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LIVE from Rivian's NY Auto Show Preview Event! (Q&A and R1T / R1S Hands-On)

stank65

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I think the second row is all the way back in it’s tracks in these photos. I assume there is a possibly 3-4 inches more room if the second row is moved up.
They told us that both the second and third row of seating were adjustable forward and back.
 

stank65

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I also did NOT see a flashlight in the passenger doors. We did get a set of pins and a water bottle. #moreswag.
The engineer on the R1T pulled the flashlight out of the door and showed it to us.

EDIT: It was out of the driver side door
 
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stank65

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One thing I was very impressed by was the depth of the front trunk. You could easily fit two large suitcases side by side in it. We are looking at an R1S because we have four children, but the look of the R1T was striking — it might be that I really prefer the silver color over the green. The R1S was longer than I had expected and that was a positive. The system for attaching the roof racks was great. Flat tow capability is confirmed which is fantastic.

Really interesting note from speaking with RJ was that the wheel motors are going to have the capability to decouple from wheels allowing the wheel to spin freely and not be forced to spin up the motors as well. This will allow for flat towing and it also sounds like it will help with the efficiency in certain driving situations.

He also showed us a video of tank mode on his phone and it was nuts. Whole truck spinning in place.

Oh and the interior looks really nice.

Overall super impressed. Wife is 100% onboard with getting one.
 

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This version of the video I did features the relevant quotes from RJ's speech.
(For what it's worth, the Rivian rep I spoke to quoted a charging time of 30 minutes getting 200 miles worth of electrons.)
(Speculating on turn-out....was told it was "over 1000." Many had a partner in tow, so let's say actual pre-order folks were ~700 here on east coast, with the motivation and the time to show up.)
(One more thing: I heard the number 100 as how many actual prototypes are currently being driven around the country. Or was it 200? Anyway, a lot are out there, some even sporting different bodies like F-150.)
 
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DocTwinkie

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I enjoyed the event and having an excuse to fly to New York for a few nights. That said I still think they’ve priced themselves out of the market. Model Xs aren’t moving in volume. These are nice cars. 100k nice (which is what I’m guessing they are spec’d as shown)... not for me.

I have a feeling the 69k base is going to be like the 35k model 3. Not available for years if at all. To they extreme few who have that much disposable income have fun.

When they first were developing under the radar I think they had Tesla’s business plan in mind. Come out with extreme priced cars with a very elite, exclusive, feel. Impress investors and people who can’t afford it with something amazing but ultimately out of most price ranges. Plan on losing money until you can bring lower cost high volume car to market.

Tesla did this and is still barely alive. But Rivian seems to realize the market has changed. Tesla is hanging on by threads, competition is everywhere. They seem to be using these cars to showcase their tech to buyers more than they are showcasing the cars to buyers. Amazon I’m sure wants the electric tech and self driving tech more than they think this will be a high volume profitable sustainable consumer car company. That’s smart of them since I don’t see that happening. Rivian I think knows it needs to get gobbled up by someone. And that’s makes this too risky for me to drop 100k on.

I’ll leave my preorder in. Who knows. Maybe ford or someone will pick them up and with the new partner they’ll be able to price drop.
 
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VinsRiv

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Did anyone find out about how many preorders were placed,would be a good indication how the company is doing for production & the hopes that Rivian would likely take off
 

DocTwinkie

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Did anyone find out about how many preorders were placed,would be a good indication how the company is doing for production & the hopes that Rivian would likely take off
I highly doubt they would release that info.
 

stank65

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I enjoyed the event and having an excuse to fly to New York for a few nights. That said I still think they’ve priced themselves out of the market. Model Xs aren’t moving in volume. These are nice cars. 100k nice (which is what I’m guessing they are spec’d as shown)... not for me.

I have a feeling the 69k base is going to be like the 35k model 3. Not available for years if at all. To they extreme few who have that much disposable income have fun.

When they first were developing under the radar I think they had Tesla’s business plan in mind. Come out with extreme priced cars with a very elite, exclusive, feel. Impress investors and people who can’t afford it with something amazing but ultimately out of most price ranges. Plan on losing money until you can bring lower cost high volume car to market.

Tesla did this and is still barely alive. But Rivian seems to realize the market has changed. Tesla is hanging on by threads, competition is everywhere. They seem to be using these cars to showcase their tech to buyers more than they are showcasing the cars to buyers. Amazon I’m sure wants the electric tech and self driving tech more than they think this will be a high volume profitable sustainable consumer car company. That’s smart of them since I don’t see that happening. Rivian I think knows it needs to get gobbled up by someone. And that’s makes this too risky for me to drop 100k on.

I’ll leave my preorder in. Who knows. Maybe ford or someone will pick them up and with the new partner they’ll be able to price drop.
Tesla has made an absolute ton of mistakes to put themselves in the financial position they are in today. Rivian appears to have learned from many of these from the start. Three of the biggest are that they are not planning on reinventing the way cars are made -- instead they purchased an old Mitsubishi plant for pennies on the dollar. Tesla tried to build too many perfect mousetraps simultaneously and have paid the price. Second, they found a partner with deep pockets that isn't just an investor, but will also directly benefit from the evolution of the technology. Third, they are starting with vehicles that can command higher price points in the market naturally, and a same vehicle also recognize the largest savings from EV vs ICE.
 

DocTwinkie

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Tesla has made an absolute ton of mistakes to put themselves in the financial position they are in today. Rivian appears to have learned from many of these from the start. Three of the biggest are that they are not planning on reinventing the way cars are made -- instead they purchased an old Mitsubishi plant for pennies on the dollar. Tesla tried to build too many perfect mousetraps simultaneously and have paid the price. Second, they found a partner with deep pockets that isn't just an investor, but will also directly benefit from the evolution of the technology. Third, they are starting with vehicles that can command higher price points in the market naturally, and a same vehicle also recognize the largest savings from EV vs ICE.
I really hope they succeed and I think they are being very smart looking to sell not just white cars but also their tech. They’ve also leaned like you said from some of Tesla’s mistake. That said I still can’t see a large market for these cars at these prices so it’s certainly good they’re looking at other ways to generate revenue.

But for the car consumer I think they’ve priced themselves into the most niche of markets.
 

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stank65

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I really hope they succeed and I think they are being very smart looking to sell not just white cars but also their tech. They’ve also leaned like you said from some of Tesla’s mistake. That said I still can’t see a large market for these cars at these prices so it’s certainly good they’re looking at other ways to generate revenue.

But for the car consumer I think they’ve priced themselves into the most niche of markets.
So from personal experience, I think the market will start to learn how much less expensive it is to operate an EV. I know everyone gives Tesla crap for talking about "savings", but it is real. We bought a model 3 and have effectively eliminated about $200 in energy costs a month (charging solely at home). When I subtract that off my payment, the payment is at or below the price of the equivalent ICE car I would be driving. The energy savings for a large SUV will be even more dramatic -- we plan on replacing our Tahoe with an R1S. Contractors who can plug in on site suddenly see their fuel costs disappear (and they can still expense mileage).

If they use the same skateboard for multiple different vehicles as they have stated, I could see them doing very very well and keeping their costs lower than expected.

When Amazon starts buying delivery trucks from them, they aren't going to care about the up front cost -- all of focus will be on the operational cost savings which will vastly outweigh any increasing in the initial cost. Basically, if they are able to produce the vehicles at scale they should have no problem with demand.
 

DocTwinkie

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So from personal experience, I think the market will start to learn how much less expensive it is to operate an EV. I know everyone gives Tesla crap for talking about "savings", but it is real. We bought a model 3 and have effectively eliminated about $200 in energy costs a month (charging solely at home). When I subtract that off my payment, the payment is at or below the price of the equivalent ICE car I would be driving. The energy savings for a large SUV will be even more dramatic -- we plan on replacing our Tahoe with an R1S. Contractors who can plug in on site suddenly see their fuel costs disappear (and they can still expense mileage).

If they use the same skateboard for multiple different vehicles as they have stated, I could see them doing very very well and keeping their costs lower than expected.

When Amazon starts buying delivery trucks from them, they aren't going to care about the up front cost -- all of focus will be on the operational cost savings which will vastly outweigh any increasing in the initial cost. Basically, if they are able to produce the vehicles at scale they should have no problem with demand.
Sure. Fleet sales I can see looking at operational savings. That said a fleet purchase won’t want leather, wood, lcd’s, self driving, etc. a fleet purchaser will want two pedals, one chair, a steering wheel, and cargo capacity. That’s it. They’ve made no hint such a car will be available to consumers any time soon or to independent workers. That’s years away.

That’s a whole other car.

And as for the average blue collar worker... can’t afford it. No fuel savings or mileage is gonna push a construction worker to a 100k truck when they can get a brand new one that will do the job for 30s. A working truck is gonna get beat up. No one is going to abuse these things. At these prices these are to be babied by all but the most elite who could afford to just replace it when they break it.

Anyone buying this has enough money that honestly fuel savings are moot.
 

stank65

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Sure. Fleet sales I can see looking at operational savings. That said a fleet purchase won’t want leather, wood, lcd’s, self driving, etc. a fleet purchaser will want two pedals, one chair, a steering wheel, and cargo capacity. That’s it. They’ve made no hint such a car will be available to consumers any time soon or to independent workers. That’s years away.

That’s a whole other car.

And as for the average blue collar worker... can’t afford it. No fuel savings or mileage is gonna push a construction worker to a 100k truck when they can get a brand new one that will do the job for 30s. A working truck is gonna get beat up. No one is going to abuse these things. At these prices these are to be babied by all but the most elite who could afford to just replace it when they break it.

Anyone buying this has enough money that honestly fuel savings are moot.
Its not a whole other car. They are going to use the same skateboard for multiple vehicles (again a lesson learned from Tesla that Tesla leaned the hard way). The difference for Rivian is that their skateboard is already the size to create these type of vehicles where the Model 3 chassis is not. Fleet sales should allow them to reach economies of scale on their skateboard that are realized by all vehicles in the line. Economy of scale on the skateboard is what matters. When they hit economies of scale we are not talking anywhere close to 100K vehicle. You can put an SUV, an Extended cab pickup, a regular cab pickup, a sprinter van style vehicle, a raptor style vehicle, and a full fledged delivery truck all on that same skateboard.

I know a ton of contractors that drive around in 60k and 70k pickups. Rivian doesn't have to replace all f-150 sales to be wildly successful. Every other car in line for school is a pimped out Tahoe, Suburban, Range Rover, M5, etc, and many people who purchase these trucks get major tax write-offs on them. They don't have to go after the 35K f-150s for a decade.
 

Lil'O Annie

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A big THANK YOU to those posting info/videos/pics from the show for the rest of us to see!!! :clap:
From what I see in the photos, it doesn't look like the rear window in the pickup opens...does it? Does the rear window in the SUV open?
 

VValleyEV

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Great photos. Can’t tell, do the rear seats of the R1T fold down, or just the R1S? I would like to occasionally carry gear in the back seat area, wonder what my options are that will leave the seats protected somwhat.
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