No real AM or FM radio in the R2

[Redline]

I’m just going to say this now…if FM radio is a deal breaker, you were never going to get an R2 to begin with. Just move on lol. Unreal.

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[RayoRiv]

It’s a gimmick, but I don't mean that as a pure negative. A gimmick catches your attention, but it doesn't automatically mean it's a foundational tech shift.

The reality is, being able to say 'Hey car, do X' isn't new. We've had voice-to-action for over a decade. Integrating an LLM like Gemini or ChatGPT to find a restaurant and plot a route is a cool, convenient iteration, but it's not a life-changing paradigm shift. It's just a better interface for things we already do.

Where it crosses the line from 'handy tool' to just plain goofy is the idea of having a deep, existential conversation with your dashboard. A car is a tool to get from A to B safely and efficiently. Turning it into a conversational partner feels forced and, honestly, a little weird. Not every piece of technology needs to be a 'game-changer' to be useful.

When Ai learning gets integrated it would be cool for it to be able to predict issues, learn your daily routine to optimize performance and travel, that'll be cool i guess

I think it will be a foundational tech shift where it concerns cars. I guess we will see. There is a reason I've had the voice feature in every car I've owned for the last 10 to 15 years and have never used it more than a couple of times and then not again.

I don't expect or want to have deep conversations with my dashboard (that was kind of passive aggressive lol). But what I do want is to be able to access just about everything about my car through a conversational nature that just works extremely well. Where I don't have to use exact language and tone or have it come back at me with the wrong name or direction every other time. And, yes, to be able to link it to other areas in my life. It won't feel like a real shift until we can do that. When we can respond to emails, look up files, change our calendar, set the AC level, reroute our destination, tell it to make a stop at such and such etc etc from the seat of our car, it will be a dramatic change. It will work hand in hand with autonomous driving, the real autonomous driving where we can take our eyes off the road entirely and the car can pick us up from the airport on it's own, or drop us off and then drive back home and park itself in the garage.

Most people are still not using AI in a way that changes things. They don't realize that what it can do today is entirely different from just a few months ago. I was in that camp until fairly recently. If I can have that ability in my car it would be a huge deal.

 

[LevelHeaded]

I think it will be a foundational tech shift where it concerns cars. I guess we will see. There is a reason I've had the voice feature in every car I've owned for the last 10 to 15 years and have never used it more than a couple of times and then not again.

I don't expect or want to have deep conversations with my dashboard (that was kind of passive aggressive lol). But what I do want is to be able to access just about everything about my car through a conversational nature that just works extremely well. Where I don't have to use exact language and tone or have it come back at me with the wrong name or direction every other time. And, yes, to be able to link it to other areas in my life. It won't feel like a real shift until we can do that. When we can respond to emails, look up files, change our calendar, set the AC level, reroute our destination, tell it to make a stop at such and such etc etc from the seat of our car, it will be a dramatic change. It will work hand in hand with autonomous driving, the real autonomous driving where we can take our eyes off the road entirely and the car can pick us up from the airport on it's own, or drop us off and then drive back home and park itself in the garage.

Most people are still not using AI in a way that changes things. They don't realize that what it can do today is entirely different from just a few months ago. I was in that camp until fairly recently. If I can have that ability in my car it would be a huge deal.

They said the same thing about Alexa, Siri. It's a lot faster to press a climate button once than say "Hey Rivian, turn my Air Conditioning on"

RE: FM. Yeah. Really stupid decision for what's marketed as an "Adventure Vehicle." Kind of like how it also has no grab handles. And plastic/cardboard underbody armor.

(Not to mention, low 300s mi range and 400v charging architecture, aka what EVs that cost the same price came out with 5 years ago. But this really isn't a surprise. It's the Rav4 woodland of EVs; far more people will use it to go to Costco than drive on dirt. "Adventure" is skin deep.)

 

[RayoRiv]

They said the same thing about Alexa, Siri. It's a lot faster to press a climate button once than say "Hey Rivian, turn my Air Conditioning on"

And yet are Alexa and Siri the same thing as AI? Or are they entirely different? That is kind of my point. We have voice activiation in our cars right now. I am saying that is kind of like Alexa and Siri, useful but not in the same way as AI.

Hey, it's fine if people don't see or agree what AI might do or mean in a car. I guess it's a personal choice. For me it's going to be important and I am happy to see Rivian be ahead of the game here.

 

[LevelHeaded]

And yet are Alexa and Siri the same thing as AI? Or are they entirely different? That is kind of my point. We have voice activiation in our cars right now. I am saying that is kind of like Alexa and Siri, useful but not in the same way as AI.

Hey, it's fine if people don't see or agree what AI might do or mean in a car. I guess it's a personal choice. For me it's going to be important and I am happy to see Rivian be ahead of the game here.

The current Alexa is powered by modern LLMs. They released a whole new version of it a year ago or so. I think they call it Alexa+ or something. But if it can't read my mind, it's slower than me pressing a button. So it's not a substitute.

 

[RayoRiv]

The current Alexa is powered by modern LLMs. They released a whole new version of it a year ago or so. I think they call it Alexa+ or something. But if it can't read my mind, it's slower than me pressing a button. So it's not a substitute.

If that is the case Amazon needs to fire their AI team. I still can't get Alexa to add grocery items correct half the time.

Hey Alexa, add garbage bags to the shopping list...cabbage added to the shopping list! Or, Hey Alexa, cancel my second timer...Okay, which timer do you want cancelled. Is it the timer with one hour, seven mintues, thirty four seconds or is it....yes, it is that timer, I'm not showing a timer with one hour, seven minutes.... lol

 

[BrettB]

I’m just going to say this now…if FM radio is a deal breaker, you were never going to get an R2 to begin with. Just move on lol. Unreal.

I have an R1S. I would not have purchased it if it didn’t have FM radio. Why would Rivian cheap out and not offer FM radio in the R2? How many buyers are they willing to sacrifice to save a few dollars on the build? A product manager at Rivian really messed up. Hopefully they will bring back the FM radio in a subsequent release of the R2.

 

[Redline]

I have an R1S. I would not have purchased it if it didn’t have FM radio. Why would Rivian cheap out and not offer FM radio in the R2? How many buyers are they willing to sacrifice to save a few dollars on the build? A product manager at Rivian really messed up. Hopefully they will bring back the FM radio in a subsequent release of the R2.

You’re insane.

That’s all I can say.

An FM radio is pointless.

 

[RivianRocks25]

R2 no radio? -1. Bmw Ix3 radio, +1.
Really though, use FM everyday in our cars. Cell is zero at house and our cabin. Don't get coverage for 5-6 minutes from home. By then 2 songs into FM or vested in topic on Local NPR. Oems don't understand, so can't wake car from sleep with app, as it doesn't get the text. Yes, that happens. Disappointing for a company the leans into the 'Rugged Outdoor thing' so hard. Hey bean counters, every GO outside where the sidewalk ends and so does the cell coverage? If you lean into it and don't really support it, you are a fake poser.

 

[electruck]

I haven't listened to FM radio in over 20 years. Why? It's overrun with commercials and talk radio. Storm/fire/earthquake emergency? Carry an emergency radio, then you can listen to it outside the car too. Out of cell range, stream music over Bluetooth. If you like talk radio, you're beyond help.

 

[usulio]

I haven't listened to FM radio in over 20 years. Why? It's overrun with commercials and talk radio. Storm/fire/earthquake emergency? Carry an emergency radio, then you can listen to it outside the car too. Out of cell range, stream music over Bluetooth. If you like talk radio, you're beyond help.

some of us are lucky to have great local radio stations. listener supported, no ads, great music. sorry you don't.

 

[Yamazaki]

But this really isn't a surprise. It's the Rav4 woodland of EVs; far more people will use it to go to Costco than drive on dirt. "Adventure" is skin deep.

That's the thing though... The R2 is not just the most capable "Adventure Vehicle" EV at its price point... It seems to be the only capable vehicle. If I could afford an R1S Quad, I would get that. But I'm planning to get an R2 because it's the best I can afford. Which means others like me ("Adventurers" who aren't wealthy) will be getting it for the same reason... and they'll want to be able to listen to something when they are out of cell service areas.

 

[Alan in Tempe]

I’m just going to say this now…if FM radio is a deal breaker, you were never going to get an R2 to begin with. Just move on lol. Unreal.

If that was intended for me, you are totally wrong. I had my heart set on a Tesla model Y before it came out. I test drove one the day test drives became available. I hated the terrible turning radius, and the pathetic rear visibility, and was unimpressed with the ride, feeling too unrefined. Shortly thereafter, I set my heart on the soon to come out Mach-e. I bought one (ordered) the same day as my test drive, and am still driving that '21 Mach-e. I totally fell in love with the specs and published features of the R2, and am finally willing (but in no way needing) to trade in my Mach-e. The lack of radio is NOT a deal breaker, but it sure does lower the love of the car. Now I have to wait for an invite to order one, but with much less enthusiasm for the car because of the lack of real radio without an acceptable (to me) alternative using streaming or satellite. What might actually be a deal breaker for me is owner reports that the range won't actually get me the 175 miles climbing 3000' on a 75MPH freeway that I do nearly monthly. My 270 mile range Mach-e gets me there doing 78MPH with 30-40 miles remaining. (I can do 80 the other way depending 3000' and arrive with 100 miles remaining.) My L2 EVSEs at both ends are all the charging I use. If I have to drive under 70 to get that drive on a single charge in the R2, then the R2 is not for me. My guess is that range will not be a problem in spite of the worse frontal area and slightly worse Cd of the R2, but this is my biggest concern now. The R2 overall efficiency is very impressive considering it weighs more and has a slightly smaller battery than the extended range Mach-e. I am pissed about the radio, but it won't be the reason I buy or not buy an R2.

 

[Alan in Tempe]

I have an R1S. I would not have purchased it if it didn’t have FM radio. Why would Rivian cheap out and not offer FM radio in the R2? How many buyers are they willing to sacrifice to save a few dollars on the build? A product manager at Rivian really messed up. Hopefully they will bring back the FM radio in a subsequent release of the R2.

Hopefully that subsequent release of the R2 with an FM radio is very soon, before the order window opens for me.

 

[BigSkies]

I'm not in the market for a new car right now, so I'm personally not impacted by this.

I will say that one of my biggest disappointments in the R1 is the push towards making everything streaming. I despise streaming services. I don't listen to much radio, but I do want to listen to my own music collection. That I own.

Rivian's bluetooth sucks bad. I'll be curious to see if they did any better on the R2. I'm losing faith that any software update will improve bluetooth or allow me to put my music on a thumb drive. It's a seemingfully minor thing, but I'm reminded of it every time I'm pushed to use some godawful streaming service I have to pay another $18/month for.

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