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Lucid Air. Photo Courtesy of Lucid Motors

Lucid Motors California Dream and Theme

Apr. 22nd, 2024

Designed in California, Lucid Motors is the quintessential California electric vehicle to drive up to a red carpet event or through towering redwood forests to picturesque Pacific Ocean beaches.

During a recent Hollywood movie premier along Hollywood Blvd., a line of shiny black Lucid Electric Vehicles drove up to the red carpet delivering A-List stars to the event. As the rear door opened in each environmentally-friendly Lucid, the low-to-the-ground design allowed each person to gracefully glide out comfortably and with ease, compared to some of those arriving in SUVs.

Peter Rawlinson CEO of Lucid Motors

Lucid Motors is a California dream of Peter Rawlinson, the CEO and CTO of the EV company. A graduate of Imperial College at the University of London, Rawlinson is an expert in engineering automobiles.

Bringing over 30 years of experience and wisdom to Lucid Motors, Rawlinson was Vice President of Vehicle Engineering at Tesla as the Chief Engineer of the Model S. Arriving at Tesla in 2009, Rawlinson built the Tesla Engineering team from day one of the Model S, working with Elon Musk through production roll out.

His experience, talents and vision were honored while he worked as the Head of Vehicle Engineering at Corus Automotive, Chief Engineer at Lotus Cars and Principal Engineer at Jaguar Cars. 

Now at Lucid Motors, the mission is to inspire the adoption of sustainable energy by creating captivating electric vehicles firmly grounded in the human experience.

While the Lucid Air can run on 410 miles without having to charge, the Lucid Grand Touring is capable of smoothly cruising 516 miles. One can easily take a road trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco without stopping once to charge.

These sustainable, stealth looking, sophisticated award-winning electric vehicles are turning heads along California highways and beyond.

California. Photo by Jill Weinlein

Another leader at Lucid Motors is Derek Jenkins, Senior Vice President of Design and Brand. He leads his team in creating the ultimate California theme EVs, marrying cutting-edge aesthetics with materials that are kind to the planet.

Early in the development of Lucid Air, they took inspiration from Mid-Century Modern furniture and living spaces to design their timeless interior spaces. This brings warmth, softness and sophistication in carefully crafted and curated materials. The design is a balance of innovation, technology and recycled materials. 'We use materials to panel the door made from 30% alpaca wool and 70% polyester,' said Jenkins. 'This is made from recycled water bottles to prevent less plastic in landfill.'

Since the state of California offers the most geographically diverse landscapes, Lucid Air symbolizes specific locations within the Golden State that include Santa Monica, Santa Cruz, Mojave Desert and Tahoe.

The comfortable front seats are a shade of color slightly different than the rear seats. An example is the Mojave Desert theme. Designers admired the near-zero light pollution in the late evening, providing the deepest black sky with soft twinkling stars. This galaxy of stars provided just enough light to cast shadows on the desert landscape. Deep black Nappa full-grain leather, regarded as the most authentic leather in keeping all the texture from the hide, is installed in the front seats, while a softer charcoal gray color is in the back. 

Lucid Motors. Photo Jill Weinlein

One of the Golden State themes is Santa Cruz, a beach town that sits along the coast of California, where the redwoods meet the ocean. Inspirational colors are from the afternoon sun burning off the morning fog along the coast. Brilliant blue sky, and bright sunlight create silver tips on the curling waves. This lighting is the color of the exterior applied to the Lucid Air.

The interior includes the colors of shoreline cliffs and sand, along with deep espresso, cool gray fog and light shells. The console and doors are inlaid with genuine walnut trim, showcasing the beautiful natural grain.

Sitting inside the supple and soft minimally processed leather, one appreciates its flexibility and breathability. Perforations in the seats allows cool and warm air to elevate the driver and passengers comfort.

California Grizzly Bear on the Lucid Rims. Photo Jill Weinlein

To further showcase Lucid's California DNA, the state's symbol - the California Grizzly bear is featured either on the rims or a decal on the vehicle.

Lucid Motors. Photo Jill Weinlein

Santa Monica is another Lucid Motors theme inspired by the excitement of the coastal city west of Los Angeles. During the summer mornings the long stretch of beach is bathed in subtle hues of grays and white. The interiors feature soothing leather and light washed woods that are reminiscent of the sand and driftwood by the water's edge.

Lucid Motors. Photo by Jill Weinlein

Driving to the Sierra Nevada mountains to Lake Tahoe, along the border of California and Nevada, one notices the colors of the early evening, and glowing sunset. Warm red, yellow and saturated orange tones against the darkening sky inspired designers to create an interior with warm black and saddle-brown leather interior with beautiful contrast stitching for the Tahoe theme.

The fumed oak trim is a nod to the ancient oak trees of California, promoting a contemporary elegance while driving in luxury.

Lucid Motors. Photo by Jill Weinlein

Lucid Motors technological innovation is revolutionizing mobility, improving safety and building the foundations for a zero-emissions future. It's all about sustainability and efficiency at this car company. They are committed to creating one of the only fast-charging, longest-range and most efficient EVs on the road, by using fewer batteries and less grid electricity.

While the Lucid Air Pure gets an estimated charge range of 410 miles, the new Lucid Gravity SUV has an estimated charge of 440. One could drive from Santa Monica to Santa Cruz or to The Ritz Carlton, Half Moon Bay without range or distance anxiety.

Lucid Motors. Photo Jill Weinlein

Lucid participates in the world's largest voluntary corporate sustainability initiative, United Nations Global Compact. They conduct business responsibly by aligning their operations and strategies with the UN's Ten Principles pertaining to human rights, labor, environmental practices and anti-corruption. These principles promote businesses, governments, civil society and citizens to make a better world.

This EV company is accelerating the EV Experience by offering a 2024 Lucid Air starting from $69,900. This special also includes a $1000 charging allowance and two-years of complimentary Lucid Care scheduled maintenance with a purchase or lease.

Lease a Lucid Air for $647 per month for 18 months. This includes a $7,500 EV credit. To learn more, go to Lucid Motors.

Jill Weinlein

Los Angeles based Jill Weinlein covers travel, food and lifestyle destinations for multiple newspapers, magazines and websites. Her areas of expertise include, luxury travel, culinary reviews, cruising and family travel destinations. Born in Los Angeles, Jill studied Communications and Theatre Arts at UCLA. She has a a Dine and Travel blog - www.dineandtravel.me and she writes a weekly restaurant column in the Los Angeles based Beverly Press and Park LaBrea newspapers. Jill also writes a monthly cruise column for Not Born Yesterday. Her articles also appear in Independent Traveler and Will Travel With Children. Some of Jill’s most memorable travel experiences include riding in a hot air balloon over Napa Valley, Zip-lining across a canyon on Catalina Island, climbing the steps at The Great Wall in China, riding an elephant in Chiang Mai, Thailand and staying for one week at ...(Read More)