No real AM or FM radio in the R2

[Jeremy3292]

Yeah, Max is 46yo, but his underlings and sub-system designers are considerably younger. One was mentioning that he was in his mid 20's, doesn't own a vehicle (I don't remember if he said he even had a drivers license?) and takes a bus to work every day.

Max is R2 chief engineer and he probably just turned 40 based on his LinkedIn page. Jeff Hammond is the chief design offer who is 46. RJ is 43 years old for reference also.

It's a relatively young company, but not a bunch of kids in their 20s making cars.

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[SwampNut]

Why did they go through the engineering effort to make AM and FM interfaces for Internet streaming then? “That’s not their target demographic”

They didn't; the code for those is free from the service providers. You know, just like how they could have easily implemented CarPlay. I don't know if most people know this, but the Rivian OS is full of open-source code and integrated libraries from others. It's a smart way to do things in 2026, which none of the legacy people are doing.

 

[SwampNut]

 

[LevelHeaded]

They didn't; the code for those is free from the service providers. You know, just like how they could have easily implemented CarPlay. I don't know if most people know this, but the Rivian OS is full of open-source code and integrated libraries from others. It's a smart way to do things in 2026, which none of the legacy people are doing.

The bespoke integration between iHeart/TuneIn and the Rivian OS is not some off-the-shelf OSS package. ROFL.

It’s not a surprise that Swamp Nuts don’t listen to NPR…

 

[SwampNut]

The bespoke integration

LOL.

It’s not a surprise that Swamp Nuts don’t listen to NPR…

What makes you believe that?

 

[Count Orlok]

This thread is a reminder about how difficult life is for those on the Pareto frontier.

 

[NY_Rob]

Max is R2 chief engineer and he probably just turned 40 based on his LinkedIn page. Jeff Hammond is the chief design offer who is 46. RJ is 43 years old for reference also.

It's a relatively young company, but not a bunch of kids in their 20s making cars.

You're mentioning the Chief Engineer, the Chief Designer and the CEO... three of the most important people in the company, they are not 20 yo's. But, as I mentioned earlier, at least some junior and sub-system designers/engineers are in their 20's and that's a fact that has been stated in video interviews and in print media. I clearly remember watching a video where one designer mentioned his age (early/mid 20's) and the fact that he doesn't and hasn't ever owned a motor vehicle and takes a bus to work, so he doesn't drive.

 

[GaryL]

It would be really interesting to know where in the chain of command the decision to omit FM over the air hardware was made. In my option it would reveal how Rivian values there potential customer base.

 

[Jeremy3292]

You're mentioning the Chief Engineer, the Chief Designer and the CEO... three of the most important people in the company, they are not 20 yo's. But, as I mentioned earlier, at least some junior and sub-system designers/engineers are in their 20's and that's a fact that has been stated in video interviews and in print media. I clearly remember watching a video where one designer mentioned his age (early/mid 20's) and the fact that he doesn't and hasn't ever owned a motor vehicle and takes a bus to work, so he doesn't drive.

You think the people in their 20s are making decisions in Corp America? Lol they’re just worker bees. The decisions rest with Max, RJ, and Jeff. In fact RJ said in his recent videos he’s often the tiebreaker between Max and Jeff.

 

[Zathras]

Yes, that part also makes no sense. You seem to have a lot of ideas mixed up.

Yeah. You keep thinking that.

 

[ksumnole]

I use the FM radio daily. We live in the mountains and are frequently traveling where cellular reception does not exist. We like our local radio station. Just saying....

 

[ksumnole]

We also like tuning into a state radio station for emergency alerts when stuck on a mountain pass. Also, no reception...

 

[Zathras]

We also like tuning into a state radio station for emergency alerts when stuck on a mountain pass. Also, no reception...

Okay, you won me over with that excellent point. You can thank iHeart Radio for pretty much devastating most local emergency personnel and local news on radio, but it still holds true to a degree.

 

[Longreach]

We will never improve if we're willing to accept things that "just" work without looking at how they could work better.

The flaw in your argument is it does NOT work better for many of the reasons articulated in the comments.

By all means include the streaming services and let users explore newer capabilities with an eye toward making the real improvements you cite. One day it may work equally well or better, but not yet. Taking radio away before then only creates user frustration and dissatisfaction, especially when applied to the larger mainstream customer base Rivian covets.

Clearly it works for you, but equally clearly it doesn’t work for others. Your comments suggest your way is the right way and all others should be forced to comply, regardless of their use case. Not very helpful, really.

 

[SwampNut]

The flaw in your argument is it does NOT work better for many of the reasons articulated in the comments.

My argument was ONLY on the concept quoted. The exact concept that they should " use the simple way that works." Whether they got it wrong or not, is another discussion. But Rivian would have lost at least us as customers if they did the old-think "way that works" like Ford did.

Clearly it works for you, but equally clearly it doesn’t work for others.

Maybe, but we've seen in this thread that a lot of people don't KNOW about the many other solutions. This is my life and career in tech; for decades of dragging people into modernity. Many simply haven't tried new ways to do things.

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