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Car and Driver Article on Long Way Up

Dr. Byrd

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A bit lite, but still interesting:
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a33548089/rivian-r1t-electric-pickup-long-way-up-tv/

That was on March 28, 2019. Rivian was tasked with getting two R1Ts, and the automotive startup also said it could take care of the charging infrastructure. "We're like, well, give us the route, we'll put it in," Gase said. The company put in about 240 Level 2 chargers at roughly 140 locations. The spread was about every 110 miles across 13 different countries. In the end, they didn't use all the stations they built.

The actual Rivians were test vehicles that suddenly had to make a 13,000-mile trip over unknown terrain, sometimes in cold weather. "We didn't have a vehicle in March. We had a vehicle that was coming online two weeks before we were supposed to ship," Gase said. The second R1T had finished running all the software and thermal system checks six hours before it was scheduled to be shipped to South America.
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Another small video from the R1Ts. This one while crossing Panama.
 

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That was on March 28, 2019. Rivian was tasked with getting two R1Ts, and the automotive startup also said it could take care of the charging infrastructure. "We're like, well, give us the route, we'll put it in," Gase said. The company put in about 240 Level 2 chargers at roughly 140 locations. The spread was about every 110 miles across 13 different countries. In the end, they didn't use all the stations they built.
Would have been nice to feature a road trip in the U.S. and build the charging infrastructure here. For the time being, I have no plans to drive to South America.
 

Babbuino

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Would have been nice to feature a road trip in the U.S. and build the charging infrastructure here. For the time being, I have no plans to drive to South America.
There are supposed to be working on the adventure network in the US. For the show specifically, its not like Rivian chose the location, but still they decided to add some charging stations along the route. Gotta keep in mind that the trucks are there as a back up, there aren't the main event.
 

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Would have been nice to feature a road trip in the U.S. and build the charging infrastructure here. For the time being, I have no plans to drive to South America.
It would make for a less interesting journey/show.

Infrastructure here in the states is quite good. So it’s not terribly challenging to go most places these days. I drag a camper with me and have been all through the West and Canada. Electricity is abundant. Don’t worry too much about infrastructure, you’ll have most of what you need more than likely.
 

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To add a point about why South and Central America, Rivian thinks about more than continental N. America, witness the repurposed batteries used in Puerto Rico, the brand identification with Patagonia, the road trip that actually started in Patagonia, and the whole adventure theme which for us in N. America means trails in Moab, but for much of the world means getting to work and home again.

I don't imagine many first generation Rivians will make their ways to those sorts of places - they're just too expensive - but like repurposed batteries in Puerto Rico, quite a few repurposed Rivians might find their way to places where just getting to work is an adventure.
 
 




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