Lucid is Maturing

[hmp10]

With all the focus on the Lucid stock price and new model teases, there are some things going on behind the publicity that indicate Lucid is maturing its organization to prepare for a solid future.

My brother and I were discussing whether his Tesla Model 3 replacement should be a Lucid, but we both acknowledged that the lack of a Service Center in the Atlanta area could be an issue. It had been a while since I checked, so I looked while we were on the phone. Lo and behold, Lucid has now opened a Service Center in Roswell, just north of Atlanta.

A couple of weeks ago my Air got sideswiped in a parking lot while it was parked. There was a bit of dimpling and rippling in the sheet metal at the top of the left rear wheel arch, but it looked as if the Xpel PPF had protected the paint. Today I took it to the PPF shop to see what they could do. They called me after their dent repair guy looked at it to say it might be difficult to repair the sheet metal due to a structural member behind part of the denting. I asked them to try anyway, as when our first Lucid was wrecked last year, there was not a Lucid-certified body shop on our side of the state. Just in case, I called Lucid to see if they would sell a panel to a non-certified shop. They wouldn't, but -- lo and behold -- Lucid has now certified a body shop in Naples just a few blocks from the PPF shop. (It turned out that the dent repair guy was able to do a remarkably good job of restoring the existing panel, and I'll get the car back tomorrow with new film on the repaired area. No paint touch up required.)

The press -- especially these ubiquitous, hapless YouTube financial impresarios -- can create the impression that Lucid is hanging by its fingernails as it gasps for its last few breaths. In fact, behind the scenes the company continues steadily to lay the foundations for becoming a mature automaker.

 

[HC_79]

A couple of weeks ago my Air got sideswiped in a parking lot while it was parked

Damn, that sucks! You haven’t had much luck with your Lucid’s.

 

[hmp10]

Damn, that sucks! You haven’t had much luck with your Lucid’s.

It's the price of living in an area full of tourists unfamiliar with the roads, the elderly for whom parking seems an insurmountable challenge, and pickup-driving yahoos who hate the first two groups and express it with road rage.

 

[joec]

With all the focus on the Lucid stock price and new model teases, there are some things going on behind the publicity that indicate Lucid is maturing its organization to prepare for a solid future.

My brother and I were discussing whether his Tesla Model 3 replacement should be a Lucid, but we both acknowledged that the lack of a Service Center in the Atlanta area could be an issue. It had been a while since I checked, so I looked while we were on the phone. Lo and behold, Lucid has now opened a Service Center in Roswell, just north of Atlanta.

A couple of weeks ago my Air got sideswiped in a parking lot while it was parked. There was a bit of dimpling and rippling in the sheet metal at the top of the left rear wheel arch, but it looked as if the Xpel PPF had protected the paint. Today I took it to the PPF shop to see what they could do. They called me after their dent repair guy looked at it to say it might be difficult to repair the sheet metal due to a structural member behind part of the denting. I asked them to try anyway, as when our first Lucid was wrecked last year, there was not a Lucid-certified body shop on our side of the state. Just in case, I called Lucid to see if they would sell a panel to a non-certified shop. They wouldn't, but -- lo and behold -- Lucid has now certified a body shop in Naples just a few blocks from the PPF shop. (It turned out that the dent repair guy was able to do a remarkably good job of restoring the existing panel, and I'll get the car back tomorrow with new film on the repaired area. No paint touch up required.)

The press -- especially these ubiquitous, hapless YouTube financial impresarios -- can create the impression that Lucid is hanging by its fingernails as it gasps for its last few breaths. In fact, behind the scenes the company continues steadily to lay the foundations for becoming a mature automaker.

Yep. Everyone wants to focus on the short term. Lucid, meanwhile, has always been playing the long game.

As if that giant factory in AZ was supposed to be 100% devoted to shipping $100k+ sedans all day long to millions of customers.

Of course, the long game doesn’t always pan out, either. But the press either truly doesn’t understand what Lucid is doing, or they are willfully ignoring it for short term clicks.

 

[Steveinarizona]

It's the price of living in an area full of tourists unfamiliar with the roads, the elderly for whom parking seems an insurmountable challenge, and pickup-driving yahoos who hate the first two groups and express it with road rage.

Duh...just like Arizona. Our governments have started putting in roundabouts. It is hilarious to watch some drivers who are unfamiliar with how to use a roundabout stop and freeze at the entry point. Also...are they now teaching new drivers that they should drive in the left lane, not the right, high speed lane? It amazes me how many drivers clog up the roads by driving randomly in traffic lanes.

 

[hmp10]

Duh...just like Arizona. Our governments have started putting in roundabouts. It is hilarious to watch some drivers who are unfamiliar with how to use a roundabout stop and freeze at the entry point. Also...are they now teaching new drivers that they should drive in the left lane, not the right, high speed lane? It amazes me how many drivers clog up the roads by driving randomly in traffic lanes.

Florida House Bill 317 (the "Interstate Safety Act") now under consideration is trying to deal with left-lane-butt-draggers at least on interstates. It provides that drivers can't operate in the furthermost left-hand lane of any road, street, or highway with a speed limit of at least 65 mph unless they are passing another vehicle or preparing to exit the road.

However, it's only a partial measure as much of Florida is covered with 4-6 lane non-interstate roadways that have speed limits of 50-55 mph but on which most drivers average well above 60.

 

[xponents]

Duh...just like Arizona. Our governments have started putting in roundabouts. It is hilarious to watch some drivers who are unfamiliar with how to use a roundabout stop and freeze at the entry point. Also...are they now teaching new drivers that they should drive in the left lane, not the right, high speed lane? It amazes me how many drivers clog up the roads by driving randomly in traffic lanes.

My visit to Germany shocked me regarding this. Everybody stayed in the proper lanes (why does nobody seem to realize the left lane is the PASSING lane here?), road etiquette was flawless, AND we could maintain higher speeds (we hit 200 KMH) in a safer manner. We did not encounter a single traffic jam in our week there despite many instances of construction. It reminded me of how bad most drivers in the US are, and also how outdated our speed limits are.

 

[xponents]

Yep. Everyone wants to focus on the short term. Lucid, meanwhile, has always been playing the long game.

As if that giant factory in AZ was supposed to be 100% devoted to shipping $100k+ sedans all day long to millions of customers.

Of course, the long game doesn’t always pan out, either. But the press either truly doesn’t understand what Lucid is doing, or they are willfully ignoring it for short term clicks.

The press as well as many online commentators (redditors, etc). Unfortunately, the more negative press has gotten to their minds too. I have also met numerous people at EAs and friends looking for EVs who would not consider a Lucid (my parents had some hesitation themselves in considering it) because Lucid was “going bankrupt.” Ironically, our friends did not seem to have a problem with getting R1S’s, and in the case of one (unlucky) person at a station, a Fisker Ocean. Sadly, the press is one of the biggest factors shaping a new company’s reputation.

Did anybody actually expect AMP1/2 to be used at full potential until midsize came out? If so, I have no idea how ANYBODY could think that.. even with Gravity, there’s no way they would get close to max capacity.

 

[hmp10]

My visit to Germany shocked me regarding this. Everybody stayed in the proper lanes (why does nobody seem to realize the left lane is the PASSING lane here?), road etiquette was flawless, AND we could maintain higher speeds (we hit 200 KMH) in a safer manner. We did not encounter a single traffic jam in our week there despite many instances of construction. It reminded me of how bad most drivers in the US are, and also how outdated our speed limits are.

Most European nations have very rigorous education and training conditions for getting a driver license. I had a German driver license when I was there for grad school, and many of my classmates had gotten well into their 20's without submitting to the rigors and expense of driver education. My partner's 21-year-old son just got his Polish license after months of training and an initial driving test failure. His 24-year-old daughter is still putting it off -- a decision she and three friends regretted when they tried to rent a car for a vacation in Iceland last year without realizing that you had to have a driver license to rent a car -- something none of them had.

 

[PhotoEye]

Most European nations have very rigorous education and training conditions for getting a driver license. I had a German driver license when I was there for grad school, and many of my classmates had gotten well into their 20's without submitting to the rigors and expense of driver education. My partner's 21-year-old son just got his Polish license after months of training and an initial driving test failure. His 24-year-old daughter is still putting it off -- a decision she and three friends regretted when they tried to rent a car for a vacation in Iceland last year without realizing that you had to have a driver license to rent a car -- something none of them had.

Trying to rent a car without a driver's license? Really? Did they intend to hire a local driver?

 

[Batteryman]

Most European nations have very rigorous education and training conditions for getting a driver license. I had a German driver license when I was there for grad school, and many of my classmates had gotten well into their 20's without submitting to the rigors and expense of driver education. My partner's 21-year-old son just got his Polish license after months of training and an initial driving test failure. His 24-year-old daughter is still putting it off -- a decision she and three friends regretted when they tried to rent a car for a vacation in Iceland last year without realizing that you had to have a driver license to rent a car -- something none of them had.

Agree, my UK driving license was not that easy. It’s ridiculous how easy it is to get a drivers license here in USA.

 

[andrew61]

Big cars, open freeways, low speed limits ...

 

[hmp10]

Trying to rent a car without a driver's license? Really? Did they intend to hire a local driver?

No, they intended to drive themselves. Honestly, I'm repeatedly astonished at how clueless the internet generation can be about some things. I wonder if one of them had been driving without licenses in Poland or whether they thought all they had to do is climb behind the wheel of a car and they would learn to drive as they go. My partner says his daughter does not drive her mother's car and, as far as he knows, she doesn't have access to a car at university.

 

[Snafu]

Duh...just like Arizona. Our governments have started putting in roundabouts. It is hilarious to watch some drivers who are unfamiliar with how to use a roundabout stop and freeze at the entry point. Also...are they now teaching new drivers that they should drive in the left lane, not the right, high speed lane? It amazes me how many drivers clog up the roads by driving randomly in traffic lanes.

I'm waiting for them to realize they are on a "rotary" (what they are called in much of New England), and if you miss your "exit", just go around again to get in a better position to do so. It's not like you're going to get lost.

 

[Steveinarizona]

I'm waiting for them to realize they are on a "rotary" (what they are called in much of New England), and if you miss your "exit", just go around again to get in a better position to do so. It's not like you're going to get lost.

Well......

 

[Snafu]

Well......

I forgot about Charlie! I haven't heard that in years! Thanks.

 

[emoylv]

My visit to Germany shocked me regarding this. Everybody stayed in the proper lanes (why does nobody seem to realize the left lane is the PASSING lane here?), road etiquette was flawless, AND we could maintain higher speeds (we hit 200 KMH) in a safer manner. We did not encounter a single traffic jam in our week there despite many instances of construction. It reminded me of how bad most drivers in the US are, and also how outdated our speed limits are.

I think a driving experience in Germany or the Autostrada in Italy should be required for a U.S. license lol! One drive on the Autostrada changed my highway driving habit permanently. Now, I rarely get into the #1 lane except to pass a slower vehicle. In Italy, the car in the #1 lane is already starting to merge into the #2 lane as his/her car is even with yours. The first couple of instances were scary until I realized that's how they drive. As long as I don't suddenly speed up, all is good. I enjoyed my driving experience there. They are installing circles (roundabouts) here in Las Vegas, with mixed sometimes scary results. Something about the driver's training... Or lack thereof.

 

[smead]

I just got back from Indonesia. There are no rules.

 

[JerseyStrong]

I'm waiting for them to realize they are on a "rotary" (what they are called in much of New England), and if you miss your "exit", just go around again to get in a better position to do so. It's not like you're going to get lost.

NJ is tearing ours out. They don’t work well in high volume areas and take up a lot of real estate.

 

[Steveinarizona]

I think a driving experience in Germany or the Autostrada in Italy should be required for a U.S. license lol! One drive on the Autostrada changed my highway driving habit permanently. Now, I rarely get into the #1 lane except to pass a slower vehicle. In Italy, the car in the #1 lane is already starting to merge into the #2 lane as his/her car is even with yours. The first couple of instances were scary until I realized that's how they drive. As long as I don't suddenly speed up, all is good. I enjoyed my driving experience there. They are installing circles (roundabouts) here in Las Vegas, with mixed sometimes scary results. Something about the driver's training... Or lack thereof.

I try to drive properly (left lane for passing) and I like to drive in a spirited manner, so I have often wondered if drivers behind me think I am drunk since I am moving back and forth and so few drivers do it in Arizona.