Out of Spec new YT video: Road to Gravity

[joec]

The thing about Frunkin'— it's interesting. It's different. It's something people who don't care about cars can easily understand. They may think it's ridiculous, but that doesn't matter. They will remember it.

There's a reason Apple never advertises clock speed on their computers. From a marketing perspective, there's always going to be one-upmanship going on. You'll never be the "top" dog for long. All you can do is keep chasing stats ad infinitum and maybe be winning 10% of the time.

But show a commercial with attractive people having fun in the frunk? That creates interest. Regardless whether 90% of people ever end up using it. It gets you in the door, so to speak.

Frunkin' is something no one else has, and likely no one else will have, given how much better at packaging Lucid is than the competition.

It's genius, from a marketing standpoint. Worth ten times any 0-60 figures.

I told Peter this the day they announced it with the Gravity release. He just smiled at me as if to say, "At least someone gets it."

 

[hmp10]

It's genius, from a marketing standpoint. Worth ten times any 0-60 figures.

While I agree with your post generally, I wonder about this point.

I grew up in a generation obsessed with acceleration figures almost as the be-all and end-all of one brand's dominance over another. And it's not dead yet. If you spend any time in comment sections on EV videos you'll see that acceleration figures still play a prominent role, especially in the rivalry between Tesla and Lucid.

 

[joec]

While I agree with your post generally, I wonder about this point.

I grew up in a generation obsessed with acceleration figures almost as the be-all and end-all of one brand's dominance over another. And it's not dead yet. If you spend any time in comment sections on EV videos you'll see that acceleration figures still play a prominent role, especially in the rivalry between Tesla and Lucid.

To car buffs, sure. I assure you 80% of the people I know couldn't care less about any of that.

I have a place to sit AND a cupholder for my beer while tailgating at Eagles games? Now THAT sells your average American.

 

[joec]

And like I said, it doesn't even matter if you think it's a good idea or if you think it's stupid. You're going to remember it.

The world's fastest Three-row SUV is not a stat the average person has at their fingertips on any given day.

 

[Pragmatic]

I have sat in the rear opening of the Air while removing ski boots, when I've been parked next to the slopes.

 

[hmp10]

And like I said, it doesn't even matter if you think it's a good idea or if you think it's stupid. You're going to remember it.

The world's fastest Three-row SUV is not a stat the average person has at their fingertips on any given day.

I think it’s a good idea, but I’m just surprised how much attention this one feature has gotten.

I do wonder, though, if acceleration matters to so few people, what the point of the Sapphire is. One of the reasons so many brands got into racing was to burnish their brand reputations in the general market.

 

[Pragmatic]

Most brands got into racing to stroke the ego's of their CEO's.

 

[joec]

I think it’s a good idea, but I’m just surprised how much attention this one feature has gotten.

I do wonder, though, if acceleration matters to so few people, what the point of the Sapphire is. One of the reasons so many brands got into racing was to burnish their brand reputations in the general market.

Well, it matters for Sapphire. It matters for one car, so they can say they are better at engineering than Tesla.

Making Gravity also the "fastest" doesn't get them anything they don't already have.

Gravity may actually end up being faster than any other 3-row SUV, for all I know. But that's not something for the general audience to get excited about. Certainly not the Gravity audience segment.

I'm not saying Lucid shouldn't publicize their incredible stats at all. When they hand it over to savagegeese, I'm sure they will be happy to talk numbers for an hour.

I'm just saying "Frunkin'" gets them a lot more general automotive press for good reason. I have a feeling we're going to hear a lot less "What's Lucid?" and "Who makes that?" once Gravity has been on the market for six months.

 

[borski]

I grew up in a generation obsessed with acceleration figures almost as the be-all and end-all of one brand's dominance over another. And it's not dead yet. If you spend any time in comment sections on EV videos you'll see that acceleration figures still play a prominent role, especially in the rivalry between Tesla and Lucid.

Enthusiasts. Some of my friends and I are still like this.

But 95% of people are not like us (and most statistics are made up), and those people don’t hang out here discussing HP or what kind of suspension the car has. Most people just want to frunk.

I do wonder, though, if acceleration matters to so few people, what the point of the Sapphire is. One of the reasons so many brands got into racing was to burnish their brand reputations in the general market.

A halo car is important to prove you have the engineering prowess.

Without having insanely fast processors in the form of Apple Silicon, and without all of their tech specs, Apple would still sell a ton of products. But to compete with the Samsungs and Sonys of the world who love to talk about their clock speed and number of megapixels, they need to be able to beat and/or match them. But it’s table stakes, not the “recipe for winning.”

It accomplishes a big “we are here and we mean it,” and gives them a massive technological moat, from a defensibility perspective, but it isn’t what is going to sell the cars. Also makes it easier to raise funding, as it is defensible IP.

Frunking is what will sell the cars (and similar things like the luxury, the convenience, the storage, and all the stuff that isn’t numbers).

Toyota and Lexus sell a lot of cars. Nobody cares about what their HP is or how long it takes to fill the tank. We delude ourselves often, here, thinking that the things we get excited about matter to a normal consumer. Most things don’t, and this new marketing approach is going to find adoption much faster, imho.

That said, I really hope they keep the tech talks and whatnot; I really enjoy those, and the “passion from above” is another thing that does get people interested in the brand.

 

[hmp10]

With all due respect to the above arguments, there is some conflicting messaging coming from Lucid on just what market it's targeting.

In a "Verge" article yesterday, the author -- after rehearsing the range, price, and seating arrangements of the Gravity -- wrote, "Rawlinson’s primary targets are less about digits and more about performance." Now why would he say this?

Maybe because Rawlinson said in that interview that for the Gravity, "the benchmark is Porsche Cayenne, Lamborghini Urus." (And it's not the only time he's said it.)

Porsche I kind of get -- a little -- since the Cayenne is the closest thing they have to a mass-market car. But Lamborghini? C'mon.

People who buy Porsches and Lamborghinis tend to put performance pretty high on their lists of factors to consider. In fact, if you're really trying to get mass market buyers to consider your vehicle offering, you probably shouldn't plant the notion that it's more of a car aimed at Porsche and Lamborghini buyers.


P.S. The irony of all this is that Rawlinson said it while sitting in the frunk. It was kind of funny when you think about it.

 

[borski]

With all due respect to the above arguments, there is some conflicting messaging coming from Lucid on just what market it's targeting.

In a "Verge" article yesterday, the author -- after rehearsing the range, price, and seating arrangements of the Gravity -- wrote, "Rawlinson’s primary targets are less about digits and more about performance." Now why would he say this?

Maybe because Rawlinson said in that interview that for the Gravity, "the benchmark is Porsche Cayenne, Lamborghini Urus." (And it's not the only time he's said it.)

Porsche I kind of get -- a little -- since the Cayenne is the closest thing they have to a mass-market car. But Lamborghini? C'mon.

People who buy Porsches and Lamborghinis tend to put performance pretty high on their lists of factors to consider. In fact, if you're really trying to get mass market buyers to consider your vehicle offering, you probably shouldn't plant the notion that it's more of a car aimed at Porsche and Lamborghini buyers.


P.S. The irony of all this is that Rawlinson said it while sitting in the frunk. It was kind of funny when you think about it.

That's a fair point, but I have a counterargument: Lucid no longer really has to establish itself as 'powerful'. The Sapphire did that for them, as did the whole Air lineup. The Gravity is going to have fantastic specs and numbers, but perhaps he thinks that's fairly implied for a Lucid vehicle at this point?

Dno, just a thought.

 

[Batteryman]

With all due respect to the above arguments, there is some conflicting messaging coming from Lucid on just what market it's targeting.

In a "Verge" article yesterday, the author -- after rehearsing the range, price, and seating arrangements of the Gravity -- wrote, "Rawlinson’s primary targets are less about digits and more about performance." Now why would he say this?

Maybe because Rawlinson said in that interview that for the Gravity, "the benchmark is Porsche Cayenne, Lamborghini Urus." (And it's not the only time he's said it.)

Porsche I kind of get -- a little -- since the Cayenne is the closest thing they have to a mass-market car. But Lamborghini? C'mon.

People who buy Porsches and Lamborghinis tend to put performance pretty high on their lists of factors to consider. In fact, if you're really trying to get mass market buyers to consider your vehicle offering, you probably shouldn't plant the notion that it's more of a car aimed at Porsche and Lamborghini buyers.


P.S. The irony of all this is that Rawlinson said it while sitting in the frunk. It was kind of funny when you think about it.

You could argue that most would prefer a performance car with space and efficiency vs a non-performance car with space and efficiency. If you can achieve both, why not brag about it? This way you will attract families and the sport SUV enthusiast. You can sell a Gravity Saphite and GT models to the sport SUV folks and base/Touring Gravity for families.

 

[hmp10]

You could argue that most would prefer a performance car with space and efficiency vs a non-performance car with space and efficiency. If you can achieve both, why not brag about it?

Okay, it's time for me to cry "Uncle!" on this.

I'm not at all against Lucid marketing the Gravity for its power, space, and efficiency . . . or even the fact that people can sit in the frunk.

I went off on this frunking tangent when I got triggered by yet another video that showed people in the frunk -- not because it showed people in the frunk, per se -- but because it showed people in the frunk without adding anything new about technical specs -- something which is still a largely open question with little more than a dozen weeks to go before the first customer-destined vehicles come off the production line.

 

[hmp10]

In a "Batteries Included" podcast yesterday with Tom Moloughney, et al., Kyle Conner made a cameo appearance with his recent video at Pebble Beach. Part of the discussion turned to the interior space of the Gravity.

Conner had recently been inside the Volvo EX90, and he said its interior space didn't hold a candle to the space in the Gravity (begins around 41:10). Moloughney then chimed in with his own experience of sitting in the Gravity and was even more glowing in his take on what Lucid did with space packaging in the Gravity (begins at 42:50).

Now, in a bow to all those who have argued here that tailgating (or "frunking" in the case of the Gravity) is a big deal, this podcast picked up on that theme and reinforced it (starts at 36:05). After Martyn Lee gave the nod to the Ford Lightning as the EV frunking king, Moloughney carried the banner for the Gravity's being even better.

 

[Knucklehead]

I am just seeing this thread and watching the video. Kyle said his friend who is 6'7" sat in the 3rd row and was comfortable? Holy guacamole. That is impressive.

Man, Lucid is just such a great car company. I can't wait to see Gravity production start.

 

[Knucklehead]

The video had a good discussion of the throwback 400V Tesla charging network issue.

On a 400V charger, the Air gets max 50kW charging speed. That sucks. He said they have more options to get better speeds on 400V chargers, which is super huge IMO. I wonder if they have introduced those changes in the 2025 Air?

 

[DeaneG]

On a 400V charger, the Air gets max 50kW charging speed. That sucks. He said they have more options to get better speeds on 400V chargers, which is super huge IMO. I wonder if they have introduced those changes in the 2025 Air?

No. Much faster 400v charging is planned for Gravity though.

 

[Knucklehead]

I am a shopper. I am seriously considering buying a R1T Tri-Max. However, the Gravity is really pulling me in another direction. Fortunately, I am not going to decide for another year or so (holy crap, I want to decide now) but this video and the design ethos of the Gravity are really impressive. They are really industry leading.

If I want a SUV, it definitely should be a Gravity. But I am struggling with the weird desire to camp. Historically I am not a camper. My wife's version of camping is the Marriott. However. I find myself imagining how I would camp using the Gravity. I can totally imagine it with the R1T. But the Gravity?

 

[segbrk]

If I want a SUV, it definitely should be a Gravity. But I am struggling with the weird desire to camp. Historically I am not a camper. My wife's version of camping is the Marriott. However. I find myself imagining how I would camp using the Gravity. I can totally imagine it with the R1T. But the Gravity?

I'm a frequent camper. I go camping with my Air. I've gone camping in my Air. What are you missing in the Gravity for camping that an R1T has?

 

[jace]

I'm a frequent camper. I go camping with my Air. I've gone camping in my Air. What are you missing in the Gravity for camping that an R1T has?

For me it’s 7 seats and a bit more room for the family. I also appreciate a little higher vehicle to climb in/out of.

Don’t get me wrong, me and my big ass are enjoying the hell out of my Air