Gravity Orders Discussion

[msaunders9430]

Polestar is Chinese spyware. IMO. I will never buy one. Ever.

A definite possiblity that will have to be dealt with before US sales.
That's another discussion for another thread.
Saying that because I know how these threads can get off track.

 

[marsarbu]

Polestar is Chinese spyware. IMO. I will never buy one. Ever.

And your fridge is not?

 

[RD7]

I talked to my sales rep extensively before ordering on 11/7, and he was clear that I should not expect delivery until Q2 at the earliest. He said existing owners and maxed-out configurations would be the first off the line. Thus far, in line with my expectations, but while I'd like it as soon as possible, some things are worth waiting for.

I waited years for my first Tesla MS after making a deposit, so in that context, this is lightning fast. BTW, I had virtually NO communication from Tesla all the years I was waiting; first I heard from them was when I had to finalize the order. I do wish Lucid was more communicative, but I did get a few calls from the studio folks, and until they have a demo for me to drive or a production date for my vehicle there is not much they can say that would be perceived as progress.

I don't see any other vehicle being even close to Gravity, so waiting as patiently as possible is the only option.

 

[borski]

And your fridge is not?

No, because my fridge isn’t on the Internet. And yours shouldn’t be either.

 

[BS8899]

I'd be tempted if a US-built Polestar 3 was already available with NACS and Lidar. But Polestar is having their own issues, saving me from making a decision too early. I'm not good at having patience in the presence of shiny new tech.

Also, basically, I'd rather have another Lucid in my garage than something more mundane.

Realistically, is LIDAR being used on the Lucid in any meaningful way or used at all vis-a-vis, enabling functions that are otherwise not possible? Or, at a minimum, make certain drive assist/automation features much better, safer? From what I can see, the current instantiation of Lucid Air's Driver Assist (or whatever they call it nowadays) features are no better than its competitors, and enabled much later than others. What gives?

 

[BS8899]

The only thing tying me to Gravity at the moment is the NACS port being standard and the Supercharger access. If the Gen 2 R1S had of put the NACS port in I would be trading the Air and have jumped ship right about now. Rivian's communication and speed they're pumping out software is leagues ahead of Lucid. They literally announced a whole new UI and then 2 or 3 weeks later it was being pushed to vehicles. I'm not a fool, I know Rivian has issues as well but they just seem more engaged/aggressive as a whole.

Don't get me wrong, there's lots of pros that I like about Lucid (I wouldn't have stuck around otherwise) from not just the car but the passion I see in the people running the company. No one is doing what they're doing from an engineering standpoint (Eg 400kW/225kW 1000V/500V charging) that I constantly have in the back of my mind that if I jump ship I will regret it but at some point I also think how much of a fool do I need to be to be constantly putting up with this behavior. I've owned my Air since March 2022 so its been a long ride of ups and downs.

Maybe I'm in a toxic relationship

Rivian send you a free NASC adapter. Isn't that enough .

 

[HC_79]

I talked to my sales rep extensively before ordering on 11/7, and he was clear that I should not expect delivery until Q2 at the earliest. He said existing owners and maxed-out configurations would be the first off the line.

So you, a fresh new customer to Lucid was told Q2 insinuating that even people within Lucid believed owners & maxed out configs were first off the line and probably Q1.

If existing owner priority is still going to be a thing I don’t see anything happening until March at the earliest which even then is wishful thinking. It also means everyone else is going to be pushed down the line.

I guess we’re not really going to find out what’s going on until Feb 25th.

 

[Knucklehead]

And your fridge is not?

My fridge is 100% made in the USA.

 

[HC_79]

My fridge is 100% made in the USA.

The parts inside it aren’t

 

[Knucklehead]

The parts inside it aren’t

Those parts cannot spy on me.

 

[BS8899]

Those parts cannot spy on me.

Think again!

 

[DrZorro]

No, because my fridge isn’t on the Internet. And yours shouldn’t be either.

OMG! How do you survive?! My fridge came fully equipped with AI and FSD!! ...... Automatic Icemaker and Freezer Storage Drawer

 

[DeaneG]

Realistically, is LIDAR being used on the Lucid in any meaningful way or used at all vis-a-vis, enabling functions that are otherwise not possible? Or, at a minimum, make certain drive assist/automation features much better, safer? From what I can see, the current instantiation of Lucid Air's Driver Assist (or whatever they call it nowadays) features are no better than its competitors, and enabled much later than others. What gives?

Lidar can work in complete darkness to detect non-lit objects: pedestrians, cyclists, cars with light off (hello drunk driver!), etc, and can detect stationary objects on the road. Its is complementary to what is currently possible with cameras alone, or radar + cameras. I want all the help I can get.

The Air's lidar is being used in today's implementation of DDP. I don't know the details.

 

[BS8899]

Lidar can work in complete darkness to detect non-lit objects: pedestrians, cyclists, cars with light off (hello drunk driver!), etc, and can detect stationary objects on the road. Its is complementary to what is currently possible with cameras alone, or radar + cameras. I want all the help I can get.

The Air's lidar is being used in today's implementation of DDP. I don't know the details.

I am not against LIDAR. I love the concept. My understanding is that LIDAR (in contrast to lighting up an object) is mostly used for quantitative ranging as opposed to imaging. Unlike Waymo, Lucid's LIDAR has limited functionality (field of view, front only, etc.). I wonder how it is used and what is it good for, and if it being used at all. If LIDAR on the Lucid is used mostly for "lights off" detection of drunk drivers (exaggerating), I think it is way over-positioned by Lucid as a key component of driver assist.

As I live in AZ, many/most of the self-driving cars were developed/tested in the Phoenix area (good sunny weather, straight flat roads laid out in a grid etc.). I have seen many car concepts tested on Phoenix roads (GM's EV1 in the 1990s, Waymo, etc.).

 

[DeaneG]

...Lucid's LIDAR has limited functionality (field of view, front only, etc.). I wonder how it is used and what is it good for, and if it being used at all...

I suspect those "Lidar Blocked" messages are there for a reason

 

[BS8899]

Lidar can work in complete darkness to detect non-lit objects: pedestrians, cyclists, cars with light off (hello drunk driver!), etc, and can detect stationary objects on the road. Its is complementary to what is currently possible with cameras alone, or radar + cameras. I want all the help I can get.

The Air's lidar is being used in today's implementation of DDP. I don't know the details

I suspect those "Lidar Blocked" messages are there for a reason

Yes, it alerts you every time it rains .

Seriously though, I don't see how LIDAR is being used on the Lucid at this time. Let me be more specific, I don't see any functionality that is enabled by Lucid's LIDAR that could not be enabled by a standard camera-based driver assist system. I am NOT saying LIDAR is useless. I am saying Lucid has not really put its LIDAR to meaningful usage.

Perhaps someone far more knowledgeable than I can educate us all.

 

[hmp10]

Total agreement on the OoS China series.
Those EVs are definitely serious competition from a ev perspective.

I know that Sandy Munro is impressed with the quality of Chinese cars these days. (Frankly, though, all you have to do is pour Munro a cocktail, and you can get him to praise anything. Being half drunk on camera is just not my thing, I guess.) However, I've had too many problems with Chinese products, especially with metallurgy involved, to touch one as expensive as a car.

I've bought premium American-brand plumbing fixtures that have had the chrome peel away and found out they were manufactured in China.

After hurricane Wilma in Florida, U.S. suppliers ran out of aluminum bar stock to rebuild pool cages and turned to China for supplies. Within two years the finishes were peeling off them all over Florida.

The major U.S. air conditioner manufacturers now source their condenser coils from China, and they have a service life of less than three years from developing pinhole leaks. (I know, as I've replaced four of them so far.)

Two of the condos I bought for investment had Chinese drywall and had to be gutted, right down to removing the wiring and plumbing from inside the walls.

Seven years after its installation, our home elevator still has a pungent odor in it. I found out the plywood used to construct the cab was sourced from China.

I wouldn't touch a Chinese car with a 10-foot pole until they have been on the roads long enough to know from reliable sources what their service life really is. The Chinese certainly aren't going to tell us.

 

[HC_79]

I know that Sandy Munro is impressed with the quality of Chinese cars these days. (Frankly, though, all you have to do is pour Munro a cocktail, and you can get him to praise anything. Being half drunk on camera is just not my thing, I guess.) However, I've had too many problems with Chinese products, especially with metallurgy involved, to touch one as expensive as a car.

I've bought premium American-brand plumbing fixtures that have had the chrome peel away and found out they were manufactured in China.

After hurricane Wilma in Florida, U.S. suppliers ran out of aluminum bar stock to rebuild pool cages and turned to China for supplies. Within two years the finishes were peeling off them all over Florida.

The major U.S. air conditioner manufacturers now source their condenser coils from China, and they have a service life of less than three years. (I know, as I've replaced four of them so far.)

Two of the condos I bought for investment had Chinese drywall and had to be gutted, right down to removing the wiring and plumbing from inside the walls.

Seven years after its installation, our home elevator still has a pungent odor in it. I found out the plywood used to construct the cab was sourced from China.

I wouldn't touch a Chinese car with a 10-foot pole until they have been on the roads long enough to know from reliable sources what their service life really is. The Chinese certainly aren't going to tell us.

Sandy Munro is a sellout. Too scared to get on camera and review Lucid for fear Elon will cut him off. Alex from E for Electric called him out recently saying he lies for fear he won’t be invited to Tesla events and doesn’t say when he’s being paid for comment.

 

[borski]

Seriously though, I don't see how LIDAR is being used on the Lucid at this time. Let me be more specific, I don't see any functionality that is enabled by Lucid's LIDAR that could not be enabled by a standard camera-based driver assist system. I am NOT saying LIDAR is useless. I am saying Lucid has not really put its LIDAR to meaningful usage.

It is being used in DDP, as part of Drive Assist and in other situations. I do not know the intimate details, but I do know it is being used. Given that we don’t have the info or context, it is not valid to say Lucid hasn’t put its LIDAR to meaningful use, just because it may be doing things we don’t see yet.

I’d love an answer, but I don’t think anyone but Lucid is going to be able to give it.

 

[hmp10]

Seriously though, I don't see how LIDAR is being used on the Lucid at this time. Let me be more specific, I don't see any functionality that is enabled by Lucid's LIDAR that could not be enabled by a standard camera-based driver assist system. I am NOT saying LIDAR is useless. I am saying Lucid has not really put its LIDAR to meaningful usage.

In the early Air days there were discussions in the automotive press about LIDAR, supposedly based on interviews with Lucid engineers.

At the time, it said that LIDAR was running in the background in order to fill in gaps in data from the primary sensors. Whether that actually was or still is the case, I'm not sure.