Munro to help Rivian with production speed

[ironpig]

I wonder how many more manufacturers will put him on contract to keep him from making teardown videos of their cars...

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[ironpig]

There is only so much Rivian can do at this point. The R1T truck has been designed, engineered, systems validated, robots purchased, vendors under contracts, etc.

I can see small improvements implemented on the assembly line to help Rivian shorten the time needed to assemble a vehicle and increase production rates.

I have a hunch Rivian is bringing in the Monroe team mainly to work with the "Wrangler fighter" R2 engineering and design to help with assembly efficiencies, production, etc. They can be consulted early on to avoid mistakes made with the R1T.

I would agree with that. The R2 is going to be the car that makes or breaks them. If they need to hit a price point to compete with the big guys, it's going to take all hands on deck to make sure it's profitable.

 

[SASSquatch]

It can’t be any harder than trying to get 30 Gen Z’ers to pay attention to one thing for 60 consecutive seconds without pulling their phones out of their pockets!

Amen!

 

[SASSquatch]

I really hope that the next Rivian vehicle in the pipeline starts with the letter "D"....

 

[frostbit3]

Sandy is an expert at simplifying and cutting costs. My only concern is that he is also a big fan of Tesla.

From the videos I’ve seen of him talking about Tesla, I get the impression he is a big fan of Tesla’s manufacturing because of what they’re willing to do. He showed three different generation Teslas that were only a couple years apart each and they went from 70+ parts to like 3. From a manufacturing perspective that’s incredible. From his history, he’s used to working with the old auto makers like ford and GM that take years to even consider making a small change and making 12 committees to discuss it and determine if they can make manufacturing better, whereas Tesla seems to be going all in and isn’t afraid of change.

That’s what I’ve gathered from hearing him talk about their process. They have panel gap issues galore, but I’d argue that should be QA’s job to catch it and give the feedback upstream vs the customer giving it. But I also know nothing about this stuff and am just coming to conclusions based on what I’ve heard sandy talk about in the past.

 

[mini2nut]

“Panel gaps galore” is from people reading to much on the internet.

I own a Tesla. The panel fitment on our Model Y is 99% perfect.

I have read numerous posts on this forum from owners bitching about misaligned panels and uneven gaps on their brand new $78k Rivian R1T‘s.

 

[SANZC02]

“Panel gaps galore” is from people reading to much on the internet.

I own a Tesla. The panel fitment on our Model Y is 99% perfect.

I have read numerous posts on this forum from owners bitching about misaligned panels and uneven gaps on their brand new $78k Rivian R1T‘s.

I think different people just have totally different expectations. I’ve had no issues with the build quality or fit and finish of my 2016 Model S, I’m sure for me it will be the same for my R1S.

If people go into things expecting issues, I’m sure they don’t stop looking until they find some.

 

[bd5400]

I think different people just have totally different expectations. I’ve had no issues with the build quality or fit and finish of my 2016 Model S, I’m sure for me it will be the same for my R1S.

If people go into things expecting issues, I’m sure they don’t stop looking until they find some.

Both of our Model Xs (first a 2016 and now a 2018) have been pretty terrible build quality-wise, but ultimately things like panel gaps are issues I note and then kind of forget about. Yes they exist but they don’t really have any affect on my day to day and don’t take away from my enjoyment.

 

[Tahoe Man]

Maybe they will hire Kyle next given his well documented engineering background and expertise!

IMO Alex on Autos does a much much better job at reviews. Alex's videos are very structured and detailed, his reviews are much more professional and not biased. He doesn't just go running around with his phone in hand taking video. He'll also state how he obtains his vehicles or if he paid for the vehicle he reviewed.

I'm not sure why the whole influencer thing took off. I really don't care much for the Kyle guy, his "reviews" really aren't much IMO.

 

[Guy]

IMO Alex on Autos does a much much better job at reviews. Alex's videos are very structured and detailed, his reviews are much more professional and not biased. He doesn't just go running around with his phone in hand taking video. He'll also state how he obtains his vehicles or if he paid for the vehicle he reviewed.

I'm not sure why the whole influencer thing took off. I really don't care much for the Kyle guy, his "reviews" really aren't much IMO.

I was being sarcastic and completely agree that Alex is a much better reviewer and that is reflected in his much larger subscriber base.

 

[Tahoe Man]

I was being sarcastic and completely agree that Alex is a much better reviewer and that is reflected in his much larger subscriber base.

Yup, Alex is a straight shooter, he's not a EV fanboy apologist, that's why I trust his reviews. Unlike other influencers that run around with a with their camera filming and call that a review, Alex is goes to great lengths to provide accurate detail and commentary.

What I find annoying is some influencers always seem to have a new expensive cars in their driveway, but they're always opaque how it was purchased, if at all. I don't trust the "influencers" that have a couple cars worth a few hundred grand or so parked in their driveway, but live in some place worth half that.... Makes me question their honesty, if they have any.

I like when Alex states what he can and cannot afford.... It adds a lot of creditability to his reviews.

 

[Tahoe Man]

I've watched Munro at times. Frankly I've never been impressed with him or his team...I think with Rivian getting him on board is neutral, nothing more.

There was one video where he's struggling to figure out how how work an EA station to charge, frankly it was embarrassing, I was surprised it was even uploaded.

 

[AO_Pete]

I feel like I've watched all of Sandy's teardown videos, certainly all the Tesla and Rivian ones. Ultimately anything on Youtube from a commercial company is advertising, but I think it's a little harsh to suggest that's their sole purpose, although maybe I'm being naive.

Anyway, there's little doubt in my mind Munro can add value. Rivian did the absolute right thing and over-built, the same as Tesla did back in the day, but then you refine. Tesla has gone to the extreme, and while the castings and assembly happening at TX are pretty amazing, it's turning Tesla's into commodity vehicles, where the value is in the software, and maybe safety, but not the metal or cabin. Getting out of the R1T and into the Y or 3 feels like I'm getting out of a Merc and into a '08 Malibu (a bit dramatic, but it really is apples and pears). I think one of the videos showed Rivian were using 17 screws on each of the front door interior trims. That's crazy inefficient, but makes sense for a 'bullet-proof' first gen product.

As for panel gaps, Tesla really struggles. We're 6 cars in (2 x S, 3 x 3, and 1 x Y, X coming Oct?, CT 2023??, Roadster who knows...) and the panel gaps aren't even close to anything coming out of Europe or Korea/Japan. Paint isn't a patch on Rivian and others either. Not all are built bad of course, hopefully most are great, but the % that are not good likely exceeds nearly every other volume manufacturer.

 

[cardad]

Why all the negative comments about Rivian people failing or not doing their job? Another perspective is that "the dude from Magna" knew he had to find the bottlenecks to accelerate production, drove his team to identify the problems areas, and chose to bring in a subject matter expert with outside knowledge and perspective. I know from experience that's how it works more often than not. Our small engineering company has extensive specific industry knowledge and get calls from small to Fortune 500 companies all the time asking for help in our area of expertise, including COOs and CEOs who are taking the bull by the horns to solve a problem.

You misunderstood here. He did not say “failing”. He said “actual”. If the COO is forced to step in on design and engineering issues they are likely bottlenecked in getting the operations side optimized due to inherent failures in the product itself. Bringing in Munro at such a late stage signals that executive management at Rivian is likely to be as bad as we all expected based on the details revealed in the discrimination lawsuit fiasco.

 

[SANZC02]

You misunderstood here. He did not say “failing”. He said “actual”. If the COO is forced to step in on design and engineering issues they are likely bottlenecked in getting the operations side optimized due to inherent failures in the product itself. Bringing in Munro at such a late stage signals that executive management at Rivian is likely to be as bad as we all expected based on the details revealed in the discrimination lawsuit fiasco.

Everyone is assuming this is on the R1 side.

When I first heard this I thought it might help on some things on the R1 side but was more to make sure the R2 which will be more of a commodity series, is done with ease of manufacturing and cost management early in the design phases.

As far as management goes, I think a team that reaches out to people for help and different perspectives as well as can readily admit they have made some bad calls and are quick to correct them shows maturity. I would not expect them to be flawless and they seem to be quick to try to adjust any shortcomings.

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