Interesting questions or statements in parking lots about R1T or S

[Zoidz]

Does it run on batteries? Does it have a motor? Does it have a motor?

Subaru Justy Car Commercial 1988

Open the frunk and show them it has no motor!

Sponsored

 

[NashvilleR1S]

I got a new one the other day, Them: "is that the car that amazon invested in?" Me: "yeah sort of they ordered a bunch of delivery vans". Them: "Well then I want nothing to do with it, I don't buy anything from amazon and Jeff Bezos won't get a penny from me" ...walks away...

ok cool.

 

[JohnB R1T]

WELL SHUCKS--- It won't do THIS

I was over at a friend's place last weekend. His buddy was sitting there listening to us talk about the R1T.

There was a lull in the conversation and he asked me "Can I put a gooseneck hitch on it?"

Oh well.

 

[Rivianation]

I got a new one the other day, Them: "is that the car that amazon invested in?" Me: "yeah sort of they ordered a bunch of delivery vans". Them: "Well then I want nothing to do with it, I don't buy anything from amazon and Jeff Bezos won't get a penny from me" ...walks away...

ok cool.

"I don't buy anything from Amazon"
-yeah right.

 

[Greg Chick]

15 min for a couple hundred is exaggerating just a bit, but it isn't lying to say you can do a 500 mile trip with two 20 minute stops when you start at 300 miles with 100% and can add ~100 in 20 minutes pretty easily. I don't think I have ever done a 500 mile trip without sitting down to eat for longer than that at least once, so in reality could go well over 500 with nothing other than the normal food stops. Just might not have as many choices for the food though based on more limited locations to stop.

It is known some fast "Level 3" chargers will do over 200 miles in 15 Min.
But I agree, those chargers are rare. But the Rivian chargers in Sacramento and Manteca charge about that fast.

 

[Frankiefiggs]

Loading groceries into the frunk at Costco usually gets a few comments and questions. Always been positive. People asking who makes it and what's the range. How do you charge it. Along those lines. Get a bunch of I've never seen anything like that.

I've had two people follow me home so that they could ask me about it. They both had a partner who were trying to talk them into getting one. Both super nice and I love the truck so I was happy to show them around it and answer questions.

 

[Tango45]

My favorite thing to do is confuse them with my "How long does it take to charge?" answer. My standard response is 10 seconds, 5 to plug it in, 5 to unplug it. The rest of the time I'm eating, shopping, or sitting on the couch. I then point out my Dad has to drive 30 miles round trip at a minimum to the closest gas station to stand out in the cold for 5 or 10 minutes to fill his gas tank when we are at camp. So unless you are a crack addict driving around all night to score your next hit, the EV will save you a lot of time "fueling" compared to a gas vehicle in a rural area where you have even basic electrical service.

I tend to be a bit snarky myself. I have replied to the charging time question with, it charges in my garage at night when I sleep, I don't care. Or, depends on how powerful the charging station is. But 15 min. at a fast charger is enough to go couple hundred miles.

I find the charging question to be the hardest and the one most based on old (gasoline) style thinking. Instead of trying to explain the nuance of charging (like, how you don't just charge to 100% while sitting in your car at a public charger for hours), I try to explain the practical application: for normal day-to-day driving, I charge about once a week and, regardless of the state of charge, I can do this at home while I'm sleeping. For a road trip, I take it (well, haven't taken the R1S yet, but have done it in the Hyundai Ioniq 5) to the Outer Banks, which is about 300 miles from me in Northern Virginia and is a well known location to reference with Randos in my area. I tell them that when I did it with an ICE vehicle, I always stopped in the Williamsburg/Newport News area to feed/drain the kids and get gas. Now I stop in the same place and the kids eat while the car charges. I always have enough juice to get to my destination and tool around for a while before the kids are done eating. I have also once or twice pulled up A Better Route Planner to show them that I only need to stop for 8-15 minutes to make the trip. In the end, I tell them that I've never left my home just to fill up, which I had to do with gasoline, and that I actually have less range anxiety with an EV than I did with gasoline.

I am also a fan of doing the comparison of $/mile vs gasoline. At $0.12/kWh and 2 miles per kWh, that's $0.06/mile whereas gas at $3.40/gallon and 20 mpg yields $0.17/mile... and then you factor in maintenance...

 

[Greg Chick]

Someone once asked "how I liked it" I replied "It's better than God", I got stink eye back. I guess they were not the sacrilegious types.
I meant no harm, I am just a zealot.

 

[Dark-Fx]

I got a new one the other day, Them: "is that the car that amazon invested in?" Me: "yeah sort of they ordered a bunch of delivery vans". Them: "Well then I want nothing to do with it, I don't buy anything from amazon and Jeff Bezos won't get a penny from me" ...walks away...

ok cool.

Oh no it's cool, Rivian is actually costing Amazon money right now.

 

[srnyoung]

"The electrical grid can't take all the electric cars. What would happen if you all plugged in at the same time! It would crash the system!"

I heard that 3 times in a week a while back so I assumed it was the Fox News topic du jour.

Probably the same thing as when you gas people all try to buy gas at the same time.
Bad things!

But if that's happening then something else bad is also/already happening or that isn't a realistic scenario...

 

[ER1T]

I suggest we collect and enjoy things people say.
One guy asked me "Who makes your truck" I said Rivian, he replied "no, who makes it" I said Rivian, a company in the US, I think in Illinois, Texas and Calif. It is fully electric and really incredible. He replied, "They would never make an electric truck in Texas". I replied well, they may make it in Illionis and just have a service Ctr. in Texas. He asked what kinda power does it have, can it do 80 MPH? I said yea and, it's faster, it can do 0 - 60 in 3 Sec. He just walked away shaking his head.

Another guy asked is it 4x4? I said no, it's 4 motor. He replied, "no, what kinda transmission does it have?", I said no transmission, just 4 motors. I could hear his thoughts, "Where are the extra motors?".

Heard the exact thing…
Who makes it?
Rivian
No, but who makes it?
Rivian
Where is it made?
Normal Illinois, by Chicago
Is it American?
‍

 

[Thedude]

It is known some fast "Level 3" chargers will do over 200 miles in 15 Min.
But I agree, those chargers are rare. But the Rivian chargers in Sacramento and Manteca charge about that fast.

No they won’t. At 220kwh, the fastest Rivian says the vehicle can charge, you get 55kwh in 15 minutes. In order to get 200 miles of range you’d be averaging 4mi/kWh, something no Rivian does unless driving downhill the entire time. A realistic number is about 140 miles in 15 minutes.

 

[JohnB R1T]

"The electrical grid can't take all the electric cars. What would happen if you all plugged in at the same time! It would crash the system!"

I heard that 3 times in a week a while back so I assumed it was the Fox News topic du jour.

Probably the same thing as when you gas people all try to buy gas at the same time.
Bad things!

But if that's happening then something else bad is also/already happening or that isn't a realistic scenario...

I wouldn't blame that on Fox News...to be fair, this was widely reported just in time for Labor Day last year https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/01/us/california-heat-wave-flex-alert-ac-ev-charging.html

 

[jlstan]

I find the charging question to be the hardest and the one most based on old (gasoline) style thinking. Instead of trying to explain the nuance of charging (like, how you don't just charge to 100% while sitting in your car at a public charger for hours), I try to explain the practical application: for normal day-to-day driving, I charge about once a week and, regardless of the state of charge, I can do this at home while I'm sleeping. For a road trip, I take it (well, haven't taken the R1S yet, but have done it in the Hyundai Ioniq 5) to the Outer Banks, which is about 300 miles from me in Northern Virginia and is a well known location to reference with Randos in my area. I tell them that when I did it with an ICE vehicle, I always stopped in the Williamsburg/Newport News area to feed/drain the kids and get gas. Now I stop in the same place and the kids eat while the car charges. I always have enough juice to get to my destination and tool around for a while before the kids are done eating. I have also once or twice pulled up A Better Route Planner to show them that I only need to stop for 8-15 minutes to make the trip. In the end, I tell them that I've never left my home just to fill up, which I had to do with gasoline, and that I actually have less range anxiety with an EV than I did with gasoline.

I am also a fan of doing the comparison of $/mile vs gasoline. At $0.12/kWh and 2 miles per kWh, that's $0.06/mile whereas gas at $3.40/gallon and 20 mpg yields $0.17/mile... and then you factor in maintenance...

I drove from Fairfax to Fayetteville, AR a couple weeks after I got my R1T. When people ask, I tell them that about 500 miles is what I would comfortably do unless I had unlimited time. That long drive was stressful to say the least. Really I had no problems, but it took a long time and took a lot out of me.

500 is a good distance. One stop for food and charge each way. Otherwise, take the ICE. Just IMO.

 

[Riviot]

Loading groceries into the frunk at Costco usually gets a few comments and questions.

My favorite thing to do when people ask questions.

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