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"MACT Garage" attends First Drive event.

Friscorays

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Bummer about March 1, 2022.
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Scott

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Even ignoring the construction bent, his more general point that long range, frequent towing is hard in an EV is fair. EVs are not going to be good for daily long range drives or daily towing at any distance. The charging infrastructure and charging speed would quickly become frustrating.

the review was terrible but his point is valid.
 

CommodoreAmiga

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Even ignoring the construction bent, his more general point that long range, frequent towing is hard in an EV is fair. EVs are not going to be good for daily long range drives or daily towing at any distance. The charging infrastructure and charging speed would quickly become frustrating.
I think EVs aren’t the best choice for long-haul towing, at this time. But for local use I think they’re as good, if not better — even for towing. 11k lbs is double (or more) than the Tacoma/Ridgeline that it’s physically competing with. Looking at the contractors who use those trucks (mainly the Tacoma) I think the R1T would actually make a great EV alternative.
 

Rivuylkill

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To be fair the guide or whoever was showing him the truck wasn't doing him a lot of favors either.

- Didn't know charging standards
- Didn't know wading depth so unanswered question
- Didn't know stats on battery shield supporting truck's weight
- 'I don't know' about temperature effect on range

I realize not everyone is an EV nerd but some of that stuff I'd have thought should have been known by someone answering questions at an event like this.

The towing thing is still a big question. I totally get where Rivian is coming from with the conservative 50% estimate but it'd be nice to finally get some real world data, different size/shape/weight trailers, etc. Yes it's definitely not a work truck or marketed as such, and will never replace a super duty diesel towing machine, but I'd like to think the picture is a little better depending on what's being towed (or maybe I'm just hopeful). I did do some playing with ABRP and inflated Wh/mi numbers and my usual trips are longer but they're also generally a once/twice a year kind of thing, so might just have to be framed properly.

Now, talking about it as a construction vehicle work truck, or replacing something towing a huge RV is just off the mark, but think some of that could have been avoided if the guide had steered him in the right direction.
 

Enjen

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To be fair the guide or whoever was showing him the truck wasn't doing him a lot of favors either.
Totally agree with all your points. I'd be quite disappointed if I showed up to this event and the guide seemed to know so little about some basic information (ie, wading depth).
 

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Gator42

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To be fair the guide or whoever was showing him the truck wasn't doing him a lot of favors either.

- Didn't know charging standards
- Didn't know wading depth so unanswered question
- Didn't know stats on battery shield supporting truck's weight
- 'I don't know' about temperature effect on range

I realize not everyone is an EV nerd but some of that stuff I'd have thought should have been known by someone answering questions at an event like this.

The towing thing is still a big question. I totally get where Rivian is coming from with the conservative 50% estimate but it'd be nice to finally get some real world data, different size/shape/weight trailers, etc. Yes it's definitely not a work truck or marketed as such, and will never replace a super duty diesel towing machine, but I'd like to think the picture is a little better depending on what's being towed (or maybe I'm just hopeful). I did do some playing with ABRP and inflated Wh/mi numbers and my usual trips are longer but they're also generally a once/twice a year kind of thing, so might just have to be framed properly.

Now, talking about it as a construction vehicle work truck, or replacing something towing a huge RV is just off the mark, but think some of that could have been avoided if the guide had steered him in the right direction.
All good points here and from mact (except for maybe the urban cowboy crack- guess he’s never seen the F series garage queens in Texas or the south)…and to be fair to Rivian they can’t and shouldn’t be populating these events with their engineers. Kyle and the other youtubers often get phone and email access to the engineers at Ford and some others for technical questions. That’s probably how it should have been handled, or maybe send mact to a presser instead of the ressie holder event?

…and there’s fair assessment of the R1T but it once again reveals the amazing category footprint these trucks occupy. Depending on the perception of the reviewer Rivian is competing with all the other EVs AND all the ICE pickups, SUVs, off roaders, sprinters, sport sedans, etc…
 
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jessefive

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I actually enjoyed the footage of the event. It wasn't "good" but it kinda felt like you were there.
But his analysis at the end was pretty annoying. He definitely couldn't get out of his personal use scenario. Yea, if you're towing 11000 lbs 200 miles in -20 degrees to a work site, this isn't the truck for you
 

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…and there’s fair assessment the R1T but it once again reveals the amazing category footprint these trucks occupy. Depending on the perception of the reviewer Rivian is competing with all the other EVs and ICE pickups, SUVs, sprinters, sport sedans, etc…
I think this is the real takeaway. Whether they like it or not, Rivian are first to market and therefore they are competing against everything else that already exists. They need to have a good message for that. So far, I found that message lacking. Those of us that are on these boards get it. The people I talk to you in real life, who have never heard of Rivian before, they make the same assumptions that were present in this review.
 

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  1. Why does every yahoo with a phone think they need a YouTube channel?
  2. Couldn’t make it beyond 5 min because this guy is insufferable and boring and desperately needs to learn how to edit, but even the first line of questioning: can you use this charger in Europe? (Is he planning to drive to Europe?) Doesn’t know what kind of charger they use but knows that obviously Tesla uses it or else they couldn’t sell cars in Europe. Sigh.
  3. If this guy ended up loving the Rivian and driving one around and making more boring videos about how great they are, I might start to question if Rivian was right for me.
  4. Didn’t make it to the “urban cowboy” line but I don’t think he knows what that term means — it’s a movie about oil refinery workers driving around the outskirts of Houston in beat up old work trucks, getting drunk, fighting, chasing girls, and riding mechanical bulls. If that’s all you want to do, might just want to use Uber.
 

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I wonder what his review of the Maverick will be? I mean, he’ll love the 1,500 lbs tow rating or fact that 4x8 sheet goods don’t fit flat on the bed floor.
 

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Craigins

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To be fair the guide or whoever was showing him the truck wasn't doing him a lot of favors either.

- Didn't know charging standards
- Didn't know wading depth so unanswered question
- Didn't know stats on battery shield supporting truck's weight
- 'I don't know' about temperature effect on range

I realize not everyone is an EV nerd but some of that stuff I'd have thought should have been known by someone answering questions at an event like this.
So to be fair, he skipped the booth that had all the charging info and went to the compass yellow display. If he had questions about charging he should have gone to the charging booth.

To me the event had a breakdown of 1 booth with the charging info, one booth with the vehicle displayed and you could play with all the doors/trunks/interior settings, a third with all the colors, and the 4th with all the accessories (tent, kitchen, etc).

The event was definitely geared towards a normal customer. As someone who reads this forum multiple times a day, they had no more information than I had. Think of the staff as the CS chat folks who just relate what is already publicly available.
 

Temerarius

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Ehh... I think this is an issue that Rivian is going to slam head long into.

Outside of the groupies and the EV geeks... your "average" truck owner, while impressed with the ride, the toys, the eyeball watering acceleration, etc... will be asking about how it will function "as a work truck" (towing things, transferring existing tool boxes, reusing existing rack mounts, etc...). Which, we all know, is not really what the R1T is designed to do (but other folks don't).

I think @CommodoreAmiga is spot on, in that while the R1T isn't really designed to tow for long haul use, it will be perfectly fine for smaller trips.

That said, would it replace my father in laws F250 for hauling their travel trailer down to Arizona, or my dads Tundra with his in bed toolbox and rack to haul sheetrock, plywood, etc...? No... probably not. The F150 would be better for the latter... and the former, it doesn't exist yet (unless you are cool with lots of longer stops along the way to "refuel").

That said, that Guide had me shouting at my TV... it was pretty basic stuff that he should have known.
 

crashmtb

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The event was definitely geared towards a normal customer. As someone who reads this forum multiple times a day, they had no more information than I had. Think of the staff as the CS chat folks who just relate what is already publicly available.
No different than asking a salesperson at a dealership a question
Rivian R1T R1S "MACT Garage"  attends First Drive event. 1634062042774


also social media was a mistake. Not everyone should have a YouTube channel.
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