Rivian’s first East Coast showroom opened to the public in New York City Friday. The showrooms, which the EV maker refers to as “spaces,” seek to shake up the stale image of a traditional car dealership while also separating Rivian from the pack in an increasingly competitive market.
The spaces are intended to be family friendly, where potential or existing customers can interact with or test drive Rivian vehicles, speak to specialists and even plan a trip. Trip planning is core to the experience because Rivian hopes to teach EV-curious buyers how to overcome charging anxiety and navigate ownership for the first time, explained Denise Cherry, Rivian's senior director of facilities design and retail development.
“We understand that a lot of our customers are first time EV owners and so there is some range anxiety associated with that. So we are absolutely here to help you plan and then understand how you get to that destination, and how you enjoy that space once you’re there,” Cherry told Cheddar News.
On display at the New York City space are Rivian’s flagship R1S and R1T models. The R1S is a three-row electric SUV with off-road capability and an EPA-estimated range of up to 321 miles. The base model starts at $78,000. The R1T, meanwhile, is an electric pickup truck starting at just under $73,000 with an EPA-estimated range of up to 328 miles.
Once a Wall Street darling, Rivian has struggled amid increased competition in the EV space, supply chain issues and inflation. In 2022, the company produced just over 24,000 vehicles and lost $6.8 billion, The New York Times reported. But the startup aims to double its output in 2023.
As for its spaces, Rivian has several other locations planned. California sites will include Groveland, the “Gateway to Yosemite,” and Laguna Beach, where the space will occupy a former movie theater. It also has a 10,000 sq ft indoor and outdoor space planned for Austin, Texas. According to Cherry, the company hopes to have 10 spaces open by the close of the year with more to come, based on customer demand.
Joe Cecela, Dream Exchange CEO, explains how they are aiming to form the first minority-controlled company to operate an exchange in U.S. history. Watch!
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase. A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024. The deal with Tesla was only in its planning phases but it was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers.
At 100 years old, the Goodyear Blimp is an ageless star in the sky. The 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 — flying roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually — to celebrate its greatest anniversary tour. Even though remote camera technologies are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2½-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event.
You'll just have to wait for interest rates (and prices) to go down. Plus, this deal's a steel, the big carmaker wedding is off, and bribery is back, baby!
It’s a chicken-and-egg problem: Restaurants are struggling with record-high U.S. egg prices, but their omelets, scrambles and huevos rancheros may be part of the problem. Breakfast is booming at U.S. eateries. First Watch, a restaurant chain that serves breakfast, brunch and lunch, nearly quadrupled its locations over the past decade to 570. Fast-food chains like Starbucks and Wendy's added more egg-filled breakfast items. In normal times, egg producers could meet the demand. But a bird flu outbreak that has forced them to slaughter their flocks is making supplies scarcer and pushing up prices. Some restaurants like Waffle House have added a surcharge to offset their costs.
