Yay or Nay? Rivian's Car Costume Software Update

Rivian is launching a Halloween-themed update that will help convert its all-electric vehicles into K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider or the DMC DeLorean from Back to the Future. However, for those not interested in media references hand picked to appeal to the brand’s key demographic, there is likewise a generic theme that you can pair with whatever Halloween decorations you happen to have on hand.

Starting October 18th, Rivian is introducing “Car Costumes” as part of its annual spooky seasonal update. Owners will be able to customize both the interior and exterior of their vehicles. However, the brunt of these features are for display purposes only — as the vehicles must remain in park if they are to function properly.

Updates are clearly part of branded partnerships with the relevant media companies (NBCUniversal and Amblin Entertainment) and require customers make use of the Rivian Mobile App. But the entire concept is basically an excuse to continue showing your neighbors that you purchased something from Rivian. It’s also limited, with the manufacturer stating that the update will be restricted from use after November 4th.

The Knight Rider theme transforms the interior display to the K.I.T.T. diagnostic panels and floods the cabin with the show’s very excellent theme song.

Gen 2 owners will likewise see their exterior light bar become the red scanner that was prominently featured on the nose of Michael Knight’s sentient 1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. The vehicle will even emit the relevant sound effects.

The Back to the Future theme is supposed to disguise the Rivian R1 as the DeLorean time machine. Interior displays become representations of the clock that keeps you abridged of when you are and the main display that lets you know when you’ve reached 88 mph. There’s even a little Flux Capacitor on the rearmost screen.

While all Rivian customers receive the acceleration sound effect and music from the film, Gen 2 owners also have the option of getting the front and rear light bars to put on a little show designed to mimic what the film car looks like as it’s about to slip between eras.

The last theme is the “Haunted Rivian Car Costume” and it’s a little more universal. Owners can pop into the app to select between eight different sound effects and three different color themes. Meanwhile, the interior displays will take on a ghostly static effect that’s vaguely reminiscent of the television theme from the film Poltergeist. Gen 1 owners will get a green animation on the vehicle's exterior, whereas Gen 2 owners receive a broader array of color options.

Rivian has also made some changes to the interior displays that can actually be used while driving. These include giving motorists the option to supplant cyclist icons with headless horsemen and pedestrians with zombies. Camping mode has gotten a few Halloween themed touches, too.

Your author is obviously not the target audience for these things. I thought Tesla’s customizable horn and themed displays possessed the level of good taste you might expect from an early 2000s Myspace account or custom flip-phone ringtone.

But I’m a fuddy-duddy and they’re ultimately harmless. Well, the technologies that actually make these features possible aren’t. We know that touchscreens are wildly distracting and harder for drivers to interface with safely than older switchgear. It’s also a fact that automotive connectivity tends to be accompanied by some rather severe privacy violations. However, the ability to change your interior display into something more fun is benign — with the absolute worst case scenario being that your judgmental friends come to the realization that you’re a massive nerd.

Tying the update to Halloween certainly helps to undercut the fact that the themes are needlessly commercialized baubles that appeal to adults aged forty going on four. However, I’m more curious what our readers think about them. Is this the kind of thing that matters to you from an automaker or have you become a stodgy curmudgeon? Would you play with the feature if you had a Rivian R1 parked in the driveway at the end of October?

I’m curious. We keep seeing more of this, particularly from all-electric vehicles, and it would be nice to get some data points on how it’s resonating with the driving public.

[Images: Rivian]

Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by  subscribing to our newsletter.