There's about 4 or 5 of these floating around the north/nw side of Indy. Friday I saw two of them on flat beds and today I saw a 3rd. I searched but I don't see anything about them just wondering what I am seeing here. They look awesome even on a flatbed.
My son, who works for Rivian, says they're most likely deliveries. They use typical flat bed wreckers as delivery vehicles. The Indiana service/delivery center is in Fort Wayne.
In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :
Interesting. I'll have to keep my eyes open to see if I see them running around.
There was a recent software update containing a flaw that disabled the center console display and some need to go back to the factory for a reflash to fix it.
Edit: Link: https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/14/a-software-update-bricked-rivian-infotainment-systems/
In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :
Can your son come up here and do an AMA?
In reply to GameboyRMH :
One of them from friday looked wierd. It was hunched down on one corner but the tires were not flat. That was what made me think with so many in a short span on a wrecker there was something going on. They don't get near the publicity of some of the other ev's out there.
Spoke to a Rivian owner the other day. Absolutely loves the truck, but has had more problems than he'd find acceptable in a conventional ICE pickup. He's optimistic that they will be sorted out.
A bit of news I came across recently - Rivian is about to retool and start producing an updated version of the R1T/R1S. The quote is from Motor Trend.
Before the R2 platform comes out, Rivian is doing some major retooling to improve the R1 platform The R1T and R1S are made at a plant in Normal, Illinois, which will go down for a week of prep work in December before the major shutdown for retooling in the second quarter of 2024.
When the plant ramps up again, the vehicles will have new technology and been simplified with 25 percent shorter wiring harnesses, consolidated control units, and advancements in body structure and battery pack. Less materials and ease of assembly will bring down the cost by about 35 percent.
THIRTY FIVE PERCENT!
That says that the current trucks weren't really intended to be long term production items, but were "we need to get something out there ASAP". I'm thinking that the improvement in design and production will likely lead to fewer problems.
A friend of mine does the Rivian employee off-road instruction. He loves the things. He's got a very early (or pre?) production R1T and it's been pretty solid other than some glitchiness that started after it took a hard hit to one corner during some training.
I would look at the SUV in spring 2025 if the reliability is improving, the price coming down and a lease available so my business can pay. I think they need to knock off $20,000 or so. They have a year and a half to get my business.
Having ridden in them and seeing plenty of them around here, they are pretty sweet trucks. The tidy, non-aggressive styling reminds me of trucks from the 60s, which is so refreshing in this age of angry faces and oversized hoods you can't see over.
They sure are throwing money at their new GA facility.
I wonder if they are imagining 35% reduction in manufacturing costs, or 35% reduction in cost to consumer?
35% lower price tag would put me in the market.
In reply to SV reX :
I suspect they were swallowing high manufacturing costs, knowing this was coming.
SV reX said:I wonder if they are imagining 35% reduction in manufacturing costs, or 35% reduction in cost to consumer?
35% lower price tag would put me in the market.
Yeah 35% cheaper on the consumer side would be wild. It would undercut the unobtainable $50k Ford Lightning
Did they ever figure out why Camerons Rivan did this? He claims he does not know what happened. The video shows the truck stopped at light then plowing through the car in front of it and into the restaurant. Kind of looks like and unintended acceleration thing (Audi, brake / gas mixup), but kind of strange for that considering the situation.
Video is in link
https://ktla.com/news/local-news/ferris-bueller-actor-crashes-into-hollywood-pizza-shop-tmz/
SV reX said:I wonder if they are imagining 35% reduction in manufacturing costs, or 35% reduction in cost to consumer?
35% lower price tag would put me in the market.
Given they currently lose about $35k on every vehicle they sell, and demand is increasing, I wouldn't expect the price tag to go down.
In reply to NorseDave :
Yeah... a fella can dream!
NorseDave said:SV reX said:I wonder if they are imagining 35% reduction in manufacturing costs, or 35% reduction in cost to consumer?
35% lower price tag would put me in the market.
Given they currently lose about $35k on every vehicle they sell, and demand is increasing, I wouldn't expect the price tag to go down.
Exactly. I won't buy a vehicle over $40,000 regardless, but they make cool products, and the world is richer for every cool product that's out there, affordable or not.
I get to see them every day. Usually in packs of a half dozen or more. Super impressive!
Their performance is fantastic (on both the dirt and asphalt), but I am most intrigued by their fans. I have now seen hundreds of them, and every single one was filled with young twenty somethings, and none of them looked like "car guys" or "car gals". Neatly dressed young white collar workers.
The look of enthusiasts is changing!
(OK, that wasn't quite accurate. RJ is not a twenty something!)
I'm still trying to figure out if they are most excited about the performance, or the environmental impact.
bobzilla said:There's about 4 or 5 of these floating around the north/nw side of Indy. Friday I saw two of them on flat beds and today I saw a 3rd. I searched but I don't see anything about them just wondering what I am seeing here. They look awesome even on a flatbed.
Saw one today being dragged up on a flatbed. Made me remember this thread.
A very good friend of mine (Karl, an X1/9 and Porsche guy - Keith knows him) has one, an R1T. I've ridden with him on several of our Jeep trails here in the mountains, including the section of Engineer Pass from 550 to above Animas Forks uphill on our way to Lake City. and it is VERY impressive. That portion of the pass has gotten really rough, with lots of high ledges. During our trip all we saw were bikes, side-by-sides and modified Jeeps, no one could believe that we were taking a big, expensive, stock electric truck on that trail. It never had to back up on switchbacks (lots of steering lock), it never spun a wheel, and it never touched a rock or ledge, all in near silence with the AC on and in great comfort, and with plenty of range to get home from Lake City. The truck has many features that show that whoever designed it had serious trucking and off road use in mind. How close am I to that rock or dropoff? There are cameras for that, 360 degrees. I was amazed. Saw my first R1S today.
On pricing, Tesla have been lowering prices significantly as they improve their manufacturing methods.
Karl would like a lower hood for front visibility.
My buddy has an R1T Launch Edition that he pre-ordered with a ~$5k deposit a couple years ago and forgot about (must be nice, lol.) They called him up out of the blue and said his truck was ready for delivery and honored the launch price even though it was ~$30k under what they were going for retail at the time. Anyway, I drove it about a year ago and can't say enough good things. It's stupid fast for a truck. Took it to lunch and it definitely gets a lot of attention. I hope Rivian makes it in the long run. We need more innovative manufacturing in the US.
Jim Pettengill said:On pricing, Tesla have been lowering prices significantly as they improve their manufacturing methods.
True, but they're also making money on each vehicle.
I see a Rivian occasionally, never ridden in one. I just wish they didn't have that funky front headlight design. It may be instantly recognizable, but that doesn't mean it's good! IMHO
NorseDave said:SV reX said:I wonder if they are imagining 35% reduction in manufacturing costs, or 35% reduction in cost to consumer?
35% lower price tag would put me in the market.
Given they currently lose about $35k on every vehicle they sell, and demand is increasing, I wouldn't expect the price tag to go down.
The articles on that are misleading. They are talking all hard and soft costs of starting a business and spreading that out over how many cars were sold so far and that's not how amortization works.
When a company is starting up there are a ton of costs, some of which can be attributed to the product they are selling, some just because the company exists, and some for future product development. General administrative expenses for a company like Ford get spread over dozens of models, for a company like Rivian or Lucid, it's spread over 1 or 2 while lots of cash is being burnt on developing their next vehicles.
Let me make a parallel with cookies. If you made $5 in revenue selling 5 cookies, spent $4 on the supplies to make those cookies, you made $1 on the cookies. But... if at the same time you spend $20,000 on redoing your kitchen to expand your cookie business, then it would look like each cookie cost you $4,000 to make if you use the math being employed here. But in the future if you could make 2,000 cookies a day instead of 20 then the investment in the kitchen made sense.
In reply to Chris_V :
Yes. I understand.
But they are spending $5 BILLION to make cookies (No they are not. It will cost more). At the same time they are trying to ramp up production from a total cumulative # of cars EVER built of 12,000, to an ANNUAL production of 200,000 in 2 years (they won't make it), and 400,000 in 4 years (they won't make that either). All while sales are dropping, and the competitors are offering products at 30% less price NOW (their prices will come down in the next 2 years), with more user desired features (3rd row seating).
I realize capital investment needs to be amortized over many years, but cookie sales have to increase as well.
Fantastic product (though I can't justify the product at the price point).
They need to slash their expenses to stay alive. They will also need to slash their prices to get the sales.
I am very hopeful. I really want to see them survive. But I'm not buying any stock.
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