Over the past couple of months, I’ve seen a sizable increase in the number of Rivian pickups and SUVs in my area. Apparently, VW also sees potential for this company.
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I haven’t read anyone bashing the Rivian. They seem to have an actual product worthy of sale. Clearly VAG agrees.
Last evening I saw a Tesla Cybertruck and shortly after a Rivian on the same road. My first Cybertruck (gawd is that thing Ugly!). I have seen several Rivians. I like the look but the headlights are a little disconcerting in your rearview mirror. Maybe just takes getting used to…
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I just think with all the recall problem Volkswagen has the money could be better spent rebuilding their reputation . Of course I am one of the few that would like to see the VW pickup brought back.
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With the exception of those ovoid headlights, I think that Rivian’s body designs are very tasteful… unlike Tesla’s abomination truck. I did a close-up inspection of one of their SUVs last week, and I was impressed with the lack of large panel gaps on the SUV.
So far, I’ve only seen the pickups from a bit of a distance.
I think it’s interesting that most of the vehicles built by Rivian (for Amazon and AT&T) don’t feature those ovoid headlights.
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And our US Postal Service should be using Rivian’s clever design instead of the ugly, overpriced, late to production, huge greenhouse, NEW postal vehicle!
I don’t think that the design of the new postal vehicle is yet set in stone, because the USPS recently added six Canoo Lifestyle vans to their fleet in Atlanta.
I’m guessing that they want to test a few new EV designs before settling on the winner.
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When I saw the article yesterday, it looked like the cash infusion was to be able to share software development.
I think it was rivian though last year that got stuck in the snow and was immobile and needed to be towed out. The owners were quite frustrated.
I recall that problem with a Tesla Cybertruck, but maybe it also happened with a Rivian vehicle.
Could be. I dunno. I guess I put them all in the same basket. Seems like 1920 revisited. Either way it will take support from the general public not a small percentage of the buyers.
Just goes to show anything can happen to any truck.
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Right.
Lots of gas powered trucks get stuck every day.
I don’t think that the source of motive power has anything to do with whether–or not–a vehicle gets stuck. It’s more likely to have something to do with how a vehicle is driven, the quality of its tires, and how its AWD/4WD system delivers the power. This Toyota pickup got stuck in a few inches of snow in Texas.
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From Youtube videos the Rivian does very well in snow mode on the roads, completely off roading in deep snow is another thing. Consumer Reports did a test of the Rav 4, Honda CRV, and Subaru Forester at their test track in deep snow on the OEM tires and found they handled the deep snow very differently. This was about 10yrs ago or so.
OMG! That postal truck is unreal. Where are they finding these designers? And who in their right mind would employ them, let alone approve those designs? These must be the same people that think those dogs with the distorted faces and tongues hanging out are cute pets to have…
Around here (southern AZ), the Cybertruck has become somewhat common. Certainly as common as the 1987-1991 Toyota Camry, which is to say that I see them every now-and-then, but not every day. Teslas in general are extremely common here, but most are white or silver sedans.
I don’t get all the hate this vehicle has generated. Would I buy a Cybertruck? Absolutely not, but neither would the kind of person who’d drive a Tesla want anything to do with the kind of vehicle I’d want.
I think Tesla’s goal was to produce a vehicle which looks like nothing else on the road, and I think they succeeded. Very well. For anyone looking to own an electric truck or SUV, the Cybertruck probably would serve their needs as well as any other model.
Without question!
Maybe yes, maybe no. The cargo box of that truck is extremely small, and a full-size bike won’t even fit in it. While the Ford Ranger EV hasn’t been manufactured for several years, I’m pretty sure that the Cybertruck has no more cargo room than a Ranger–which, of course, sold for a fraction of the price of a Cybertruck.
Getting back to the bicycle theme, I was astounded to see that one of the other old guys who hikes in my area is able to fit his trail bike into the back of his Lucid sedan. Yes, he has to really jockey it around a LOT, but by folding down the rear seat, he is actually able to fit his bike through the trunk opening, and is able to close the trunk lid,
If you compare the size of the cargo box of a Ford 150 Lightning or a Rivian R1T to that of the Tesla Cybertruck, the Ford and the Rivian have at least as much–if not more–cargo room than the Tesla, and the Ford sells for ~$20k less than the Tesla, and the Rivian lists for ~$10k less than the Tesla.
But, I don’t think that cargo carrying is the main purpose of the Tesla Cybertruck.
IMHO, most of its buyers want one because they want a “look at me” vehicle.
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Given the problems VW-Audi are having developing their EV software in house, this move makes sense, assuming Rivian’s is markedly better.
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And, Rivian is going to use that $5 billion to develop and market five new “affordable mass-market” models:
That old joke: I asked a farmer what he would do with the money if he won the million dollar lottery. After some thought he replied he probably just keep farming till it was all gone.
Back in the 50s VW was successful because they had a nitche product with a 36 hp four cyl manual trans car that got 30 mpg. Few others could match it plus quality German engineering.
So who knows in this market?
Funny joke! A friend of mine gave up his sea-platform oil-well engineering career to become a farmer. Whenever I talk to him about his farming activities, it turns out he’s been doing nothing at all w/the farm, usually been spending his time repairing some broken farm equipment … lol … his main moneymaking activity is trading the local water shares for a profit. He says the other farmers in town are too boring, their only conversation topic is the price of wheat futures.