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Rivian reputation, what do non-Rivian drivers think about Rivians?

140 degrees

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I'd agree with the comments above. My favorite interaction was when I came out of a store finding a woman taking pictures of my R1T. I asked if she had any questions. She replied that she wanted to talk her husband out of buying that ugly Cybertruck! 😄
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Webleyaz

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My experiences have been generally positive. The rare diesel guy will scoff at the mere 11k lb towing. If they're not too combative I'll tell them my trailer has a 6k capacity. They're probably just anti-EV and nothing will change their minds.
So many mention how much they hate the CT. I like to reply that I'm not a fan of it's shape but it has some really cool features like 4-wheel steering and it can resist damage and even small cal bullets!
 

windblowlc

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It's a love/hate thing people think when they encounter a Rivian. They love it when they see it standing still, moving slowly, or observing the speed limit. Usually they'd come by and ask questions, mostly about range, and always with compliments on how beautiful it looks. It's when they try to race you at the stop lights is when their opinions go to hate.
 

portdirect

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Reactions here (Midwest) have been generally positive, much of the same sentiment thats been shared by others: ‘rivian’ who makes that - doubly ironic when less than 200 miles from the factory :) Once people realize that you wake up each day with effectively 2/3 of a tank of gas they warm up quite a bit, the gear tunnel on the R1T always gets a great reaction as well.

At work less positive unfortunately - it’s become a bit of a joke what car I’ll be driving each week: between our two R1’s one has been absolutely perfect (our dual motor R1S) while our quad R1T was recently bought back (after over 70 days in service for a warranty paint issue), and the replacement Tri R1T we picked up in December will be back into service for the 2nd time tomorrow (the front doors on both sides are hitting the rear doors at the bottom, taking paint off - looks like the hinge bolts may not have been torqued fully). This is a bummer as several colleagues were/are looking to get R1’s (many teslas and mid/high end suvs and trucks in the parking lot) but are now choosing to wait until the consistency between builds and service center situation gets better.

On the road - I hope folk don’t view me as a jerk, but find Myself driving more like Ali G in them than I’d like to:
 
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Hillbilly

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Most people think that I'm hung like a horse to be man enough to drive an electric truck with cute headlights. Lots of guys in lifted trucks look away when I make eye contact with them at traffic lights because they sense the bde.
 

Davethadog

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I've yet to be asked a single thing or received a single comment on my R1S I've had for a little over a month and I love that.

I've had past cars and still have a car that I cannot go anywhere without questions, photos, videos, comments and it's utterly exhausting.
It’s old news now. It was a different story in 2022.
 

DKM_R1S

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We drove our S down into coal mining country where I had some work meetings. I know, seems ironic. The pickup truck bros I work with down there were very interested in it and I was surprised how much information the younger guys knew about it, and of course, Cybertruck. I never received a negative reaction from anyone while in the Rivian. My Model Y, however, always had a puff of diesel exhaust blown at it at least once each trip into these areas.

I had a bit of anxiety knowing that we would need to charge at Tesla Superchargers, taking up two spaces. I was expecting hate from some of the Tesla owners at the charging stations. We have used Tesla SCs 75+times and this never happened and in fact I’ve had many conversations with Tesla owners about our Rivian and how we like it.

Our neighbor who is a German car guy had a neutral to subtly negative reaction when he saw our Model Y. Then when we bought the Rivian, I could tell he loved the look of it and was very interested in it.
 

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Yossarian

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It’s been 90% to 95% positive comments and curiosity. The rest is EV-sceptics/haters in which case it doesn’t matter that it’s a Rivian.
Much the same here, except that I'd say the percentage is closer to 95% to 98%. The few EV skeptics/haters that I've run into all seem to be badly misinformed and pretty set in their views. I just mention that my truck is made in Illinois and that as a veteran, I'm proud to drive American.
 

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BMW drivers have the reputation of never using turn signals
I'd argue that 99% of the drving population in the US never use them, or even know what it means when someone else signals.
 

jb0063

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Caring what other drivers think about the car you're driving is a bigger issue that not getting a Rivian or not.
 

Roads76

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I've had nothing but positive interactions with other Rivian owners, we seem to be a friendly lot in general. Probably many of us where pulled to Rivian for the same reasons so not too surprising. As far as others go, nothing negative, especially once they find out it's an American company with a factory in the US. I've still had quite a few people say yeah I get it, its a Rivian, but who makes it...
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