Inhabitat

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They say they’re shipping in Q4, 2008. The PHEV will be $29k. 2 adults plus 1 child - actually very useful for a lot of people. A $500 deposit gets you on the list…I did and am really looking forward to driving it. This car is SO much more relevant than a Tesla.

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An interesting and futuristic car to be certain… but I bet it crumples like a paper bag in an accident. Shame, that.

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how does this thing hold up in an accident?

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The 0.5 passenger is a baby seat in the back.

“We build with the consumer in mind, one who wants to make a bold statement for themselves and those around them” I see they are pandering to the bumper sticker mentality. =/ Now you can out-prius your neighbor and show her who REALLY cares about the environment!

No crash test results, which cost $millions and would be necessary to sell in the US.

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Like so many design blog posts, the objects featured may or may not be a physical reality. The posted objects represent what MAY be possible. This is the nature of blogs and, in posting these concepts, they have fulfilled their obligation and objectives.

As far as this particular design is concerned, it has a great promise. But a mere $500. deposit for this vehicle seems totally unrealistic.

Unless more verifiable information can be provided, I have grave doubts about the entire offering.

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Ah, yes, that’ll be th eday when I plunk down $30K for a car built by a mushroom company. Get real, and
plug-ins are characterized by their electric range, NOT by any goofy, arbitrary MPG figure that is totally meaningless. And one doesn’t plug in a 120 mile all-electric for “a few hours.” The battery pack is around 20 kWhrs and a 110/15 amp outlet ain’t gonna recharge it in no “few hours.” Say “12 hours at elast” and you will be in th eballpark. Oh, how I love to read media articles by thos who haven’t a clue about their subject matter.
If you insist on trying to write about EVs and plug-ins, I’d start by learning what the hell a kilowatt hour is.
Jerks, pure jerks.

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coolio

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Seating for 2.5 usually refers to 2 adults and one child. I agree, though, that their website is very sparse with the info.

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would be curious to find out whether the deisel motor is sufficient to sustain its charge, or does it have to be plugged in?

Also, if you plug it in at half charge to leave it charging overnight, does that develop a battery memory? does it have to go flat to be ready to charge… and if so,,, how do you get the bloody thing home ones you’ve driven it flat?

I’m only new to electric cars so this is all probably easily answered… but yeah!?

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What about crash repairs? Spare parts? Reverse parking?

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My comment was somehow cut off, but with an asking price this low, the company must be genuinely well intentioned in designing and producing this vehicle. As for the design being unrealistic because it doesn’t appease your aesthetic tastes…get over it? For as many advantages this car has due to the aerodynamic characteristics of its “bug” look, I’m sure the market will get over the fact that it’s wholly atypical of current automotive design. Plus, the reason it pushed that envelop in design is because it IS a whole new animal.

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I love this car.It looks smart, comfortable and progressive. It might not be the unltimate in sustainable transportation (a.k.a. walking), but it’s a well imagined and implemented step. Two questions: 1) Would I and my 1.5 passengers get blown off the edge of picturesque Hwy 1 in CA (though this would be green, seeing as we’d get recycled back into the food chain) and 2) how structurally sound is it if I had to take a roll or got into the crash? It looks egg-shaped, which worked for Mork from Ork, so maybe it’d hold up well.

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Trikes are tricky to drive — while the concept of turning the whole little vehicle into a crash helmet/cacoon/space capsule is intriquing, there is still the problem of piloting the thing? Does one progress in training from motorcycle to side-car to Aptera, in order to master the drift and braking issues? Or, like the Segway, will Aptera need to do extensive driver-training programs at the factory? As a road vehicle, will it still have the problem of a harsh learning curve (death and injury in too many of its low-production vehicles in its early stages of sales)?

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This car has a great design and the cost is incredibly affordable. I can’t wait to see these on the road.

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Does it bother anyone that the company offers no address or phone number? I have never seen a new offering by an unknown company, with little information available about the founders and financial backers. I sent an email to the web site with the above questions and to date, have seen no replies.
I would love to invest in this car but am bothered by the above problems.

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[…] Hij ziet er erg grappig uit, is erg zuinig, en ook nog eens een keer milieuvriendelijk. Ik heb het over de Aptera. Je moet er wel $26,900 voor neer tellen, maar auto’s zijn tegenwoordig erg duur, dus eigenlijk valt die prijs me best nog mee. Hij zou hier voor de deur niet misstaan, maar het zal er wel niet van komen APTERA Diesel-Electric hybrid car on sale Now! […]

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Ok, The Electric car thing is very cool this car is awesome pretty affordable but also

what would happen if you were to hit a guard rail and this car and you are submerged in a lake is it basically an “Electrifying” outcome?

If the car does good on crash ratings the only thing that worries me about it is if you are to end up in water by some sort of accident would you just be shocked to death?

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To Mr. Jefe and Paul B.

Cameras instead of mirrors seems a poor choice. cameras can fail to work. Mirrors work. Having both might be acceptable ? Also… positioning the screen display of the camera on the dash, means that you will look down to see it. I think that looking up to a rearview mirror on the windshield is safer.

Are 3 wheels better than 2 ? And what about the extended away from the body wheel wells ?

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omg I love dis car… gimmeeeee

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@Kent Beuchert

“plug-ins are characterized by their electric range, NOT by any goofy, arbitrary MPG figure that is totally meaningless.”

For a guy who doesn’t like reading stuff “by those who haven’t a clue about their subject matter”, you sure seem pretty confused about yours. If you took the time to read the article you’d know that the Aptera is available in two configurations, one is pure electric and the other a electric/gas hybrid, which is the model to which the 300mpg refers to.

But since your only claim to fame is going around posting disinformation about anything vaguely related to environmentalism, (just google his name) I’m sure you already knew that.

I know you wouldn’t drive a car that looks like a mushroom but are you sure you haven’t been eating too many?

@Mike Hopkin Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and they didn’t like it on Engadget either, but since it’s claim to fame is obviously it’s fuel efficiency and one of biggest the reasons that it’s so efficient is the aerodynamic shape, hiring designers to change the shape would sort of defeat the purpose.

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A few answers to some previous posts.

The shape of the car might not look good to some people, but it’s essential to achieve the performance. Once you get above about 30 miles per hour, aerodynamic drag dominates. So if you want to really reduce the energy required to move 2 people from point A to point B, you need this shape. We started with that, and then tried to make the car as comfortable as possible. Right now,the total drag of this vehicle is more than 2.8 times less than a Prius, for example. That just means way less energy to move the vehicle.

Another comment - someone asked about if it fits in a parking space. We’ll have to get the actual dimensions up on the site - and we will soon. But it does fit in a parking space. The car is just about the full wheelbase width of a typical car/car space.

Bill

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P.S. in australia we make seatbelts compulsory because without them airbags kill people. In the US your automotive industry played dirty to avoid compulsory seatbelts, and the net result is preventable deaths.

Getting smacked in the head by an expanding bag of gas has been demonstrated to break infant’s necks. But these are more ethical than environmental issues… and as an aside, its interesting the overlap between being green and being ethical… those with a penchant for green seem to correlate with people looking for a high standard in business ethics. Good!

Tim

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Um… Tim from Australia…

Seatbelts have been “compulsory” for auto makers in the USA since the 1960’s, and seatbelts with shoulder harnesses since the late 1970’s. Airbags are called “supplementary restraints” and are in addition to seatbelts. As to wearing seatbelts, most States have laws requiring them to be worn (21 States plus all territories). Nevertheless, insurance companies require them to be worn if you want coverage, and all States require insurance.

Why is it those not in the USA seem to think they are the experts on the USA? Juts because it’s on the Internet or TV News doesn’t mean it’s true.

By the way, if the automotive industry “played dirty” we wouldn’t be stuck with these terribly ugly and underpowered “feel good about myself” hybrid cars even though their use makes no environmental impact whatsoever (blocking out the sun or plugging up a volcano might start to impact the climate in a cooling manner). The Prius is an ugly gimmick with no power and no speed and no practical use in most places in the USA other than being smug in San Francisco or New York. If they “played dirty” we wouldn’t be with ridiculously ineffective and inefficient “emissions” systems that actually waste more energy (and release even more toxic gases than without) than gas engines ever did before.

With that said (and vented) I think this car is pretty cool. I’m all for alternative vehicles as long as they are practical for their use, and add another item to the economy. Competition and a free market fueled by great ideas can make more of a difference both environmentally and in lifestyle than a bunch of naked whiners on a melting glacier singing “Kum-by-yah” worshiping Al Gore statues.blaming mankind for everything the Earth’s natural cycles bring.

I don’t like smog or pollution at all. Nevertheless, improvement and change comes much easier and quicker when you approach it with giving incentives to change not punishments and threats. Don’t say I can’t buy leaded gasoline or I have to pay outrageous fees for a bi-annual emissions system check. How about instead offer me equal or better alternatives like this car and say “come and get it”. The market is far more powerful than rules and regulations that people out of spite will just ignore or circumvent.

When technology has better alternatives to offer, the market is what makes the changes. Gasoline isn’t going away until marketable equivalents are available. Ingenuity and incentive is far more powerful an environmental changer than rules and restrictions.

If organizations like Greenpeace and such would actually sit down with companies they hate and offer them equally profitable alternate means of doing business instead of just using dingies to block shipping etc, then they might actually get an end result that benefits everyone. What they don’t realize, and, frankly, understand about businesses, is that they are in business to make money and profit. If you show them how to do it differently, and effectively, with POSITIVE results to the company, and actually help them to change, then environmental activism would be much more effective. My father always said “you get more with honey than with vinegar.” Running around like a chicken with its head cut off blaming everyone for [insert problem here], advocating rules and regulations, will never ever work as well as finding a better alternative and making it marketable.

Want to talk science? Real science? Which rat is better trained? Is it the one trained with positive re-enforcement or the one with negative re-enforcement? Fear and punishment was never a good motivator.

Want to change the auto world? Make a better alternative to the Corvette, Ferrari, SUV, Cadillac or truck that gives the buyer the same or better experience but runs on an alternative fuel, and you WILL change the world. Don’t offer them useless crap like a Prius that isn’t practical (no trunk space), has no power (0-60 MPH in uh… six days), only 5-10 MPG better than fuel alone (typical), is butt ugly, has no leg room, and isn’t comfortable to drive long distances. Something with usefullness, has lots of power, looks good, has pep and is an equal ior better replacement for what the market already has out there is going to be the big changer. This car is a step in that direction.

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Tri-pod steering?! Have you ever tried to drive on the highway with this steering set-up? Oh yeah, it’s gonna happen. Suurrrreeeeee…I won’t hold my breath.

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I just noticed another ‘thing’ ! Do the drivers side and passenger side windows roll down ? If not… that’ s a deal killer for me.

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“actually, a minus sign would be good for reverse…doesn’t make sense on a brake”

actually not. although tom may never read this, you people can get my view point on it.

if you look at the car as accelerating/decelerating, then the + would mean you are increasing acceleration, while the - would be decelerating. although, when you make a turn you are technically accelerating as well…but if you look at accelerating meaning change in speed alone, then my theory works….

and i definitely like the car idea, its inventive unlike all the run of the mill production cars out there today. when you see a lotus drive by, you turn your head, but when you see a toyota drive by, you cant tell the difference between it and a honda or nissan. THIS will turn heads.

are they collecting $500 to get money for research? figure if they can get 1000 people to “deposit” $500, thats 1/2 million for research and development that isnt out of their pocket, even better if they can get 2-3000 people.

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where would you mount a license plate? where are any external ventilation ducts? where is the fuel filler cap?

The wheel fairings appear solid in some images and have functional slots in other images.

Gosh, wouldn’t the brakes get rather hot inside a solid fairing without any ventilation?

Hey, just send me a $100 ‘deposit’ and save yourself $400. ;-)

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[…] read more | digg story […]

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What we need is production on large scale of such a models!!! End soon…
Nobody knows the name of the firm!

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[…] via […]

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[…] Source : Inhabitat […]

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WOW! where did all the experts come from? super work you brilliant analysts.

the vehicle has airbags, rear view cameras, seatbelts, plenty of storage, safety composite and metal structures, and a windshield wiper.

oh, and the deposit money is held by an escrow account. a real company? absolutely.

semi trucks on the road? please, think about this, if you have a very slick shape, that the air flows over with maximum efficiency, why would a truck disturb that airflow???? you get alot of push back from the air in a regular car but not a shape like this.

so, on with the experts.

W

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When I can buy it NOW in the USA, let me know.
How much is is going to be and when?

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[…] read more | digg story […]

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@Ralph Steadman
If you look closely in the cliffside image, you can notice plants on the windscreen, so the photo’s could be real. But in another sense if you look at the two birds-eye view images all of the reflections are exactly the same; the cloud reflections are identical on both images.