4 hours ago, ocnblu said:

I'll keep my piston, thanks.  It's permanently attached.

Yes...but short stroke internal combustion motors are notoriously short on torque.  Maybe you should consider something electric instead for the good vibrations.

47 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Yes...but short stroke internal combustion motors are notoriously short on torque.  Maybe you should consider something electric instead for the good vibrations.

I know what you're doing with the above, but I cannot help but to comment per my SOP:
of the (3) GM 455 V8s, the one with the shortest stroke (Buick) developed the MOST torque; 510. ;) :D

1 minute ago, balthazar said:

I know what you're doing with the above, but I cannot help but to comment per my SOP:
of the (3) GM 455 V8s, the one with the shortest stroke (Buick) developed the MOST torque; 510.

I wonder if it was Midwest quality? East coast tend to corrode and fail early.  

5 hours ago, dfelt said:

I wonder if it was Midwest quality? East coast tend to corrode and fail early.  

Well Balthy lives in Jersey IIRC.  Horsey, it is all abote what you do with it.

7 hours ago, balthazar said:

I know what you're doing with the above, but I cannot help but to comment per my SOP:
of the (3) GM 455 V8s, the one with the shortest stroke (Buick) developed the MOST torque; 510.

Yeah...and the Chevrolet motors are still far cheaper to modify. 

Buick Muscle cars are seriously under rated as cars...IMHO. 

This is hotter than anything Lexus Acura or Infinity builds today....including the NSX IMHO.  Maybe not in terms of outright speed...but this is all there. Absolutely.

 

Although this certainly qualifies as modern American muscle...

^ That's $135,000. I think that's a HUGE factor.

2 hours ago, balthazar said:

^ That's $135,000. I think that's a HUGE factor.

Ohhh I agree....but I also think it is cool.

Rivian has a new brand ambassador!

https://stories.rivian.com/meet-alex-honnold?mc_cid=0f022111d4&mc_eid=353c4b65f1

Alex Honnold who did the free solo climb with no ropes of El Capitain. Very cool Movie!

 

Rivian did a customer appreciation event tonight for those in Michigan that put down their deposit and it was very well received.

https://www.instagram.com/rivianofficial/

https://www.instagram.com/stories/rivianofficial/

 

“You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do.”

Henry Ford

Even with my distaste for Ford, they have 115 years of head start and experience here. It is going to take more than a customer appreciation event to build a brand.

I think Rivian has a real shot.  They have the product that will compete with Tesla and none of the Elon Musk Ego Baggage.  They're not spending millions trying to build stupid doors. 

Aside from the powertrain, the truck and SUV are pretty conventional. 

2 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

I think Rivian has a real shot.  They have the product that will compete with Tesla and none of the Elon Musk Ego Baggage.  They're not spending millions trying to build stupid doors. 

Aside from the powertrain, the truck and SUV are pretty conventional. 

They just need to prove that they can actually deliver the power and range they promise, plus to manufacture vehicles in sufficient quantity.

God I hope so....

Our member From Lancaster waking up to a world where electrics are becoming the norm...

3 minutes ago, ykX said:

They just need to prove that they can actually deliver the power and range they promise, plus to manufacture vehicles in sufficient quantity.

Indeed.  But their CEO doesn't seem to make the same wild promises that Elon makes. 

12 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Indeed.  But their CEO doesn't seem to make the same wild promises that Elon makes. 

No. He does not....and I like where this is going.

7 hours ago, ykX said:

They just need to prove that they can actually deliver the power and range they promise, plus to manufacture vehicles in sufficient quantity.

I think this will be very doable for Rivian unlike Tesla attempting to rebuild how one builds cars, Rivian CEO as @Drew Dowdell has stated does not have the baggage of Musk or the Ego to boast crazy crap and he is on record that the reason they bought the Mitsubishi plant with parts center and paint shop was that it was already setup for auto production and they just had to adjust it for building their two products.

Rivian CEO Robert 'RJ' Scaringe has stated that there is no reason to not use the knowledge of the existing auto companies on how they produce auto's every so many seconds. This acknowledgement tells me he will not make some of the Musk Mistakes that have delayed products rolling out.  

8 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

God I hope so....

Our member From Lancaster waking up to a world where electrics are becoming the norm...

ewwww

Rivian filed a patent for reconfigurable EVs. Specifically they filed it on having the bed be interchangeable for numerous different uses.

Patent filing can be read here:

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=rivian&OS=rivian&RS=rivian

A forum web site not OWNED by Rivian but dedicated to all things Rivian can be found here where they have plenty of pictures based on the descriptions in the Patent Filing.

https://www.rivianforums.com/threads/rivian-may-introduce-swappable-module-system-check-our-previews-inside.64/

There is lots more cool info that they discuss and have various drawn pictures but I love who ever built this gif image showing the various Swappable Modules.

From the Rivian Forum group site:

Seams Rivian is very focused on bringing their auto to market and offering something others have tried. The ability to be part of a subscription service where the auto is dropped off at your home when you need it.

https://www.outdoorjournal.com/featured/athletes-and-explorers/imagine-cleaner-world-rivian-end-alex-honnolds-vanlife/

Outdoor life in talking to Rivian and how they plan to change the industry stated that many people only need an auto for select times, vacations, projects, etc. as such many people want a nice auto but do not or can not afford one 24/7. As such Rivian is looking to the subscription service for those that want to take their family on a ski trip or take friends to the beach for the day or weekend.

To read more go to the link above to find out what Alex Honnold is doing.

 

If one cannot afford a vehicle of their own, I don't see them opting in to a subscription service for a vehicle that's $75,000.

2 hours ago, balthazar said:

If one cannot afford a vehicle of their own, I don't see them opting in to a subscription service for a vehicle that's $75,000.

I know many computer engineers who use the MB and BMW subscription service here in Seattle as they do not want to bother with ownership of an auto, just use one when they need one.

I see a subscription service for a solid off road activity vehicle that mostly will get used to go camping or up to the pass to ski / snowboard as a solid service for auto companies down the road.

After all, you live in the city, parking is tight, space tight, why bother with auto ownership if a subscription service gives you an auto to use when you need one for nights or weekends.

A. You said "cannot afford", I responded to that, and your response back centered around 'computer engineers'. I don't associate that profession with being unable to afford a car.
B. The vast vast majority of people store at least some items in their vehicles for various reasons. Some keep a LOT of items in their vehicles (nothing wrong with that). Still others work out of their vehicles. These types of consumers aren't going to be in this market.
C. I do NOT relish the thought of getting inside a vehicle regularly where who knows who has been doing who knows what. People treat public use items in generally terrible ways.

Edited March 19, 20197 yr by balthazar

On 3/19/2019 at 12:22 AM, balthazar said:

A. You said "cannot afford", I responded to that, and your response back centered around 'computer engineers'. I don't associate that profession with being unable to afford a car.
B. The vast vast majority of people store at least some items in their vehicles for various reasons. Some keep a LOT of items in their vehicles (nothing wrong with that). Still others work out of their vehicles. These types of consumers aren't going to be in this market.
C. I do NOT relish the thought of getting inside a vehicle regularly where who knows who has been doing who knows what. People treat public use items in generally terrible ways.

1

^^^ People at work can't even keep the bathroom clean.  They have a porter come by 3 times a day to clean it and it still looks like trash. 

LOL  what a novel idear no one has thought of before.  Plus, how much are those modular toppers... plus plus... how much garage space do you need for all that crap?  LOL

^^^

I forgot about that Nissan. 

 

 

30 minutes ago, oldshurst442 said:

^^^

I forgot about that Nissan. 

 

 

Shoot... what's this thread about again?  I forget 

22 minutes ago, ocnblu said:

Shoot... what's this thread about again?  I forget 

Does it really matter?  ?

Very cool wind tunnel testing, they are making good progress on moving to production.

Awesome update on the Rivian that clearly states they are learning from Tesla to avoid service issues unlike Tesla, you can be 50 or 200 miles away from a drive in service center and Rivian will come to you. Due to access via the Cloud, rivian will be able to check the auto and come to you with parts to repair on site. Very excited for these auto's to start being delivered to customers by the end of 2020.

 

18 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Awesome update on the Rivian that clearly states they are learning from Tesla to avoid service issues unlike Tesla, you can be 50 or 200 miles away from a drive in service center and Rivian will come to you. Due to access via the Cloud, rivian will be able to check the auto and come to you with parts to repair on site. Very excited for these auto's to start being delivered to customers by the end of 2020.

 

Wow, you mean that somebody found out that Elon Musk is arrogant and will not learn from his mistakes?  Smart thinking to do the opposite of what Tesla is doing in terms of service.

I am sure they'll be using Duramax 2500HD GMC service trucks.  So they know they can get back to home base.

 

I am wondering why the RIVIAN section of the site has remained completely vacant... is it because dfelt knows no one will go in there and he'll be posting and admiring his posts all by his lonesome?  Is that why there are EV posts everywhere else, but not in the dedicated section? 

It's because they aren't being produced yet, so the only time we have news is when something leaks out like a bit of transmission fluid. 

So... nothing that's been posted about Rivian so far is newsworthy.  Agreed. 

1 hour ago, ocnblu said:

So... nothing that's been posted about Rivian so far is newsworthy.  Agreed. 

Rivian news can be found here. 

Thank you for pointing out that I had made an error setting up the news flow from the articles app to the forums. That has now been fixed and all future Rivian articles will automagically go into the forum.  Wish granted. 

Much appreciated!  Now I know how I'm going to spend the next one second of my life.  ?