Jeep Could Really Learn Something from Slate

[JesseT]

Jeep could learn something from a new start up company that has never sold or produced anything .... yea ok

That was my first thought. I'm considering Slate vaporware until I see otherwise.

You don't think they could learn anything from the customization and ordering process? Jeeps are like giant adult legos. I would think it could be a huge boost to the ordering process for customers if they offered better customization options up front. Again, just my opinion.

And, oh yeah, Jeep has it down pat with delivering quality products. They could learn stuff from ANYONE at this point.

Jeep is us already one of the most customizable vehicles from the factory. So many other vehicles are just, "pick a trim, pick a color, do you want floor mats or roof racks?" without any other real options. Yes we would all like more customizability, but they're already doing way above average in that category.

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[yokramer]

That was my first thought. I'm considering Slate vaporware until I see otherwise.

Jeep is us already one of the most customizable vehicles from the factory. So many other vehicles are just, "pick a trim, pick a color, do you want floor mats or roof racks?" without any other real options. Yes we would all like more customizability, but they're already doing way above average in that category.

Allegedly they will be shipping early next year but like you Ill believe it when I see it. AND the fact that Bezos is behind it just makes it even more likely to be questionable start to finish.

For all the bad things that Jeep does custom orders for sure are not one of them.

 

[GinaC]

Just as a side anecdote when I was buying my Jeep I went to 3 different dealers telling them what I wanted to get and asked if it could be ordered and they all told me "We don't do that. What we have on the lot is what you can buy." So I also got laughed out of 3 Jeep dealerships.

Wow, that's really bad business sense.

My dealership has been extremely loyal to me because I live down the street and will be extremely loyal to them. No doubt I could have gotten both of my vehicles much cheaper, but this way they have incentive to treat me like the princess I am.

 

[Terrymo]

 

[Twisted10]

 

[Ratbert]

You don't think they could learn anything from the customization and ordering process? Jeeps are like giant adult legos. I would think it could be a huge boost to the ordering process for customers if they offered better customization options up front. Again, just my opinion.

Have you tried to customize a Toyota? Hint: they give you the impression that you're customizing it, but it just puts you in a queue where you wait until they happen to build one that somewhat matches what you specified. You realize that they do not do custom builds when you pull back the curtain.

 

[yokramer]

Have you tried to customize a Toyota? Hint: they give you the impression that you're customizing it, but it just puts you in a queue where you wait until they happen to build one that somewhat matches what you specified. You realize that they do not do custom builds when you pull back the curtain.

And then they try to add a bunch of bullshit on it at the port that you cant take off straight from Toyota. And dont get me started on their whole different regions thing SE Toyota is the fucking worst.

 

[jharp]

Slate and Scout, to me, are both the same.... Vaporware.

By the time they actually become available to order (if they become available to order) - all the things we thought would make them great will somehow morph into an overpriced & underwhelming bag of shit.

 

[yokramer]

Slate and Scout, to me, are both the same.... Vaporware.

By the time they actually become available to order (if they become available to order) - all the things we thought would make them great will somehow morph into an overpriced & underwhelming bag of shit.

At least with Scout it has Volkswagen behind it not some billionaire that has no where else to hide money.

 

[jbcrane]

"By the time they actually become available to order (if they become available to order) - all the things we thought would make them great will somehow morph into an overpriced & underwhelming bag of shit."

And that, ladies and gentlemen, pretty much sums up today's marketing ethos.

 

[jeepingib]

At least with Scout it has Volkswagen behind it not some billionaire that has no where else to hide money.

I'm not sure what's worse. On one hand you have a massive auto conglomerate that will be pulling the strings, and has shown that they aren't doing too well with electrification of their own ideas. But they have that large complex to fall back on if things sour. And supposedly they are going to be operated like an independent company, just with VW investment.

And on the other you have Bezos investing in Slate, but everything I've come across said that he will not be involved in anything. Just being one of the financial investors. I know that he worked with Rivian a bit on their startup as well, but I don't recall to what level other than the Amazon vans. So even if you find him less than desirable, I don't know if he will have any input on how the company is run. For better or worse.

 

[Heimkehr]

Jeep is one of the few auto makers out there you can personalize an order and have it built for you still. Try that with Honda and Toyota and they will laugh you out of the building.

Yep. We've owned four Hondas to date. Pick the color, pick the trim. Done.

Sure, there were a few dealer-supplied doo-dads to choose from, like wheel locks and the like, but that's hardly comparing like-for-like in the vehicle configuration process.

All companies used to do this 50 years ago. Then they figured out they could improve quality and make more money by using trim levels and packages of options.

That began to change, 50ish years ago. Honda and Toyota pioneered the option package construct in the 1970s, when they were still ascendent in the American market. The intent was to simplify and streamline the ordering and manufacturing process. It worked. The Big 3 in Detroit noticed and soon mimicked that M.O.

I remembered that evolution when, after a decades-long break, I decided to purchase a new vehicle in late 2020. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the only one that I was seriously considering -- a Wrangler -- could indeed be configured in the Old Style, so to speak.

 

[Tokenwasp]

You don't think they could learn anything from the customization and ordering process? Jeeps are like giant adult legos. I would think it could be a huge boost to the ordering process for customers if they offered better customization options up front. Again, just my opinion.

And, oh yeah, Jeep has it down pat with delivering quality products. They could learn stuff from ANYONE at this point.

The customization and ordering process that has never produced a final product?

Complaining about their build quality while at the same time saying that the build process should get more complicated is a take......I guess.

 

[justplainron]

Slate Auto | The Customizable EV That Works for You

This seems like a fantastic process to allow people to build only what they want and open the market up to those who can't afford the higher priced vehicles (I know the Sport is out there, but this goes even further). Just my 2 cents, but I'd love to be able to do this to a Wrangler. Like, why do all of the 4xe's have to have that awful blue everywhere and the Rubicon's have to have that red?

I like the blue on the 4xe's! It's not everywhere!

 

[Spank]

This seems like a fantastic process to allow people to build only what they want and open the market up to those who can't afford the higher priced vehicles (I know the Sport is out there, but this goes even further).

If Jeep truly cared what the customer wanted, it wouldn't have taken the Ford Bronco to get them to produce the 392.

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