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    "headline": "Slate Auto sells a $30 Rand McNally paper road atlas as a ‘Screenless GPS’ for its screen-free EV",
    "description": "Slate Auto is selling a Slate-branded 2027 Rand McNally Road Atlas as a $30 'Screenless GPS' for its low-cost electric pickup that has no dash screen.",
    "datePublished": "2026-11-15T11:12:00+00:00",
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    "keywords": "electric pickup, Rand McNally, Slate Auto, Slate truck",
    "articleBody": "Slate Auto has found the cheapest navigation upgrade in the car world: a book. The Michigan EV startup is selling a Slate-branded copy of the 2027 Rand McNally Road Atlas, and it is calling the thing a “Screenless GPS.” The price is $30, and the company has indicated it is a limited-edition run, according to a report on the launch published November 12. The joke works because the truck is built around it. Slate’s pickup skips a built-in infotainment screen and crank windows replace power ones, so drivers bring their own phones for maps and music. A paper atlas is the logical end point of that idea: no batteries, no data plan, no software updates, and nothing to mount on the dash. What is actually inside the book Under the Slate wrap it is the standard 2027 edition, which Rand McNally Publishing launched in Chicago on April 13. The publisher’s own release describes it as the 103rd edition of the atlas, with: refreshed maps covering all 50 states and every province of Canada, plus city close-ups and a single overview page for Mexico; seven curated road trips under the theme “The Road Less Traveled,” steering drivers to quieter alternatives to crowded tourist spots; features tied to the Route 66 Centennial, the World Cup and the America250 celebrations. Rand McNally pitches the book as “Reliable Offline Navigation,” noting it needs no batteries or data plans. Its chairman, Joseph Roark, said in the release that travelers can find “a hidden gem that algorithm-driven apps frequently overlook.” The Slate version uses a spiral binding, so the pages can lie flat on a seat or a knee. A cheap accessory for a cheap truck Price is the whole Slate pitch. The company’s own site advertises the truck “from $24,950,” says it offers more than 200 accessories with over 80% of them under $500, and promises that panels swap, parts are accessible and repair manuals are free. Instead of paint, owners pick vinyl wraps, which Slate says makes color changes easier and cheaper. The company was founded in 2022 inside Re:Build Manufacturing and kept quiet until it revealed the vehicle on April 24, 2025. Its backers include Jeff Bezos and Mark Walter, and it plans to build the truck in a converted former printing plant in Warsaw, Indiana, with production targeted for the end of 2026. The claimed range is 205 miles. The math on paper versus a dash screen Here is a rough calculation for perspective. At $30, the atlas costs about 0.12% of the truck’s $24,950 starting price ($30 divided by $24,950). A replacement aftermarket navigation unit or a phone mount with wireless charging would cost several times that, and both still depend on a signal or a battery. The atlas does not need either, which is its entire argument; the trade-off is that it cannot reroute you around a traffic jam. No reservation is needed to buy one, so the book is open to anyone who wants a branded road atlas. Badiyaa has also looked at how fast used Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickups are losing value, at a Waymo robotaxi that got stuck sideways on a first ride in Atlanta, and at Oldsmobile’s 1962 Jetfire, one of the first turbocharged production cars. Slate’s preorders opened on June 24, 2026, and the first trucks are due off the Warsaw line at the end of this year. Further reading Wikipedia: Slate Auto Wikipedia: Rand McNally Image: 4300streetcar, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by our Editorial Desk. How we work.",
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