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kanundrum

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https://www.freep.com/story/money/c...CqaEZXZgpCHU5tCIPDi3gpd-OsgMnxcoiguHRuRC3kBp0

In the burgeoning battle to dominate the electric vehicle market, General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles are seeing their talent being snatched up by startups.

The most recent victim is GM, who this week lost a rising star to electric vehicle maker Rivian, based in Plymouth.

Rivian said it has hired GM's Design Engineer Alex Archer. Archer, 27, is a 2015 Stanford University graduate who led the invention of the power sliding console that is in the 2020 models of the GMC Yukon and Yukon XL, Denali, Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban full-size SUVs. Archer is named on the GM patent.

Rivian R1T R1S Rivian has hired GM's rising star Design Engineer Alex Archer b4ef-4a43-b555-ac26bb0aedc5-AlexArcher_012320_ES02

General Motors engineer Alex Archer with the 2021 GMC Yukon in January. She had a role in designing part of the interior. Archer worked on the new and innovative power console, which with the push of a button slides back and forth to reveal lots of storage space. (Photo: Eric Seals, Eric Seals)

More: She's the engineer behind eye-popping invention in GM's newest SUVs

A Rivian spokeswoman confirmed Archer will start on June 22 as a design and release engineer.

Rivian, and other electric vehicle startups such as Lordstown Motors, are in a hiring frenzy to prepare to make battery-powered vehicles in a race to capture share in the still-evolving EV market. It's a competitive space and the talent pools at traditional automakers are ripe hunting grounds.
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EyeOnRivian

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The hiring spree at Rivian continues with the latest addition coming from GM - Alex Archer, Design and Release Engineer.

Detroit Free Press: Rivian hires a rising star at GM as the battle for EV dominance heats up

Some snippets;
She had a role in designing part of the interior 2021 GMC Yukon. Archer worked on the new and innovative power console, which with the push of a button slides back and forth to reveal lots of storage space.

In April 2019, Rivian had 800 employees. As of Monday, it had nearly 2,200 people across all departments: finance, IT, human resources and engineering.

"Pre-COVID, we had about 50 people starting each Monday," (Amy) Mast said. She said Rivian had some "banner weeks" when it brought on board 60 to 100 people. But that slowed to 20 or 30 hires a week during coronavirus.
"We are now back up to just shy of 50," Mast said. "That’s going to be the rate to finish the car."

Later this year, Rivian will start hiring about 1,000 hourly workers for its plant in Normal, Illinois, Mast said. They will build three vehicles at the former 2.6-million square foot Mitsubishi Motors facility.

Besides hiring Archer from GM, the article lists others they have hired with automaker experience on their resumes.
 

skyote

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That sliding console is pretty slick!

 

EyeOnRivian

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The sliding console is a nice idea but having it powered seems a little overkill. IMO it adds unnecessary weight and materials (wiring, motor) for something I can easily do manually. I can just see something in the lower bin shifting causing it to get jammed up the next time it slides and possibly burning out the motor. If Rivian has any thoughts of adding something like that to either of their EAVs I sure hope the power aspect of it is optional.
 

skyote

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The sliding console is a nice idea but having it powered seems a little overkill. IMO it adds unnecessary weight and materials (wiring, motor) for something I can easily do manually. I can just see something in the lower bin shifting causing it to get jammed up the next time it slides and possibly burning out the motor. If Rivian has any thoughts of adding something like that to either of their EAVs I sure hope the power aspect of it is optional.
Electric motors are pretty reliable these days. ;)

I do agree that simple can be better in many situations, and I too would be happy with a manual option. Not sure, but it's also very possible that the electric version could be just as reliable, or even moreso, than a mechanical version that would require levers/handles/catches/springs etc.
 

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Coast2Coast

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The Rivians we've seen don't have hulking center consoles and they don't extend to the dashboard.

I like Rivian's open, minimal look, not only for aesthetic reasons but also because it's easier to move around in the front passenger compartment. There's plenty of storage space available, front, center and back. No need to clog up the middle of the front compartment.
 

jacobh

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The legacy automakers that don't innovate and change the direction they are headed into 100% electric platforms will continue to lose exceptional talent like Alex Archer.
They're intelligent and forward thinking so they're smart enough to see where the companies are headed and where the future is.
Its clearly with Rivian, Tesla and surprisingly Audi whose ramping up EV production.
Congrats Alex! Rivian looks like a great company to work for with a very bright future ahead.
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