Will Your Next Car Be a Blank Slate?

Electric vehicles were supposed to make cars more affordable. So why does the average EV now cost well over $50,000?

Enter Slate Auto, a brand-new American startup that's taking a completely different approach. Their first vehicle is a bare-bones, highly customizable electric pickup that starts at just $24,950. No giant touchscreen. No built-in stereo. Even crank windows are back.

But is Slate Auto really the future of affordable transportation...or just another EV startup that's destined to end up like Fisker?

In this episode, The Car Chick® breaks down everything you need to know about Slate Auto, how its unique "Blank Slate" concept works, and—most importantly—the tough questions every potential buyer should be asking before putting down a deposit.

In this episode:

• Why new cars and EVs have become so expensive 
• The story behind Slate Auto and its founders 
• How the Blank Slate platform works 
• Service, maintenance, and Right to Repair 
• Warranty coverage 
• Could Slate become the next Fisker...or the next success story? 

Whether you're excited about affordable EVs or just curious what all the buzz is about, this episode goes beyond the marketing hype to answer the questions nobody else seems to be asking.

Resources & Links:

🚗 Slate Auto: https://www.slate.auto/

Connect with The Car Chick

Website: https://www.TheCarChick.com

You can view a full list of resources and episode transcripts here. 

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Work with LeeAnn:

• Course: The No BS Guide to Buying a Car
• Car Buying Service

Copyright ©2024 Women’s Automotive Solutions Inc., dba The Car Chick.  All rights reserved.

Transcript

The Car Chick (00:00)
Hey everyone and welcome back to The Straight Shift. Fourth of July is coming up, and I've been reflecting a bit on the 250th birthday of America, like the principles this country was founded on, like freedom, creativity, ingenuity, and how that leads to creatively solving problems. While of course also making money because capitalism is a foundation of this country. And I'm talking about the American dream. But I've also been reflecting on a lot of the challenges that face our country.

Mainly affordability, especially when it comes to cars. Electric vehicles specifically were supposed to make cars more affordable. Yet cost over $60,000. So what the heck is going on? Well, one group of disgruntled former auto executives from Michigan Big Three asked that very question, and they banded together along with employees from other EV startups, and even Harley Davidson, and they said

Fuck this. Ooh, I forgot to give the disclaimer at the beginning of this podcast. Blanket disclaimer for The Straight Shift, there could always be cussing. But these folks How can we do this better and make cars, especially electric cars, more affordable? So today we're gonna talk about a new EV startup that is truly different and genuinely trying to solve the car affordability problem

in a really unique and fun way. We're gonna talk about what this company is, their vehicles, and how they work, all the things that the internet is currently buzzing about. But we're also gonna do a deep dive and go further than just all the hype and ask the hard questions because hello, that's what I do. And I want you to be better prepared to answer the question: Should your next car be a Blank Slate? Let's find out.

The hottest thing to hit the automotive industry this year is an EV startup company called Slate Auto, headquartered in Troy, Michigan. The company was originally founded in 2022 under the working name Re:Car. Like a memo, like this is regarding a car. So obviously they just took the subject line of an email and named the company after it to start with. Okay, that's cool.

Their purpose was to develop an affordable EV platform, an actually truly affordable EV platform.

It was originally founded by MIT grad, entrepreneur and manufacturing guru Mike Arnone, along with former Amazon executive Jeff Wilkie. These two guys had previously started a company called Re: Build Manufacturing in 2020. Because hey, what else was there to do except start a company in the middle of a global pandemic? But they did it for the purpose of strengthening American manufacturing capabilities by

this network of engineering and manufacturing businesses and expertise. Basically, they saw what the pandemic was doing to the supply chain across every industry and just how reliant we had become on China. And they thought, yeah, we should probably do something about that. So they built this network and said, hey, let's use this to build affordable cars. China's doing it, so can we. So while they were developing that EV platform,

they were also out there raising a boatload of money, and they purchased a defunct printing plant in Warsaw, Indiana. And then they began hiring experienced executives from the automotive industry. Remember those disgruntled guys I mentioned? So in 2025, they publicly launched a company called Slate Auto, and they revealed the Blank Slate concept. I'm gonna give them bonus points for some cool branding here.

But before we go any further, there are some rumors flying around the internet that this is a Jeff Bezos company, that he's running this startup. He is not. That's a bunch of internet clickbait bullshittery. Some investment entities connected to him, which are there any that are not connected to him these days, have contributed to various rounds of funding for this startup. So he's technically an investor.

But he is not involved in the operations of the business. But it does tell you how deep some of the pockets go that have invested in Slate Auto. The great news is that the company's not run by the founders, it's run by CEO Chris Barman. And she is a former Stellantis, i.e., Chrysler, exec with years of experience in engineering, operations, and manufacturing. Yes, it's being run by a woman. I'm so happy.

And she loves cars and she understands not just the hype and the marketing, but the nitty gritties of manufacturing and operations and logistics.

So, what I love is this company isn't built on just the ego of one visionary technology nerd who woke up one day and said, hey let's build cars. Instead, it's built on a solid, experienced engineering, manufacturing, and economic practices and principles and run by a group of people who actually know cars. They know the auto industry. They're just rethinking how cars are built and sold.

So you're probably asking, if these executives all came from the traditional auto industry, why didn't they just build affordable cars while they were at Ford and GM or Stellantis? Well, because those are huge companies that have to answer to shareholders who care more about turning quick profits than long-term economics. And you know I have complained about this before. So think about it though, if you're running a company like Ford or GM and you have two options.

Build a $25,000 EV and only make maybe $1,500 profit, or build a $65,000 EV and make an $8,000 or $9,000 profit. Woo-hoo! Guess which project gets approved? Because guess what the shareholders want? You know, I have complained about the very short-term thinking of the shareholders. They just want quick profits, quick profits, quick profits, and they're not looking at the long game, which is why we're losing this game to China.

But this company decided to do it differently. They decided to break the mold. And the reality is to do that, you have to start your own company. I mean, that's what I did because I wanted to break the mould on how people bought cars. So let's talk about what these people have done. What does Slate Auto build? Well, nothing yet. They're still in the pre-production process. They're finalizing their designs, their manufacturing processes and procedures.

And they're continuing to prep that factory in Indiana that they bought from the paper company.

They're getting everyone excited to build one vehicle. Just one. Well, maybe one and a half. So let me explain. One vehicle with a price tag of just 25 grand. And it's called the Blank Slate. It's one EV platform that is technically a two-seat compact pickup truck about the size of the old mid-80s Toyota SR5 or the old Toyota Hylux for those of you who like to look at the international market.

And it is about as bare bones as a vehicle can get. It has steel wheels, it has manual crank windows, manual air conditioning and heating controls. Yes, it does have heat and AC. It's got physical knobs and switches. No gigantic infotainment screen. In fact, it doesn't have an infotainment system at all. It doesn't even come with the radio. It does come with a backup camera because that's required by law.

And they give you USB ports and a phone mount. So instead of a navigation system, you can just navigate using your phone, which a lot of us do anyway, because it's more accurate. And it's the only thing you should be doing with your phone while you're driving, anyway. So, yes, it's an analog car as much as an electric vehicle can be one. And it's stripped down not because they're being cheap.

Well, okay, technically they are being cheap because they're trying to build an affordable car, but they are being economical about it. And they believe that you should not have to buy a whole bunch of fancy features that you don't want and arguably don't need, just to get one or two things that you do want. So it's not really even a truck, it's just a platform.

I think these people got drunk one night and started looking through the IKEA catalog and looking at playing with some Legos and said, hey, you know, let's make a car like that. Think about how we buy cars today. You pick your make and model, then you pick the trim level depending on what options you want. You might get to pick the engine and whether it's two-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. You might pick some different options that are usually bundled into packages that

the manufacturer decides how to bundle based on how they want to force you into buying a more expensive, i.e., more profitable car for them just to get the one damn feature that you want. Slate is saying, nope, nope, nope. Buy the foundation first and then decide what you want later and build it the way you want. And you can always add on to it later while you actually own it.

So here's how it works. The platform is a single motor rear-wheel drive pickup truck, little tiny pickup truck, with an estimated range of about 205 miles and about 2,000 pounds of towing capacity. So this is a small vehicle. You're not going to be towing your boat or your camper with this, nor are you going to be going on a lot of road trips with it. This is designed to be an in town runaround little vehicle. It is small, it is smaller than the Tacoma.

It's even two feet shorter than the little Ford Maverick. But you still get a five foot bed, so it's still useful as a small truck. More useful than certain other so-called electric trucks that we will not name. Anyway. And of course it wouldn't be an EV without a little frunk. You know, that little trunk in the front.

And it charges on either a level one regular AC charger that plugs into your normal 110-volt wall outlet, just like your cell phone. That takes about 20 hours, and that's fairly standard in the industry. Or if you go with a level two charger to plug into that 240 volt, like the one for your dryer, don't plug it into the same one as your dryer. It takes about eight hours on that. Or it can use the Tesla fast chargers and charge up in about 30 minutes. So that is pretty standard in the industry. So they are keeping up with

the other EVs, they're just doing it less expensively. It also comes with good basic safety features, which you have to have in the US. But it comes with things like traction control, front side curtain, a million different airbags, front seat airbags, all the airbags, emergency auto braking for that forward collision warning and mitigation if you're not paying attention. It can even identify pedestrians. It gives you auto high beams. Like I said, you got that backup camera, you got keyless entry.

But don't expect the overly fancy things like the lane keeping, even blind spot monitoring, and it sure as heck isn't self-driving. This vehicle expects you to drive. Like, you know, in the old days when we actually drove cars instead of these roving computers with all these distractions. You still have some decisions you have to make up front. You get to decide on the body style. The basic Blank Slate is a two-seater pickup truck.

But they also give you an option for a five-seat, like Squareback SUV. It's kind of looks like a blend between the Rivian, a Bronco, the Hyundai Santa Fe, and the older Land Rover Defenders. And that still starts just under $30,000. Or you can get it in a Fastback SUV that has kind of that sloped back end. Think about the Chevy Blazers from the mid 80s. Now, all this kind of makes sense. You know, Chris Barman

is my age. We were actually born in the same year, which I am not going to mention, but we are Gen Xers. We're children of the 80s. We were raised on the Breakfast Club and hair bands. You know, I knew I liked this woman. She's my people. And I bet she grew up playing with Legos just like I did. So they give you these kind of retro body styles. And boxy is very in right now, anyway. So it will totally fit in while still standing out as something different.

There's also gonna be this open-air body kit for the SUV version that will let you remove the top over the back seats like you can with the Jeeps and the Broncos. They haven't priced that out yet, but it looks really cool. It's a DIY kit that you and a buddy, because it'll probably take two people, can install yourself. That's the great thing about this, is you order just the basic bare bones vehicle from the factory and then

you have all these different accessories that you can get that you would install yourself. But here's the cool thing: almost all these accessories are under 500 bucks. They can be installed with basic tools. If you can assemble IKEA furniture, you can do this. And

it will probably actually be easier because they have what's called Slate U, Slate University. It's a series of detailed how-to videos and manuals to teach you how to do this. You're not just gonna have, you know, that little funny picture book that IKEA gives you in hopes that you can follow along, although I love those. I find them very easy. But they actually give you the videos and the manuals and everything. It's like they actually want you to learn how to do this yourself.

And that not only makes it affordable, but it allows you to customize the vehicle to make it truly unique to you. Because they literally have hundreds of different accessories and colors. This is what the whole $15 billion aftermarket accessory industry for Jeeps and trucks is all about, except for the affordability part. So you can choose and install your own headlight and taillight plates to give the lights different looks.

You can even add off-road lights, bed lights. There's a couple dozen different types of roof racks and carriers and baskets for carrying any type of outdoor toy you can think of, from bikes to kayaks to snowboards. There are truck bed accessories, including an aircraft grade aluminum bed cover with solar panels that let you protect your stuff

while also generating off-the-grid electricity to power your camping gear or small tools. It's crazy. That one's more than $500, but it's still very affordable for what it is. You can choose to upgrade to different wheels and tires. There's a ton of different choices there. You get to customize the interior with different dash panels, buttons, knobs, center consoles, armrests, seat covers, door panels.

All in a whole bunch of fun different colors. My favorite part is these things don't even come with paint. Nope, no paint. There's not even an option to get it painted at the factory. Because paint is crazy expensive. And so instead, this vehicle is designed to be But wrapped way cheaper than if you get a vehicle wrapped after market. A vehicle wrap

can run anywhere from like $5,000 to over $20,000. It's kind of crazy. I think Maggie's wrap was maybe around $3,000 and that was 10 years ago. I dread if I have to get her rewrapped ever, it's gonna cost me a fortune. And these aren't the custom wraps like for a business with your logos, but you get all these cool different colors. And it's just 500 bucks for a basic color wrap with lots of different colors to choose from, or 700 for a specialty wrap. And that includes some like gradient colors.

To a full custom wrap with just about any color that you want for $1600, which is still way cheaper than an aftermarket wrap, or certainly cheaper than a paint job. You can even choose a partial wrap for even less money, or pick these cool decals like stripes or sunbursts, or these retro theme decals. I mean, it's really can be fun and personalized. And I know you're thinking, wait a minute, it doesn't have paint, therefore,

aren't the body panels gonna be exposed if you don't wrap the whole thing? Well, yes, that is in fact true. And it's okay because the body panels aren't metal. They're not steel, they're not aluminum, they're certainly not stainless steel. They are an injection-molded polypropylene composite, and they mount that to a high-strength steel structure

but unlike certain other so-called electric trucks, it won't rust. The body panels will not rust. Yes, the steel chassis can, but that's true with any traditional vehicle, and they do treat those parts. But the body panels won't rust. We'll talk a little bit later about what these composite body panels mean for maintenance and repairs, but it means that you can truly customize this vehicle that's unique to you

for not an arm and a leg. Yes, the price can go up pretty quickly when you start loading it up with every little thing, but with each accessory being reasonably priced, and it's your choice. I went out there and I built one on their website, and yes, of course, I wrapped it in hot pink, because you I'm The Car Chick. I have to do that.

you're watching this podcast on the YouTube version, I'm gonna put a little picture up here somewhere so that you can see it. And even with a lot of things that I loaded it up with, it still came out to about thirty six thousand, which is still about fifteen thousand less than just the average new car price of any kind of car, whether it's gas, hybrid, or electric in the US. Sounds like a pretty good deal, right? So if you're wondering, hey, when can I order one of these?

Well, you can build and pre-order one now on their website. And I will put a link to the slate website in the description. And no, they are not sponsoring this podcast. They don't even know that I'm doing this podcast. I just thought it was really cool because you know I like things that are unique, things that are different, things that are innovative business models, but specifically when they are designed to solve this affordability problem. Because I think the last thing that we need right now in this economy and with people struggling

is another luxury hundred thousand dollar electric vehicle. We don't care. We need something affordable that we can tool around town and yay, bonus if it keeps us from having to buy expensive gas. If you want to order one of these, they are targeting probably the end of this year, 2026, for the first models to come off the production line. No specific dates have been announced yet. And the pre-order requires a $300 deposit, which is much lower than most cars.

And you get 30 days to lock in an assigned delivery window, but you don't have to have the truck configured when you pre-order. You're just basically saying, Hey, I want one. Don't know yet what I want it to look like, because you guys are still deciding on all of your pricing and your accessories. But get me in line. I want one of these things. And similar to a lot of other startup companies, especially the EV startups, they're not following that traditional franchise dealership model. So I'm sure there will be lawsuits about this, but...

they will have regional delivery centers eventually and partner facilities. So these details are still being worked So it's not certain even when or where your new slate would be delivered. But that is not stopping people. Over 180,000 people have already reserved one. As of here we are, like I'm recording this the last day of June. But before you jump on the bandwagon and order one, let's ask the hard questions because...

I wouldn't be doing you the service that I do on The Straight Shift if I didn't ask the hard questions. So, first of all, how American is this thing really? Because remember, the company was founded by people whose mission in life was to increase American manufacturing capability and expertise so that we weren't so painfully dependent on international supply chains.

Well, it's not a hundred percent American. Nothing is these days because we do live in a global economy. The EV batteries are technically made by the Chinese battery company, Goshen High Tech, but they're made at Goshen's new battery factory in Illinois. We don't know where all the components, like the raw materials and the minerals and all the things that go into the batteries are coming from, that hasn't been disclosed publicly yet, but they're at least assembled in America.

And fun fact, Goshen is owned 24%, I believe it is, by Volkswagen Group. So a little German DNA in there as well.

The electric motor, which is really called the electric drive unit or EDU because it's comprised of the electric motor, the inverter that converts the direct current power from the battery to the alternating current that the motor uses, as well as the single speed reduction gearbox, if you want to get really nerdy. This is all an integrated unit from a company called JJE Technologies, and that is another American company that is headquartered in Michigan.

The EDUs seem to be assembled in Michigan. We haven't gotten exact information on that yet, but they still are reliant on a Chinese supply chain. Unfortunately, there's just still no avoiding that right now, since China is leading the world, like literally by leaps and bounds, in electric motor, and battery technology for EVs. And they're doing it really well. So we shouldn't ignore them completely. And the fact that these folks seem to be trying to find a balance between being able to use

this technology that's coming out of China, and this isn't your cheap, crappy stuff that's on Amazon. This is really leading technology for batteries and electric vehicles. So they're leveraging that and leveraging those relationships, but pulling it into America so that it's a little bit more balanced. And we get the opportunity to learn from what China has created. So the next question is: okay, will these things be reliable?

No clue. New company, new platform, first model, new factory, new manufacturing processes, innovative concept. There are just so many ways that this could possibly go wrong and have problems. However, at least it's being led by very experienced automotive industry and manufacturing people, not just a bunch of tech nerds who said, let's build cars. So this gives me hope. These people know how to build cars.

And the fact that they're not putting really any technology into the cars means that there's less points of failure. From a service and maintenance standpoint,

maintenance should at least be less than with a gas-powered car. That is one of the benefits of EVs, and owners are experiencing that already if you own any type of EV. But if and when there are problems, because there will be, it's inevitable. What do you do since there aren't

traditional dealerships? People who have owned Rivians or a lot of these other startup EVs have had to go long distances to get their cars serviced when it's something that can't be done over the air. is working with a company called RepairPal, which is an online resource and network that helps car owners get fair priced estimates for auto repairs, and they also

pre-vet trustworthy mechanics. So Slate said there's no reason we should reinvent the wheel, or invent a new wheel. There's already an existing network out there. And remember, the original founders were all about building networks of companies and expertise and engineering.

The approach is both financially smart for Slate Auto and it's also a win-win for consumers and these independent repair shops. So most car brands, especially the EVs, are really trying to force you to go only to their dealerships or

their limited service centers, which remember I said could be eight hours away. Slate is training existing independent service shops to service their vehicles because it should not be that complicated. There's not much to them. And again, through Slate U, they're teaching you to do a lot of these things yourself. This ties into a larger industry issue that is known as the "right to repair", giving car owners the information, the resources, the right to

get their vehicles serviced and repaired without being forced to go to the franchise dealership or the manufacturer-controlled service center. We should have choices. Remember, this is America, freedom, right? But it's a whole legal and ethical issue in the automotive industry right now, especially when it comes to electric vehicles. And I'm gonna dedicate an entire podcast to this in the very near future. I'm actually coordinating with a group that is fighting these legal battles for us, and I will have them as a guest on this podcast.

But I love that Slate is not only making a smart financial decision for themselves, but they're really thinking about the consumers, but also these independent small businesses that are very afraid of the future. They're seeing, you know, what are we gonna do if regular combustion engines are gone and everything's electric and very little maintenance needs to be done and the manufacturers are forcing customers to go to their monopoly.

A lot of these independent shops could go out of business. And Slate's saying, no, we want to support them too. So again, they're really racking up those brownie points with me. But how are they backing their vehicles with a warranty? That was a little fuzzy at first, and a lot of people were putting down their deposits before they even knew how this car would be backed by Slate. They're planning on a

four-year / 50,000 mile limited warranty, which is consistent with other luxury brands and Tesla. And the battery and powertrain warranties are going to be for 10 years and 110,000 miles, which is longer than the industry standard. This even goes beyond the requirements in the state of California, and they're always the strictest. So again,

Slate is thinking about the consumer, and they are thinking about, you know, we're gonna stand behind this. We're really going to invest in making this a long-term viable, sustainable product and company. Now, all those accessories that you want, those are only warranted for 12 months or 12,000 miles. And I'm not sure about whether, you know, when you install these things yourself, how is that exactly going to work?

Because one of the things that traditional automakers love to do is if you install anything yourself, if you do any of your own maintenance, if you do anything aftermarket, they're like, whoop, you just voided your warranty. We're not standing behind that. And I understand that, but with Slate providing these accessories through their network of partners, they're going to stand behind them to a certain extent, and especially with Slate U.

We just don't know exactly how this is going to shake out. So the first people who try this may be the ones that it gets tested out on. So definitely watch their videos first several times before you install your accessories on your Blank Slate. Now remember when I said they had these composite body panels? So how are we going to fix those if reality when you get into a wreck? Well

because they're not metal like on normal cars, in theory it should make physical repairs easier because you don't have to do traditional body work of banging out the dents and using Bondo and fixing all those dings and then repainting. Remember the whole repainting thing and how expensive that is. Slate certified body shops should be able to simply remove the damaged panels, inspect the steel structure, make sure there's no damage there. And if there is, that would have to be repaired or the vehicle will be totaled out.

And then they would simply replace the body panels and redo the wrap or whatever stickers. So this sounds easy, but would they get it from the factory with the body panels already wrapped for what you had already chosen? Or would they have to rely on a local wrap company because those guys tend to be more expensive? So those details aren't real clear yet.

So they're working them out. I'm definitely going to be paying attention to how they plan to do that. And then who's going to pay for it? Well, insurance companies are just gonna have a lot to figure out with this stuff, like the repair costs, what are the salvage values going to be, what are the theft statistics going to be, you know, how easy or difficult are these cars going to be to steal? And what's the real world crash test data? Those are all the things that the actuarial accountants at insurance companies

look at to figure out how much they're going to charge you for your insurance premium on this brand new innovative vehicle because their priority is not to lose money themselves. So we don't know how much it's going to cost to insure yet. So about those safety crash test ratings, there aren't any yet. The official National Highway Traffic Safety Association and the Insurance Institute Highway Safety...

That crash test data is not available yet because they haven't gone through all of these federal and insurance evaluations yet. The manufacturer is internally targeting for the highest possible five-star ratings. So we'll just have to see how they actually do once the government and the insurance agencies start driving them into concrete walls at 55 miles an hour. We shall see. So the biggest question really is:

Should you pre-order one? I mean, it sounds really cool, and the internet is certainly hyping it up and drinking the Kool-Aid. I know people in the industry who've already put down their pre-order for one because they're super excited about it. But what about you? Some people like to accept the risk of these new innovative vehicles because they want to be the first. They're willing to accept the risk that goes with that. And maybe, you know, they have the funds to take that risk.

Other people are a lot more cautious. I tend to be a lot more cautious. I like to wait a year or two until things are figured out. They've identified some of the kinks. I like other people to beta test these things and then let's see what happens. And more importantly, with this, I want to see what really is the support network going to look like. What are the insurance costs going to look like? I want to see the full economic picture

before I would feel comfortable recommending one of these vehicles to one of my clients or potentially getting one for myself. Because think about it, it's not just a new make and model. This is a startup company. That's a whole different ballgame than just getting a brand new model, even with brand new technology and a radical redesign from an established automotive brand. It's different than even buying a brand that's a spin-off of an established brand, like

Toyota's gonna be, they're making these Crown vehicle models, the Crown, the Crown Signa. Their intention is to spin off Crown as a new brand, just like they spun off Lexus and Scion years ago. Hyundai spun off the Genesis brand. They were still just existing established car makers that were just making fancier cars and calling them something else. Building a great car is difficult enough, but building a sustainable car company,

that's a whole 'nother level. So everything is brand new. There have been a lot of startups in the EV space, and not all of them have gone well. You may remember Fisker, or you maybe don't remember them because they didn't last very long. The Fisker Ocean Electric SUV, which was a great looking vehicle, they launched that in 2023. A year later, they filed for bankruptcy, leaving

the people who did buy the cool new Fisker Ocean completely and totally screwed. And the cars have basically gone down to zero value, there's no support. Boom. So those cars were very expensive. So those people that bought them and took that risk lost their butts. This company I'm a lot more hopeful for. I don't want them to be another Fisker.

The people running the company are experienced, not just in the automotive industry and how to build cars, but also in supply chain and manufacturing and logistics. So they know how to run a company. And that was really the problem with Fisker was that it wasn't that they built a bad car. Yes, it had its problems, but they didn't know how to run a company.

And that is why they went out of business. That and their car was really expensive, so not enough people bought them.

I am much more hopeful for Slate Auto. I hope the Blank Slate concept is very successful and that it truly solves some of the problems like affordability and American manufacturing and engineering expertise, especially in the EV space. So plus it's a really cool looking little vehicle. Would I drive one around town? Oh hell yes I would. Absolutely. I'd have to put some more car chick specific stickers on it, but yeah.

I would drive one around in a heartbeat. So I'm going to be eagerly watching this company and seeing what actually happens, seeing the data that comes out. But I am sending them all of the good vibes for this to be a great success. So tell me what you think. Would you buy one of these or have you already reserved one? And if so, you know, tell me about why you chose to do that with there being so many unknowns still out there. Let me know in the comments or message me through the website thecarchick.com.

In the meantime, I hope everyone has a safe and happy Fourth of July and happy birthday, America. I'm out of here.