Nice chat with town home inspector

[BigSkies]

I’m enjoying this thread because Rivian’s are so common in Denver to just be routine.

I’ll still get occasional questions about it when I get outside my own usual bubble. But even those questions are becoming less frequent.

I don’t think less of anyone who isn’t aware of the EV startups. Most people just don’t care about cars in general. They don’t care what Ford or GM or Toyota is doing, much less companies they don’t interact with.

Also remember that for every new car sold there are roughly four used cars sold. The majority of people’s car shopping experience has more to do with seeing what’s available in the used market instead of researching new car models and new car brands.

I do have a very low tolerance for people with the strong anti-EV belief system gained through social media and zero practical experience or research.

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[Great Gatsby]

There is a great term for this called "Jaqing" and a better one where someone is "Jaqing off" meaning they are just asking questions to undermine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_Asking_Questions

It is amazing how many people still haven't heard of Rivian, but then I step out of MY bubble and realize just how much I tend to read and research about so many things compared to other people. Even now, I'm working on geting solar panels installed on my home and you hear the horror stories of people in FL that have panels they can't use and were scammed and I leap off the couch wondering "how could they have done that? It wasn't like the scammer was really devious, they just didn't ask basic questions" but people DO just go with the first thing they hear that sounds right.

Go the other direction. Many people will PROUDLY say they have a "Dodge RAM truck" and not understand that it is basically a foreign car at this point.

I was asked at a gas company last week when I rolled up for their discount tank fill day and opened the frunk to get to 20lb cylinders out. The woman taking the money asked the car make and where it was made, I gave the usual enthusiastic reply. She saw all the room in the frunk and then asked if it had the "normal" amount of room in the back. That was different and I stuttered and just said it had the usual amount as any other SUV with the third row up or down. Told her I loved it.

I remember when I was a kid my grandmother came to visit my family while we lived on the west coast of FL for a few years for my Dad's job. When she arrived she wouldn't stop commenting on how shocked she was that EVERYTHING was green. Apparently, she was convinced that she woudl show up and it would look like the beach the moment she stepped off the plane and of course most of FL is covered in grass, palm trees, brush, etc EXCEPT for the beach.

Bias is a very very very hard thing to overcome

Never heard of Jaqing before, but glad there is a term for those type of questions. I've encountered them a lot, and always annoys me to no end. I'm all for discourse, but asking just to be a PITA is a special kind of childish.

Most of my encounters with people asking about my car are positive. If anything, it brings up the "Way better than a Tesla" comment more often than "Eww, electric", which it is what it is at this point. Most people ask me how I like it and are genuinely shocked that my response, no hesitation, is "I love it. Best car I've ever owned." Some have even said "I wish it was gas..." to which I say "Well then you wouldn't have the frunk, 3s 0-60 and ability to refuel at home for a 1/4 of the price of gas". Some people just need to readjust how they think about cars, as I get it, our tendency as humans is to stick with what we know.

Had a similar situation to your FL one. Wife's family is from up north, and we live in GA. They are always shocked to find Atlanta is both urban and wealthy in the northern suburbs. Doesn't fit their narrative of the south as a backwards, poor and uneducated rural place. Always fun to watch the cognitive dissonance in real time. Also heard the "everything is green" comment as well about GA. I don't know what they were expecting, but how many trees we have here always comes up as a topic of conversation.

 

[stormbreaker]

I have really enjoyed all of the comments in this thread. Thank you all. And to echo was many have said, my R1T is the best vehicle I have ever owned. When I tell folks how versatile and capable it is, they don't know what to say.

PRESENTING.....the GEAR TUNNEL!

Whoa....cool.....and it goes all the way to the other side?

 

[Gen(R3)Xer]

I honestly enjoy having these conversations, specially if those asking are genuinely curios and not trying to reinforce their own world views. It is nice to educate people and watching them realize in real time the benefits of owning an EV. The biggest one is always "So where do you change the oil?" and then they have the "Oh wait...there is no engine" and realize how much simpler the powertrain is and how many other benefits come off that. When they ask me about the battery, I always say that it is the last thing I worry about. They are heavily regulated and tested and that always surprises people. I also mention the long warranty that they come with.

The media (strictly focusing on the sectors losing sales, EV fires, sus hands free tech, being trapped stories) and the somehow politized nature of EVs have become their worst enemy. I think most reasonable people would be open to one if they weren't bombarded with FUD all the time. You can also enjoy both, as I still have an ICE vehicle myself. It unfortunately has become a "my team is ICE and yours EV" thing like we tend to do with everything else, which I just find unfortunate.

I enjoy it too. I want a job in electric vehicle education, but I’m not even sure where to start.

Another great point to win over the EV curious is the cost of charging at home. I have a travel charger that I use on occasion and the cost to charge up my battery is under $10. That really impresses them.

 

[LeoNoLip]

I once parked my R1T and walked past an old lady who practically spat out "blah blah Tesla blah blah" under her breath to her traveling companion who grabbed onto her. For a moment I was afraid she was going to hit me with her walker. I don't mind people who don't like trucks or EVs, but I draw the line at taking crap from people who don't like Elon or Tesla.

 

[HaveBlue]

Folks really only widely know Tesla as an American-made EV company. Where I live (Rockledge FL) I get questioned all the time. When people see my Rivian, they either think it is part of the Big 3 or foreign. Occasionally I get someone trying to talk about all the negatives of an EV. Now for the history lesson (I had to check Wikipedia for part of this). Rivian actually started as Mainstream motors in 2009 in Rockledge FL (where I live). Initially they were going to produce a sport car called the R1. Apparently RJ grew up here. You’d think this would be well known here but nooooo. I have to tell them. Now for more history and trivia. Mainstream Motors morphed to Avera and then to Rivian. What I did not know is Rivian is actually a wordplay on the Indian River. The Indian River is actually not a river but the intercoastal waterway running through Brevard county and by Rockledge.

It is. RJ played there as a child.

 

[mkhuffman]

I have had people ask me what it is a couple of times. They do seem surprised it is American made, and even that it is a BEV.

Personally I think most people who don't know what Rivian is are really just not car people. I recognize just about every vehicle I see on the road, and can name the make and model. It frustrates me when I see a vehicle I don't recognize, and then I have to figure out what it is. It doesn't happen often.

I am not normal. Most people pay very little attention to the various vehicles on the road and probably could only name the ones they have owned before.

Even my wife has misconceptions about BEVs, and the Rivian is my second BEV. She asked me if the battery would die while the truck sat at the airport for a week. I think she was comparing the truck to her phone, which would definitely die after sitting for 7 days. I explained that the truck goes to sleep and the battery will lose very little charge while we were gone. (It lost 3.5%. Pretty good vampire drain, Rivian!)

I don't think we should be too critical of those who don't know what we know about BEVs. It isn't willful ignorance. IMO it is just lack of interest. Mostly.

That said, I try to be honest when people ask me how much I like driving a BEV.

Honestly? Public charging sucks. Sorry, but it does. We make excuses because we love our trucks, but seriously. It does suck. If you can charge at home for all your driving, it is amazing and so much better than ICEVs.

But if you have to charge on the road? It sucks. And I tell people that. Because it is true. I know because I have experienced it myself, many, many times. And my wife has experienced some of the pain with me, which is one big reason she refuses to get a BEV for herself. Even though all of her driving is local. All of it.

And range? Dude. Worse range on the highway when range matters the most, losing 10-20% at high speeds. You can only use 80% of the battery when traveling since you should stop DCFCing at 80%. You lose 10-20% in the winter due to heating the cabin and battery. So a 400-mile range truck becomes a 200-mile range truck. How does that not suck? LOL.

Honesty about the good and bad of BEV ownership is helpful when talking to people asking curious questions about my truck. I have never experienced a negative discussion, and I think this is why.

 

[DD4ST]

Somewhat contrary to your experience on public charging, I have found the forced stops of 20-30 minutes every 2-3 hours when travelling are a welcome relief that I did not experience with an ICE vehicle. I have had an occasional charging issue with slow charging or a non-functioning charger, but that is in a definite minority. But everyone has their own preferences.

 

[Redmond Chad]

I completely agree that honesty about Bev experiences is helpful.

However, my experience with public charging has been fantastic. And I have crossed the US and Canada multiple times.

Maybe it has helped me that my wife insisted on stops every 200 miles even back in our gas car days. It probably also helps that the vast majority of my charging has been on Tesla superchargers. Others are narrowing the gap, but in the past it has been a much better network than the others.

 

[Tuco_S]

Because they only consume news from certain preferred outlets. Ones that portray all EVs as foreign... and never think to make any effort to fact check with a few seconds of web query (which is always right at their fingertips whenever they have their internet connected "smart"-phone). In the time anyone asks "what is it?", they could've figured it out on their own and then some.

Trump is doing everything he can to stop EVs. He's been bought off by oil and gas interests.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Trump is doing everything he can to stop EVs. He's been bought off by oil and gas interests.

We know. But saying this "outloud" is frowned upon by admins.

 

[Tuco_S]

We know. But saying this "outloud" is frowned upon by admins.

Note taken....thanks!

 

[Brian A]

Because they only consume news from certain preferred outlets. Ones that portray all EVs as foreign... and never think to make any effort to fact check with a few seconds of web query (which is always right at their fingertips whenever they have their internet connected "smart"-phone). In the time anyone asks "what is it?", they could've figured it out on their own and then some.

Why make everything political? I have talked to dozens of people that approach me about my Gen 1 Quad R1T. People from both sides of the aisle and most just haven't heard a lot about it. It's no different than most people not knowing that Hyundai and KIA make most vehicles in America and that will soon include hybrid and EVs.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Why make everything political? I have talked to dozens of people that approach me about my Gen 1 Quad R1T. People from both sides of the aisle and most just haven't heard a lot about it. It's no different than most people not knowing that Hyundai and KIA make most vehicles in America and that will soon include hybrid and EVs.

You should be asking yourself the question. Not every post is political. And I did not specify any political affiliates. Yet, you chose to take offense and make it political.

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