[Air Head]

Journalists are starting to get their early reviews out of the Lucid Air. The Jalopnik one about the Air's design is pretty interesting.

Here's what I've come across so far.

My Favorite Design Detail On The Beautiful Lucid Air EV Almost Didn't Make It To Production

Staring at the all-new 2021 Lucid Air electric luxury sedan in person is like looking into a fountain of everything Lincoln could have been and sadly isn’t. The car is stunning, and it’s the attention to detail on touches around the car that make it special. One detail in particular surprised...

jalopnik.com

The Lucid Air Dream Edition Might Just Be Elon Musk’s Worst Nightmare

The car starts at $161,000, but it's the technology that could completely change the race for mass-market electric vehicles.

www.inc.com

When One Car Has More Horsepower Than Churchill Downs (Published 2020)

Muscle cars have fought for decades to be the brawniest. Now electric cars are pushing the envelope, past even 1,000 horsepower.

www.nytimes.com

Lucid Motors Unveils the Hotly Anticipated, All-Electric Air Sedan, and It’s a Stunner

According to the company, the 1,080 hp model will have a range of 517 miles and cover the quarter-mile in 9.9 seconds.

robbreport.com

 

[Air Head]

Hey @Air Head, that Jalopnik piece was indeed interesting.
I like the Air design even more now after learning about that one detail mentioned! (clipped below for everyone else)

Other than that, what about the Air stands out to you in these reviews?

Jalopnik:
But those details are not my favorite. That would be near the back of the limo, stretching across the rear fender from the lower edge of the rear light bar. There was a lot of hesitation among the executive team over one tiny line in this area of the Air, according to my chat with designer Derek Jenkins at a Lucid event in New York City this week. He’s the guy who worked on the current ND-generation Mazda MX-5 Miata, among other things, before leaving for Lucid.

On the trunk of the Air is a seam at the outer corner of each taillight that separates the lid into two body panels, leaving about a two-to-three inch seam sort of floating in the middle of the car. Two pieces of metal joined at a seam like that are never going to present a perfectly curved line on the greater edge of the entire trunk lid, where it sits when closed against the rear fender panel, which is a soft, curved surface. To confront this, the design team introduced a small crease, about five inches long, that leads from the panel gap of the trunk lid into the bodywork of the fender along the line created by the trunk lid’s separate pieces.


Photo: Justin Westbrook / Jalopnik

Instead of trying to force two points to appear smooth, Jenkins and his team took the smooth panel that was in conflict with the seam and minutely adjusted it to make the light catch where the seam runs, cleverly helping that little black line disappear into the design.

As Adam Savage always mentions, there’s no shame in “hiding your crimes.” That trunk seam is a manufacturing reality, likely for a variety of reasons, almost all of them ultimately involving ease of manufacturing and saving costs. To complement it, instead of ignoring it or redesigning the panel fittings, is just smart design, making this here little crease one of my favorite design choices on a car this year.

I like that Lucid is going to offer a "dark" option for the Air in contrast to all the chrome trim pieces.

Lucid claims the Air also boasts the smallest production headlight bulbs on the market, which the design team pushed to develop to create a dramatically thin and layered fascia. If you don’t like the chrome finishes on the roofline, door mirrors and bumpers, you’ll be able to choose a “dark” option that Lucid is planning to offer. It’s a contrasting package to the current “light” theme on both cars photographed here.

I also really like the way they designed the trunk as well.

 

[Air Head]

Um... that truck is a bit odd.

I cant tell if it would be easier or harder to get things into and out of?

At that height in the photo I think I'd hit my head loading stuff lol. But I think it can raise higher than that.

 

[Air Head]

Engadget got their hands on an Air prototype to review.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1385745302208999428