[HN Gopher] Rivian R1T is the first EV to win the longest off-ro...
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Rivian R1T is the first EV to win the longest off-road competition
       in the US
        
       Author : dkobia
       Score  : 151 points
       Date   : 2023-10-23 00:33 UTC (8 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (techcrunch.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (techcrunch.com)
        
       | codeTired wrote:
       | Just be careful not to dent quarter panels on a rivian. It's
       | something like $40k to replace. Normally a $2k-$3k job on any
       | other pick up truck.
       | 
       | These car companies suck when it becomes to repairability.
       | 
       | Edit: I'm not going to argue with naysayers below, this dude was
       | quoted $41k but was able to
       | PDR(https://www.thedrive.com/news/41000-rivian-fender-bender-
       | act...). Tesla repairs with giga casting are also a lot more
       | expensive than similar "regular" cars. This isn't an issue of
       | unibody design. My family owned a body shop and I painted cars
       | for few years.
       | 
       | I will stick with main stream brands like Toyota.
        
         | almost_usual wrote:
         | Yeah, insurance will not pick that up if it was caused while
         | off roading.
         | 
         | I'm guessing taking your Rivian off road will also void the
         | warranty.
         | 
         | If you off road it's good to know how to repair your rig.
        
           | codeTired wrote:
           | It's best to off-road in a reasonably built car, like a Land
           | Cruiser or a bronco.
        
           | mikeryan wrote:
           | It won't void your warranty. The Rivian was designed, and is,
           | an incredibly competent off road vehicle.
           | 
           | It literally has an Off-Road drive mode with 4 different
           | setups within it and a built in air compressor in the truck
           | need for adjusting your tire pressure when you take it off
           | road.
        
             | almost_usual wrote:
             | > It won't void your warranty.
             | 
             | Wow, that is truly surprising. I'd be more worried about
             | the driver if I were Rivian? What stops someone from
             | driving through a creek and submerging their truck?
             | Damaging their undercarriage on a rock? Sliding into a
             | tree? etc.
             | 
             | > The Rivian was designed, and is, an incredibly competent
             | off road vehicle.
             | 
             | It looks like it doesn't have locking differentials but
             | that's usually overkill.
             | 
             | > It literally has an Off-Road drive mode with 4 different
             | setups within it
             | 
             | I'll need to read more about the "Off Road" drive modes. It
             | sounds similar to the Tacoma's "Crawl Control".
             | 
             | > a built in air compressor in the truck need for adjusting
             | your tire pressure when you take it off road.
             | 
             | An air compressor is nice but you can pick up a Tsunami Air
             | Compressor and a tire deflator for like $130.
        
               | wkipling wrote:
               | Off-road cars have limitations. I'll bet the Rivian just
               | like other 4wds will have a maximum wading depth for
               | water crossings.
        
               | defrost wrote:
               | If the door seals are good there's not a maximum wading
               | depth, rather a maximum time paddle boating in water
               | before seals give way | river current moves the 4x4 too
               | far.
               | 
               | See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC5ld79joIA
               | 
               | Note that the Land Cruiser is bouyant in the water and
               | not touching ground.
        
               | NickNameNick wrote:
               | It doesn't have differentials at all ...
               | 
               | Each wheel has it's own motor.
        
           | caseyf7 wrote:
           | Rivian insurance covers off-road use.
        
         | Retric wrote:
         | Probably closer to 8-14k if you're not willing to leave the
         | dent. The famed 42k bill was for a rear end collision that
         | caused more damage than it looked like. Cars are much safer
         | today but crumple zones mean minor fender benders result in
         | huge repair bills. However, they are also a major part of the
         | 90+% reduction in vehicle fatalities per mile over the last 100
         | years.
         | 
         | "They took the R1T to a certified Rivian body shop who said the
         | entire rear quarter panel, as well as some tailgate internals,
         | needed replacing. The total cost of replacing an entire body
         | panel and some tailgate bits was reportedly just over $14,000."
         | https://www.thedrive.com/news/rivian-r1t-fender-bender-turns...
        
           | Moto7451 wrote:
           | I was rear ended about 8 years ago. I was in a lane that is
           | parking most of the day (like when I stopped) and no
           | stopping/anti-congestion during rush hour. My Camaro was hit
           | by a person traveling at least at the 45MPH speed limit. They
           | were on their phone and thankfully were so angry they
           | unintentionally confessed it all to the police office taking
           | the report. I ended up not paying a cent to fix the car, but
           | I did get a copy of the bill.
           | 
           | All in all the cost to repair it was in excess of $18,000
           | from a third party shop that didn't do a great job on the
           | finish. That was only $5k less than the Kelly Bluebook value
           | for my car at that point in time.
           | 
           | In short, it costs a lot to repair crash damage. That's
           | something people probably don't think about too deeply if
           | they have comprehensive coverage and pay just their
           | deductible.
        
             | codeTired wrote:
             | A dent is much different than a 45mph crash. At that speed
             | you have to replace half of the car. We have done those at
             | our shop on an occasion. It's rare as it's a pricy repair.
        
             | m463 wrote:
             | > In short, it costs a lot to repair crash damage
             | 
             | ...and I suspect the car will never be "right" again.
        
             | bg24 wrote:
             | The challenge with these repairs is that they only focus on
             | the body part. However, nobody knows the damage to the
             | other systems in the car when hit at 45mph. Imo, it would
             | have been better for the insurance company to total the car
             | and pay you to buy another one.
        
           | NegativeLatency wrote:
           | Vehicle fatalities for people inside the car but not for
           | those outside. We've made the average vehicle much more
           | dangerous for anyone not in another large vehicle.
        
             | xyzelement wrote:
             | You got a stat for this?
        
               | hibikir wrote:
               | https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/03/20200302-ghsa.ht
               | ml
               | 
               | It's unsurprising when you think about it: America is
               | full of larger trucks which have to meet o on the laxest
               | of regulations to minimize pedestrian damage in case of a
               | collision. Where before the contact zone might be on the
               | knees, many a modern truck will hit a pedestrian in the
               | chest. Add to that how America sets up situations very
               | unsafe street crossings, often 8 lanes wide without a
               | median, and increased pedestrian deaths are unsurprising.
               | 
               | Note that this is a matter of most security freatures:
               | Good crumple zones don't lead to tall trucks with large
               | hoods. The only one that adds risk is the curtain airbags
               | that have lead to wider A pillars, and with that somewhat
               | lower visibility. But we could make cars safe and also
               | safer for pedestrians: Just not by driving heavier,
               | taller vehicles that look like 18 wheelers and have
               | frontal dead zones that could hide multiple Miatas.
        
               | rwiggins wrote:
               | Walkability in the US is indeed dire, but:
               | 
               | > Add to that how America sets up situations very unsafe
               | street crossings, often 8 lanes wide without a median
               | 
               | I don't think I've ever crossed an 8 line highway on foot
               | (US native). I definitely wouldn't call it "often". Maybe
               | in a place like LA or Houston? I do cross 4 lanes pretty
               | frequently, though.
        
             | saturn8601 wrote:
             | I guess thats where AEB technologies come into play
             | 
             | [1]:https://twitter.com/remouherek/status/17160126702629319
             | 46
        
           | contrarian1234 wrote:
           | To me this seems like a design failure (maybe intentional?)
           | 
           | I'd think a properly designed crumple zone would only crumple
           | at a "fatality" speed and not at fender-bender speeds. I
           | remember asking a friend why you almost never see Lexus in
           | China - and they said they notoriously crumpled at the
           | slightest collision (there are a lot of very low speed fender
           | benders on city streets there). Other Japanese brands seemed
           | to not have this reputation
        
           | simonebrunozzi wrote:
           | "just" over $14,000.
           | 
           | You can buy a new car with that amount.
        
             | petersellers wrote:
             | Not in the US, you can't.
        
         | bastawhiz wrote:
         | $40k is just incorrect. My buddy did exactly this and he's
         | facing a bill of $14k. Which is still outrageous, but like
         | three times less.
        
           | holoduke wrote:
           | I bought my 20 year old infiniti for 14k, 10 years ago. I
           | think most people will be in serious issues when they suffer
           | a 14k bill for a fender. I think if do a large overhaul
           | including a full repaint on my car it would cost less than
           | 14k
        
           | smcl wrote:
           | It's a third of $40k, "three times less" than $40k would be
           | -$80k
        
             | dag11 wrote:
             | "X times less" is actually a technically meaningless
             | statement, but colloquially would mean 1/X. There's nothing
             | to be gained by being pedantic over that
        
         | gnicholas wrote:
         | Does this mean they are incredibly expensive to insure?
        
           | rokkitmensch wrote:
           | A buddy close to underwriting heaves giant sighs and mutters
           | darkly when anyone in his book of individual policies wants
           | to insure one because yes.
        
             | reducesuffering wrote:
             | Is that because after barely scraping by $80k or an
             | $800/mth payment, they freak out why there's another
             | $300/mth?
        
             | seattle_spring wrote:
             | Er... I own one and it is maybe 10% more to insure than my
             | previous Subaru.
        
               | gnicholas wrote:
               | How is that possible, just given the sheer cost
               | difference? Or is most of your insurance policy covering
               | liability (for if you hit other people), as opposed to
               | the risk of damage to your own car?
        
         | jsight wrote:
         | Despite claims to the contrary, I haven't really seen evidence
         | of this with Tesla. The giga casts have pretty conventional
         | crush structures ahead and behind them. It seems like the kind
         | of crashes that'd cause massive costs are big enough to be
         | massively costly either way.
         | 
         | The Rivian case is a bit of a head scratcher. They made some
         | truly odd choices that are making fairly simple repairs much
         | harder than necessary. It is obvious they are new to this.
        
           | skullone wrote:
           | First to market, but with beginner mistakes. I'll wait for a
           | more mature EV truck myself. I want a simple box frame, with
           | a body on frame, nothing fancy. Just pure utilitarian EV
           | truck like a base F150 but with a battery.
        
             | seanmcdirmid wrote:
             | I've heard that EV trucks are mostly unibodies given the
             | structure they need to protect and support the battery
             | underneath. But I think the F-150 lightning is simple body
             | on frame (as you said, although I think you are confused
             | that this doesn't exist yet?), and the new Silverado EV
             | will be neither unibody nor body on frame, whatever that
             | means.
        
             | jsight wrote:
             | I think F-150 Lightning is the closest to what you are
             | looking for. But it has its own type of beginner's mistakes
             | with the batteries. The charge curve isn't great, if that
             | matters to you.
        
             | xeromal wrote:
             | I'm in the same boat with you. I want a truck or SUV to
             | replace my 2003 LX470 (Land Cruiser) but aside from the
             | body on frame construction, I really need a 500 mile
             | battery. The 320 mile EPA extended range lightning loses
             | about 64 miles of range from the recommended battery
             | boundaries (don't charge above 90% or below 10%) and
             | probably at least another 10%-20% loss from the high torque
             | required offroading and the fact you'd probably never use
             | regenerative braking since there's a lot more technique
             | involved leaves you with about 200 miles of actual range.
             | Throw on a roof top tent and some camping gear in the back
             | and you probably have less and you have to account for the
             | lack of jerry cans that can help you in a pinch if your
             | planned mileage is increased from a bridge that's out or
             | closed trail. I really want an electric SUV or truck to
             | replace my main rig but some of the locations I go to are
             | just too dangerous to run out of juice with. I think in
             | about 5 years a dream rig of mine will be on the horizon
        
         | wise_young_man wrote:
         | What does this have to do with them winning a contest? It comes
         | across as argument baiting.
        
         | aitchnyu wrote:
         | If car bumpers are made immune to parking lot speed hits, will
         | they necessarily be worse at crash safety? Looking at how 4m
         | cars have more complex bodies than older Porsches and pack
         | lights at each corner of the bumpers.
        
         | dagurp wrote:
         | It's s truck, leave the dents alone : - )
        
       | tgtweak wrote:
       | Kind of odd that it highlighted the need for chargers and the
       | lengths they needed to go to (relying on hydrogen?) to complete
       | the challenge.
       | 
       | I'm all for EVs showing their strengths (and own several) but
       | tethering to a mobile charging trailer that virtually nobody has
       | access to kind of puts a huge asterisk on the entire thing.
       | 
       | I'd love to see an EV-only rally that allows competitors to go
       | faster or slower to optimize charge (faster = higher risk, more
       | discharge) and, in that, force manufacturers and teams to
       | actually innovate on the vehicle to make up for it. Put huge
       | batteries and make it too heavy? It'll struggle in the mud and
       | will likely blow tires. The function of motorsport (and ally,
       | specifically) is to act as a proving ground for vehicles at the
       | extreme end.
        
         | wffurr wrote:
         | They also set up fuel depots for gas trucks. Doesn't seem that
         | different.
        
           | KennyBlanken wrote:
           | It's not. HN is obsessed with trying to "gotcha" electric
           | cars, any form of power generation other than nuclear,
           | public/alternative transit, etc.
           | 
           | You see the same tired shit like "well that's nice but the
           | battery will have to be replaced in three years, enjoy
           | spending $100,000 to do that", to now screeching about how
           | EVs generate more PM2.5 particles from tire wear _ignoring
           | that EVs generate far less PM2.5 particles from braking_ ),
           | and so on. Every green solution has to be a perfect golden
           | bullet solution, according to HN - not an incremental
           | improvement.
           | 
           | Some people are desperate to stand in the way of slowing the
           | burning of the planet just get a dig in about how some effort
           | isn't perfect and thus is 'hyprocritical libturd nonsense'
        
             | leeoniya wrote:
             | from the article:
             | 
             | > It took years to find the right partner, build out the
             | infrastructure and secure the 800 kilograms of green
             | hydrogen required for the 10-day event, she added.
             | 
             | yeah, okay. just a nothingburger /s
        
               | ceejayoz wrote:
               | A "2,120-kilometer [off-road race] course using only
               | paper maps, compasses, and plotters" is hardly a normal
               | use case. Trying to read anything into this for general
               | utility to the public is silly.
        
               | m463 wrote:
               | > But until this year, the company used diesel generators
               | to power up the chargers.
               | 
               | I imagine the green hydrogen was for PR, because
               | otherwise you could say the EVs were diesel-powered.
               | 
               | that said, I expect things like one motor per wheel that
               | EV's can do will become pretty interesting off-road as
               | time goes on.
        
               | modeless wrote:
               | I can't tell from your comment if you know this or not,
               | but R1T already has one motor per wheel.
        
               | m463 wrote:
               | I do. Then if you can electrically drive a suspension,
               | that might be the next leap.
        
             | reducesuffering wrote:
             | I understand the sentiment. Yes overall EVs are much
             | better. It's still important to point out how they can be
             | further improved, when they have problems like heavier
             | weights causing more PM 2.5 from tires.
        
               | screamingninja wrote:
               | > It's still important to point out how they can be
               | further improved
               | 
               | That's exactly the point of the discussion above. Why is
               | it important to point out?
        
               | reducesuffering wrote:
               | So we can look towards and achieve the 80% good solution
               | instead of the 70%? Progress? If we're giving out
               | subsidies for cars can we encourage lighter weight EV's?
               | A Tesla Model X is 50% more weight than a Bolt EV, with
               | similar range.
        
             | zamadatix wrote:
             | I think a large part of it was the hype part of the hype
             | cycle went too high and lasted too long (as it tends to
             | do). It's a bit like Wayland here, had it not been hyped as
             | the greatest thing to have ever happened to display servers
             | 5 years ago there'd be significantly fewer complaints
             | around it today.
             | 
             | The other large part of it is until something is better
             | than the old thing in nearly every way there is going to be
             | a significant volume of people who were really served well
             | by old thing disgusted by the idea of new thing being
             | called better already. For anything as common as cars that
             | has more to do with numbers than a specific HN obsession.
        
               | SoftTalker wrote:
               | > The other large part of it is until something is better
               | than the old thing in nearly every way there is going to
               | be a significant volume of people who were really served
               | well by old thing disgusted by the idea of new thing
               | being called better already
               | 
               | That's it for me. I'm not philosophically opposed to
               | electric motors powering automobiles. But none of them
               | yet produced serve my needs as well as a gas or diesel
               | powered car. EV proponents are obsessed with trying to
               | "gotcha" my reasons, so there's no need to go into the
               | details. If you're asking me to spend $50k or more on a
               | car, it better damn well be a heck of a lot better in
               | every way than the $5k car I am perfectly happy with, and
               | can replace if needed for the same amount of money.
        
               | recursive wrote:
               | Not sure if this is a "gotcha", but there are many EVs
               | available for less than $50k. Chevy Bolt can be had under
               | $30k for the base model.
        
               | bbarnett wrote:
               | That's still very expensive compared to what he said, but
               | I note that he had other reasons.
               | 
               | These are likely range coupled with charge time.
               | 
               | Some can't understand that no, 20 minutes of time (15+
               | minutes charging plus paying and hookup and so on), to
               | barely 80%, when you can find a free supercharger without
               | route diversion, isn't the same as a 2 minute fillup at
               | the gas station.
               | 
               | It's just not. At all.
               | 
               | EVs are where we are going, and I am confident we'll get
               | there for all usage cases eventually, but right now EVs
               | are not suitable for some.
               | 
               | People need to get over this fact. EVs are not suitable
               | for some.
               | 
               | And that's fine! So what of 20% of the population can't
               | use EVs due to range, and another 40% due to cost. That's
               | what early adopters are for, and the price will come
               | down, range via charge time will get even better, and it
               | will self resolve.
               | 
               | Frankly, if every car changed to EV tomorrow, we'd have
               | blackouts everywhere, and be forced to restart
               | depreciated coal power stations, just to handle all that
               | sudden power demand.
               | 
               | Not to mention the immense cost of new infra, power
               | transfer stations, etc, that needs to be built!
               | 
               | But again, we're doing a gradual rollout. People are
               | switching. We'll get there.
               | 
               | But the comments of GP make me think he gets the
               | ridiculous replies such as "but no you can just..." if he
               | mentions "EVs aren't suitable for me".
               | 
               | The arrogance, and hubris in such replies are astonishing
               | to watch.
        
             | jsight wrote:
             | > It's not. HN is obsessed with trying to "gotcha" electric
             | cars, any form of power generation other than nuclear,
             | public/alternative transit, etc.
             | 
             | I've noticed this happening with off-grid setups. People
             | will post a YT video with something where solar covers >90%
             | of their use, but people will point to the generator as
             | some sort of gotcha.
             | 
             | In a lot of cases, neither alone would have been practical.
             | That's not a gotcha, that's smart pairing of technology to
             | produce a solution to a real problem. But instead we get a
             | parade of "see you still need diesel". :facepalm
        
             | Trow83949 wrote:
             | 3 tons luxury SUV is not exactly "green".
             | 
             | And replacing battery after seven or three years is not
             | much difference. Rugged truck like that, should last 30
             | years with basic maintenance! This car is not even
             | serviceable!!!
             | 
             | It is the smugg greenwashing people hate!
        
               | spiderice wrote:
               | And where exactly did you get the "seven year" figure
               | from?
        
               | Trow83949 wrote:
               | Rivian battery warranty. If you actually use this as a
               | truck, as an off road SUV, or as a farm tractor, haul
               | heavy stuff, pull out tree stumps... It will complete a
               | few full charging cycles every day. Battery will degrade
               | fast. It does so on mobile phones, cars are no different!
               | It is a good idea to have it replaced before warranty
               | runs out.
               | 
               | > _8-year or 150,000-mile_
               | 
               | > _The high-voltage battery pack capacity naturally
               | decreases over time with use. This expected gradual
               | capacity loss over time is not covered under the Battery
               | Pack Limited Warranty. However, greater than expected
               | degradation is covered under the Battery Pack Limited
               | Warranty. The warranty will cover a battery pack that
               | loses 30% or more of its normal minimum usable rated
               | capacity within the warranty period._
        
               | pkulak wrote:
               | My gas car is out of warranty and I have yet to replace
               | the engine.
        
               | vegardx wrote:
               | Do you really replace your car engine and transmission
               | before the warranty runs out? You're constructing
               | arguments that literally makes no sense. The battery in
               | your phone isn't comparable to the one in an BEV. If that
               | was true your phone would have a fully working battery
               | ten years later, just with slightly lower capacity. Not
               | one that dies because you open a webpage with a too many
               | moving elements, so battery voltage drops and it turns
               | off.
               | 
               | All that said - I don't think a truck like the Rivian R1T
               | makes any sense. For the same reason that I don't think
               | most trucks make any sense. They're just penis extensions
               | that have little to no utility for a vast majority of
               | people that buy them. But since we're OK with that for
               | regular trucks, I think we should be OK with that for the
               | battery electric version too. Lets at least be
               | consistent.
        
               | Trow83949 wrote:
               | > Do you really replace your car engine and transmission
               | before the warranty runs out?
               | 
               | I try! A few months before warranty runs out, it gets
               | full inspection, and I claim every part that acts funky!
               | It is a free money!
               | 
               | > If that was true your phone would have a fully working
               | battery ten years later,
               | 
               | What exactly is the difference? If anything phone
               | batteries are way more expensive and sophisticated!
               | 
               | R1T can tow 100 miles on single charge. That is 1500
               | battery cycles within 150k miles warranty, or 3000 cycles
               | if you do that daily for 8 years!
               | 
               | > just penxs extensions that have little to no utility
               | for a vast majority of people that buy them
               | 
               | I actually want to use this as a truck. It should be soo
               | much better, new revolutionary technology...
               | 
               | You claim that thing is useless "penxs extension", yet
               | somehow manufacturer does not lie about its numbers!
               | 
               | > But since we're OK with that for regular trucks
               | 
               | OK, let's ban useless extensions. Why should people who
               | actually need proper truck for work, pay fines and
               | sponsor people, who buy useless EV penxs extensions?
        
               | Rebelgecko wrote:
               | Why would you replace the battery after just seven (or
               | three) years?
        
               | Trow83949 wrote:
               | Because it runs through 1500 charging cycles and capacity
               | degrades.
        
             | fho wrote:
             | The problem is that your EV experience will differ
             | dramatically on your way of sourcing energy.
             | 
             | That starts with what you pay for electricity (e.g.
             | 0.4EUR/100kWh in Germany vs. 0.05EUR in Denmark).
             | 
             | But continues with how much CO2 is created. With the German
             | energy mix, 1 kWh "produces" 0.434 kg of CO2 (tendency
             | rising). Burning 1l of gasoline results in 2.37 kg.
             | Comparing two cars:
             | 
             | Tesla 3 (18 kWh / 100 km, 80-90% efficiency during
             | charging):
             | 
             | (18 kWh / (0.8 bis 0.9)) * (0.434kg / kwh) = 8.68 bis 9.765
             | kg (CO2 per 100km)
             | 
             | Toyota Yaris Hybrid (with E10):
             | 
             | 3.9 l * (2.37 - 0.126) kg/l = 8.75 kg (CO2 pro 100 km)
             | 
             | Which is basically the same ball park.
             | 
             | To be fair, Tesla 3 vs Yaris Hybrid is an apple to pears
             | comparison. But the argument that can be made is for a
             | cleaner energy mix and smaller cars.
        
               | pkulak wrote:
               | That's cool and all, but you're assuming gasoline exists
               | in pools, fully refined, under gas stations. Since you've
               | priced in the entire lifecycle of every watt of
               | electricity, now you need to run it again taking into
               | account the mining, refining, and transport of oil.
               | Refining is literally boiling the crude and collecting
               | the bits that come off. Most folks think it's about 6 kWh
               | to rifine one gallon, who knows what for mining and
               | transport.
               | 
               | What's fun about that number is that those 6 kWh would
               | drive an EV about 18 miles. So, unless you have a
               | reasonably efficient gas car, even if you never burned
               | any of the gas you buy, and used it to fill swimming
               | pools or something, you only come out even with an EV.
        
               | mtwshngtn wrote:
               | To be fair, you're comparing the amount of CO2 "produced"
               | by the electricity generation of 1 kWh but your 2.37kg
               | figure of CO2 from gasoline does not include CO2
               | generated from production of the gasoline in the first
               | place, which would be necessary to do an apples-to-apples
               | comparison (of just the "energy source
               | generation/consumption" CO2) [0]
               | 
               | [0]: https://natural-
               | resources.canada.ca/sites/www.nrcan.gc.ca/fi...
        
               | kybernetikos wrote:
               | I pay extra for my electricity to guarantee 100% of my
               | usage is matched by renewable electricity. I expect many
               | other ev drivers do the same.
        
             | PeterStuer wrote:
             | Tbh I see the opposite. Try not cheerleading EV's, and
             | point out that yes, while they bring some advantages
             | overall the 'progress' is incremental rather than
             | revolutionary, and you'll get branded a 'Petrol addict' or
             | an 'oil shill' on HN.
             | 
             | My nr.1 beef with cars is the noise pollution and the
             | excessive space taken by them. Neither of those are changed
             | by EV's. (An EV makes just as much noise above 35 km/h, and
             | now they have them even making fake noises below that
             | speed).
        
               | Doxin wrote:
               | > My nr.1 beef with cars is the noise pollution and the
               | excessive space taken by them. Neither of those are
               | changed by EV's.
               | 
               | I feel like EVs do actually solve part of the noise
               | problem. Yes a EV at speed makes just as much noise as
               | any other car due to tire noise dominating at those
               | speeds. However You've got no idling noises, nor revving
               | noises when taking off. And that's leaving out edge cases
               | like how they introduced electric city buses here and
               | those make _wildly_ less noise than gas or diesel buses.
               | Never mind the lack of gross exhaust fumes.
        
       | Rapzid wrote:
       | Mmm, a bone stock :D~
        
         | xeromal wrote:
         | Daddddd, get off hacker news
        
       | bagels wrote:
       | Okay, some interesting things about this competition:
       | 
       | It looks like a gimmick rally, not a race. So not racing pace,
       | and you get penalized for going too fast.
       | 
       | The organizers provided a truck to charge the ev cars, nice.
       | Logistics for gas are a lot more accessible, you need a service
       | vehicle with fuel tanks in the bed.
       | 
       | It is a woman only competition.
        
       | 1970-01-01 wrote:
       | Most impressive is how it was with a stock truck.
        
       | zwaps wrote:
       | How do y'all get excited for EVs?
       | 
       | I know my next car will need to be an EV, but I just can't get
       | excited for any of them. They all go fast in a straight line, are
       | heavy and look like overweight SUV style. Otherwise, they seem
       | eeringly similar. Any sort of sound and feel is "generated".
       | 
       | I don't want to get a non-EV vehicle anymore, but the thought of
       | shelling out money for one of these uniform soapboxes... I know I
       | can just get the cheapest one because in terms of motors etc.
       | it's all more or less the same. But then, I'd rather get somehow
       | excited for a product I am going to buy.
        
         | kccqzy wrote:
         | This is a substance-less comment. How are the multitude of EVs
         | on the market similar? If you really think so, do you also
         | think all the cars (ICEs included) look eerily similar? If you
         | answer yes to that as well, then I can empathize with you:
         | these days cars do look quite similar[0] and I found that not
         | everyone will notice the differences. But that's more
         | reflective of the person than the car. (For example ask an
         | average person to describe the differences between bicycles on
         | the market and they likely can't either.)
         | 
         | [0]: https://ade3.medium.com/driving-conformity-49ffb2b1ff9f
        
           | Sophistifunk wrote:
           | GP is right, but it's _all cars_ that have become extermely
           | samey. If you 're spending Ferrari money your options have
           | never been better, but if you're a "car person" what's for
           | sale right now to the middle class is incredibly depressing,
           | with the exceptions of the 86 and the Z. Several
           | manufacturers don't even make a sedan any more.
        
             | spiderice wrote:
             | > GP is right, but it's all cars that have become extermely
             | samey
             | 
             | If this is the case then I wouldn't call GP "right",
             | because their complaint is very misleading.
        
           | zwaps wrote:
           | I agree with you and this sort of SUV look is precisely the
           | one I don't like. I guess my taste is just cursed.
        
         | SkyPuncher wrote:
         | With all due respect, it's not like there's that much
         | creativity in the ICE market, either. At least, stock that is.
        
         | Kon5ole wrote:
         | >How do y'all get excited for EVs?
         | 
         | For me it's the reaction to input. At normal traffic speeds,
         | most modern EV's will react like when you pop the clutch in a
         | high-revving sports car. It does so silently, in any situation,
         | every time.
         | 
         | If you try to drive as quickly in a fossil car, anyone around
         | you will wonder who the idiot making all the noise is, so in
         | practice you don't do it even if you have a car that could.
         | 
         | Since I basically never drive longer than a battery range I
         | haven't had to stop anywhere to "refuel" in the past couple of
         | years, which is also nice.
         | 
         | That said - I completely agree about the design and visuals. At
         | the moment it's a choice between "big boring" or "bigger
         | boring", but I expect that to change once the market settles.
         | It's a land grab at the moment.
        
           | akira2501 wrote:
           | So for you it's the way that they can be more dangerous in
           | less obvious ways to other vehicles and pedestrians in shared
           | traffic areas?
        
         | sgt wrote:
         | Drive a Tesla. That'll make you excited and probably lose all
         | interest in ICE cars. Happened to me!
        
         | akira2501 wrote:
         | > Otherwise, they seem eeringly similar. Any sort of sound and
         | feel is "generated".
         | 
         | They all have the same problem. The battery technology isn't
         | particularly great so to get any appreciable range they have to
         | be made with certain materials and with certain concessions.
         | Wind is apparently a big factor in route planning so that also
         | impacts the exterior design criteria as well.
         | 
         | > I don't want to get a non-EV vehicle anymore
         | 
         | For those who use their vehicles to do repair and other types
         | of field or farm work the verdict is not at all clear. I'd also
         | prefer Fire, Ambulance and Police to stay on gasoline and
         | diesel for probably the next 25 to 50 years, given the abysmal
         | rate of infrastructure development that happens in this
         | country.
         | 
         | > But then, I'd rather get somehow excited for a product I am
         | going to buy.
         | 
         | Pretend I made a new magic gasoline that pollutes, but does so
         | "entirely outside the environment." It works with all actual
         | gasoline vehicles without modification. Which one on the market
         | right now would you want to drive?
        
         | crote wrote:
         | It's a car. It's a box on wheels which gets me from point A to
         | point B. I get about as excited about it as I get about my
         | kitchen table.
         | 
         | Mainstream cars, be it either EV or ICE, haven't been exciting
         | for _decades_. They all have the same boring SUV  / crossover
         | look these days, wasting a ton of space without actually having
         | significant carrying capacity.
         | 
         | I judge modern cars by 1) whether I can physically fit in them,
         | and 2) how badly they screwed up the controls. "Exciting" just
         | isn't a thing these days.
        
         | askl wrote:
         | Why do you want to get excited about it? It's just a tool that
         | you have to use to get from place to place.
        
         | bartvk wrote:
         | Can't you mod it? You can wrap it for more color options, but
         | if you're someone who likes to travel, then there are pretty
         | cool 3rd party camping options available, notably for Tesla.
        
       | LispSporks22 wrote:
       | How did the Tesla cyber truck do in this? I think 4 other EVs
       | were there??
        
         | kramerger wrote:
         | I don't think cybertruck is ready for that kind of test. One
         | dying in the middle of the race would be bad for PR.
         | 
         | There were 3-4 Rivians in the rally, second best currently at
         | position 11:
         | 
         | http://www.scoring.rebellerally.com/Display_Results.php?Page...
        
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