EDITORIAL: Ford C2 is model for EV scale, lower costs

Has the auto industry ever seen a more dynamic and outright crazy time than today's second coming of the electric vehicle? Few of us who visited Rivian Automotive's L.A. auto show display a few years ago would have imagined startup Rivian generating such a block-buster IPO in 2021. Twelve years in the making, with a mere 200-odd units built to date (most sold to employees), Rivian made history by eclipsing the market valuation of Ford and Nio and briefly topping General Motors - in its first trading day.

Crazy indeed - but Rivian's inaugural product is cleverly engineered and compelling. Recently I drove a production-spec R1T on a 50-mile loop around Ann Arbor, Michigan. My route, with a development engineer riding shotgun, included an interstate highway, rural 2-lane roads and in-town driving. It showcased the R1T's multiple drive modes, sophisticated suspension and intuitive human-machine interface. Overall, the Rivian pickup is state-of-the-art. But to my thinking, it's still not yet a practical choice to satisfy most pickup owners' duty cycles - that thinking being informed by data showing that more than 90% of Tesla owners have at least one other vehicle on which to rely. And these happen to be IC-engine powered. Even the products of Wall St. darlings, many customers seem to believe, have limitations.