Alright, with life going on it's been a while since I browsed the forum, or even checked my production status with Lucid until today so I'm trying to regurgitate a few months of information while it's still fresh in my mind. Gonna be a bit of a long one.
My configuration has changed. My order went from GT P in Silver/Mojave to a GT P in Quantum Grey/Tahoe. My configuration changed after getting the chance to test drive one at the Yorkdale Mall location where I fell in love with the Tahoe and due to concerns about the luxury tax coming in September 1st in Canada, I changed the color to Quantum Grey as the silver was targeted for a Q4 production and would not meet the deadline for when luxury tax would come into effect. I loved the test drive and am fully committed to the Lucid brand.
Between May and now, I had one email from from my DA introducing himself to me, and radio silence after that. No big deal as my schedule got a little bit more hectic and I lost track of time until yesterday, when I was in the area, Sapphire was fresh on my mind and I decided to visit in person at the Yorkdale location again to see if my SA was around to check on the production of my car since we have about 2 weeks left until September 1st. Was informed that my previous SA had left Lucid and that no one had taken up my account to keep in contact with me. SA who I spoke with would personally take up my account and be my new SA, but when looking through my account still had no VIN attached to my account. Was a little bit disappointed that I had to make an effort to find out that I would likely get hit by the luxury tax, but I have partial fault here as I had changed my phone number after getting fed up with my phone being bombarded with scam/robocallers . At the end of the day, luxury tax would not likely affect the decision of whether I take delivery of my car or not, but obviously it would be a huge plus if I could avoid it altogether. At this point Sapphire had just been announced and with the information that my car would likely come post luxury tax, I asked if there was a possibility of a change in my order to a Sapphire (fully expecting to be shot down). My new SA would take a note of that and raise that with management to see if it was possible. Updated all my contact info with Lucid and that I would be reached out to ASAP.
Come today, as I was out on some errands and meeting commitments with peers, I got a missed call from Lucid. I don't usually pick up unknown callers unless I have your number saved, and will send unknown ones straight to voicemail. But I realized that after changing my phone number with the same carrier, that my voicemail inbox was not setup. Called them back as soon as I realized, and apparently the manager was trying to get into contact with me, but couldn't take my call at the moment and would get back to me back ASAP. Got a call about 20 minutes later, and it was from my SA following up about my GT P to Sapphire inquiry, and after checking with management, actually found out that my car had already been built on the 18th and was at the factory gate ready to be shipped out to Canada. Spoke to him further about the potential change to Sapphire, and advised me to take delivery of my GT P, since it already is an amazing car and that I should spend a year experiencing Lucid Air, then if I'm still committed to Sapphire to sell the GT P after a year.
Cleared out my schedule for the rest of the day, to go in person to Lucid Yorkdale (yet again) just to talk and see what my options are, as well as to see what information I can get on Sapphire. Not 100% sure since HQ has been very vague and mum about Sapphire so don't quote me on everything after this - I'm just regurgitating what I've been told. Apparently Lucid is doing a huge push in Canada right now because of luxury tax and have 30-50 cars (mostly GTs) scheduled for delivery over the next week, but I forgot if that number was for nationwide or just the GTA. Was told Zenith Red was having issues with QC, so their delivery timeframe had been delayed a bit. Everything that my SA knows about Sapphire right now is pretty much whatever Lucid posted on their press release. I'm sure your fellow SAs would tell you the same. What I know about Sapphire right now is that it is slated for a mid-2023 delivery date in the US, so I might not see my unit until late 2023, or even way past 2024. Definitely hearsay, but my guess right now is that Sapphire is being positioned as a sub brand of Lucid - akin to Polestar, Alpina and AMG to crank out the best cars they can based on the current Lucid platforms. I think I saw in the press release that Sapphire is a limited production car, therefore Lucid may only offer them to current Lucid owners. Was told that reservations open on the 23rd for 10% of the price of the car (so $32,500 for Canada).
My current train of thought is to wait a week for further updates on my GT P. I've asked to see pictures of my car (maybe after seeing that it would solidify my stance on taking delivery of my car
), as well as my VIN so that I can finally start shopping for insurance and that I will have to outweigh all the costs, pros and cons and make a decision based on all the information I get until then. At this point I definitely want a Lucid Air and remain committed to the brand despite my *mostly ups* and downs with them. If my car manages to arrive before the cutoff date, I probably will take delivery of my GT P, but my SA cannot guarantee that and it's really cutting it close to the deadline. If it lapses and luxury tax comes into effect, I have expressed my opinion of changing my order to a Sapphire, and my SA has taken note of that, and we will cross that bridge if it comes to that. We both have no idea how the process of changing my trim to Sapphire will be like, whether I would need to cancel my order (currently a possibility all the way to the point I take delivery of the car). Hopefully we can remain constantly in contact until then, and it's potentially gonna be an interesting and exciting next week and a half.
But on a side note, Lucid Air Sapphire almost answers all my concerns and my wishes in a Lucid Air.
I expressed to my previous DA that I wish that there was:
- A dark blue option, as I have been waiting for a car since 2017 that I have specced in a similar shade of blue that finally started production. I also have an affinity towards blue cars
- A chance for a limited trim like Dream Edition
- Something as fast as a Plaid, but with a more upscale interior. I personally hate the yoke and prefer a physical gear selector.
- A dark/black colored roof
- Cloth or textile seats
- Not a big fan of Pirelli tires, and would rather have Michelin ones based on my experiences with them.
All that's left is executive seating at the rear, a light colored headliner and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto for it to be the perfect Lucid Air for me.
tl;dr: Previous Lucid SA left, and no one picked up my account leading to radio silence for 3 or so months but I'm okay with it because of my hectic scheduling - didn't have the time to check on things. Car potentially delivered next week, and I am open to changing it to a Sapphire if my delivery date lapses. Mods need to change my order on the production list. I can send my updated order agreement if mods need proof (with redacted personal info, of course).