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Rivian acaba de probar sus vehículos eléctricos Knight Rider KITT con esta aterradora actualización de software

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Rivian se está adentrando en el espíritu de Halloween con una actualización de software que permitirá a los propietarios transformar su SUV eléctrico R1 en KITT desde Jinete caballeromáquina del tiempo de Regreso al futuro O un espantapájaros embrujado que acosa a los peatones con sus misteriosos chirridos de búho.

No, esto no es una broma del Día de los Inocentes que salió mal, sino más bien una actualización de software por tiempo limitado de Rivian que espera que aporte un poco de diversión al tema algo aburrido de los vehículos definidos por software.

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Los sobrealimentadores de Tesla cambian las reglas del juego para los vehículos eléctricos de Rivian y Ford

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He escrito sobre eso antes Cambiar a NACS (Envío estándar de América del Norte) que se realiza en los Estados Unidos y Canadá. NACS es el sistema de carga creado por Tesla para su uso con sus vehículos eléctricos y su extensa red Supercharger en Norteamérica. El año pasado, casi todos los fabricantes de automóviles acordaron cambiar de CCS1 (el estándar de carga anterior) a NACS y llegaron a un acuerdo con Tesla para acceder a su red Supercharger.

Este cambio tiene muchos beneficios. En el momento de escribir este artículo, la red Tesla Supercharger tiene alrededor de 26.000 cargadores rápidos de CC (NACS), mientras que Electrify America, la segunda red de carga más grande, solo ofrece 4.000 cargadores rápidos de CC (CCS1). Si bien solo el 70% de los Superchargers son compatibles con vehículos eléctricos que no son de Tesla, el acceso a la red de Superchargers de Tesla es claramente una gran ventaja.

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Computers

How Rivian Is Pulling Off Its $45,000 Electric SUV

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Last week, the electric automaker Rivian unveiled the R2, its latest electric SUV. When the vehicle starts rolling off production lines—in the first half of 2026, Rivian says—the R2 will join the R1S SUV and the R1T pickup truck in the automaker’s lineup.

Critically, Rivian pledges its newest entry will be cheaper: At “around” $45,000, according Rivian’s press materials, the SUV will cost some $30,000 less than its bigger SUV cousin, and will still come with about 300 miles of range.

Pulling off the feat of making its new SUV more affordable without sacrificing range or style should not only prove critical in making Rivian’s latest ride stand out in an increasingly crowded field of electric vehicles—it also might save the company. How did Rivian make it work? “R1 was designed through addition. It’s our premium flagship. We got to say yes to a lot of things,” Jeff Hammoud, the automaker’s chief design officer, said at an R2 unveiling event in Laguna Beach, California, last week. “With R2, we’re really thinking about, to get the price point down, what do we need to say no to?”

It’s early, but the math seems to have worked: Rivian reported taking more than 68,000 reservations in the first 24 hours after the SUV’s unveiling.

Rivian’s R1S flagship SUV, shown above, is bigger, richer with features, and costs $30,000 more than the new R2. However, the R2 dropped the added cost without big sacrifices in the way of range, design, or experience.

Photograph: Rivian

For the electric automaker’s design team, the trick to creating what executives called the “more accessible” R2 was to maintain the original SUV’s design language—the elements that make it clearly a Rivian—while snipping manufacturing and materials costs wherever they could. So the R2 has Rivian’s signature front, complete with smile headlights, and looks like a shrunken version of the R1S. (The new vehicle seats five people instead of seven.) Cutting more costs came down to smart engineering.

After a long day of showing off the R2 and its surprise crossover counterpart, the R3, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe sat down with WIRED to discuss his engineering and design teams’ little compromises that help make the new SUV work.

Suspension System

In a bid to make the R1 line into a sports car/off-roader hybrid, Rivian had to go all out with its suspension system. Because electric batteries are heavy, the vehicle needed air springs to ensure it could get the ground clearance required to traverse rough roads but also the stability to make the ride feel comfortable and smooth. An electro-hydraulic roll control system helps the R1 navigate tight corners—the sports car part—absorb off-road shocks and maximize wheel articulation, so as many wheels as possible can maintain contact with even the most treacherous terrain. The fancy system also enabled some delightful perks. Camp mode, for example, uses the suspension system to level out the R1’s chassis while on uneven ground, making it more pleasant to sleep or cook in, or just hang inside the vehicle or in its truck bed.

But that complex and expensive suspension system wouldn’t work for the R2, says Scaringe. To cut down on manufacturing costs, the SUV has a fixed ride height and fixed roll control. Instead of an independent double wishbone front suspension design—using two arms to connect each wheel to the chassis—the R2 uses a strut.

The change “was absolutely the right call,” says Scaringe, because it performs well in internal safety testing, saves the automaker “hundreds of dollars,” and comes with the added advantage of giving the R2 more front storage room.

Rear Windows

For the R2, Rivian designers wanted to give passengers a classic “open-air” adventure car experience, the kind found on a safari inside a Toyota Landcruiser. So the team set out to give the rear passenger windows full-drop glass. Easier said than done. Many vehicles, including the R1S, have a fixed quarter window, separated from the portion that rolls down by a strip of metal and rubber called a division bar. The configuration makes sense for lots of vehicles, because the rear passenger doors overlap with the front of the rear wheelbases, meaning that the small portion of glass behind the division bar has nowhere to go.

So to drop that window glass, Rivian’s design team had to spend lots of time fiddling with the size of the R2’s back doors. “There were some goofy proportions for a while because of it,” says Scaringe. In the end, the final configuration allows the entire back windows to drop. It also allows Rivian to save money on glass, division bars, and sealants.

Rear Table

Hammoud, the Rivian design head, says R1S owners really love the SUV’s split rear tailgate. It opens like a clamshell, which allows easier access to the trunk by shorter humans, and also gives people a place to sit, shielded from the elements. But that setup is pretty pricey. In the R2, Rivian has nixed the split tailgate but added a handy little rear tray table, which can be used inside the car during picnics or camping jaunts but can also flip outside the car to be used as a seat or changing table.

Portable Bluetooth Speaker

The R1 line comes with a built-in, removable bluetooth speaker, which also emits a soft, yellow glow—a lovely campsite mood setter. But mood setting ain’t free. The R2 doesn’t come with the speaker. Sad, but necessary to keep costs down.

Frunk

Rivian likes to talk about its software-first approach. Indeed, its vehicles are constantly collecting data. For that reason, the automaker knows that drivers really use its front trunk, or “frunk”—the storage space where a gas-powered car’s engine usually goes. Scaringe credits the R1 frunk’s popularity to its very easy-to-use open-and-close tech, which allows people to open up and close down the thing by double-tapping a button on the key fob or depressing a button on the front fascia, no pushing or prodding required.

But that system is expensive. For the R2, the frunk still opens with the tap of a button, which releases a latch inside. But a small strap dangles from the inside lid of the compartment. Drivers only have to give the strap a light tug before a cinch takes over, closing the frunk tight. “It’s just the right trade-off for a $45,000 car,” says Scaringe. Rivian will really find out if drivers agree about two years from now when the R2 rolls out of the factory and onto American roads.

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Rivian reveals the $45,000 R2 electric SUV, and its siblings the R3 and R3X

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Rivian officially revealed the R2 electric SUV during a livestream held Thursday afternoon. We knew the followup to the well-regarded R1 was coming, and we even got some leaked specs earlier this week, but now we’ve heard it from the electric horse’s mouth. The company also surprised view R3 and R3X, however, came as a complete surprise, harkening back to Steve Jobs and his famous “one more thing” conference enders.

As previously suspected, the R2 is a compact SUV that looks quite fetching. All versions of the five-seat electric vehicle get at least 300 miles per charge, thanks to newly-designed 4695 cell and a much larger battery pack that makes up a large portion of the bottom floor. Owners will also get plenty of refueling options. It comes with a NACS chargeport, so it’ll work with Tesla Superchargers. The company’s also building its own charging network, called the Rivian Adventure Network, with plans for 600 locations within a few years.

A white car.

Rivian

The R2 has plenty of get up and go, with three motor layouts to choose from. There’s a standard single-motor rear-wheel drive model, a dual-motor all-wheel model with motors in both the front and back and the beastly tri-motor version, which features two motors in back and one in front. That last model can go from zero to 60 in three seconds, though the metric likely shrinks when considering the other two versions.

There’s a robust infotainment center up front, though the layout of these digital elements are subject to change as we get closer to launch. Also up front? The R2 sports two gloveboxes, whereas the R1 line lacked even one. There’s also two scroll wheels on the steering wheel, complete with dynamic haptic feedback. The car’s self-driving features have gotten a major boost here, thanks to 11 cameras throughout and five radars, including a long-range front-facing radar.

Two gloveboxes.

Rivian

Prices start at $45,000 for the standard single-motor version, which is in line with what company CFO Claire McDonough has been promising. Though slightly smaller than the R1, the R2 is still pretty roomy. As previously stated, it fits five people and boasts an open-air design with quarter windows that pop out and a rear glass window that drops and opens. Seats on both rows fold flat, so owners should be able to transport longer-than-average gear like surfboards. Just like the R1 line, there’s a roomy front truck, otherwise called a frunk, for additional storage. The R2 is available for preorders now, with deliveries starting in 2026.

A Rivian R3.

Rivian

The R3, on the other hand, looks to be even more compact than its newly-announced sibling. It features a shorter wheelbase than the R2 and an overall tighter design. It’ll also be available in three models, including single-motor, dual-motor and tri-motor versions. There’s no range data available, but it does feature the same battery pack as the R2.

The R3 also includes some of the same open-air design features as the R2, with an automatic rear lift and a rear-facing glass window that pops open for storage. This window can adjust to multiple heights to accommodate oddly-shaped items. There’s a pair of gloveboxes up front and an interior design that prioritizes sustainable materials.

Finally, there’s the dune buggy-esque R3X. This is a high-performance vehicle, with only a tri-motor design available. It boasts a wider stance and more ground clearance than the R3. As a matter of fact, it doesn’t really look like the R3 at all, with its “rugged and playful” interior made from cork and anodized metal, among other materials.

Overhead shot of the car.

Rivian

Rivian hasn’t announced any pricing or availability information on the R3 or R3X. It did, however, tease some forthcoming accessories for the company’s entire fleet of vehicles. These include a tent that fastens to the roof, bike racks and additional rear storage options.

Now, the bad news. Rivian itself has been experiencing some issues. The company announced back in February that it would be laying off 10 percent of its salaried employees and job cuts have already started. The EV maker laid off around 100 employees at its Normal, IL factory this week.

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Rivian is halting construction of its $5 billion Georgia plant to save money

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Rivian generally had a good day yesterday, launching the R2 SUV along with the surprise R3 crossover and dune buggy-esque R3X that were met with general acclaim. Buried in that press release, however, was the news that the automaker is halting production of its $5 billion Georgia plant in order to save money.

Instead of building the R2 in Georgia as originally planned, the company will start production of the electric SUV at its existing Normal, Illinois plant. “Beyond significantly reducing the amount of capital needed to bring R2 to market, the company believes this approach considerably reduces risk to the launch and associated ramp,” the company said.

The move will also allow Rivian to bring the R2 to market sooner, in the first half of 2026, while saving the company $2.25 billion in capital spending in the short term. That’s important since it has been burning through cash of late, according to recent reports.

The Rivian R3 and R3X will eventually be built at the company's Georgia plant

Elliot Ross Studio

Of all the EV startups to come along of late, Rivian has been one of the most promising thanks to significant investments from Amazon, Ford and others. The company’s electric R1T pickup and R1S SUV were also widely praised for their attractive designs, healthy range and more.

Ramping up an automotive startup is no easy feat, though, especially in a market that’s been tough on EVs of late — with even stalwart Tesla feeling the pinch. It doesn’t help that startup rivals like Fisker are having serious cash flow issues, as it may spook consumers wary of untested EV brands.

Rivian selected Georgia as the site for its second EV factory back in 2021, receiving up to $1.5 billion in state incentives. At the time, the company said it hoped to eventually produce 400,000 electric vehicles there annually. With plant changes, the Normal, Illinois facility will augment capacity to 215,000 units annually across R1T, R1S, EDV, RCV, and R2.

The Georgia location remains in the picture, but Rivian only said it construction would restart later. “Rivian’s Georgia plant remains an extremely important part of its strategy to scale production of R2 and R3,” it said in a statement.

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Rivian R2, R3, R3X Electric SUVs: Price, Specs, Release Date

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Yes, things sure have changed—for Rivian and for the world—since the automaker debuted in the US in 2021 and recorded the largest IPO the stock market had seen in seven years. One big change is that interest rates are higher, which makes large purchases more expensive to finance, and makes buyers cagier about purchasing anything, new cars included.

The conventional wisdom on electric vehicles has shifted too. Sales data suggests electric-auto makers have made strides among higher-income early adopters, who tend to get excited about any sort of new technology. Indeed, these are the sort of drivers right in Rivian’s crosshairs: weekend warriors with change to spare. But now, automakers must reach normal drivers, who will be less patient, and less forgiving, in adapting to a new kind of car—much less paying a premium for the privilege. As Scaringe put it on a recent call with investors: “How do we get the 93 percent of the market that’s not buying an EV to get excited about the product?”

The center console in the R2.

Photograph: Rivian

Rivian hopes that a more affordable option will do some of that work. At $45,000, the new vehicle is more comparable to middle-of-the-road EVs, including the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and 6, the Ford Mustang Mach-E, and the Tesla Model 3. It’s also closer to last month’s average US vehicle transaction price—for vehicles with any powertrain—of $47,400, according to Kelley Blue Book.

Still, there should be plenty of more affordable competition by the time the R2 starts rolling off the production line in two years. A compact “urban” truck from the California startup Telo Trucks—designed by Yves Béhar’s Fuseproject—could arrive by then. So might Kia’s EV3, now only a concept. Ford is planning production of a new electric Explorer. Meanwhile, Tesla has said it will refresh its platform in 2025 with a new, “next-gen” vehicle that may finally carry the company’s mythical $25,000 price point.

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