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Amazon, GM in talks to invest in electric pickup truck maker Rivian: sources

reuters.com

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Re: Amazon, GM in talks to invest in electric pickup truck maker Rivian: sources

#21

Post by carlivar »

newnewpdro wrote: post #7
whalesalad wrote: post #3

I saw this vehicle at the LA Auto Show and was able to speak to a team member prior to the general doors opening for a little while. Really cool technology at play here and it sounds like they have their shit together a lot more than Tesla. The fact that they take advantage of the individual motors to steer the vehicle without turning the wheels is pretty cool. It can rotate in-place similar to a tank.

> it sounds like they have their shit together a lot more than Tesla. Is that really a meaningful comparison considering the tremendous difference in scale? They probably won't have their shit together when they have to deliver thousands of vehicles per week.

Tesla also struggles with this, and I think it's because of their direct model. If Rivian uses dealers they should have an easier time in theory.

It strikes me that Rivian is combining the advantages of electric vehicles with the advantages of auto industry know-how, instead of independent hubris.

Re: Amazon, GM in talks to invest in electric pickup truck maker Rivian: sources

#22

Post by yyyymmddhhmmss »

15155 wrote: post #20
yyyymmddhhmmss wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>you need to unload everything in the bed, which will be a huge pain in the ass on the side of the road. Who says that’s even going to be possible? It sounds like a complete design flop to me.

One could always place the spare in the cabin for situations where it will be less accessible. But yeah, major design problem.

That is a good point.

Re: Amazon, GM in talks to invest in electric pickup truck maker Rivian: sources

#23

Post by greglindahl »

robterrell wrote: post #17
mlacks wrote: post #2

Why do auto makers seem to be so against working with Tesla to bring electric vehicles to market? Now that I think about it, it seems like most car companies are trying to do the electric thing on their own, and if they do ask for help it’s from somebody that’s sort of out of their industry and not a direct competitor (yet). This is in contrast with for example how Mazda is working with Toyota on hybrid drive, and ho…

Both Toyota and Mercedes sought Tesla's help with EVs for their California "compliance" vehicles: both the RAV4 EV and the Mercedes B-class EV had a Tesla frame, motors, batteries, and drive controller underneath. I don't know about the MB but the Toyota was rumored to cost roughly 2x the list price. In 2014, after Toyota made roughly 2000 of them (the minimum required by law) they stopped. You can read about the com…

The Rav4 and B-class had much better performance and range than the cars we usually call "compliance cars".

Re: Amazon, GM in talks to invest in electric pickup truck maker Rivian: sources

#25

Post by greglindahl »

ams6110 wrote: post #19
robterrell wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Both Toyota and Mercedes sought Tesla's help with EVs for their California "compliance" vehicles: both the RAV4 EV and the Mercedes B-class EV had a Tesla frame, motors, batteries, and drive controller underneath. I don't know about the MB but the Toyota was rumored to cost roughly 2x the list price. In 2014, after Toyota made roughly 2000 of them (the minimum required by law) they stopped. You can read about the com…

I thought the MB B-class EV had Tesla motors but their own battery tech. MB has made huge investments in battery factories. https://electrek.co/2018/10/08/mercedes-benz-breaks-ground-b...

Isn't the B-class that Tesla was involved with the one that was discontinued (in 2017) after selling fewer than 4,000 cars? http://www.thedrive.com/sheetmetal/13097/mercedes-benz-disco...

Re: Amazon, GM in talks to invest in electric pickup truck maker Rivian: sources

#26

Post by greglindahl »

Element_ wrote: post #14
jschwartzi wrote: post #10

The only thing I really take issue with on this truck is that the spare tire is accessed through the top of the bed. There are two reasons you don't want to do this in a truck: 1.) The bed needs to be very strong because people routinely put weight on dunnage in the bed, and the door doesn't appear to be corrugated to withstand load. 2.) If you want to change your flat tire you need to unload everything in the bed, w…

I think the reason the spare tire isn't more easily accessible is because of the importance of aerodynamics in electric vehicles (It can't just be bolted underneath or to the back). Also the CEO mentioned in an interview that the spare tire can be removed to gain a large water proof storage compartment under the bed.

It was fun watching car spares shift to mini-spares, and now many high-end cars don't have a spare.

Re: Amazon, GM in talks to invest in electric pickup truck maker Rivian: sources

#27

Post by greglindahl »

carlivar wrote: post #21
newnewpdro wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it sounds like they have their shit together a lot more than Tesla. Is that really a meaningful comparison considering the tremendous difference in scale? They probably won't have their shit together when they have to deliver thousands of vehicles per week.

Tesla also struggles with this, and I think it's because of their direct model. If Rivian uses dealers they should have an easier time in theory. It strikes me that Rivian is combining the advantages of electric vehicles with the advantages of auto industry know-how, instead of independent hubris.

Lots of people have theories as to what Tesla's problems are, but you'd be hard-pressed to find many Tesla owners who think they'd be better off with a dealer. I can name several things Tesla ought to do better, and none of them have anything to do with dealers.

Re: Amazon, GM in talks to invest in electric pickup truck maker Rivian: sources

#28

Post by SteveCoast »

jschwartzi wrote: post #10

The only thing I really take issue with on this truck is that the spare tire is accessed through the top of the bed. There are two reasons you don't want to do this in a truck: 1.) The bed needs to be very strong because people routinely put weight on dunnage in the bed, and the door doesn't appear to be corrugated to withstand load. 2.) If you want to change your flat tire you need to unload everything in the bed, w…

This is what the Honda Ridgeline does.

Re: Amazon, GM in talks to invest in electric pickup truck maker Rivian: sources

#29

Post by bonestamp2 »

newnewpdro wrote: post #7
whalesalad wrote: post #3

I saw this vehicle at the LA Auto Show and was able to speak to a team member prior to the general doors opening for a little while. Really cool technology at play here and it sounds like they have their shit together a lot more than Tesla. The fact that they take advantage of the individual motors to steer the vehicle without turning the wheels is pretty cool. It can rotate in-place similar to a tank.

> it sounds like they have their shit together a lot more than Tesla. Is that really a meaningful comparison considering the tremendous difference in scale? They probably won't have their shit together when they have to deliver thousands of vehicles per week.

Delivering thousands of vehicles per week could be where GM's experience becomes helpful.

Re: Amazon, GM in talks to invest in electric pickup truck maker Rivian: sources

#30

Post by bonestamp2 »

This is great, but I also want Amazon to build a high speed rail network across the country. I think they're trying to build their own airline, at least for package logistics but they can't get planes fast enough. They could probably build rail much faster in certain areas and they could use it for people and order logistics.
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