Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe exclusively told The Drive that no collision repair should cost tens of thousands of dollars — and explained why it's happened.
  • CapuccinoCoretto@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3 hours

    The market is ripe for the equivalent of a wileys jeep ev. Cheap to buy, repair amd capable with no frills.

  • turtlesareneat@piefed.caEnglish
    5 hours

    I got into a fender bender with my Buick and they totalled it because the fender was worth half as much as the car. They’re doing something very wrong in car design.

  • wjrii@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5 hours

    TL:DR: Poor scale and awareness due to being a niche brand, overly large aluminum body panels requiring either massive replacements or complicated welding, small shops guessing that it must be even more exotic and expensive than the CEO claims, and insurers shrugging and moving on because the volumes aren’t hitting their financials hard enough for them to care.

    • GorGor@startrek.websiteEnglish
      5 hours

      welding aluminum requires TIG. It’s harder and more specialized.

      welding mild steel body panels are simple with equipment any body shop will have.

      • kalpol@lemmy.caEnglish
        3 hours

        Hell any home 120v wire welder can do mild steel. It is the cutting and shaping part that is hard.

  • XLE@piefed.socialEnglish
    5 hours

    A GMC Hummer EV taillight costs an eye-watering $6,100 to replace, plus labor. The idea of having to replace one of Audi’s new adaptive Matrix LED headlight setups is something most people probably don’t want to stomach.

    Audi made these adaptive light strips to fix the artificial problem of newer headlights being too bright compared to older ones.

    • grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5 hours

      Meanwhile, only 30 years ago when we had sealed-beams in standardized shapes, you could replace a headlight for like $10. And the lens was actually glass instead of plastic prone to yellowing and abrasion.

      • AA5B@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1 hour

        They burned out and needed to be replaced. New ones should never burn out

        • grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1 hour

          You say that as if saving $10 on a bulb once every few years is worth the risk of spending $100s or apparently even $1000s if they get damaged.

          There are reasons cars have been getting ever more unaffordable (above and beyond inflation), and stuff like bespoke model-specific headlights requiring complicated tooling to manufacture is one of them.

          • AA5B@lemmy.worldEnglish
            55 minutes

            Cost wise, no it’s not worth it.

            But you now have an item that

            • never needs to be maintained
            • is brighter
            • works better

            The adaptive headlights in my car are truly amazing, and every time I’m blinded by oNcoming headlight glare I wish everyone had them

      • frongt@lemmy.zipEnglish
        3 hours

        Yeah and if you hit someone that glass shatters and stabs them. The plastic is shatter resistant.

      • CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        4 hours

        Those lights were absolute garbage though and the vehicles that used them got half the gas mileage compared to new ones due to their blocky shape and lack of aerodynamics.

  • blockheadjt@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    3 hours

    Just hammer it out bro

    Hit the front with a hair dryer for a minute, then use a mallet from the inside

    • CapuccinoCoretto@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3 hours

      Just drive it as is. When other road warriors see your battle scars, they’ll know not to mess with you.