Sadly saying goodbye to my Lucid

[Drcheema]

I have a few months left on my lease and i accept this with heavy heart that i would have to say good bye to my beloved Lucid Air. I always wanted to buy out this vehicle towards the end of my lease but i have accepted the fact that this vehicle is too nice and fancy for the shi**y roads of NYC. I hit a pothole last month that busted both of my left tires (see photos) with my wife and a 6 months old in the backseats. Luckily i did not lose control because of Lucid's amazing stability. Still had to drive another mile on busted tires to exit the expressway because there were no shoulders to pull over. It felt like eternity as fast moving traffic kept swerving around me and i was just waiting to get hit any moment. Again, Lucid's roadside service was brilliant, sending me a courtesy tow truck within 20 minutes and delivered it back to me, free of charge the next day, in Hoboken. NJ. Unfortunately, i live in a place where roads are not fit for this master piece, I wish Lucid had launched their standard size SUV before gravity so i could stay with Lucid as Gravity is just too big for my garage and current needs. Alas! i would have to say good bye (for now).

 

[AirQuality]

Glad that you and your family are OK. Sorry to hear about your experience.

 

[Alex]

At first I thought you were referring to 21" wheels, but after looking at those photos, I realized that you have 19" wheels. Bad roads indeed. Maybe there is an all-terrain tire that will fit. You won’t get great range, but maybe they could handle those potholes.

 

[Steveinarizona]

At first I thought you were referring to 21" wheels, but after looking at those photos, I realized that you have 19" wheels. Bad roads indeed. Maybe there is an all-terrain tire that will fit. You won’t get great range, but maybe they could handle those potholes.

I used to live in NYC. The OP is not exaggerating. The worst thing is that with the bigger swings in temperature (summer extreme heat; winter extreme cold) I suspect that it will cause even more problems with street maintenance.

As a current Arizona resident, like you, there is no comparison. Closest thing I can think of in Tucson would be the occasional street washout with some imbecile deciding he can take his subcompact through it.

 

[Blue Lectroid]

Sorry to hear it and glad you are all OK!! The kind of pothole you hit could destroy the tires on any car. I too live in the NY Metro area and routinely take my cars into NYC and also live on a dirt road. Over the years I too have cratered a few tires (not yet on my AGT with 19” wheels), but I look at it more as a fact of life and I’d rather deal with the garbage roads, congestion and borderline Kamakaze drivers in our part of the world in a car I genuinely love and that will protect me well if in an accident than trading down to a lesser drive. Of course this is a highly personal decision, but perhaps revisit your decision after the trauma of the event wears off?

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

We take the train from Hamilton, NJ.

It's an EV


Had several similar experiences on NYC highways/streets...a whole series of 8 or 10 cars just before GW bridge broke down in the left lanes with destroyed wheels / tires = full sets ! It's just luck.

 

[momo3605]

I have a few months left on my lease and i accept this with heavy heart that i would have to say good bye to my beloved Lucid Air. I always wanted to buy out this vehicle towards the end of my lease but i have accepted the fact that this vehicle is too nice and fancy for the shi**y roads of NYC. I hit a pothole last month that busted both of my left tires (see photos) with my wife and a 6 months old in the backseats. Luckily i did not lose control because of Lucid's amazing stability. Still had to drive another mile on busted tires to exit the expressway because there were no shoulders to pull over. It felt like eternity as fast moving traffic kept swerving around me and i was just waiting to get hit any moment. Again, Lucid's roadside service was brilliant, sending me a courtesy tow truck within 20 minutes and delivered it back to me, free of charge the next day, in Hoboken. NJ. Unfortunately, i live in a place where roads are not fit for this master piece, I wish Lucid had launched their standard size SUV before gravity so i could stay with Lucid as Gravity is just too big for my garage and current needs. Alas! i would have to say good bye (for now).View attachment 26621View attachment 26622View attachment 26623View attachment 26624

Is this the first time you’ve blown the tires on the Lucid. Would it be fair to say any car would’ve blown tires in the same position? Given that you’re on 19s, they are pretty standard size for any non-performance sedan. I can’t imagine any other car doing better. You’d probably have to jump up to some off-road class of vehicle with fat all-terrains

 

[Paladin]

I feel your pain. I’m from NYC and still visit frequently. One time driving back to Va from NYC in my relatively new BMW, I hit such a huge pothole that it broke my axle.
I drove the Lucid there once last December and stayed north of the city in Westchester. Thank God nothing happened. I’m going again in March. I’ll be sure to say a prayer before departing.
Sorry you had to go through that and give up your Lucid. I’m loving this car and can empathize on hard it would be to give up.

 

[Blue Lectroid]

I feel your pain. I’m from NYC and still visit frequently. One time driving back to Va from NYC in my relatively new BMW, I hit such a huge pothole that it broke my axle.
I drove the Lucid there once last December and stayed north of the city in Westchester. Thank God nothing happened. I’m going again in March. I’ll be sure to say a prayer before departing.
Sorry you had to go through that and give up your Lucid. I’m loving this car and can empathize on hard it would be to give up.

Folks, it’s really not that bad here. Yes, with a tough Winter and lots of freeze-thaw cycles, we get potholes at this time of year. Virtually all Northern climates are prone to this. I’ve lived in the NY Metro Area most of my life and potholes are a fact of life…but please don’t think it’s like a war zone here…we have a few potholes. I’ve driven hundreds of thousands of miles around here and the only rims I cratered were on my Tesla M3P when I was dumb enough to run 21” rims right through the Winter.

The OP had a bad break, but a good friend of mine from North Carolina recently cratered a pair of rims hitting a pothole on his Subaru Outback. Stuff happens!

 

[xponents]

I’ve lived in the NY Metro Area…but please don’t think it’s like a war zone here

No... I don't think it is possible to not think that...

 

[borski]

No... I don't think it is possible to not think that...

Good. Fuhgeddaboudit. Stay out.

 

[pjdcorp]

I have a few months left on my lease and i accept this with heavy heart that i would have to say good bye to my beloved Lucid Air. I always wanted to buy out this vehicle towards the end of my lease but i have accepted the fact that this vehicle is too nice and fancy for the shi**y roads of NYC. I hit a pothole last month that busted both of my left tires (see photos) with my wife and a 6 months old in the backseats. Luckily i did not lose control because of Lucid's amazing stability. Still had to drive another mile on busted tires to exit the expressway because there were no shoulders to pull over. It felt like eternity as fast moving traffic kept swerving around me and i was just waiting to get hit any moment. Again, Lucid's roadside service was brilliant, sending me a courtesy tow truck within 20 minutes and delivered it back to me, free of charge the next day, in Hoboken. NJ. Unfortunately, i live in a place where roads are not fit for this master piece, I wish Lucid had launched their standard size SUV before gravity so i could stay with Lucid as Gravity is just too big for my garage and current needs. Alas! i would have to say good bye (for now).View attachment 26621View attachment 26622View attachment 26623View attachment 26624

I feel your pain on NYC roads. I lived in Manhattan, the Bronx & Brooklyn for 35 years & had to navigate the BQE, FDR and Cross Bronx. I sacrificed various parts of several cars to what passes for roads there. I'd like to see an honest comparison of roads in Gaza to NYC and see which ones are more user-friendly. As a true NY'er I can only leave you with my "glass is half full" view of your odyssey - at least no one stole your Lucid

 

[scal_air]

He still has a few months left, pjdcorp…

 

[lonedevel]

Really sorry to hear and sad to see you go. I live outside of NYC and do worry about the state of the potholes in NYC and Northern NJ. I've had this happen in the past with other cars and feel for you. Hopefully in the future you can return to the club when Lucid releases a smaller SUV EV with more resilient tires. For me this would be heartbreaking as this is simply the best car I've ever driven.

 

[pjdcorp]

He still has a few months left, pjdcorp…

So true, there's still plenty of time. My ex used to prosecute car theft in Brooklyn. In the late 80s I had 3 cars stolen in 4 months (1 of my own & 2 rentals). I was the prosecutor's best customer. I expected them to provide me with a hotline (like the US & Russia) to save everyone time

 

[Steveinarizona]

Folks, it’s really not that bad here. Yes, with a tough Winter and lots of freeze-thaw cycles, we get potholes at this time of year. Virtually all Northern climates are prone to this. I’ve lived in the NY Metro Area most of my life and potholes are a fact of life…but please don’t think it’s like a war zone here…we have a few potholes. I’ve driven hundreds of thousands of miles around here and the only rims I cratered were on my Tesla M3P when I was dumb enough to run 21” rims right through the Winter.

I agree. I used to live in Greenwich Village. If one is living in Manhattan, is a car really necessary or even desirable? I sold my car before I moved to the City and didn't buy another until I had moved out. If I was going on a trip and needed/wanted a car, I would rent it. My wife and I would sometimes grab a cab to go uptown to say Bloomingdales. By the time our cab reached Herald Square (only a third of the way) we would usually pay off the cab and jump in the subway. Congestion made driving around Manhattan unpleasant. Even if one is willing to pay a king's ransom for a parking spot in Manhattan, the pain of driving out and through one of the tunnels or over one of the bridges can be painful.

Frankly, cities like NY are not well set up for automobiles but are often are well set up for mass transit. When I had time, I liked to walk from my office in lower Manhattan to my home in Greenwich Village (and stop at Katz's deli for its thick cut Romanian Pastrami sandwich) and from my home to the upper west or east side. I would just walk and enjoy looking at the building architecture. Western cities tend to be the opposite.

Too many trucks and cars and constantly changing weather create a world of potholes. I rarely see a pothole here.

 

[hmp10]

As well as freeze/thaw cycles, the traffic load (number of vehicles and their weight) has a lot to do with road surface conditions. In southwest Florida where population and construction is exploding, the road surfaces are getting noticeably worse. For some reason, more asphalt roads are developing washboard undulations even though the surface is holding. Potholes, once a rarity, are becoming more common. It seems that water works its way into minor cracks, and the underlying roadbed starts to dissolve. A small pothole started on our lightly-traveled street where I take walks, and I watched it expand into a mini-sinkhole with every rainfall until it became something we had to change lanes to avoid.

I don't know if this is still the case, but when I lived in northern Germany some years ago I was astonished at how good the road surfaces were given its climate. I found out that road-building contracts in Germany required the contractors to maintain the roads for 10 years as part of the contract price. Consequently, the roadbeds were made very robust. In the U.S. road-building contracts typically covered only the building of the road, not subsequent maintenance.

It may be that the cost of road-building was consequently lower in the U.S. where highways have to cover much longer distances. But the German approach that resulted in stronger roadbeds during initial construction seemed to pay dividends, as they held up better well beyond the 10-year contract maintenance period.

 

[Steveinarizona]

As well as freeze/thaw cycles, the traffic load (number of vehicles and their weight) has a lot to do with road surface conditions. In southwest Florida where population and construction is exploding, the road surfaces are getting noticeably worse. For some reason, more asphalt roads are developing washboard undulations even though the surface is holding. Potholes, once a rarity, are becoming more common. It seems that water works its way into minor cracks, and the underlying roadbed starts to dissolve. A small pothole started on our lightly-traveled street where I take walks, and I watched it expand into a mini-sinkhole with every rainfall until it became something we had to change lanes to avoid.

I don't know if this is still the case, but when I lived in northern Germany some years ago I was astonished at how good the road surfaces were given its climate. I found out that road-building contracts in Germany required the contractors to maintain the roads for 10 years as part of the contract price. Consequently, the roadbeds were made very robust. In the U.S. road-building contracts typically covered only the building of the road, not subsequent maintenance.

It may be that the cost of road-building was consequently lower in the U.S. where highways have to cover much longer distances. But the German approach that resulted in stronger roadbeds during initial construction seemed to pay dividends, as they held up better well beyond the 10-year contract maintenance period.

There is definitely a significant difference in car attitudes between Europe and North America. Unfortunately, for those of us in Canada or the United States, we tend to go for the immediately cheap solution. My example is a relatively large SUV. Volkswagen made a terrific high end SUV called the Touareg. It was sold in the US but did not sell well and VW eventually stopped selling it in the US. Instead, VW offered in the US a slightly larger SUV called the "Atlas" which, IMHO, is a POS. I think it reflects two trends: one for larger but not very well equipped crossovers and second, that VW keeps missing its opportunities. Its ethical disaster on diesels and the settlements afterwards pushed VW toward EVs and gave it an opportunity to lead the EV effort among traditional car makers. It squandered that opportunity. Look at how it is doing in the EV space (for both VW and Audi) compared to the Hyundai family (Hyundai Ionic 5 and 6, Kia EV6 and EV9, and Genesis (GV60 plus electrified versions of its compact SUV and midsized sedan).

One could do a similar comparison for GM although it is now starting to catch up.

When I went looking for a new luxurious EV, my search led me to Lucid and Genesis, not the VW companies (the Taycan and Audi GT twins were the only exception and for what they offered were IMO still not competitive given the high price of the two models).

My point, sorry it took so long to get to it, is that our crappy road conditions in the northern US reflect US approaches: go cheap now meeting minimal standards and pay later. When I bought my house more than 35 years ago, my builder was using 2X6 studs; most of the other builders were using 2X4 studs and I don't think most purchasers knew or cared about the difference that made for insulation. The same would apply to HVAC systems. I doubt many home buyers even asked about how efficient the units were (not to mention the heat impact of putting the air handler on the roof as part of an HVAC rooftop package). Drive around Phoenix in residential areas and you see lots of rooftop units.

As consumers, we can get around the crappy car problem by purchasing something else. But our impact on the government spending size is (a) minimal and (b) would likely be unsuccessful. so I think we are going to have to stay accustomed to pot holes.

I think the fault is equally shared by our government and our residents. Neither wants to spend the money to build better roads in the first place.

 

[californiaboy935]

I have a few months left on my lease and i accept this with heavy heart that i would have to say good bye to my beloved Lucid Air. I always wanted to buy out this vehicle towards the end of my lease but i have accepted the fact that this vehicle is too nice and fancy for the shi**y roads of NYC. I hit a pothole last month that busted both of my left tires (see photos) with my wife and a 6 months old in the backseats. Luckily i did not lose control because of Lucid's amazing stability. Still had to drive another mile on busted tires to exit the expressway because there were no shoulders to pull over. It felt like eternity as fast moving traffic kept swerving around me and i was just waiting to get hit any moment. Again, Lucid's roadside service was brilliant, sending me a courtesy tow truck within 20 minutes and delivered it back to me, free of charge the next day, in Hoboken. NJ. Unfortunately, i live in a place where roads are not fit for this master piece, I wish Lucid had launched their standard size SUV before gravity so i could stay with Lucid as Gravity is just too big for my garage and current needs. Alas! i would have to say good bye (for now).View attachment 26621View attachment 26622View attachment 26623View attachment 26624

Very sad to see you go. Hopefully you'll give lucid another shot. I had a similar blow out in due to a pothole in LA with my Jeep Grand Cherokee... I think its very specific as to the hole, and not emblematic of an issue with the 19" rims or Lucid in general. Honestly I would think about getting a Gravity if you have the time to wait.

 

[Lucken]

I live on Long Island and no longer drive into the city. The LIRR is a far better alternative.