Meet Connie

JAB

New Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2023
Messages
10
Cars
Lucid Air Touring
Her name is Connie. I haven’t yet met Connie, but this name seems appropriate, as I feel like an intrepid pioneer about to embark on a journey in anticipation of new and exciting experiences, but expecting to encounter unknown setbacks and perils along the way. In olden days, I might have ventured out in a conestoga wagon; hence, the name Connie for my new Lucid Air. At the other end of the spectrum, Lockheed’s state-of-the-art Constellation aircraft, which became the very first Air Force One, was lovingly referred to as Connie by both pilots and passengers. My own Connie is expected to test my limits of patience and exuberance as she exhibits traits of both namesakes - conestogas and Constellations.

Connie’s family reputation has preceded her. Her siblings and first cousins have earned accolades for performance and behavior. But some have received reprimands for being undependable and injury prone. Only time will tell whether Connie turns out to be a spirited steed, a stubborn mule or an obstinate jackass.

Connie has been a long time coming, and it has been a painful and difficult process. She was conceived in November 2020 when we committed to bring her into our family. After an unusually long gestation period, she was finally given a name, aka VIN, two years later in November 2022. But then labor pains continued for another two months until she emerged from the production line in January 2023. It was not an easy birth. Connie languished at the factory postnatal unit for six weeks because the neonatal facility, aka Lucid Studio – Houston, TX, was full and unable to accept additional deliveries. Finally, a resourceful attendant arranged to have her transferred to the Chicago Studio for neonatal care. She passed her vital checks and was scheduled to hand over to me in Tennessee last Friday, March 10th. That day came and passed without hearing from anyone. On Saturday a Chicago attendant called, blamed the failure on a third party carrier and rescheduled for Tuesday, March 14th. On Monday, March 13th I received word that the carrier had a flat and would be unable to deliver until Wednesday, March 15th. Since Wednesday presented a problem for me, they arranged to have Connie delivered between 11pm & 12am tonight, March 14th. (News alert: the dispatcher just phoned and said it will be between midnight and 1am. The driver doesn’t speak English, so the dispatcher will be available to assist if necessary)

Given the demonstrated production and administrative problems at Lucid, I have a knot in my stomach as Connie and I are about to be introduced. The future will definitely be exciting. Let’s hope she is a steed as opposed to the alternatives that some of her relatives have turned out to be. Stay tuned. (News alert: The dispatcher just phoned to say it'll now be between midnight and 1am. The driver doesn't speak English, so the dispatcher will be available to interpret as needed)
 
Let's hope for the best. Give Connie a good home.
 
You should probably sit with her the first few evenings, climate controlled and Atmos sound system playing the music genre of your choice, as you peruse the settings and controls…just until she settles in.
 
Hopefully the other Connie won't be singing "who's sorry now":)
 
Well, Connie arrived at 1:30 this morning and was glad to be freed from her confined trailer quarters. She's a beaut!!! And she's more fun to drive than anything since my 1987 BWW 525is. Beyond anything I could have envisioned then. I believe we'll have good times together.
As anticipated, my enthusiasm has already been tempered by technical glitches. The Pilot Panel refuses to accept commands. Sometimes it remains black, and other times it looks normal but doesn't respond to inputs. It actually came on once at a traffic light long enough for me to adjust the rear view mirrors, then went right into another coma. After the virtual orientation with a very capable Lucid rep a Work Order, called a "Bill Due" in Lucid jargon, has been executed to have the panel replaced by a mobile service unit. There was no estimate given on how long that will take; meanwhile, I don't have access to many features nor enough confidence in the car to get far from home. Too bad.
To continue the search for an appropriate theme song, I was thinking about the old adage that "you get what you pay for" and hope it isn't followed by Porgy & Bess's song "It Ain't Necessarily So".
 
Well, Connie arrived at 1:30 this morning and was glad to be freed from her confined trailer quarters. She's a beaut!!! And she's more fun to drive than anything since my 1987 BWW 525is. Beyond anything I could have envisioned then. I believe we'll have good times together.
As anticipated, my enthusiasm has already been tempered by technical glitches. The Pilot Panel refuses to accept commands. Sometimes it remains black, and other times it looks normal but doesn't respond to inputs. It actually came on once at a traffic light long enough for me to adjust the rear view mirrors, then went right into another coma. After the virtual orientation with a very capable Lucid rep a Work Order, called a "Bill Due" in Lucid jargon, has been executed to have the panel replaced by a mobile service unit. There was no estimate given on how long that will take; meanwhile, I don't have access to many features nor enough confidence in the car to get far from home. Too bad.
To continue the search for an appropriate theme song, I was thinking about the old adage that "you get what you pay for" and hope it isn't followed by Porgy & Bess's song "It Ain't Necessarily So".
Have you tried the various resets?
 
@JAB I love your story and relate but I'm nowhere near as eloquent as you.

My journey began December 2020 when my 3 month old Tesla Model S, which was at the time my dream car, was totaled by a distracted driver who ran a red light. Fortunately, my wife and I walked away with relatively minor injuries. Telsa subsequently decided that cars didn't need a proper steering wheel which was a deal breaker for me. By that time, Lucid, while still a ways out, was more reality than concept.

Fast forward to last Friday... I was crazy excited, but strangely on Saturday morning I found myself anxious. I don't really know why. Maybe I was afraid that it wouldn't really happen. Maybe it was that the car wouldn't live up to my expectation. I don't know.

At any rate, my experience since taking delivery has been more positive than yours. There's been a few minor annoyances, one reset required, but on whole it's a freakin' awesome car. I hope they resolve your issues and your experience rises to the level of mine. And... for what it's worth... I have plenty of glitches with my wife's Audi Q7 so it's not just Lucid who has some gremlins in the system.

Best of luck!
-M
 
Have you tried the various resets?
Thanks for the suggestion. We went through everything in the Lucid rep's toolbox during our virtual orientation, including resets, but to no avail. It's interesting that while the Pilot Panel is normally in the background mode of whichever of the four modes I select from the Cockpit Panel, it occasionally just turns black and only once accepted any entries for about 1/2 minute. In an ordinary appliance I would think it has a loose connection. It won't even respond to the request to retract from the glovebox, so I've never seen that compartment.
 
Thanks for the suggestion. We went through everything in the Lucid rep's toolbox during our virtual orientation, including resets, but to no avail. It's interesting that while the Pilot Panel is normally in the background mode of whichever of the four modes I select from the Cockpit Panel, it occasionally just turns black and only once accepted any entries for about 1/2 minute. In an ordinary appliance I would think it has a loose connection. It won't even respond to the request to retract from the glovebox, so I've never seen that compartment.
Try what folks sometimes call a Bobby reset… Using the upper panel, log into the guest profile by tapping the icon that you have chosen for the account. Then after a moment, log back into your own profile. If that fails, you probably have a hardware problem that requires a call to customer service.
 
I grew up with a Connie. She was a chain smoking, overweight, potty mouthed New Yorker. She was a hell of a poker player and everyone loved Connie.
 
I grew up with a Connie. She was a chain smoking, overweight, potty mouthed New Yorker. She was a hell of a poker player and everyone loved Connie.
The same Connie lived two doors down for me after she moved from New York to San Diego to retire.
 
Try what folks sometimes call a Bobby reset… Using the upper panel, log into the guest profile by tapping the icon that you have chosen for the account. Then after a moment, log back into your own profile. If that fails, you probably have a hardware problem that requires a call to customer service.
I thought you were onto something, Bobby. When I followed your instructions I got a screen prompting me to "Connect Your Lucid ID" by entering my email address and password. First time I've seen this. But then the Pilot Panel would again not recognize any taps to give me a keyboard to make those entries. Do you know of some way to get to the keyboard?
 
I thought you were onto something, Bobby. When I followed your instructions I got a screen prompting me to "Connect Your Lucid ID" by entering my email address and password. First time I've seen this. But then the Pilot Panel would again not recognize any taps to give me a keyboard to make those entries. Do you know of some way to get to the keyboard?
 
I thought you were onto something, Bobby. When I followed your instructions I got a screen prompting me to "Connect Your Lucid ID" by entering my email address and password. First time I've seen this. But then the Pilot Panel would again not recognize any taps to give me a keyboard to make those entries. Do you know of some way to get to the keyboard?
I don’t. That may be an impasse.
 
Well, Day 2 with Connie has been an Up day. Not that all is well, but I entered this adventure expecting upsets along the way and am committed to maintain a positive outlook while addressing the problems. Today has been a delight!

First, I want to thank my fellow Air owners and staff for your helpful and humorous feedback. There’s comfort in numbers, and it’s good to have a support group.

For one of my milestone birthdays, I treated myself to 20 minutes at the stick of a MIG-29 Russian fighter in Southern California. As a prop plane pilot, I found that combination of thrust, speed and G’s absolutely exhilarating. Well, today I decided that Connie is like a MIG on wheels. Although I am limited in testing her full prowess on public roads, and because she refuses to accept anything but her default Smooth mode, she is certainly capable of creating an adrenaline rush in her driver (and passengers). Her tight steering, firm suspension and immediate responsiveness to the accelerator put me totally at ease at the controls.

To confirm my impression, I took a spin this afternoon with a career Navy pilot friend who made over 800 carrier landings and was one of the leading test pilots as the then new F-18 was going through final test runs. He described how one of the features test pilots look for is the compatibility of the feel of the controls and the plane’s response to them. This is a critical attribute. Everything should be in sync and not experience unnatural, unexpected or uncoordinated slips and slides. At the wheel of Connie, he commented how these attributes are favorably expressed in the Lucid Air Touring. From a full stop on a wide, vacant backroad, he was able to experience the thrust from 0 to about 60mph, when he had to back off. He said that it was more than the thrust felt with the modulated acceleration of modern steam powered catapults; more like that felt in the old cable powered variety, which was almost instantaneous. If that doesn’t give you a rush, nothing will!

In the outing with my friend, we learned that Connie has an interesting personality quirk. She has a clear preference for men at the wheel. We know this because yesterday, the first day we had her, Connie refused to let my wife drive. When she would not move with my wife in the driver’s seat, we tried having me sit in the driver’s seat, get Connie’s “Ready” light lit, then having my wife take the driver’s seat. Connie wouldn’t budge. I guess this is her mule like side emerging. Interestingly, just now our daughter dropped by, and Connie warmed up to her right away. Connie does have an erratic side. Go figure.
 
I want to pass kudos along to Josef in Customer Service and Jason, a Technical Service rep. I chatted with Josef that no one has contacted me about scheduling a Pilot Panel replacement. Even before I had a chance to end the chat, I received a call from Jason, who was able to talk me through a reset procedure. We had tried this during the initial visual orientation, but I think we must not have done it properly or been patient enough to complete the reset. All systems are working perfectly now, and the car is a dream to drive. My thanks to Josef and Jason.
 
I want to pass kudos along to Josef in Customer Service and Jason, a Technical Service rep. I chatted with Josef that no one has contacted me about scheduling a Pilot Panel replacement. Even before I had a chance to end the chat, I received a call from Jason, who was able to talk me through a reset procedure. We had tried this during the initial visual orientation, but I think we must not have done it properly or been patient enough to complete the reset. All systems are working perfectly now, and the car is a dream to drive. My thanks to Josef and Jason.
Very happy for you. It gets better each and every day. Connie is a luxurious way to “fly” around and enjoy being in the cockpit.
 
Well, it’s been one month since Connie arrived. I embarked on this adventure anticipating a mixture of high’s and low’s along the way and have not been surprised. Family and close friends have received several interim reports along the way, but I think my fellow Lucid Air owners are due an update.

When I last posted, Connie, was due to arrive at my doorstep just after midnight on March 15th, and that she did. She was a beauty. We quickly bedded her down for the night in her stall and got some rest before getting to know her better during the virtual orientation with Ryan later that morning. Within minutes Ryan observed that Connie’s Pilot Panel was not responding to input efforts. As you all know, without use of the Pilot Panel it’s impossible to so much as adjust the rear view mirrors, much less access numerous other important features. Ryan quickly brought Jason onboard to lead me through a reset procedure on the Pilot Panel. Bingo! All systems were now working properly. What we didn’t realize then was that every time Connie was restarted her Pilot Panel remained comatose until being reset again. This was time consuming and annoying. Connie could be driven, but was seriously handicapped in reaching her potential.

When I reported this condition to the regional Lucid Mobile Service EMT, Mike, he advised that frequent resets of this kind could be harmful to Connie’s central nervous system, and that I should discontinue that practice until he could make a house call to examine her. To Mike’s credit, he arrived within days in his fully equipped Lucid Mobile Service truck and worked with Connie from 2:30pm to 9:30pm that Sunday. His diagnosis confirmed that Connie had arrived with a congenital defect her Pilot Panel. Having anticipated that possibility, he came equipped with a replacement CID Assembly and performed a transplant procedure. When that also did not work he performed a second Center Console Controller transplant on Connie’s Cockpit Panel. Eureka!!! Connie was always a joy to drive, but now I could enjoy the full package of navigation, communication and comfort she had to offer. That was true for four days.

On the fourth day after the double transplant, I heard a THUMP-rumble, THUMP- rumble-rumble, THUMP-rumble-rumble-rumble, on and on, ad nauseam. It was as if Connie had thrown a shoe that got lodged somewhere in her frame and was ringing like a bell clapper against metal. Or something awry in the suspension. It’s as if we had finally overcome Connie’s neurological issues only to be faced with orthopedic problems. Whatever, Mike advised that Connie should be confined to her stall until he can return to diagnose the problem. This will take a week or two to schedule. I’m concerned that this may require more advanced equipment than he has available on his Mobile Service truck, and that Connie will require transport to a full service facility.

So after a month’s ownership of my new Lucid Air I’ve enjoyed exactly four blissful days of unencumbered driving. Each time I walk by her she winks and gives me that broad smile, thinking she’s about to get out in the fresh air and sunshine. But then when we drive off with one of her stall mates, she quietly goes back to sleep. It’s not Connie’s fault that she’s confined to bedrest. She’s spirited and stands ready to deliver. The engineers at Lucid have designed a superb car, but Connie and I are suffering from the abysmal performance in Lucid’s manufacturing and quality control groups. My hat is off to the post-delivery folks who must try to clean up after the production missteps. Everyone I have dealt with has been very prompt, professional and capable. I just hope my next update is a progress report and not an obituary.
 
Well, it’s been one month since Connie arrived. I embarked on this adventure anticipating a mixture of high’s and low’s along the way and have not been surprised. Family and close friends have received several interim reports along the way, but I think my fellow Lucid Air owners are due an update.

When I last posted, Connie, was due to arrive at my doorstep just after midnight on March 15th, and that she did. She was a beauty. We quickly bedded her down for the night in her stall and got some rest before getting to know her better during the virtual orientation with Ryan later that morning. Within minutes Ryan observed that Connie’s Pilot Panel was not responding to input efforts. As you all know, without use of the Pilot Panel it’s impossible to so much as adjust the rear view mirrors, much less access numerous other important features. Ryan quickly brought Jason onboard to lead me through a reset procedure on the Pilot Panel. Bingo! All systems were now working properly. What we didn’t realize then was that every time Connie was restarted her Pilot Panel remained comatose until being reset again. This was time consuming and annoying. Connie could be driven, but was seriously handicapped in reaching her potential.

When I reported this condition to the regional Lucid Mobile Service EMT, Mike, he advised that frequent resets of this kind could be harmful to Connie’s central nervous system, and that I should discontinue that practice until he could make a house call to examine her. To Mike’s credit, he arrived within days in his fully equipped Lucid Mobile Service truck and worked with Connie from 2:30pm to 9:30pm that Sunday. His diagnosis confirmed that Connie had arrived with a congenital defect her Pilot Panel. Having anticipated that possibility, he came equipped with a replacement CID Assembly and performed a transplant procedure. When that also did not work he performed a second Center Console Controller transplant on Connie’s Cockpit Panel. Eureka!!! Connie was always a joy to drive, but now I could enjoy the full package of navigation, communication and comfort she had to offer. That was true for four days.

On the fourth day after the double transplant, I heard a THUMP-rumble, THUMP- rumble-rumble, THUMP-rumble-rumble-rumble, on and on, ad nauseam. It was as if Connie had thrown a shoe that got lodged somewhere in her frame and was ringing like a bell clapper against metal. Or something awry in the suspension. It’s as if we had finally overcome Connie’s neurological issues only to be faced with orthopedic problems. Whatever, Mike advised that Connie should be confined to her stall until he can return to diagnose the problem. This will take a week or two to schedule. I’m concerned that this may require more advanced equipment than he has available on his Mobile Service truck, and that Connie will require transport to a full service facility.

So after a month’s ownership of my new Lucid Air I’ve enjoyed exactly four blissful days of unencumbered driving. Each time I walk by her she winks and gives me that broad smile, thinking she’s about to get out in the fresh air and sunshine. But then when we drive off with one of her stall mates, she quietly goes back to sleep. It’s not Connie’s fault that she’s confined to bedrest. She’s spirited and stands ready to deliver. The engineers at Lucid have designed a superb car, but Connie and I are suffering from the abysmal performance in Lucid’s manufacturing and quality control groups. My hat is off to the post-delivery folks who must try to clean up after the production missteps. Everyone I have dealt with has been very prompt, professional and capable. I just hope my next update is a progress report and not an obituary.
Thank you for the update and your attitude toward the situation is admirable. I hope Connie gets her hip replacement soon and you will be able to enjoy riding her to your heart's content.
 
Connie's Two Month Update

The Ides of March – THAT’S IT!! When my Lucid Air Touring’s delivery surreptitiously slipped over from the evening of March 14th to the wee hours of March 15th my long awaited excitement blinded me to the ominous consequences. For over two millennia everyone has known to beware of misfortune and doom on this day. How could I have missed it? And now I’m suffering the consequences. While some of my fellow Lucid owners are enjoying your Lucid Air Dreams, I am stuck with a Lucid Air Nightmare.

There is really little to report since Connie’s one month report. You may recall that she was given this name before delivery in anticipation that she might exhibit characteristics anywhere between those of a Conestoga wagon and Lockheed Constellation aircraft. Well, in fact, she has underperformed even the Conestoga wagon. In almost six weeks now she has only been able to travel a total of 409 miles. Almost all of that was in the four days following Pilot and Cockpit Panel Controller transplants. For the last six weeks she has not moved except during the Mobile Service Technician’s unsuccessful attempt to locate the source of her chronic thumps and rattles. Connie was transported last Wednesday to a service facility where they hope to rectify the problems. In all honesty, as she was being loaded into the trailer I recalled how excited I was to see her arrive in a similar trailer two months earlier and couldn’t believe how relieved I now felt to see her being carted away. I will no longer be teased by her blinking at me as I pass her stall.

So in the first two months of Lucid ownership my experience has paralleled the chart of the LCID stock I purchased shortly after placing my car order. My excitement rose dramatically after delivery and early replacement of the faulty controller systems, just like the LCID stock price peaked shortly after being named Car of the Year. My excitement quickly turned to frustration and my sense of humor to despair as the reality of Lucid’s poor Quality Control set in, just as the market has learned the limitations of Lucid Motors, resulting in a steady slide on the charts. I entered this venture knowing there would be risks and expecting ups and downs, but I never imagined how bad it could be. Based on my experience, I recently sold my LCID stock and hope that if they are unable to correct the car’s problems very quickly I can get a full refund from Lucid Motors and consider trying it again when they get their act together. I’ve never received a title or registration, so I guess the car still belongs to them anyway.
 
Back
Top