Tacoma Vs. Rivian

Wasn't that the DeLorean commercial?

 

"More problems plague failing Rivian motors..."

https://www.25newsnow.com/2022/09/0...r-failing-halt-sexual-harassment-local-plant/

 

More bad news and more lawsuits for the soon defunct automaker...

https://www.reuters.com/legal/trans...back-electric-vehicle-price-hikes-2022-03-08/

 

perhaps a better comparison is a 2nd gen to a rivian in terms of aesthetic. I feel like the 2nd gens have a similar look that is less aggressive looking compared to the 3rd gens that really make it look good and less toony

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yeth5v_5dPM though as bubbly as the aesthetics are this is pretty sweet

 

Neither of those worry me in the least. The harassment issue will be sorted out and likely settled out of court - it’s unfortunately a fairly common complaint these days in all business sectors. It’s also unfortunately an easy way for disgruntled employees to make a big public stink and get paid off to make it go away.

The stock price is just an investor salty about losing a little bit of money. That’s how gambling in the stock market works. I’m down more than that on Rivian and not crying about it. The lawsuit was filed six months ago and I haven’t seen an update since.

 

So I noticed that today the closest charging station to my house was been removed. About 6 charging stations were removed and capped. Good news is there are no longer teslas perma-parked in them.

What’s the reasoning for removals like this?

 

Upgrades maybe?

 

Are they EVGo? They are doing the same near me. They are installing higher efficiency stations with better cross manufacturer charging abilities and I believe Tesla adaptation.

 

Could be. I guess I’ll see if anything goes back in.

 

Could also be Electrified America. I just saw a video with them upgrading the chargers at another Colorado location.

 

The problem is the weight with such a small sidewall. I went with 33" on a 16" wheel, which, correct me if I'm wrong, is like 3" more sidewall and thousands of pounds lighter than a rivian. I'm guessing I'll be pulling a lot of these out of the sand pretty often

 

https://stories.rivian.com/software-update-soft-sand-mode

Also, every Rivian has an air compressor so they are all capable of airing down and then airing back up.

 

Modes are nice but you can't beat physics. When you air down with a larger sidewall you get a tank track effect that keeps the vehicle from sinking. Rivian will be notorious for getting stuck

Onboard air compressors are cool though. I carry four 20Vs with me

 

Soft Sand mode

https://twitter.com/Rivian/status/1530266920322146305?s=20&t=up3JLYiTwRTvlLo419JoCQ

 

Watching a truck take some mildly deep sand with plenty of momentum doesn't really impress. Even my weight to tire ratio isn't the best for sand, and so it takes a lot of experience not to get myself stuck once again.

Edit: Rewatched, that's actually very shallow sand

 

Well it's a soft sand mode. Doesn't say how deep of sand it will work in

 

True. I'm guessing it just lessons the torque and keeps the driver from making sudden starts and stops. I'm sure it can help an unexperienced driver somewhat. It can't make you reverse if you are stopped by the sand building up in front of you etc, so plenty of mistakes will be available for the driver

 

The problem is the weight with so much sidewall actually. A lot of sidewall leads to sloppy handling which is even worse when you have a heavy truck with a lot of sidewall. A heavy Tacoma on 33's wallows around the road compared to a stock truck on the factory 31s. Sand performance might suffer but I'd bet on the much better 4wd drivetrain of the Rivian being an advantage over a Tacoma with open diffs in the sand.

 

Just like every other vehicle.