PoorPilot
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The wife and I are on a short vacation and attended the auto show yesterday. I walked away with many answered questions, a renewed excitement about these vehicles as well as some Rivian swag. Overall the vehicles looked (and smelled) amazing. I spoke with many different employees and it appeared all of them were really excited about the company and the products they were part of building. I’m sure I’m forgetting some bits of information, but I will edit this thread as I remember.
As a side note, we looked at many of the other SUVs and trucks available and we were quite surprised at how expensive and how inefficient they were. $70-$100k for a nice SUV and still only getting 19mpg?! Seeing these prices justified our Model X purchase as well as solidified my Rivian purchase(s) next year.
Things I learned after speaking with different Rivian employees (many have been answered before, but here you go):
- Configurator emails for preorders will go out towards the end of 2019 with production models ready for test drives mid to late 2020.
- The vehicles you see are nearly 100% of what will be production models.
- Despite the above statement, one employee told me the door handles will have a slight tweak to make them easier to open.
- No web browser in the infotainment center due to safety concerns.
- Will have heated seats, and working on cooled seats
- The reason for using a mix of technology for autonomous driving is because no one piece is perfect, so it’s basically for redundancy.
- Side pockets in the doors are able to be zipped out so you can clean out all the junk that falls in there.
- Several different trim packages will be available
- No plans to team up with any of the 3rd party charging networks due to the existing and planned growth of the charging grid.
- Couldn’t answer how many preorders they have, but said it was less than the initial response than the Model 3, but they were very excited with the turnout.
- Mitsubishi turned Rivian plant is about 60% complete with expected completion in the next 6 months.
- They have talked about giving preorder holders a factory tour, but nothing set in stone.
- Next viewing/auto show might be Overland Expo in Flagstaff next month.
- I noticed how careful everyone was when handling the doors, frunk, etc. I suspect this is due to being the only production models available and they don’t want to damage anything, but it was interesting.
- Cup holders are hidden underneath the arm rest in the center console and there is a “drawer” that pulls out towards the front of the vehicle under the center console.
- Paddles on each side of the steering wheel will be able to direct torque/traction to each wheel independently. Think of it as selectable drivetrain if there is wheel slippage. It will also be able to invoke “tank mode”.
As a side note, we looked at many of the other SUVs and trucks available and we were quite surprised at how expensive and how inefficient they were. $70-$100k for a nice SUV and still only getting 19mpg?! Seeing these prices justified our Model X purchase as well as solidified my Rivian purchase(s) next year.
Things I learned after speaking with different Rivian employees (many have been answered before, but here you go):
- Configurator emails for preorders will go out towards the end of 2019 with production models ready for test drives mid to late 2020.
- The vehicles you see are nearly 100% of what will be production models.
- Despite the above statement, one employee told me the door handles will have a slight tweak to make them easier to open.
- No web browser in the infotainment center due to safety concerns.
- Will have heated seats, and working on cooled seats
- The reason for using a mix of technology for autonomous driving is because no one piece is perfect, so it’s basically for redundancy.
- Side pockets in the doors are able to be zipped out so you can clean out all the junk that falls in there.
- Several different trim packages will be available
- No plans to team up with any of the 3rd party charging networks due to the existing and planned growth of the charging grid.
- Couldn’t answer how many preorders they have, but said it was less than the initial response than the Model 3, but they were very excited with the turnout.
- Mitsubishi turned Rivian plant is about 60% complete with expected completion in the next 6 months.
- They have talked about giving preorder holders a factory tour, but nothing set in stone.
- Next viewing/auto show might be Overland Expo in Flagstaff next month.
- I noticed how careful everyone was when handling the doors, frunk, etc. I suspect this is due to being the only production models available and they don’t want to damage anything, but it was interesting.
- Cup holders are hidden underneath the arm rest in the center console and there is a “drawer” that pulls out towards the front of the vehicle under the center console.
- Paddles on each side of the steering wheel will be able to direct torque/traction to each wheel independently. Think of it as selectable drivetrain if there is wheel slippage. It will also be able to invoke “tank mode”.
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