superswiss

BTW, another problem that Rivian has is that they practically have no chance to expand to Europe, because in order to drive a Rivian in Europe one needs a commercial driver's license due to the weight of the vehicle. Other parts of the world may have similar restrictions. The regular driver's license in Europe has a 3.5 tons legal weight limit and the Rivian weighs almost 3.5 tons, so by the time you have passengers in it, it's over the legal weight limit. It's actually kinda insane that we let average soccer moms with terrible driving skills drive these tank missiles in the USA. Just hope you never get T-boned by one.

js_cls

They also need some smaller vehicles for the EU.

I was excited about Rivians until I drove one. I love the looks, and the tech isn’t bad either (although its pretty much a Tesla copycat) but the regenerative braking had to be the worst I’ve experienced. You are forced to one pedal drive this car, and I much prefer throttle coasting and using regular brakes. They were overly harsh and honestly nauseating, it made driving normally very difficult. In comparison, the Hyundai Group EV’s offer 4 different modes which are far superior, and make it feel like a normal car, and their one pedal drive was much smoother. Aside from that, the seat was a tad too firm and not plush enough, and the synthetic leather on the steering wheel felt like it belonged in an economy car. Fix those issues and I’d be more interested.

Drone_S213

A CDL makes for a better driver. RIVN is negotiating to sell EDVs outside the AMZN exclusivity arrangement which might not be a bad thing.

In December 2019 I got T-Boned in Athens GA by a F350 Superduty that had every option except for Duallies... Driver was doing 60 in a 35mph zone and Totalled my Pristine 2005 CRV SE. Took me a year to fully recover from that Missile. Had to later buy my son a 2021 Kia Soul since that CRV was meant for him...lol

superswiss

Ouch! Yes, these massively oversized pickup trucks are a major issue. They cause serious damage and injury in an accident. It really boggles my mind. People are worried about crimes on public transportation, but statistically driving is significantly more dangerous in the USA than taking public transportation, but nobody realizes it, because they think they are safe inside of their metal box.

PEagle

Yep, I would love to see a first gen Renault twingo in the US, right next to one of your "standard" cars. The twingo was a small car but a huge success as a city dweller here in France.

Nowadays, SUVs are popular and size wise, we're on the captur/kadjar or Q3/Q5, X3/X5 as a growing standard. We consider a F150 to be a bigger car than needed and would only consider it in very specific circumstances (or for status symbol) so the Rivian just seems way too big for western European standard.

crabman

You need different cars there, in the US and particularly the west coast, cities were built around cars so for most people there is little pain involved in owning a bigger vehicle. Things you see at times in France, where people park so close they can't get out without tapping the cars in front and back of them, don't happen here and would in fact invite the potential for gunfire. Not kidding.

I've several apartments across the pond and I used to maintain a car over there but it was too much hassle since I mostly walked anyways; nowadays I just take a taxi or hire a car if/when needed. Over there the sizing question I asked myself was whether the car was small enough, here the question is whether the car is big enough. It's a completely different way of thinking.

MBNUT1

Well that's what happens when you watch certain programming 24/7

SW20S

I don’t think anybody thinks you’re safer in your own car than on public transportation. Being in your own car is just more convenient and freer.

Streamliner

I guess you are talking about actual traffic accidents and not other potential threats, right?

I would not ride the Metro trains in L.A. or BART in San Francisco or anything similar in most any place in the USA. They are full of criminals, drug addicts and thugs who prey upon the general public, especially in any “blue” state, where the police have been “defunded,” cash bail has been rescinded and if you defend yourself, YOU will probably end up in jail!. I won’t ride city busses for similar reasons, nor will I ride long distance busses, as there are far too many horrific crashes. Bus drivers fool with their cell phones too.

As a long time lover of long distance railroads, they may be reasonably safe, but riding Amtrak these days is like riding a bus in a Third World country, but you don’t get to stop for a fast food meal, you have to eat Amtrak food which is not nearly as good. Try that for three or four days in a row! It’s a quasi government agency that provides ever shrinking services that are a shadow of what they once were. PLUS, in most cases, most long distance trains in the USA begin and terminate in the middle of large cities. So, you depart from one sewer and get off in another. With on-time arrivals pretty much a thing of the past, arriving at the Philadelphia 30th Street Station at 3am is not out of the realm of possibility. Does THAT sound “safe” to anyone here? No thanks!

Unless and until law and order is restored to this country—not to mention CIVILITY—I will feel infinitely safer in a vehicle that is private and under my control.

superswiss

This perception is exactly what I'm talking about. You make it sound like you are getting assaulted the moment you step foot on one of these public transportation systems. However, it's simply not true. You have something like a 400 times higher chance to be hurt in a car accident than being a victim of a crime on public transportation. The real world numbers simply don't support this perception. I have no problems riding BART. My wife went to the city for a performance last night taking BART. I dropped her off at the station and picked her up at 11pm. She didn't get assaulted. Nor any time before. The problem is the media makes it sound like everybody is a victim of a crime on these systems. BART has been replacing their outdated and old rolling stock with new modern and nice rolling stock in recent years. The project is not complete yet, but the new rolling stock is nice and modern. BART got a black eye a few years ago when it came out that most cameras on the trains were just decoys, but now it's all under surveillance. I only read about the supposed crimes in the news, but personally have never witnessed one and I used to ride BART every day.

Streamliner

I’m happy for you, really.

superswiss

Thanks I guess?

crabman

It's an indictment of so many things but one that stands out right now is that confirmation bias works in terms of getting clicks. As news has devolved into a click generator it's easy to see why an attack at a bus stop makes the news but a car wreck doesn't. The former will generate a click, the latter no one clicks unless it's a major pileup or a celebrity is involved.

Even if the news was actually honest, and attempting only to inform without manipulation from thousands of behavioral psychologists trying to help generate said clicks, you still wouldn't read about what didn't happen: No one reports that millions of people took the bus and nothing happened. On the other hand no one reports on car accidents because they happen every day; it's not news unless you're the one in the car. It's not hard to see how that plays in peoples viewpoints where the woman assaulted at a bus stop or train station makes the news, but not the many more that suffered an accident on the way to work.

superswiss

Just like if you only read @Streamliner complaints about his W223, one could think everybody's experience with the W223 is like that, because nobody comes here starting threads titled "Another 6 months and no issues with my W223".

SW20S

When you look at the number of people who ride subways and other public transportation and compare them with the people that are killed for whatever reason inside those systems, you are just exponentially safer in those systems than you are in a car. Thats not a matter of opinion, thats simply statistics. I don't use them much because I don't like them, not because I am afraid of them.

You may not FEEL safe because the the percieved threats you mention, but statistically and factually you are way more likely to die or be injured in a car than you are on public transportation.

Now when you mention travel by train, thats a different story. I would much. much rather travel to say NYC by Amtrak than by car. Would never want to drive around NYC in my own car, in that particular city public transport is just preferable. I prefer Ubers and Taxis to the subway though.

I don't ride busses ever and subways and such very rarely not because I am afraid, I simply don't like them and would rather drive myself in my own car. I have however used subways in many cities including DC, NYC, Philadelphia, Chicago and have never felt unsafe. Its easy to be afraid of the idea of something when you have no experience with it. Subways are just full of ordinary people getting from one place to another.

I always chuckle when people say DC is not safe for instance. People are intimidated by DC because they have no experience with DC. When I was a kid growing up in rich Bethesda outside of DC, I was very intimidated by going downtown because people I trusted were afraid. As an adult I have spent lots of time in lots of "bad" areas of DC and I can tell you DC is not a scary place at all. Same goes for Baltimore.

Dima

I agree, as the mayor had said, if it weren't for murders, DC would be one of the safest cities in America.
I think the Embassy Raw where Obama lives is perfectly safe.

SW20S

LOL, the vast vast majority is perfectly safe. Sure parts of it are poor and run down and crime happens there, but this concept that you are "in danger" there is overblown by people who never go there and experience it for themselves

superswiss

The issue is that most people have no glue about probability and statistics. Do you know how low the chances are of getting murdered in DC or other cities with so-called high murder rates? Divide the number of murders per year by the number of people living in the area and your chance of being a victim is miniscule. Not to mention that many crimes are targeted. You can largely avoid becoming a victim of a crime by making you less of a target. Law enforcement calls this target hardening. Basically you never wanna be the easiest target on the block. Goes for your home, your parked car and your person. As they say, if you go hiking in bear country, make sure you are not the slowest runner in the group.

People arguing against public transportation and for more driving in places such as the greater LA area has to be the very definition of insanity. Driving in LA is an absolute nightmare, and I'm not just saying that because I heard it on the news channel that tells me what I wanna hear. I'm saying that because I've actually experienced it for myself. Between the 405 parking lot and being stuck in traffic pretty much wherever and whenever you go, and then when you finally reach your destination you have to valet park because they almost have to stack the cars to fit them all, it is a super stressful environment. Not to mention the resulting smog that extends all the way to the Grand Canyon. Number 1 cause of death in the US is heart disease, because everybody has hypertension from all the stress and is overweight or obese, because all they do is sitting in their cars. But the good news is Big Pharma makes a killing selling pills to lower your cholesterol and managing that hypertension.

Dima

I assume you haven't renownced your Swiss citizenship, so what's the problem, both Zurich and Geneva are wonderful.

Streamliner

I’m happy for you as well, really. If you like spending time there, I’m all for it. I hear that Detroit, St. Louis, Chicago, Philadelphia and Oakland are also quite lovely. You might want to check them out.

superswiss

There are two options in life that you can chose from. You can either be part of the problem or part of the solution. Up to you. You seem to have chosen to be part of the problem.

Dima

I have no choice, it's impossible to get Swiss citizenship. But at least Boston is not like the cities mentioned above.

superswiss

That's not the problem.

Dima

It's our fault, we all let it happen by electing politicians who refuse to enforce the law. When Giuliani was NY mayor, the city was a great place to be with virtually no crime. People apparently didn't like it and since have been electing you know who.

Dima

I was just kidding around anyway.