Tundra. Even the long bed (7') mini trucks had to leave the tailgate down, although the dimension from the front of the box to the end of the opened tailgate was 8' so you didn't hang past like you do with 6' or shorter beds. They did fit width wise on top of the wheel wells. The genius of a mini truck bed is that the wheel wells are 7.5" tall so you can use 2"x8" dimensional lumber to support sheet material at the end of the bed and it'll sit equally supported. Or if you stack 2x4s five high you can set 4 foot wide stuff on top. I don't know if our dimensional lumber means anything to the rest of world but I've always wondered about this.

I have thought for a long time that Toyota should drop the SR trim Tacoma and just sell a base trim Hilux instead. They won't ever do that and especially now in light of tariffs. They'd have to start building Hilux/Pickup in Mexico instead of Tacoma. We're lucky that they still make a fleet version XtraCab Tacoma with leaf springs. They can't make enough 4 door, luxury trucks with coils all around and leather seats I guess.

Honestly, for all the wishing and hoping Toyota knows the number of buyers who really want a 70 series or a Workmate Hilux are in the hundreds, if that maybe, in the U.S. They can be satisfied with importing 25+ ones because even enthusiasts buy TRD or higher spec Tundras and 4Runners for daily drivers and stuff. When I bought my Tacoma I had no choice but to get TRD OR and I've stripped it of all the TRD crap except for the locker. I'd be in the market for a basic truck but it would have to be gas, EV is no good for me. I'm kicking it around now that the XtraCab 4th gens are in production. A white XtraCab, 4WD, SR is $36,285. Range will be 21 MPG * 18.5 gal = 389 miles per charge, fast charging in about 5 minutes.

This Slate thing won't sell well unless they can really get it out for that price and even then it's got to be to someone who wants an EV. You may remember the Cybertruck was supposed to be $39,900 starting when Musk announced it but when it actually hit the market the base price ended up $62,000 and dual motor more than $80,000.

What Happened to the $40,000 Tesla Cybertruck? | Capital One Auto Navigator

Always an iffy proposition, an inexpensive model was pushed off the table by inflation and complicated manufacturing.

www.capitalone.com

 

[nuclearlemon]

This Slate thing won't sell well unless they can really get it out for that price and even then it's got to be to someone who wants an EV. You may remember the Cybertruck was supposed to be $39,900 starting when Musk announced it but when it actually hit the market the base price ended up $62,000 and dual motor more than $80,000.

but the fjcruiser was also supposed to sell cheap, somewhere in the low 20's. but dealers only ordered in the fully loaded and if you wanted cheap, you'd be out almost a year on a custom order

 

[IoN6]

but the fjcruiser was also supposed to sell cheap, somewhere in the low 20's. but dealers only ordered in the fully loaded and if you wanted cheap, you'd be out almost a year on a custom order

And talk about ugly as sin

 

[Hulk]

And talk about ugly as sin

There was the whole "a convertible FJ Cruiser is coming soon" promise that never came true. Maybe that was because the FJC didn't look good at all as a drop top.

 

[IoN6]

Different strokes for different folks. Drop top or not, the styling just doesn’t jive with me!

 

[Hulk]

I'm tempted to plunk down $50 for a reservation.

@MountainGoat - this is the Jeff Bezos financed vehicle that I was telling you about.

 

[satchel]

It's not the worst looking thing in the world. Being able to take out the rear bulkhead and put a seat in the back gives a lot of people what they want in a 4runner, minus the 4wd part lol.