Interesting Tech Piece

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I had skipped over this video because it seemed like another one of those "Tesla killer" puff pieces. When I finally got around to checking it out, I found it had some interesting technical information about Lucid, including more detail than I had seen elsewhere about its motors:

 

[Lucken]

These robotic narrations, with countless mispronunciations, drive me nuts. With that said, it was an interesting video.

 

[hmp10]

Yeah, I know the robotic narrations can be annoying. But I sometimes prefer them to the live narrators who can drone on for 3-4 minutes to make a simple point just to fill up time.

 

[hmp10]

A Rivian “guide” (personal sales representative) answered a series of questions posed by a Rivian reservation holder. Some of the answers possibly shed light on some issues that have been raised about Lucid Airs and might help us understand what could be going on at Lucid on these matters.

Electrochromic Dimming Glass

The technology required for curved glass was too expensive at present. The Rivian glass roof will not have a retractable shade, but Rivian is using a tint that actually blocks more light than electrochromic glass – less than 2% of the total spectrum gets through. (Lucid is making similar claims about the performance of their tint in southwest desert conditions.)

Power-operated Rear Tailgates and Liftgates

Rivian encountered some problems with contactless sensor-driven opening and closing of the rear tailgate (pickup and SUV) and liftgate (SUV). The tailgates will open and close manually with dampers on both vehicles. The liftgate will be power-operated via a switch. (Smacks a bit of Lucid’s problems with power-operated doors. Interestingly, I saw a Canadaian video on the Mercedes EQS earlier this week, and the reviewer said the EQS power-operated doors will not be on the early Canadian cars due to regulatory holdups.)

ADAS

Rivian is going to launch with partial Level-2 capability (akin to Tesla’s Autopilot) and get to full Level-2 capability through later software updates. There is no mention of Level 3 at any point.

Regenerative Braking

Rivian’s braking regeneration will activate by lifting off the accelerator (like Lucid, but unlike Porsche and Audi).

Media

Rivian will not have wireless Apple Airplay or Android Auto. Instead, Androids and iPhones will be able to access Rivian’s own platform through an app will be able to integrate with Alexa if wanted.

Rear Seat Entertainment Screens

None in the Rivian. USB-C outlets only.

GPS Linkage to Suspension Height

Rivian was fuzzy on this, but clearly something short of full GPS.

"Homelink" for Garage Door / Property Gate Opening

Rivian will not use Homelink but have some similar but unspecified technology. (I don't think much of Homelink. I built a house in 2016/17. When I tried to program the Homelink in my existing cars to the new house it did not work. I was told by the door installers that all new garage door openers had moved to a new standard that was not compatible with prior Homelink units. Not until I got my 2018 Honda Odyssey with Homelink was I able to program my doors to the car.)

 

[Lucken]

The piece about regenerative braking in the Audi is not true. I have the E-Tron now for about a month and you can most definitely set it so that lift off from the accelerator begins regenerative braking. There are varying levels of regenerative braking that can be set. The Audi also has an 'automatic' setting that applies regenerative braking automatically as your distance to the vehicle ahead narrows. This can be further augmented by additional regenerative braking via the paddles on the steering wheel. I'm not a fan of that mode, so I leave mine in Manual mode with the highest level of regenerative braking available.

Not having wireless CarPlay or AA is a mistake on Rivian's part. That's a feature many people demand and should definitely be an option in any upscale vehicle. It's available in many low end vehicles.

As for Homelink, the E-Tron does not have traditional Homelink, but a similar system that works very well. It can be programmed to a shortcut on the steering wheel which I like very much. However in thinking back, the geofencing homelink that my Tesla MS had was the best. No buttons to press on either the front gate to our development nor the garage door itself. It was all done automatically via geofencing. Very nice.

 

[hmp10]

The piece about regenerative braking in the Audi is not true. I have the E-Tron now for about a month and you can most definitely set it so that lift off from the accelerator begins regenerative braking.

Yeah, I forgot about that. I had originally read that Audi was taking the Porsche approach. But a friend recently ordered a VW ID.4 that also allows the driver to select lift-off regen, and the salesman did tell us that Audi was going to be set up the same way -- but, based on your description, with more options than just the on/off selection in the VW.

Not having wireless CarPlay or AA is a mistake on Rivian's part. That's a feature many people demand and should definitely be an option in any upscale vehicle. It's available in many low end vehicles.

I tend to be cynical about all these car connectivity features, as my Tesla Model S has constant problems with bluetooth connections to my phone, with Spotify and Slacker signals, and with reading my USB music stick. I spend probably a third of my time in the car with no music available, leaving me wishing for a glovebox CD changer. My 2018 Honda does a better job hanging onto a Sirius signal, but its Bluetooth link with my iPhone goes haywire periodically. I'm hoping Lucid will do a better job with these things, but I have my doubts.

As for Homelink, the E-Tron does not have traditional Homelink, but a similar system that works very well. It can be programmed to a shortcut on the steering wheel which I like very much. However in thinking back, the geofencing homelink that my Tesla MS had was the best. No buttons to press on either the front gate to our development nor the garage door itself. It was all done automatically via geofencing. Very nice.

Maybe Rivian is doing something like Audi. My Tesla used to open my garage door upon approach, too. But the feature became useless once I built the new house, and to this day I have a garage door opener clipped to the visor. If Homelink in an existing car cannot be updated to deal with changes garage door manufacturers make to their codes, I'd much rather try some other company's approach.

 

[Lucken]

I tend to be cynical about all these car connectivity features, as my Tesla Model S has constant problems with bluetooth connections to my phone, with Spotify and Slacker signals, and with reading my USB music stick. I spend probably a third of my time in the car with no music available, leaving me wishing for a glovebox CD changer. My 2018 Honda does a better job hanging onto a Sirius signal, but its Bluetooth link with my iPhone goes haywire periodically. I'm hoping Lucid will do a better job with these things, but I have my doubts.

So far I haven’t had any issues with the Audi’s wireless CarPlay (knock wood)