![]() The Silicon Valley-based company on Wednesday announced a "Dream Delivery Day" for Oct. ![]() Prior to that, Rawlinson was chief engineer at Lotus, whose Elise sports car served as the basis of Tesla's first car, the Roadster. You may recall Rawlinson for his key role in developing the game-changing Tesla Model S, as that car's chief engineer. That's led by Peter Rawlinson, Lucid's Wales-born founder and CEO/CTO. So what does it take to squeeze 837 km (520 miles) of range from a roomy, 2.5-ton luxury sedan? A factory tour underlines the company's relentless focus on miniaturization and in-house tech. (Buyers also get three years of free refills on Electrify America's growing public network.) Six versions of the Air, ranging from 726 to 837 km (451 to 520 miles) of range, have seized the top six spots in the EPA's range rankings, with Tesla's best delivering just 652 km (405 miles). That frugal operation is boosted by a 924-volt architecture (versus 400 volts for Tesla, and 800 for Porsche's Taycan) whose benefits include restoring up to 300 miles of range in 20 minutes on a 350-kilowatt DC fast charger. YouTube drag runs aside, the Lucid's calling card is unmatched efficiency of up to 4.6 miles per kilowatt hour. That blurry view is enhanced by an atrium-like "Glass Canopy." An equally dramatic 86 cm, 5K curved display wraps around the driver. That includes an insane quarter-mile run in 9.69 seconds at over 233 km/h (145 mph), and 0-60 mph in less than 2.5 seconds. Step on the accelerator, and the 1,111-horsepower Lucid sprints ahead like the cartoon Roadrunner, leaving most internal-combustion cars looking like hapless Wile E. (Tesla hopes to open its first greenfield car factory in Austin by year end.) The spacious sedan actually exceeded expectations, combining shelter-magazine interior luxury, slick handling and boggling acceleration. I got my first taste of the Air in the Sonoran Desert, a few hours from Lucid's $700 million factory in Casa Grande, the first from-the-ground-up EV plant to open in North America. But its technological advantages are settled: With an EPA-rated range of up to 837 km ( 520 miles), the Lucid Air sedan can travel farther on a charge, and charge faster, than any EV in history. For vehicles that require a new part, Lucid will replace the entire contactor, free of charge.Whether Lucid Motors will succeed in the brutally competitive auto business remains an open question. Updating the affected models means testing the spring strength of this internal contactor to ensure that the magnet is strong enough to hold it in place. According to the EV automaker, the test has a “greater than 99.999% confidence interval” for figuring out which cars were problematic. This narrowed the pool from the original 637 potential vehicles to just 259, according to Green Car Reports.Īfter downloading a software update, Lucid tested all 637 Air models remotely to find just those that were at risk of sudden power failure. Rather than recalling all Air models, Lucid used its connected car capabilities to pin down exactly which models could have been affected. Connected cars are a controversial topic for some, but this NHTSA recall offers a big check in the ‘pro’ column for the EV brand. One plus point for Lucid in this scenario is its ability to perform over-the-air updates. ![]() Lucid uses over-the-air capabilities to diagnose affected models Lucid Air | Lucid When this happens, the electric motors shut down and the car operates only the interior accessories. In short, a spring inside the controlling switch is stronger than the magnet used to hold the circuit closed. In the Air, a tiny spring allowed the car to switch from Ignition On to Accessory mode without warning, and it could even happen while at speed. “Accessory” turns on just the HVAC and radio functions. Like most cars, the Lucid Air has different options for operating various components within the vehicle. The issue affecting the Lucid Air involves the car’s various power modes. Anything unpredictable has the opportunity to cause an accident – just ask the drivers behind the Tesla that suddenly stopped in a tunnel over the winter. Having the electric motors shut down at highway speeds can put both that driver and surrounding drivers at risk of an accident. While the recall covers just 637 Lucid Air models, the problem necessitating the recall is a particularly terrifying one. Lucid Air | Lucid The Lucid Air recall problem We can only imagine how scary a safety issue that may be, and it deals a big blow to an EV brand that was already struggling to get ahead. An issue relating to power loss is the culprit and seems to affect vehicles both at a stop and while driving. On Tuesday, EV brand Lucid issued a recall for over 600 of its Air electric vehicles from 20.
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