How Fast is the Dream?

Between the Lucid Air reveals and Battery day, it’s going to be a informative month, I hope.

SIAP, but this article has me excited that Lucid is going to be the premium American EV company.
https://www.motortrend.com/cars/lucid/air/2021/2021-lucid-air-first-ride-review-range-test/

Next car? Yep—and, wow, do I wish I could give more details about this one. But let's just call it Lucid's "track-development" car and let your imagination chew on that for a few weeks. Here, again, we experience the same premature braking, earlier than I'm accustomed to in lighter, piston-powered cars, followed by the same mild understeer. But if I called the acceleration of the normal Air a cannon blast, this one's on afterburner; on the second lap, I expect to see the tarmac after apexes bunched up like a throw carpet after your greyhound sees a rabbit through the window. Getting out, I'm staggering a step forward and then a step backward, tipsy on longitudinal g's. I am told the car's impressive lap time but am sworn to secrecy”
 
We know the Lucid Air platform has been designed to take up to three motors. I have a feeling that the car that felt as if it were on afterburner was a tri-motor development car. (I had been kind of assuming that the third motor would only be deployed on a high-performance version of the heavier SUV.)

One thing I don't understand, though: Lucid says they only have a 600-hp motor and that it is the number of motors that will vary between versions of the car, not the motors themselves. They then said the dual-motor version will have 1,000 hp, with the step down from 1,200 hp being due to limitations of the battery pack's output rate. If that is the case, I wonder what the point of the third motor would be other than to give a tad more precise torque vectoring on the rear wheels?

Or is there something about feeding current to three motors instead of two that opens up the battery pack's output capacity? Or is there a bigger battery pack in the works for a tri-motor vehicle?
 
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Or is there something about feeding current to three motors instead of two that opens up the battery pack's output capacity? Or is there a bigger battery pack in the works for a trip-motor vehicle?

I was told that all will be revealed. My Sales Associate has scheduled a call with me after the Reveal to discuss all.
 
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Hawk, in case they don't get answered in the reveal, would you mind adding any of my questions that you aren't already planning to ask your Sales Associate in the call after the reveal? I'm going to try to talk to my Associate, too, but you may get different or more detailed answers. (I've found that all Associates don't have the same information at the same time.)


Likely to get covered in reveal, but just in case . . .

Google Earth image available on screen?

Entry means (magnetic card, phone app, key fob)?

Center armest in rear?

Adjustable rear bench seats?

Rear seat video screen(s)?

Media options (CD player? USB? ApplePlay? Streaming? etc.)

Powered ventilation / massage in any seats?


Less likely to get covered in reveal . . .

One-pedal driving?

Gross vehicle weight?

Battery chemistry?

Heat / IR / UV rejection figures and % of visible light transmission on glass canopy?

Angle and resolution of rear-view camera?

Weights of each wheel option?

Will supplied charging cord have a FEMA 14-50 plug?
 
@hmp10 - Will do. Our call is scheduled for Monday, Sept 14th. He wanted to give my wife and I some time to review the new website and configurator as well prior to speaking. He stated that all Sales Associates will be able to answer all questions, or obtain the requested info, after the reveal. He further specifically stated that he will be able to discuss our battery chemistry - degradation resulting from rapid charging and charging to 100% question if not answered during the reveal. I'm hoping that the Global Revel coupled with the Heart and Mind segments (Performance, Technology, Interior, etc.)to be made available immediately after the reveal, and the new website, and the configurator, will answer many of our questions.
 
The Sonoma numbers are out:

1,080 hp Dream Edition

9.912 quarter mile

144.40 trap speed

It just blew every other production EV out of the water.

One thing is confusing, though. The Lucid website is showing two graphics of the battery platform. One has the recessed rear footwells, and one is filled with battery modules. However, the one with the recesses show a dual-motor car with over 1,000 hp and 517 miles of range. So what's the other pack?
 
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Oh, they've already started, along with all the "this is a one-off prototype; show me a real car" nonsense.

Come early next year, the arguments will be "it'll fall apart in a year", "Tesla will have full self driving that will get you to Australia and back on a single charge", etc.
 
Oh, they've already started, along with all the "this is a one-off prototype; show me a real car" nonsense.

Come early next year, the arguments will be "it'll fall apart in a year", "Tesla will have full self driving that will get you to Australia and back on a single charge", etc.
It’s similar to the nonsensical arguments encountered from ICE-only people when we got our first S (and still get at times).

My grandchildren may grow up to think otherwise, but I’m not spending 150k on a car if I’m mostly using FSD. Or even 80k if the premium is because of acceleration and handling.

Digital margins are a worthy pursuit, but the barriers to widespread FSD are societal as much as technological. The culture and infrastructure of our country is largely based on owner-driver, and will take time to transition to fleet car-rider. Space is the enemy of FSD, but more densely populated areas in which car ownership (and home ownership) is low, it makes a lot more sense.
 
It’s great to read all this info that is slowly leaked out every few days. However, when I last checked my last 1/4 mile time it was 40 years ago in a Chevy. What’s really important to me is whether I can get a nicely optioned car for under $125k. The Porsche Taycan($130k minimum for a nicely optioned car) was supposedly going to sell 20,000 Cars Worldwide but has only sold 4500 in 6 Months. Yes I would prefer to own a Lucid Air(non Dream Edition) vs Tesla but I don’t want to pay a huge premium so that I can say I have the fastest car on the Track. If Tesla had a nicer interior I might change my mind. I guess we will know on 9/9.
 
It’s great to read all this info that is slowly leaked out every few days. However, when I last checked my last 1/4 mile time it was 40 years ago in a Chevy. What’s really important to me is whether I can get a nicely optioned car for under $125k. The Porsche Taycan($130k minimum for a nicely optioned car) was supposedly going to sell 20,000 Cars Worldwide but has only sold 4500 in 6 Months. Yes I would prefer to own a Lucid Air(non Dream Edition) vs Tesla but I don’t want to pay a huge premium so that I can say I have the fastest car on the Track. If Tesla had a nicer interior I might change my mind. I guess we will know on 9/9.
Nothing Lucid has released makes me think it’s either/or, or that this performance is at the expense of being a luxury car. Many of their releases have suggested a true luxury car, although those simply lack the conspicuousness of 1/4 and range numbers.

The Taycan numbers are disappointing, even without Covid-19 changing things, and a cautionary footnote. Porsche is a performance luxury brand, and people still associate performance with sound and shifts. Beside ardent EV enthusiasts, how many buyers looking to spend 200k on a status car, go with EV over the 911?

Tesla S had that “it” factor when first released. But their numbers have been falling, and not all is cannibalism to the M3. Will a 140k Model S still sell? I don’t know. At some level I’ll wait for the Roadster 2.0
 
Up until now I've assumed I will always want to keep an ICE car on hand for long road trips and occasional cargo hauling. However, with ranges we're now seeing I'm beginning to rethink that. Within the next two-three years (assuming I'm still alive) I could have a Lucid Air, a Rivian R1S or Lucid SUV, and a Tesla Roadster in a garage finally cleared out of ICE cars.

The Tesla ruined me. Since my first week with it five years ago, I have found every ICE car I've been in since just so, well . . . primitive. I used to subscribe to Motor Trend, Car & Driver, Road & Track, and Auto Week and pore over every advancement in engines, transmissions, exhaust systems, suspensions, etc. These days it all feels like worrying about keeping the dust out of the grooves of a vinyl LP or keeping a tonearm accurately balanced.
 
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