Gravity; SUV or Minivan

[Gravitas]

Yes, yes, and yes.

As someone who has driven (and still drives) a minivan for over 14 years, I'm not the least bit embarrassed to be seen in one.

To me, the issue about so many people calling it a minivan is that -- for better or worse (and I think worse) -- the American market shies away from that category. The Gravity doesn't photograph well compared to how it looks in the flesh. With so few Gravities available to see in the flesh and with so many opinions forming based on extensive photographic press coverage, I wonder how many potential customers will write it off and move on before waiting or making the effort to see one in person. It's going to be many moons before enough of them are seen on the road to begin to sell itself on looks -- a factor that dominates many buying decisions.

I don't have any data to prove it, but I suspect looks are a threshold issue for many buyers. If they think or have heard that a vehicle is in a category in which they aren't interested, they simply write it off and don't move on to a more in-depth exploration of what the vehicle offers.

"Car people" will get what the Gravity is about big time. But for it to be the market success that Lucid needs, a whole lot of "non-car people" will need to buy one.

I would liken the Gravity to the duality between Emma Mackey and Margot Robbie.
Minivan or SUV, who cares.

 

[hmp10]

I would liken the Gravity to the duality between Emma Mackey and Margot Robbie.
Minivan or SUV, who cares.

I'm getting one no matter what anyone calls it. And I know that the Lucid fans who have already decided they want one won't care. But this isn't about whether any one of us on this forum cares what it is called. It's about what the wider market will think.

Lucid needs to draw in buyers who don't know the brand, and trying to get them to look at a vehicle that many on social media and in the press are calling a minivan could be a problem.

Kyle Conner of "Out of Spec Motoring" is on the panel of judges for this year's SUV of the Year award and has hinted that the Gravity will get his vote. Yet even he, in his Pebble Brook review, said the Gravity looks like a minivan. David Tracy of "The Autopian", an engineer and former tech editor at "Jalopnik", loves the Gravity but worries that American car buyers might turn their backs on it because they think it looks too much like a minivan.

We on the forum might not care what it gets called. But I suspect that Lucid does.

 

[PetevB]

We on the forum might not care what it gets called. But I suspect that Lucid does.

Lucid cares a lot. They say "SUV" on repeat in every one of their videos. "A new class of vehicle" makes no sense to anyone even if it's true.

It will take time, but assuming they can get the bugs out and stay solvent I don't worry that it'll find a following purely because of how all-around capable it is. My wife really wants the Gravity and it would be her car. She loves the look vs the alternatives and cares less what they call it. Meanwhile I'm an engineer/ car guy with a long list of drivers cars either still owned or behind me: BMW 1M + M3, GT3 Touring, GT4, Audi E-tron GT, about a dozen Porsches, etc. The fact that this is the first time my wife and I have wanted the same car says quite a lot I think.

 

[Elfin]

I'm getting one no matter what anyone calls it. And I know that the Lucid fans who have already decided they want one won't care. But this isn't about whether any one of us on this forum cares what it is called. It's about what the wider market will think.

Lucid needs to draw in buyers who don't know the brand, and trying to get them to look at a vehicle that many on social media and in the press are calling a minivan could be a problem.

Kyle Conner of "Out of Spec Motoring" is on the panel of judges for this year's SUV of the Year award and has hinted that the Gravity will get his vote. Yet even he, in his Pebble Brook review, said the Gravity looks like a minivan. David Tracy of "The Autopian", an engineer and former tech editor at "Jalopnik", loves the Gravity but worries that American car buyers might turn their backs on it because they think it looks too much like a minivan.

We on the forum might not care what it gets called. But I suspect that Lucid does.

Automotive journalists love fast wagons, I bet it wins SUV of the year awards.
I do worry they have made a car for enthusiasts and not buyers of $100k+ SUVs. In my opinion it looks infinitely better than jelly bean SUVs like the Model X and Y and have no idea why anyone would consider them more of an SUV than the Gravity. I like the traditional shape of the Rivian but it's just not aerodynamically efficient and I prefer on road performance to off-road performance that would lead me to astronomical repair bills (I've got an old body on frame SUV for that.)

 

[borski]

"Car people" will get what the Gravity is about big time. But for it to be the market success that Lucid needs, a whole lot of "non-car people" will need to buy one.

I can pretty much guarantee you that after a single ride in or experience in a gravity, you won’t find very many people who don’t want it because “it looks like a minivan.”

I suspect this won’t be as much of an issue as people are making it out to be here. Remember that while we are arguably “car people,” the “non-car people” are also not watching auto reviews that call it a minivan either. They’ll see it on the street or in a studio.

I suspect this is an issue created by car reviewers and “car people,” that only “car people” will care at all about.

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

I was not all all interested in an SUV. Then I saw this photo:

Unless this woman plays for the WNBA ...it looks to me like she can wash the center of the roof on the Gravity.

...so I configured one, and saved it. Once again, Lucid can't find the can of silver paint....so once again, I'll have to wait a year longer than anyone else.

 

[Elfin]

The most comparable vehicle is the Mercedes R63 which only sold 108 copies in the US. The cheaper variants sold much better of course but Mercedes never made a second generation.

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

I had a hard-on for the R63 Mercedes. Ended up buying this instead:

 

[Elfin]

I had a hard-on for the R63 Mercedes. Ended up buying this instead:

Love it!
As a former Audi S4 Avant and Subaru Legacy GT Wagon owner I predict the Gravity will sell very well to the type of people who buy high performance station wagons.