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The EV startup Rivian announced in a statement Friday that it has submitted its registration to the Securities and Exchange Commission as it prepares to take the company public.According to Bloomberg, who spoke with people close to the matter, the company is aiming for a $80 billion valuation and hopes to have its IPO in late November. (For comparison, the Detroit Free Press notes that General Motors and Ford have market capitalizations of $72 billion and $53 billion.)Rivian said it will begin production of its R1T electric pickup in September, with the R1S SUV expected to enter production next year.Electric vehicle startup Rivian initially planned to launch its R1T pickup truck in July, but the start of production was delayed to September. With production now apparently right around the corner, Rivian is preparing to take the next step toward securing its future, with the company announcing on Friday that it has submitted its S-1 registration to the Securities and Exchange Commission in advance of an initial public offering.

Rivian is seeking an approximately $80 billion valuation, according to Bloomberg, which said it spoke with sources with knowledge of the situation. Bloomberg’s sources also said that Rivian, which is based in Irvine, California, but also has a large presence in Michigan, is aiming to have its initial public offering around Thanksgiving, but the company still needs approval from the SEC before that happens. Rivian officially says that the size and price range for the IPO is still being worked out, and the company is partnering with advisers including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley on the process.If the $80 billion valuation proves accurate, Rivian would become more valuable on paper than General Motors and Ford. Those automakers, the Detroit Free Press notes, currently have market capitalizations of $72 billion and $53 billion, respectively. Ford has been a major investor in Rivian, helping contribute $10.5 billion to the startup alongside companies like Amazon. These investments have allowed Rivian to construct a factory in Normal, Illinois, where it will build the R1T and its R1S SUV counterpart. The company will also produce 100,000 electric vans for Amazon over the coming decade. Rivian is also planning to construct a $5 billion, 10,000-acre factory somewhere in the southwestern United States for additional production starting in 2023.
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Ford is no longer taking online reservations for the new Bronco SUV after receiving 190,000 refundable $100 deposits. The temporary move is because of high demand and production issues with the hardtop model’s roof. Ford’s Said Deep told Car and Driver that the reservation system will be back in October. The Ford Bronco can’t catch a break. Ford has stopped taking customer reservations for the new SUV because of increased demand and production issues, as first reported by the Detroit Free Press. Through July, about 3200 Broncos have been sold, Ford communications chief Said Deep told Car and Driver. To date, Ford has received more than 125,000 orders for the Bronco, which debuted as a 2021 model, with 190,000 people having put down $100 refundable deposits. The reservation system will be back in October. Ford’s website now directs customers interested in the Bronco to contact their local dealership for details on options and timing. “They have a better line of sight in what’s coming in,” Deep explained.

We contacted our local dealership, Varsity Ford in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Brian House, a Varsity sales manager, said the dealership is telling customers they’ll have to wait six months or for the 2023 model year, depending on what Bronco configuration they choose. Ford suggested that would-be Bronco buyers have the possibility of securing an incoming softtop model if someone else cancels an existing order. That’s because the softtop model is not affected by the supplier quality issue plaguing the two- and four-door hardtop models. A customer could also change their own spec. For instance, they could forgo the Sasquatch package and wait to add the beefier tires later if they are set on getting into a Bronco earlier. But House said lots of customers are already calling Varsity Ford and trying to switch their build to speed up the process. Unfortunately, there’s nothing coming in. Every Bronco Varsity has received has gone straight to the customer who ordered it, according to House.Production of the 2022 Bronco will begin in December. For 2022, changes include new colors, including Eruption Green, and the addition of manual-equipped models with the off-road-focused Sasquatch package. Ford is aiming to begin replacing every hardtop model’s roof in October.
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The city of New Orleans suspended a ban on parking on “neutral ground,” a term New Orleanians use to refer to grassy medians, during Hurricane Ida.The city sometimes lifts the parking ban during heavy rain events to help drivers keep their cars safe from potential floods. It’s never safe to drive through flood waters. Many cars will stall in six inches of water or less and can be carried away by two feet of water.

As New Orleans prepared for Hurricane Ida, which was a Category 4 storm when it made landfall in Louisiana on Sunday before being downgraded to a tropical storm, city officials made one surprising move: They lifted a parking ban that usually makes it illegal for drivers to park on grassy medians, known as “neutral ground” in New Orleans. The medians are raised by several inches compared to the street, so parking there pre-emptively gives vehicle owners some protection against flood damage. Hurricanes and the flooding they cause can damage huge numbers of cars; in 2018, flooding from Hurricane Harvey may have destroyed as many as a million cars in the Houston area.
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This wasn’t the first time the New Orleans city government had suspended the neutral-ground parking ban. It’s a technique employed regularly to limit damage from flooding in the city, which sits around eight feet below sea level. But even in emergencies, it’s still not a parking free-for-all (at least according to the authorities). Drivers are allowed to park cars on neutral ground while the ban is lifted, but they still can’t park in ways that would impede the flow of traffic, block intersections, or block the travel of streetcars, which in some places run through the middle of the grassy dividers.

Some people in other flood-prone cities are calling on their governments to adopt a similar strategy during heavy rains. In Houston, which has had seven flooding events since 2014, the streets are designed to channel water during heavy rain, which can make street-parked cars vulnerable to damage. Drivers there may find themselves driving or pushing their cars onto medians or raised lawns for lack of better options once flood waters start rising, but it’s not currently an officially sanctioned practice.Whether your municipal government allows you to park your car out of harm’s way pre-emptively or not, it’s never safe to drive your car through flood waters. Many cars can stall in as little as six inches of water, float in a foot of water, or be carried away by two feet of water. Flood water may carry debris (including snakes, according to the National Weather Service) that can damage cars or injure people. And even shallow running water can sweep you off your feet. It may be hard—and expensive—but if you discover too late that your car is parked in the way of a flood, it’s best to leave it be. If you’re driving and come across flood water, turn around and head to higher ground. And if flood waters begin to rise around your car, abandon the car and seek safety.
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