This is a personal website about whatever. It's something I do for the fun of it. I experiment with it to learn about making a website. As a result, sometimes something won't work or I'll make drastic changes. It all depends on what I'm trying to do.
I'll probably use this domain name (callmaintenance.lol) until it expires on November 30, 2027. I haven't picked a new name yet.
The device you're using right now and this website only exist because of publicly funded science.
Politicians are not all knowing, wise, and good. Scientists should run science, not politicians. Professor Dave is raising the alarm on this issue in his video Russ Vought is Destroying American Science.
https://fight2win.standupforscience.net/
If there was a car or truck that was designed for easy maintenance, right to repair, independent mechanic friendly, DIY (do it yourself), open source oriented type of vehicle on the market...and "affordable"; that would be reason enough to buy it over any other vehicle period.
The reason I say that is because no four wheel vehicles exists like that right now. There are motorcycles like that, but I'm talking about a car, truck, or even a van. Every vehicle manufacturer is anti-customer/end-user in major ways. They often purposely make things hard to work on. They sometimes require special proprietary tools. They don't want to give access to their software. They don't give you access to repair manuals or other design information. They lobby federal and state governments to work against the end user. Dealerships also work against the public in this way. Look up how the companies fought right to repair laws. I think there was a fight about this in Massachusetts a few yeas ago. When it comes to vehicle manufacturers and new car dealerships, there are no good guys. They all actively work against the public to use the force of government to lock you out so they can cash in. Oh, and look at how they want you to pay a subscription for options. Like a subscription fee for heated seats. It just goes on and on. They're just so self-serving and selfish it's absolutely sickening.
I don't speak for, and can't guarantee anything, but Slate.Auto is the only company that I know of right now that is making a open source hardware oriented, DIY, right to repair, independent mechanic friendly vehicle for the mass market. Spokespeople for the company have said they are going to produce a Slate Auto University and even release CAD files. I haven't heard a repair manual mentioned though.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying Slate Auto is a great company and isn't evil. We don't know yet. It depends how they conduct themselves and what's in the details. Do they require anti-consumer/user/freedom language in their contracts? Do they release technical and repair manuals? Do they allow access to the software of the vehicle? Do they require spyware or other surveillance in the vehicle (software, recording and reporting, cameras, sensors, black boxes, and so on)? I don't know. They haven't published much in writing. The spokespeople says some things, but much of it isn't in writing. So that inidicates a lack of commitment. It inidicates hedging so they can change without admiting to it.
Anyway, if this vehicle meets your needed specifications then I think you should buy this over anything else to support this concept in the marketplace. Because if there are not enough sales and Slate fails, then we lose an opportunity that hasn't existed in decades. An opportunity to have a vehicle that is made for the people, for good home economics. If the slate truck is successful enough, there will probably be other options (like a car or something else) but they have to be successful with this first.
If I'm wrong about something I said about this, please let me know.
Sandy Monroe goes inside the Slate Auto facility.
A YouTuber video about the Slate truck.
Top Gear video about the Slate truck.
I'd like to see more in writing from Slate on these issues:
Louis Rossmann video: Ford CEO says you shouldn't repair your car because it risks loss of life 🤦 They want to kill repair
Louis Rossmann: A Right to Repair compromise I'm not accepting and why
PlugShare charging map
It's a false argument to concentrate on EV range. There's no obsession over gasoline tank capacities.
You need way less EV range than you think
Electric Vehicle Myths
Cannonball Run times for electric cars are not far behind regular engine powered cars and are faster than motorcycle times.
A special home charger (a level 2 charger) isn't needed. Level 1 (a regular extension cord) charging is often enough.
How much does it cost to charge an EV?
If you don't have health insurance through your employer or if you're self-employed then the first step is to see what insurance you can get through healthcare.gov
Consider if a Health Savings Account (HSA) makes sense for you and the plan you're considering. (The plan has to be compatible with an HSA in order to use an HSA...I think. You'll have to look this up in detail for yourself.)
If you don't have insurance through work and you don't want to get an insurance plan then you can look into crowd funding your health care expenses (commonly called a health share). Here is an article in Time magazine.
Health care expense sharing (Sometimes also called a health share. Share as in sharing...not like a share of stock in a company.) is a way to pay for health care expenses. It's not insurance. It's paying cash. The way it works is you pay a monthly fee. That money is then used to pay for other peoples medical expenses. If you get a medical expense, then you get that paid for you. It's basically the way insurance works, but with people doing it directly themselves instead of dealing with insurance companies that are trying to take your money as their profit and denying your claims.
Caution: This is not the same as insurance and these companies do not have to pay your claims. So make sure to understand what this is and what you're doing before you decide to go this route.
These are not affiliate links. There are more organizations that do this, but here are three: