Next R2 Hardware Wishlist

[Millbarge]

The only car I have driven with a camera based center rear view mirror was a Lexus. The clarity and wide field that eliminated blind spots was awesome. The overall usability was horrible! With a standard mirror, the eye focus is for the distance to the object being viewed, which is similar to the front window view. With the mirror as a display for a camera, the eye focus is the distance to the mirror, which is closer than the instrument panel. Data on the instrument panel is relatively large and very high contrast, and down low where bifocals or vari-focal lenses automatically adjust for such focusing, but the mirror display is up high, highly detailed, and with highly variable contrast. For younger eyes, this is not likely a problem, but for someone needing multi-focal lenses because the eye does not focus as easily, a problem that starts with most people as they age over 40, this is a serious problem.

Fortunately, the Lexus EV I test drove made it easy to turn off the display and have a standard mirror view in its place. The camera display basically was behind the mirror, and totally dominated the image when it was on, but left a very normal mirror view when the display was off. I was only a block or two into the drive when I realized the mirror appeared terribly out of focus, and then it didn't take long to realize I had to point my nose in the air to see what was in the mirror, and thereby very much obscuring the front view in my periphery of the mirror display.

If I had a camera mirror, I don't think I'd use it all the time. But when the car has been loaded up, like college move in/out, I would have liked to have that feature.

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[Millbarge]

That's the law in California for years when it rains. If the wipers but not the lights are on, ticket.

yeah it's the law in PA too. and there's signs. and a large number of people STILL don't do it.

 

[kanefsky]

The only car I have driven with a camera based center rear view mirror was a Lexus. The clarity and wide field that eliminated blind spots was awesome. The overall usability was horrible! With a standard mirror, the eye focus is for the distance to the object being viewed, which is similar to the front window view.

I agree with this 100%. The rear view is already available on the main display and works pretty well there, but the location and size of the mirror are terrible for that purpose. The biggest issue is that there's very limited ability to organize the display the way you want it, so I rarely leave it on the rear-view display unless my visibility using the mirror is completely blocked.

It would be great if you could split the display horizontally and/or vertically and assign whatever you want to each section. It would also be great if you could assign one of the views to a physical button so that when you push the button it instantly shows your chosen view (such as rear view) for as long as you hold the button and then automatically switches back when you let go.

 

[Tom(myBoy)]

How many of these hardware changes that people are wanting can be remedied (made or mitigated) by aftermarket vendors?

For example:

• on another thread I saw someone post a grab handle for people in the back seats which latches to the headrest. I’d call that made although only a partial solution since the front passenger doesn’t have one.
• the aftermarket headliner shades available for the R1 would be an example of a mitigation IHMO.
• so too would be a subwoofer in the spare tire well.

I think these are a lot of good ideas and, as was the case in the old Miata community, aftermarket makers/vendors made a lot of custom hardware parts (from suspension to motor to interior and exterior bling to hardtop and convertible roofs) for its various types of owners.

 

[RivAW]

The only misses to me are cargo tie downs and grab handles. HVAC in the cargo area makes sense for dog owners, and no one else, so I get the omission.

I don't think there are any 2 row SUVs on the market currently with HVAC in the cargo area. Doesn't really make sense from a production standpoint.

 

[chimpanzee]

The only misses to me are cargo tie downs and grab handles. HVAC in the cargo area makes sense for dog owners, and no one else, so I get the omission.

The cargo tie downs getting removed is a huge bummer for me. I will have to get creative with my camping fridge and gear storage now.

 

[NCSwa]

FM radio…

IMO I LOVE LOVE LOVE the new Radio Option. I can listen to any station in the Country anywhere I want. I travel to the mountains locally in NC, and lose my CLT stations about halfway up to my condo, now I can listen to them all the way up, heading to Ohio next week, and I can listen to them all the way.. This is a HUGE upgrade over standard FM IMO. Sure there are some super small local radio stations that you cannot get, that sort of sucks. But I think for most people this will be great, especially those that like to check in with Local radio from either previous hometowns, or when travelling to keep a tab at home...

 

[zeilnhofer]

IMO I LOVE LOVE LOVE the new Radio Option. I can listen to any station in the Country anywhere I want. I travel to the mountains locally in NC, and lose my CLT stations about halfway up to my condo, now I can listen to them all the way up, heading to Ohio next week, and I can listen to them all the way.. This is a HUGE upgrade over standard FM IMO. Sure there are some super small local radio stations that you cannot get, that sort of sucks. But I think for most people this will be great, especially those that like to check in with Local radio from either previous hometowns, or when travelling to keep a tab at home...

IHeartRadio is nice, but the big problem is you need decent cell service for it to work. Aren't there cell dead spots on the way to the mountains in NC? I know in VT there are a bunch due to the terrain. One thing I don't understand about Rivian; they promote themselves as an outdoor auto with lots of serious off-road capabilities, but they tie all their entertainment options to cell networks which are not well known for their coverage off piste. No antenna radio, no native app to play music files from a USB stick or phone. I know you can BT from your phone and I tried that during my test drive and all controls are on the phone so you have to unlock your phone and manually change what you are playing if you are out of cell coverage so Siri or Google or whatever assistant wont do voice commands at that point.

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