Sponsored

What is the feature that people respond to when they approach

TxBeachRivian

Well-Known Member
First Name
Cory
Joined
Jun 3, 2022
Threads
12
Messages
201
Reaction score
216
Location
Texas
Vehicles
Acura
Clubs
 
For those that have been out in the wild with your new toys.
When people stop you or approach you. What is the thing that they respond to most?
Gear Tunnel?
Touneau cover?
Frunk?
Keys?
Infotainment?
Light Bars?
Other?

positively and negatively
Sponsored

 

EVTrucking

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 3, 2021
Threads
14
Messages
620
Reaction score
766
Location
Unknown
Vehicles
Unknown
Clubs
 
Color(ForestGreen), design, interior, performance specs, price ….. all positive.

Lack of local service, lead time to get one, charging (mostly ignorance). … negative.
 

CommodoreAmiga

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2020
Threads
39
Messages
4,104
Reaction score
7,706
Location
INACTIVE
Vehicles
INACTIVE
The front end design (headlights) seems to be what catches most average pedestrians. It's what I see them "notice" and prompt them to investigate further.

I've had several people approach me when I open the frunk -- that's when many seem to realize it's an electric truck.

When I stayed at a hotel, the valets were most intrigued by the gear tunnel. That really threw them for a loop.

The overwhelming majority of interactions have been positive. A few people have been disgruntled/hostile. The most hilarious interactions are the people who are grossly misinformed. One guy ranted about how EVs were stupid and the batteries wouldn't last long and they couldn't be disposed of or recycled and would have to be buried underground "like nuclear waste". He was driving a Camaro with loud exhaust, which for some reason really seemed to fit the interaction. I told him that he had an interesting take on the issue, and mining the materials used in batteries wasn't the cleanest of industries, for sure, but I didn't think he was correct about the "like nuclear waste" bit. He seemed pretty sure of his position, however, so at that point I just switched to the "smile and nod and wait for him to go away" mode.
 

EVTrucking

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 3, 2021
Threads
14
Messages
620
Reaction score
766
Location
Unknown
Vehicles
Unknown
Clubs
 
The front end design (headlights) seems to be what catches most average pedestrians. It's what I see them "notice" and prompt them to investigate further.

I've had several people approach me when I open the frunk -- that's when many seem to realize it's an electric truck.

When I stayed at a hotel, the valets were most intrigued by the gear tunnel. That really threw them for a loop.

The overwhelming majority of interactions have been positive. A few people have been disgruntled/hostile. The most hilarious interactions are the people who are grossly misinformed. One guy ranted about how EVs were stupid and the batteries wouldn't last long and they couldn't be disposed of or recycled and would have to be buried underground "like nuclear waste". He was driving a Camaro with loud exhaust, which for some reason really seemed to fit the interaction. I told him that he had an interesting take on the issue, and mining the materials used in batteries wasn't the cleanest of industries, for sure, but I didn't think he was correct about the "like nuclear waste" bit. He seemed pretty sure of his position, however, so at that point I just switched to the "smile and nod and wait for him to go away" mode.
I have had a few hostile folks as well. I was parked at a Chevy dealership waiting for my wife and a sales person demanded to know if the Rivian was purchased through a dealership. I said no and he got all red in the face and stormed off.
 

Donald Stanfield

Well-Known Member
First Name
Donald
Joined
Jul 31, 2022
Threads
37
Messages
4,051
Reaction score
8,044
Location
USA
Vehicles
Rivian R1T, 2024 BMW i4 M50
Occupation
Stuff and things
The front end design (headlights) seems to be what catches most average pedestrians. It's what I see them "notice" and prompt them to investigate further.

I've had several people approach me when I open the frunk -- that's when many seem to realize it's an electric truck.

When I stayed at a hotel, the valets were most intrigued by the gear tunnel. That really threw them for a loop.

The overwhelming majority of interactions have been positive. A few people have been disgruntled/hostile. The most hilarious interactions are the people who are grossly misinformed. One guy ranted about how EVs were stupid and the batteries wouldn't last long and they couldn't be disposed of or recycled and would have to be buried underground "like nuclear waste". He was driving a Camaro with loud exhaust, which for some reason really seemed to fit the interaction. I told him that he had an interesting take on the issue, and mining the materials used in batteries wasn't the cleanest of industries, for sure, but I didn't think he was correct about the "like nuclear waste" bit. He seemed pretty sure of his position, however, so at that point I just switched to the "smile and nod and wait for him to go away" mode.
Those people are the type that don't give a shit about the environment. They tell you that as a sort of "gotcha" because they assume that you're buying this EV as some sort of virtue signal. That's the problem with partisan politics, your "side" and everything that goes along with it is assumed from the word go.

I've had a few of those people say something like that to me about EV's and the best response I've found is to make a stance that is more their position than they are. I say something along the lines of " I couldn't care less about the environment dude, I got this truck because it is fast as hell and I don't have to deal with sky high gas prices". Whether or not that's true it doesn't matter, they don't know what to say because that type of person isn't going to start defending the environment because they don't actually care about it. The people who DO care about the environment know that EV's are better overall that ICE vehicles so they wouldn't be the type to say something like that.
 

Sponsored

OP
OP

TxBeachRivian

Well-Known Member
First Name
Cory
Joined
Jun 3, 2022
Threads
12
Messages
201
Reaction score
216
Location
Texas
Vehicles
Acura
Clubs
 
Those people are the type that don't give a shit about the environment. They tell you that as a sort of "gotcha" because they assume that you're buying this EV as some sort of virtue signal. That's the problem with partisan politics, your "side" and everything that goes along with it is assumed from the word go.

I've had a few of those people say something like that to me about EV's and the best response I've found is to make a stance that is more their position than they are. I say something along the lines of " I couldn't care less about the environment dude, I got this truck because it is fast as hell and I don't have to deal with sky high gas prices". Whether or not that's true it doesn't matter, they don't know what to say because that type of person isn't going to start defending the environment because they don't actually care about it. The people who DO care about the environment know that EV's are better overall that ICE vehicles so they wouldn't be the type to say something like that.
Truth for me is that I really hate stopping to fill up and with my driving habits I can charge at home for almost all my use cases.
 

Donald Stanfield

Well-Known Member
First Name
Donald
Joined
Jul 31, 2022
Threads
37
Messages
4,051
Reaction score
8,044
Location
USA
Vehicles
Rivian R1T, 2024 BMW i4 M50
Occupation
Stuff and things
Truth for me is that I really hate stopping to fill up and with my driving habits I can charge at home for almost all my use cases.
Totally agree. I don't think anyone likes stopping at the gas station. It's annoying when you want to go somewhere and you remember that you're running on fumes or your wife took your car somewhere and ran it darn near dry...

The Rivian will be my first EV and I'm really looking forward to not having to stop at a station to fill up. I can get it in whenever I need to after unplugging it in the garage and it's full. Perfect for my daily driver use case. I get that not everyone lives in a place where they can charge up at home overnight on demand, and for them the Rivian, or any other EV, isn't a good choice yet. For me it is.
 

JeremyMKE

Well-Known Member
First Name
Jeremy
Joined
Sep 15, 2020
Threads
30
Messages
473
Reaction score
1,237
Location
Milwaukee, WI
Vehicles
Toyota Sienna, 2001 Yamaha Vino, 2022 Rivian R1T
Occupation
Riviot
Color, Gear Tunnel, Frunk, Interior Quality, Wheel Tire Combo are all big positives. They notice the headlights first. When I demo the air suspension eyes bug out...
 

kurtlikevonnegut

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2021
Threads
24
Messages
2,093
Reaction score
5,632
Location
SC/TX
Vehicles
R1T QM, Honda Odyssey
Clubs
 
So far the Frunk and Gear tunnel get the most attention, although there's also a suprising amount of intrigue with the spare tire compartment as well. People are generally very impressed with the interior too, which I certainly credit to FE because it's a somewhat unique combo and it looks fantastic.
 

Galluprivian

Well-Known Member
First Name
Tim
Joined
Nov 28, 2020
Threads
4
Messages
80
Reaction score
92
Location
Gallup, nm
Vehicles
R1s
Occupation
Teacher
I had a cop ask me to roll down the window at the airport so he could tell me to move on but I had just gotten there and my friend was within view. So then he admitted that he wanted to know about the truck.

Driving around the southwest I've gotten a lot of comments about how it looks like a real truck. I've also been surprised by how often people have not even heard of Rivian or electric trucks in general. If it is negative its mostly this robotic recitation of problems they've been told are ubiquitous--they catch on fire! They have no range! etc.

It's been overwhelmingly positive and excited for me though. Makes it fun to drive.
 

Sponsored

miasm

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 18, 2022
Threads
2
Messages
121
Reaction score
142
Location
ABQ, NM
Vehicles
R1T
Usually the second level down in the frunk -- just seeing the extra storage space with some tools and other stuff, then casually pointing out the drain plug and that I can fill it with ice and beers for a tailgate. They like that one.

Or the "it tows 11,000lbs". That one gets a lot of ranch hands and rural folks interested, although I quickly admit it only gets about ~150 miles loaded up towing.

When we're talking about negative stories, had a guy go "and who controls the power grid?! The government, so they can shut it off and you'll be SOL!" I responded with "pumps at gas stations need electricity to pump the fuel, so you will be too, except that my solar last month produced enough excess electricity to cover all my mileage on this guy, so I specifically won't be stuck at all. This is about as no reliance on others as you can get".
 

Mark’s RT-1

Well-Known Member
First Name
Mark
Joined
Mar 19, 2022
Threads
0
Messages
60
Reaction score
30
Location
Sonoma County
Vehicles
Model Y and Model Y Perf. And some other EVs
Occupation
Bus. Owner.
Clubs
 
Multiple people have walked up and said “what is Rivian?” Or who makes Rivian?
 

MoreTrout

Well-Known Member
First Name
Jay
Joined
Sep 12, 2021
Threads
19
Messages
510
Reaction score
784
Location
PA
Vehicles
Ford Fusion Hybrid, Rivian R1T
Occupation
Retired USN
Usually the second level down in the frunk -- just seeing the extra storage space with some tools and other stuff, then casually pointing out the drain plug and that I can fill it with ice and beers for a tailgate. They like that one.
That's what I was hoping too, but all of the Rivian employees I have talked to specifically told me not to use the frunk as a cooler. When I got my truck Tuesday, I noticed the drain was a passive pressure valve. Could have sworn it was a removable plug when I looked at a service center a few months ago. Bottom line, that passive drain is for any condensation. My delivery specialist said if there is any significant amount of water in there, it will take forever to drain. And if you saw that thread with the pics of the frunk removed, there is no direct drainage path. It just goes all over the wiring and everything else running through that space.
 

CommodoreAmiga

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2020
Threads
39
Messages
4,104
Reaction score
7,706
Location
INACTIVE
Vehicles
INACTIVE
That's what I was hoping too, but all of the Rivian employees I have talked to specifically told me not to use the frunk as a cooler. When I got my truck Tuesday, I noticed the drain was a passive pressure valve. Could have sworn it was a removable plug when I looked at a service center a few months ago. Bottom line, that passive drain is for any condensation. My delivery specialist said if there is any significant amount of water in there, it will take forever to drain. And if you saw that thread with the pics of the frunk removed, there is no direct drainage path. It just goes all over the wiring and everything else running through that space.
Both my delivery specialist and the rep that curated my First Mile drive pointed out "you can throw ice in the frunk and use it as a cooler".

Every vehicle is expected to operate in the rain and on wet roads. Water gets all up in the undercarriage, during normal operation. The R1T/R1S, in particular, are designed to ford water that is several feet deep. Draining through the frunk valve should not cause any issues -- even if there are components under there. It's designed to get wet.
Sponsored

 
 




Top