Comparable to Lucid Grand Touring?

[Mountain Man]

So, I’m almost at my breaking point with Lucid, and losing the tax credit that they have been marketing to me for the last year and a half (I submitted my deposit in April ‘20) might just push me over the edge. So, what are other, similar fun/nice cars that people are considering?

What do you mean by "similar"? Are you committed to getting an EV, or do you mean ICE vehicles also? I think the only comparable EV that you could buy in the next 5 days (which is what you'd have to do if getting the guaranteed 2021 federal tax credit is your absolute priority) is the Porsche Taycan. I would not choose a Taycan over waiting for a Lucid. My Porsche dealer gave me a Taycan Turbo for 3 days -- it's fine, but I was glad to turn it back in and drive home in my aging Model S P100D. The Taycan handles great, feels like a 911, but it's too cramped and claustrophic feeling for me to use as a daily driver. It's not faster than my P100D. And its 200-mile range is atrocious and unacceptable. I bet you could find a Mustang Mach-E -- there are 2 brand new ones on eBay right now. You could probably find a new Bolt sitting on a lot somewhere.

Now, if you just want a luxury car with a $162,500 price cap (which would be the price of the Air Dream after the $7500 federal tax credit you're lamenting) and you don't care if it is an EV, then maybe look at a Porsche Panamera Turbo S (ugly), Mercedes AMG S-Class, or Audi S8. I would personally choose a Bentley Flying Spur over these, but that's another $40,000 minimum. If Lucid suddenly went out of business and my Air Dream evaporated, I would just stay with my Model S P100D. (I don't need the Plaid upgrades badly enough to tolerate the yoke steering wheel). I have 5 other ICE vehicles and mostly struggle to enjoy them...Ferraris, Mercedes, Range Rover, they all feel centuries old after driving a Model S. The idea of starting an engine and waiting for it to warm up for the heater to work...so primitive. Being unable warm it up in a closed garage from afar -- stupid. Not to mention the irritation of transmissions and downshifting to accelerate and oil changes and having to go to gas stations to refuel. Even the sound of the Ferrari starts to irritate once the fun wears off. ICE is just such an antiquated concept, in my opinion. Once you own an EV, you can never happily go back to ICE. And I am a 52-year old diehard exotic car fanatic who has owned dozens of high-end sports cars and exotics. They just fundamentally cannot compete with EVs. There's a reason all these manufacturers are (finally) committing to going fully electric within the next 5-10 years (Jaguar, Bentley, Rolls Royce, Mercedes, etc).

In short: Don't give up on Lucid. And don't be irritated with your 18-month deposit -- that's not really that bad considering this is the first car they've ever built. That's about how long I had a deposit on my first Model S, every Ferrari I have ever purchased new, and it's what I expect for my Rivian R1S deposit (made only because I could not make a deposit on a Gravity). It's pretty typical in the high-end custom ordered vehicle market.