So I reserved a Lucid Air

[JimmyB]

Looking at my options for my next S, I found myself going down a Lucid rabbit hole, and liking what I saw. So I got myself a reservation.

No idea when it’ll show up. Maybe this year, maybe a year from now. But at under $70k for the cooking version (with three years’ Electrify America charging), it’s a compelling proposition.

My 85D will be off to its new owner later this month, so I guess I still need a Raven in the meantime

 

[tm1v2]

Come back here and post about it when you eventually get it!

 

[Doc Brown]

I happened to see one in the wild today. Mfg car charging on the NorCal Coast. Nice looking ride, except the graphics "hiding" the body lines.

 

[chinney]

I am intrigued by Lucid. If I were in the market for a Model S - but also not in a hurry - I would definitely consider Lucid as an alternative. It will be interesting to see if Lucid can make the transition from small-scale to large-scale production while ensuring quality and reasonable costs. If they do, and they eventually make something in the nature of the Model 3, our next vehicle might well be a Lucid.

 

[X Fan]

If Lucid survives, I'd look at their future SUV very seriously.

 

[chinney]

I am intrigued by Lucid. If I were in the market for a Model S - but also not in a hurry - I would definitely consider Lucid as an alternative. It will be interesting to see if Lucid can make the transition from small-scale to large-scale production while ensuring quality and reasonable costs. If they do, and they eventually make something in the nature of the Model 3, our next vehicle might well be a Lucid.

I was serious about not being in a hurry. Lucid announced yet more delays in ramping up its production.

Lucid cuts 2022 production goal, delays Gravity SUV launch

California-based luxury EV manufacturer struggling not with a shortage of chips, but windows and carpeting

driving.ca

 

[Doc Brown]

I saw this same Lucid as post #3 this morning (same EA charger as last time) and talked stitch the employee driving. He drives this test car all the time up and down the northern California Coast and inland part way to Tahoe (Rocklin area) running battery testing. I took a closer look - very nice car inside and out.

 

[Chisale]

Looking at my options for my next S, I found myself going down a Lucid rabbit hole, and liking what I saw. So I got myself a reservation.

No idea when it’ll show up. Maybe this year, maybe a year from now. But at under $70k for the cooking version (with three years’ Electrify America charging), it’s a compelling proposition.

My 85D will be off to its new owner later this month, so I guess I still need a Raven in the meantime

So if you're saying $70,000 then you must have reserved the Air Pure right. Currently their website is saying Q4 2022 for that model though that's the quickest and it varies depending on features you want. Be interesting to see if they hold to the current time lines they are advertising. The Air Touring is Q3 2022. I'd like to wait until I could afford the Air Touring but even if it was a year out, that is a compelling time line.

 

[JimmyB]

Yep, I reserved the Pure. The Touring and the Grand Touring look amazing but, much as I'd love to have that glass canopy roof, $100k is psychologically more than I'd like to spend. The Pure, even when you add dual motors, "DreamDrive Pro" and the fancy sound system, seems to represent pretty great value.

I picked up a 2020 LR+ last week which I'd like to enjoy for a while, so if Lucid's timeline slips it's all good.

 

[chinney]

I'd love to get your first hand impressions of the Lucid when you get it (acknowledging that I may have to wait a while).

 

[JimmyB]

I'd love to get your first hand impressions of the Lucid when you get it (acknowledging that I may have to wait a while).

Absolutely. I'm hoping to be able to test drive one fairly soon. In the meantime there are quite a few owner reviews, and comparisons with the Model S, over on lucidowners.com

 

[electricjib]

I’ve seen three Lucids in the wild. Two of which were dead on highways getting put on tow trucks. The third was near Thunder Hill in CA.

 

[chinney]

Absolutely. I'm hoping to be able to test drive one fairly soon. In the meantime there are quite a few owner reviews, and comparisons with the Model S, over on lucidowners.com

I checked out that lucidowners.com site and did not actually see the sort of reviews that I was looking for. It was mostly reposts of magazine and automotive industry website reviews which are often puff pieces and which I don’t trust a lot. I would be looking for detailed amateur reviews of owners who are coming from the Tesla experience. Not a lot of Lucid cars have actually been delivered yet, so no doubt there will be more reviews as Lucid ownership expands more into the general population.

 

[chinney]

I'd also mention that the lucidowners.com website is kinda quaint. It still has a small-time feeling to it. With so few cars having been delivered, it literally has threads titled "Who got #520?". I imagine TMC was like that, once upon a time. Now, of course, Telsa is delivering 520 vehicles every few hours.

 

[chinney]

Car Company Lucid Is Junk – 24/7 Wall St.

This is the ‘contra’ take on Lucid. I.e., that they and other EV startups, other than Tesla, will not be able to afford the astronomical costs of ramping up production and further vehicle development and will fail. I don’t know that I necessarily agree, but certainly I can see the upcoming challenges. Even Lucid’s own optimistic projections does not have it producing and selling all that many vehicles in the next couple of years, and those projections now look optimistic indeed. Meanwhile, the company is going to have to continue to invest billions in expanding production facilities and in R&D over the next little while. It has deep pockets, but that does not guarantee that investors will want to continue nor that it will succeed even if they do.

That said, Lucid has developed some nice technology that would be attractive to other manufacturers. Even if they can’t make a go of it on their own, I can see them being bought out and continuing production under the umbrella of another company. It is going to be an interesting time in the auto world over the next number of years.

 

[zecar]

I don't see how these small companies can keep up with software development. Software wasn't an issue for Ferrari until recently.

 

[mycroftxxx]

Saw one today in coastal SoCal, with paper temp plates so I assume it was an actual sale, not a dealer car. Looks a lot different in person than in photos IMHO; seems smaller and the belt line looks higher.

 

[voyager]

The superlatives pour in. Here's Motor Trend's review:

2022 Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance First Drive Review: Simply Sensational

The 2022 MotorTrend Car of the Year just keeps getting better. And not just because this one makes 1,050 hp.

www.motortrend.com

 

[SO16]

The superlatives pour in. Here's Motor Trend's review:

2022 Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance First Drive Review: Simply Sensational

The 2022 MotorTrend Car of the Year just keeps getting better. And not just because this one makes 1,050 hp.

www.motortrend.com

They have issues with EA charging and then say this: “Welcome to EV road trips using the nascent charging infrastructure.”

Amazing how these “journalists” ignore Tesla’s supercharger network when making claims like that.

I just completed a 5,300 mile road trip out west with zero supercharging issues.

Oh but wait. Farther down in the article they DO remember Tesla when they state this: “Let's not forget that our buddy, Randy Pobst, just lost Pikes Peak because hecouldn't easily access the Tesla Model S Plaid's fan.”

And of course in that article they state how the defrost is buried in the menus. Well, it can easily be modified to have defrost on the main screen.

Unbelievable