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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

#71

Post by mlrtime »

clouddrover wrote: post #12
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…

> I’ve always wondered why a business model for them isn’t to just provide the skateboard platform for other companies to build upon Volkswagen beat them to it. Volkswagen has developed their MEB electric car platform which they will use across their VW, Audi, SEAT, and Skoda brands: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Group_MEB_platform https://jalopnik.com/the-fascinating-engineering-behind-vws-... VW is also…

Porsche/Audi will need a small redesign after tearing apart a model 3.

https://electrek.co/2019/02/09/tesla-model-3-cost-surprise-p...

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

#72

Post by leesec »

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.

Ah yes, talking to one employee about a car no one's driven definitely makes their company 'have their shit together' more so than a company pumping out 6k+ vehicles a week of some of the highest rated cars of all time.

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

#73

Post by cptskippy »

chewyland wrote: post #68
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'm surprised it even has a spare. Really surprised.

Why? To me this truck is like the Mercedes G Class, it isn't meant to be practical or realistic. It's a status symbol meant to perpetuate an image. It has to meet all of the expectations one would have of a pickup truck even though it will never be used like one.

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

#74

Post by therealforsen »

Why would an electric pickup truck sell well? Needing to use a pickup truck isn't correlated with caring about electric cars. No one wants to try to find a gas station with an electric car charger in the middle of the countryside, where most people who actually need a pickup truck live. This doesn't pass my sanity check.

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

#75

Post by cujo »

therealforsen wrote: post #74

Why would an electric pickup truck sell well? Needing to use a pickup truck isn't correlated with caring about electric cars. No one wants to try to find a gas station with an electric car charger in the middle of the countryside, where most people who actually need a pickup truck live. This doesn't pass my sanity check.

Bring this down to el camino style (or ute if you prefer) and I'm game. I've long been after a "city" truck. This thing is still too big for me. However, give me a car frame with a bed so I can make runs to the hardware store and/or haul trash and yard waste and I'm in.

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

#76

Post by cornellwright »

therealforsen wrote: post #74

Why would an electric pickup truck sell well? Needing to use a pickup truck isn't correlated with caring about electric cars. No one wants to try to find a gas station with an electric car charger in the middle of the countryside, where most people who actually need a pickup truck live. This doesn't pass my sanity check.

It won't be right for everyone, but if you aren't driving more than a couple hundred miles in a day, being able to charge it at night vs driving a long ways to the one overpriced rural gas station sounds pretty appealing to me.

Also there's better torque for towing and lower maintenance.

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

#77

Post by freehunter »

therealforsen wrote: post #74

Why would an electric pickup truck sell well? Needing to use a pickup truck isn't correlated with caring about electric cars. No one wants to try to find a gas station with an electric car charger in the middle of the countryside, where most people who actually need a pickup truck live. This doesn't pass my sanity check.

You're conflating need with desire... and you're also wrong.

Not everyone who drives a pickup needs a pickup. That's pretty apparent by the fact that the F-150 is the highest selling vehicle in the US while less than 20% of Americans live in rural areas. Plenty of people buy pickup trucks and also live in the city. Even living in the countryside, most people in rural areas don't need (or even own) pickup trucks.

And pickup trucks aren't just useful for farm work. I'd wager that most of the pickup trucks sold in the US are for commercial use. Plumbers, construction workers, contractors, lawn care/snowplows. These people tend to live and work in cities, and they buy pickup trucks. And what's important for a truck? Torque. What do electric motors have? Lots of torque. For businesses buying pickup trucks for work, they don't need range or lots of chargers. They just need to get to the job site, park, then go back to the office at the end of the day to charge it.

That's also ignoring the millions of people who buy pickup trucks as daily commuter vehicles, who have the normal daily commute of 20 miles. Well within the range of even the worst electric car in the US. Pickup trucks are a status symbol for these people, not a work vehicle. An electric pickup is an even greater status symbol.

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

#78

Post by [deleted] »

mikestew wrote: post #69
leetcrew wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you want to change your flat tire you need to unload everything in the bed, which will be a huge pain in the ass on the side of the road. aren't you already supposed to unload your vehicle before you jack it up on one side? maybe it's different for "work vehicles", but my car comes with a puny little jack that's only strong enough to support the weight of the car when there are no people or heavy items inside. I…

The hard point of the car is part of the frame on every vehicle I can recall. And I recall a lot, because back when I was a mechanic I had to find those points to get the car on the hydraulic lift. One had to be careful of rusty VW Beetles as unibody as kind of a new thing, and a lift could punch a hole through the floor of a rusted Beetle if one wasn’t careful. Anyway, enough resume flouting. Yes, you should unload…

[deleted]

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

#79

Post by therealforsen »

freehunter wrote: post #77
therealforsen wrote: post #74

Why would an electric pickup truck sell well? Needing to use a pickup truck isn't correlated with caring about electric cars. No one wants to try to find a gas station with an electric car charger in the middle of the countryside, where most people who actually need a pickup truck live. This doesn't pass my sanity check.

You're conflating need with desire... and you're also wrong. Not everyone who drives a pickup needs a pickup. That's pretty apparent by the fact that the F-150 is the highest selling vehicle in the US while less than 20% of Americans live in rural areas. Plenty of people buy pickup trucks and also live in the city. Even living in the countryside, most people in rural areas don't need (or even own) pickup trucks. And…

> Plumbers, construction workers, contractors, lawn care/snowplows.

You say an electric pickup truck is a great status symbol, but I doubt it is to the majority of people in those professions you just mentioned. The people who view pickup trucks as a status symbol want massive and loud ones. Electric cars are very light, and very quiet.

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

#80

Post by toss1 »

leetcrew wrote: post #61
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…

> If you want to change your flat tire you need to unload everything in the bed, which will be a huge pain in the ass on the side of the road. aren't you already supposed to unload your vehicle before you jack it up on one side? maybe it's different for "work vehicles", but my car comes with a puny little jack that's only strong enough to support the weight of the car when there are no people or heavy items inside. I…

It depends on the load, the surface, the jack, and the overall situation. For sure, many of the spindly jacks that come with small cars could be an issue.

And remember, the jack is only lifting one corner (or side in some configurations), so it sin't the whole load.

Even if it's iffy, I can easily envision a situation where the load is not massive but is still bulky or inconvenient to remove, or impossible to do so without equipment.

So, yes, this feature would give me pause (maybe not a deal-breaker, but...) in contrast to an otherwise fantastic design. If you haven't yet, definitely check it out!

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