R2 Changes Since 2024 (Mike Kantorski)

[mkhuffman]

Speeding it up obviously didn't work for you! It's the FRONT seats (i.e. driver and passenger seats) that no longer fold flat, not the second row.

Wow! I did miss that. I thought he was talking about the second row as it didn't look totally flat in the video snip he shared. It was folded down, but it didn't look flat to me.

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[KRG]

[Opinion Mode]
I rarely watch videos from influencers. Why? Because when I did watch them, the pattern was too often the same. Splash screen with some click bait claim such as "This isn't the Rivian R2 that was originally announced" (lol) and the influencer with a shocked or otherwise goofy looking expression, or a claim that they have insider scoop information. The video begins with a tease and then a plug to subscribe to their channel because their channel is the best thing since sliced bread. Watch for 5 or 10 minutes and learn nothing new, or maybe learn something that I could have Googled and gotten information in seconds to read and interpret myself, instead of someone's possibly biased, or worse yet, inaccuate information. When the R1 was under development and initial release, there were as many bogus claims as there were accurate claims. I'll research what I need to know myself and avoid the biased opinions and the boot licking for vendor favors that happens so often in influencer videos.

Are there some good influencer videos out there? Probably. But in my opinion the crap influencers out there have tainted it to the point I'm not interested in finding out which ones are the few good ones. For all I know this could be a quality video, but I'm happy to wait until Rivian makes an official announcement and I'll deal with facts, not opinions.
[/Opinion Mode]

You must be a boomer

I like some youtube influencer content. As an automotive fanatic, it's rarely groundbreaking news for me, but I find videos like this fun to watch and it keeps me hyped. Same with travel content, fitness content, etc. Some are hacks, many are just passionate people sharing info.

 

[Newtonrj]

Thank you Mikekantorski_tech. Very much appreciate the work and honesty that goes into all your video feeds. This forum sometimes hurts the very brand it tries to help. Also, I very much enjoyed the winter tire /vs/ all-season test video last week as well. Every week Friday, is another look into Rivian, ownership and here, R2 speculation. Thanx to you and Merideth's investment into the brand and championing video channels.

 

[Gen(R3)Xer]

Thank you for the share!


This may have not been news for you or a lot of people on this website but there are a lot of people that still don't know what a Rivian even is. I hope this reached those people and the people waiting on any information of R2 because Rivian has been pretty much silent.

I'd also like to say that I don't hack any video for ad placements. This is a hobby during my free time after work. I actually try to shorten them as much as i can.

But thank you for watching, and thank you OP for sharing my content! Much appreciated.

You’re welcome. I thought you did a great job of covering all of the changes over the years. It’s a lot to keep track of. It also shows how a company changes and evolves a new model before its release, which I find interesting. Things like the charge port door location, the housing for the rear wiper, inclusion of LiDar/Gen3 HW, potentially a new base color, etc.

Keep up the good work and ignore the gatekeepers/haters.

 

[Zoidz]

 

[LFleig]

Hey man, I watch your videos often. Though it's not new news, the video did summarize the most significant changes since 2024 and some people who are interested in the R2 or just discovering the initial announcement video did not know about the changes. I use ForrestsAutoReview for a quick summary for people who ask me what an R2 is and do check out the comments every now and then. There are people who do not know about the seats or the NACS placement change (which agreed, I prefer the original place as it works for my lifestyle needs and I don't plan to ever use the Tesla charger since Musk ruined so many government workers lives whether they were fired or made such a toxic work environment that lingers today thanks to his DOGE).

Just wanted to say that your content is useful to people. I know you know that, but its nice to hear it from others sometimes. Even cited you to a Rivian Regional Marketing Manager when they asked me how I knew so much about Rivians (I don't own one yet, but knew more than their new sales team in the area) along with other influencers.

I 100% agree!

 

[Gen(R3)Xer]

Didnt watch the video but on this point, wow, really?!

That seems to be almost an expected feature in every modern car or SUV. How much do they fold? I can see every YouTuber review picking on this point - Kyle will be miserable about it. Seems like a miss on Rivian's part.

The front seats no longer fold forward because of safety issues. The second row folds flat per usual. No one has tested it yet, but it’s assumed that a 95th percentile male could lie down in the back with the seats folded down. We need to have someone risk being thrown out of an auto show and climb in there and find out.

 

[ndmiller]

Personally since placing my two deposits I've read or seen nothing on the R2 because it was all speculation and forum bickering. This was a quick update I enjoyed with a few interesting bits (knuckle design) and a few not real worried about (Front seats not folding flat).

Looking forward to the actual official announcement and specs when R2 is released to decide if the family is getting 2, 1, or 0.

 

[RivianRocks25]

I'm so torn. I loath YT influencer videos. A waist of My time 9/10 times. "Here I am, bla bla bla, watch me talk slow, talk about what I will say for 5 minutes, making this longer so you waste time and YT gives me more money". It's 16 minutes. (I opened and closed in 1 second just to see that). I am not a boomer but remember a day when the web was a hyperlinked interface with interconnected pointers that you followed to get information you cared about. Your path was a wandering kalidascope instead of a depressing, metal health killing, algorithm driven doom scroll. I won't support these YT videos if a can and a quick 3 minute scroll through this thread told me all I really care about with front seat change, new color and NACS port location swap.

That said, Rivian R2 HAS to become a viable option to replace the Tesla Y or Rivian is toast with the current cash burn. And Tesla has mastered social media influencing. Saw a recent survey that said Toyota and Honda make the best EVs according to Americans, and 47% don't know who Rivian is. So LOTS of information to get out there to educated.

So fight fire with fire and make these videos. I won't watch it. But maybe someone off this site will get it fed to them by the YT algorithm and they will learn about Rivian because of it.

P. S. I've made 3-4 car repair videos for stuff that isn't out there that I've done. Made the videos in feeling of Classic YouTube, to help society be better and share my knowledge. Each it under 5 minutes long, gets right to the point and never even shows my face in the video like a talking head. Have a couple followers (why? they must think we will have the same random problem no one else had shown on YT) and make zero dollars from YT. That's not the point. I put them out to help people in the most concise method, not make it a job or stroke my ego.

 

[Rivian Roamer]

What a lot of people seem to be missing. Is while it may not be new information to you it doesn't mean there is no information in there for others.

For the power users of the brand you will generally get new information before any content creator could put together a script, film and edit it. These videos just aren't for you and that's okay.

It's also okay to be kind, not watch it and go on with your day.

 

[Zoidz]

What a lot of people seem to be missing. Is while it may not be new information to you it doesn't mean there is no information in there for others.

For the power users of the brand you will generally get new information before any content creator could put together a script, film and edit it. These videos just aren't for you and that's okay.

It's also okay to be kind, not watch it and go on with your day.

I don't think anyone is missing the fact that it may be helpful to a newcomer. But are you missing the fact that influencer can be and have been DETRIMENTAL to a newcomer or brand? It's a double edged sword.

For many, it's just the general feeling that influencers across the board - cars, electronics, music, relationship coach, pet breeds, whatever - may or may not be truthful or accurate, and are motivated by clicks and money. How much true expertise or qualification does it take to promote yourself as an influencer? None. How many times have we seen influencers that get exposed for not living the life or actually using the products they promote?

There was a recent uproar because some influencer in the music realm gave a blisteringly bad review of an electronic product. She was completely unqualified to review the device (not even a music device), but tens of thousands of followers drank the Kool-Aid and damaged the brand.

That's the problem.

 

[TexasBob]

At the risk of distracting the angry anti-influencer debate and addressing the actual content of the video...

Agree 100% that the most significant change is the eyes-off L4 autonomy platform that Rivian is launching with the R2. I actually agree with RJ (c.f Kara Swisher interview) that this is the most important new technology coming to the industry by far. Who knows if Rivian's tech stack will actually deliver (it has a fighting chance IMO), but if it does, then buying without this $2,500 option means being stuck in 2033 with a six year old vehicle that cannot drive itself when everything else can. Even if everything else about R2 looks perfect, I am waiting on the new tech.

For me, R2 is going to come down two things: range and charging speed. If the AWD large pack is 350+ miles and the 10-80% is less than 25 minutes, I am in. If not... looking toward Audi, BMW, or Volvo from my next ride.

 

[Rivian Roamer]

I don't think anyone is missing the fact that it may be helpful to a newcomer. But are you missing the fact that influencer can be and have been DETRIMENTAL to a newcomer or brand? It's a double edged sword.

For many, it's just the general feeling that influencers across the board - cars, electronics, music, relationship coach, pet breeds, whatever - may or may not be truthful or accurate, and are motivated by clicks and money. How much true expertise or qualification does it take to promote yourself as an influencer? None. How many times have we seen influencers that get exposed for not living the life or actually using the products they promote?

There was a recent uproar because some influencer in the music realm gave a blisteringly bad review of an electronic product. She was completely unqualified to review the device (not even a music device), but tens of thousands of followers drank the Kool-Aid and damaged the brand.

That's the problem.

Don't conflate someone's ability to influence with a populations ability to be influenced. One of the great things is that you don't require qualifications to speak on a topic. What a sad place it would be to have that system. We'd be stuck with watching the news at 5 PM every night – because they've never incorrectly influenced anyone.

People should be capable of making their own decisions and if they're letting their opinions be influenced so easily – perhaps that's the problem.

If someone can't separate fact from opinion that's a bigger problem. You don't have to like them and you can yell at clouds all you want but they provide a valuable service to many. Given Rivian has done almost no marketing on outward communication on R2. I'd argue they've done more than their absent (ope, RJ?) CMO.

 

[Rivian Roamer]

I appreciate Rivian being bold and trying things like the front-folding seats and power ports on the rear. Sad to see them go.

I just hope the powered roof rails remain, that seems like a relatively cheap and easy thing to keep that would really be valuable.

 

[mkhuffman]

Don't conflate someone's ability to influence with a populations ability to be influenced. One of the great things is that you don't require qualifications to speak on a topic. What a sad place it would be to have that system. We'd be stuck with watching the news at 5 PM every night – because they've never incorrectly influenced anyone.

People should be capable of making their own decisions and if they're letting their opinions be influenced so easily – perhaps that's the problem.

If someone can't separate fact from opinion that's a bigger problem. You don't have to like them and you can yell at clouds all you want but they provide a valuable service to many. Given Rivian has done almost no marketing on outward communication on R2. I'd argue they've done more than their absent (ope, RJ?) CMO.

Exactly.

If there is an influencer problem, then it is with the people uneducated enough to be inappropriately influenced by them. The problem isn't the influencer at all.

What happened to personal responsibility? If you make decisions based on what some influencer says, without doing your own research, who is to blame? That's easy. And it isn't the person trying to make a living producing cat videos.

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