Carbuzz Article

HC_79

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2023 Lucid Air GT
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I don't think Lucid did themselves any favors by staying silent on this until January. Misleading marketing is the last thing they want to be known for this early in the game......
 
After test driving the car, and check out both the hardware & software, I'm even more confident of Lucid's strategy: focus in improving the software (and keep updating via OTA), and execute the delivery.

The end results will speak for the car. They should not spent time to address the media's complain.
 
After test driving the car, and check out both the hardware & software, I'm even more confident of Lucid's strategy: focus in improving the software (and keep updating via OTA), and execute the delivery.

The end results will speak for the car. They should not spent time to address the media's complain.
Well the only thing is the article is about the customer’s complaints. That’s what Lucid needs to address.
 
A person who commented on this CarBuzz article, named Kyle Lyles, mentioned that their Lucid Air came with the Dream Drive enabled, but they never use it. How come they get it enabled and don't use it, and others of us want to use it and it's not enabled?
 
After test driving the car, and check out both the hardware & software, I'm even more confident of Lucid's strategy: focus in improving the software (and keep updating via OTA), and execute the delivery.

The end results will speak for the car. They should not spent time to address the media's complain.

I don't think the PR strategy of remaining silent this early in the game is a smart move when it comes to building up the cars brand. Negative stories can lead to dissatisfied customers and potential customers not placing orders etc. If Lucid can't get it reservations up then the company runs the risk of running out of cash.

Given the hype of the car in the motor press, the design and the tech it's an impressive car but has only managed to get 17,000 pre-orders. I'm tipping it will be over 20,000 in the next earnings call but when you compare it to others it seems very low for the records this car has broken. If articles start coming out about dissatisfied customers and them staying silent will only disservice them.
 
Given the hype of the car in the motor press, the design and the tech it's an impressive car but has only managed to get 17,000 pre-orders. I'm tipping it will be over 20,000 in the next earnings call but when you compare it to others it seems very low for the records this car has broken. If articles start coming out about dissatisfied customers and them staying silent will only disservice them.

Rivian has 71k. For a pickup and 7 passenger SUV.

We are living in a Pickup and SUV world.

17k for 3 box sedan is fantastic IMO. Model S and EQS are liftback 5 door sedans. So is the coming Celestiq.

Peter thinks first product defines the brand and wanted a 3 box sedan to define Lucid.

Gravity would have had a lot more reservations/pre-orders by now.
 
Practically speaking, I don’t see much of a difference between the Lucid design and a liftback design. In terms of the much vaunted, theoretical noise suppression, either approach can result in a quieter car than the other. It’s all in the execution of either.
 
Rivian has 71k. For a pickup and 7 passenger SUV.

We are living in a Pickup and SUV world.

17k for 3 box sedan is fantastic IMO. Model S and EQS are liftback 5 door sedans. So is the coming Celestiq.

Peter thinks first product defines the brand and wanted a 3 box sedan to define Lucid.

Gravity would have had a lot more reservations/pre-orders by now.

Speaking of Gravity is there a waitlist? I added my email to the website but have heard nothing since.
 
Practically speaking, I don’t see much of a difference between the Lucid design and a liftback design. In terms of the much vaunted, theoretical noise suppression, either approach can result in a quieter car than the other. It’s all in the execution of either.

When first talking about the trunk design of the Air, Rawlinson said it was primarily driven by his desire for more torsional stiffness than the Model S body he was required to use at Tesla provided. From its introduction, the Model S had one of the lowest torsional rigidity figures of any car in its class. I know, because I researched the available figures when I got my 2015 Model S. (Not all manufacturers release these numbers, so they can be tricky to come by.) Rawlinson blamed that lack of rigidity largely on the hatchback design.

From his days at Jaguar and Lotus, Rawlinson has been steeped in very sophisticated suspension work, and high torsional rigidity has a lot to do with reaching that perfect balance between suspension precision and ride compliance. From owning two Model S's and now the Lucid Air, I can attest that the Air gets noticeably closer to that perfect balance than either Model S, both of which had/have air suspensions.
 
17k for 3 box sedan is fantastic IMO. Model S and EQS are liftback 5 door sedans. So is the coming Celestiq.

Agree - I've always understood the Air to be a proof-of-concept product for the platform they'll use for their real volume product, the Gravity.
 
Agree - I've always understood the Air to be a proof-of-concept product for the platform they'll use for their real volume product, the Gravity.

I think the Air is more than just a prelude to the Gravity. Lucid has aspirations in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, and most of those markets (and their streets and roads) like smallish luxury sedans much more than large American SUV's.
 
I think the Air is more than just a prelude to the Gravity. Lucid has aspirations in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, and most of those markets (and their streets and roads) like smallish luxury sedans much more than large American SUV's.

That's an excellent point. I should have qualified my statement with "in the US".
 
I think the Air is more than just a prelude to the Gravity. Lucid has aspirations in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, and most of those markets (and their streets and roads) like smallish luxury sedans much more than large American SUV's.

The Gravity will be fractionally longer if at all, same width, and a few inches taller(5-6"). Peter's insistence on efficiency.

Pictures of Gravity to me resemble a Ford Flex more than "large American SUVs."

The big difference will be a two box design yielding much more interior room.
 
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Practically speaking, I don’t see much of a difference between the Lucid design and a liftback design. In terms of the much vaunted, theoretical noise suppression, either approach can result in a quieter car than the other. It’s all in the execution of either.

If both are extremely well executed for NVH, the 3 box design will do better.

The liftback will have bigger storage area for larger items.
 
The Gravity will be fractionally longer if at all, same width, and a few inches taller(5-6"). Peter's insistence on efficiency.

Pictures of Gravity to me resemble a Ford Flex more than "large American SUVs."

The big difference will be a two box design yielding much more interior room.

No firm specs have been released, but there are rumblings that the Gravity will be less than an inch longer than the Air. However, having lived in Germany and traveled extensively in Europe and Asia, I can assure you that most Europeans and Asians would view the Gravity as a large SUV, just as they would view the Air as a large luxury sedan. And the height and proportions of the Gravity would increase the look of bulk, even if the actual length and width belied the impression.

If the Gravity is going to keep the rear legroom of the current Air and add a third row of seats with decent legroom for adults, those rear seats will be pushed almost to the back of the cabin, leaving the trunk as the main storage space when the third row is in use. Just look at the trunk you're left with in the Air prototypes with the executive rear seating . . . and a third row of seating would take up much more room than that. (Sorry for the blurry picture.)

Lucid Trunk.png
 
No firm specs have been released, but there are rumblings that the Gravity will be less than an inch longer than the Air. However, having lived in Germany and traveled extensively in Europe and Asia, I can assure you that most Europeans and Asians would view the Gravity as a large SUV, just as they would view the Air as a large luxury sedan. And the height and proportions of the Gravity would increase the look of bulk, even if the actual length and width belied the impression.

I am quite sure when you tell a European or Asian " I bought a large American SUV" and "I bought a large SUV" they have two distinct images in their minds.

One of these is not like the Other.

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I don't think the goal is to sell many Gravitys to Parisians, Romans, or Tokyoites.

Gravity will be much smaller than a 207" long 2022 Range Rover LWB that sell quite well in the UK.

Model X does quite well in Norway and China. Reality of size eventually overcomes what you may think is perception problems.

I think the Gravity will do quite well in North America, UK-Norway-Sweden-Finland-Iceland , Australia, Gulf Arab countries, and most importantly for foreign market sales China.

Peter said Lucid's goal once fully ramped is to sell ~35k Airs and ~65k Gravitys per year.

I think that is totally achievable.
 
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Rivian R1S (SUV) = 200.8"
Tesla Model X = 198.3"
Lucid Air is 195.9"

I consider the R1S with three rows to be a fairly large SUV, mostly because of it's height. The Model X is more of a mid-size SUV but because of the skate board design has a lot of interior space.

So if the Gravity SUV is in the 196-200" range it would be a nice size and still could accommodate 3-rows. This would most likely replace our Lucid Air.
 
I am quite sure when you tell a European or Asian " I bought a large American SUV" and "I bought a large SUV" they have two distinct images in their minds.

One of these is not like the Other.

You may be right that, with the Gravity perhaps not being as large as I thought, it will sell well in some foreign markets. But SUV's are hardly hot sellers in many foreign markets except, perhaps, the Middle East.

For instance, sales of "large" SUVs in Europe last year accounted for only 2.9% of total car sales. And the term "large" as used here includes vehicles such as the Porsche Cayenne, Audi E-Tron, BMW X5 -- none of which approach the bulk of our Escalades, Expeditions, Yukons, etc. and are considered mid-size SUVs in the U.S. And, although SUV sales in Europe rose by 9% in 2020 (up from 2.7%), the largest models, such as Range Rovers, actually dropped in sales.

By contrast, SUV sales in the U.S. constitute 47.4% of car sales.

This is why I think that Europeans continue to be strongly biased against vehicles larger than what we in the U.S. would categorize as "compact".

I think the Gravity has a chance to do well among foreign SUV buyers, but among foreign buyers of vehicles in general, it will be a rounding error even were it to be a smash relative to offerings from Land Rover, BMW, Mercedes, Audi.
 
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