Cars We Drive!

[Jr Mouse]

Big news for Rivian.

VW will invest up to $5 billion in Rivian as part of new EV joint venture

A big cash infusion for the EV startup.

www.theverge.com

 

[Jr Mouse]

@UnFacconable

Rivian teases four new vehicles, and I have no idea what they are

Four new Rivian vehicles could be coming soon.

www.theverge.com

 

[Jr Mouse]

Rivian go-cart. Calling it now.

 

[UnFacconable]

@UnFacconable

Rivian teases four new vehicles, and I have no idea what they are

Four new Rivian vehicles could be coming soon.

www.theverge.com

Honestly I think these could just be refreshes or next gen versions of existing and planned products. I don't think Rivian is likely to go one class larger than the R1 (Suburban?) or smaller than the R3 (for consumers). They could introduce different commercial vehicle classes which could be good for their business but not interesting to consumers. I suppose they could do a big camper van but that seems like a super niche product (would be $200k+) so presumably quite low volumes and wouldn't drive market cap.

I don't think it makes a ton of sense for Rivian to release sedans or sports cars, since both of those are poor investments generally in this market and specifically given Rivian's brand.

EDIT: I suppose it's possible they could do a trucklet or a real full-sized truck. I don't think there is a huge market for trucks with even less usable bed space than the R1T (which is already Maverick sized). Maybe there would be for the monster truck class but seems like those people buy trucks to fly flags and stuff and are unlikely to figure out how to roll coal in an EV.

EDIT2: Coming back to it with more than 10 seconds of thought, I now see that the chart show different levels of "electrical hardware" that labels gen 1 (OG R1s), gen 2 (2025 R1s), MSP (R2, R3) and "affordable mass market." Really hard to imagine prices dipping well below R2's pricing absent some pretty large changes in battery affordability. By the time that product line is out, I wouldn't be surprised if "affordable mass market" still means $45k starting price.

 

[otc]

I see a decent number of Rivians around here, but I wonder about the service situation. If you don't count Calgary, nearest service center is like 9 hours away. Apparently Rivian has "mobile service vans" but who knows how long they can take to show up and fix things...especially major things.

I was talking to a guy the other day who is looking to get out of his Audi wagon that's now clocked 100k and is getting into sketchy repair cost territory. Electric curious (family has a minivan and a truck for towing, bike shuttles, etc.) and wants something in the same vein: zippy, room for kids, room to carry stuff/bikes, etc.

I thought maybe Volvo/polestar gets you there. Or really, the V60 plug in hybrid wagon is an almost perfect swap except the 41mi electric range is pushing it (because you probably won't actually get 41mi between charging considerations, temperature, battery age, etc.).

But he was quick to be like "no way in hell am I owning an EV without local dealer support". He's already got the Audi (which the local VW dealer won't touch) and had to deal with kinda mediocre local shops...but at least that's a gas engine and all the parts are readily available from parts houses and the VW dealer. So anything like a Volvo or Tesla is off limits...basically left with a Mach E and an ID4.

 

[otc]

That said, the concept of the rivian mobile service van IS pretty neat.

Why waste your time at the dealer if you can just have someone come fix the car in your driveway. Especially if you have a flexible/hybrid WFH schedule.

 

[Jr Mouse]

It’s going to be a problem with any auto startup. All the large brands have dealerships in most major cities. A company like Rivian can’t do that until they grow large enough.

 

[brokencycle]

That said, the concept of the rivian mobile service van IS pretty neat.

Why waste your time at the dealer if you can just have someone come fix the car in your driveway. Especially if you have a flexible/hybrid WFH schedule.

I've found a guy locally that does that for the motorcycle. He's absurdly reasonable in price. He did my tire replacement with wheels on for like $150. The dealer wanted $600 and everyone else would only do the tire replacement with the wheels off.

 

[patrick_b]

That said, the concept of the rivian mobile service van IS pretty neat.

Why waste your time at the dealer if you can just have someone come fix the car in your driveway. Especially if you have a flexible/hybrid WFH schedule.

I bumped into a local guy with a Grenadier. Dealer is 1-2 hours away depending on traffic. He told me that after a couple of trips for routine stuff, he wanted to change his own oil, but it turns out that there was no way to reset the service indicator. It can only be done at the dealer with their equipment. He was not impressed. They also have mobile service so maybe that's the way to go.

I enjoy changing the oil/filter on my car. It's very satisfying when that extractor gets going!

 

[Roikins]

I bumped into a local guy with a Grenadier. Dealer is 1-2 hours away depending on traffic. He told me that after a couple of trips for routine stuff, he wanted to change his own oil, but it turns out that there was no way to reset the service indicator. It can only be done at the dealer with their equipment. He was not impressed. They also have mobile service so maybe that's the way to go.

I enjoy changing the oil/filter on my car. It's very satisfying when that extractor gets going!

Interesting since it uses BMW engines. I haven't had to deal with a new BMW for oil changes -- I wonder if it's the same with resetting the service indicator on them.

 

[otc]

It’s going to be a problem with any auto startup. All the large brands have dealerships in most major cities. A company like Rivian can’t do that until they grow large enough.

Sure, but the EV's have the particular problem that you basically need dealer service. Both because a lot of them are locked down AF, and because even if they aren't, there's an entirely different skillset, parts pipeline, toolkit needed to deal with issues that crop up.

There are enough Teslas out there that there are some indy shops, but IIRC tesla tries to **** those guys over at every turn (and I doubt any of those indy shops exist in places where there aren't tesla centers nearby).

If I buy a volvo gas car, I know there are places that I can get it fixed barring maybe some messed up issues with the central computer (although presumably there are solutions for independent shops like there are for VW/Audi). Warranty work will be more of a hassle, some parts might take time to arrive, but lack of a local dealer isn't huge problem as most mechanics can throw it on their lift and figure it out.

If I buy a Mach E, at least I know I can take it to the ford dealer...and there are ford dealers everywhere.

 

[Jr Mouse]

Can all Ford dealers service the EV’s they sell? I’d guess no but could be wrong.

Edit: I’ll double down on these being growing pains for a product category that’s taken way too long to mature.

 

[brokencycle]

Can all Ford dealers service the EV’s they sell? I’d guess no but could be wrong.

Edit: I’ll double down on these being growing pains for a product category that’s taken way too long to mature.

I can speak to Ford, but VW requires all dealers to have techs who can work on electric cars.

 

[Texasmade]

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a61314879/2025-bmw-m5-revealed/

What in the actual fvck? "BMW claims the 2025 version tips the scales at an astonishing 5390 pounds. That's 1153 pounds heavier than the old car"

Car is a porker that's slower than the prior generation. Why can't these car companies do what Porsche did with the 911 and only add like 100 lbs to the car with a hybrid system?

 

[Omega Male]