Aptera: Finally a practical electric car?

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We've had threads on electric cars before and many bring up legit criticisms on them and why it won't work for them. A common one is range of the car. Most average 50 miles or so. their speed is restricted and safety is a concern. (the Tesla is an exception to the speed rule but out of reach to most people)

Now I introduce the Aptera. According to a report I saw on tv about it they will roll out at about 25 Thousand bucks. You charge overnight for 8 hours and get 100 miles per charge. It has the 3-point stance like the Zap but holds the road.

Safety. It is made of a composite similar to that of an airplane. It is six times stronger than what traditional cars are made of. They will give you 100 bucks if you can swing a sledgehammer and make a dent in the car. Really, they do.

It is a two seat vehicle that looks futuristic, complete with doors that open vertically. It says it has a generous cargo area. You have a port for your smart phone that hooks into the speakers for sound. Touch one button and you get your phone and you are hands free. There is a rear view mirror assist.

For cooling and heating you have a solar panel assisted system that keeps your car at the temperature you want. This sounds too good to be true for anybody that would like this for short to medium trips. It can be more than a weekend car. It can be used every day and cost 1/6 the cost of a petroleum vehicle per mile.

Here is the website for those interested. I am sure there are some things it cannot deliver on and some shortcomings. I have my own drawbacks with it but I look forward to what others will say.

Aptera, say hello.
The Link
 
Kinda cool, but looks like it was made out of left over Piper Cub parts. Don't know about a three-wheeled vehicle, even for urban commuting. I like the idea of it, though. It would look good in my driveway, if I couldn't have a 1963 Mini Cooper, or a 1958 Nash Metropolitan.
 
Disney-Pixar-Cars-Dirt-Track-Racing-Battery-Powered-Slot-Car-Race-Set.jpg
 
I've never heard how the long term battery life works. And by long term I mean >5 years of regular use. Do they have to be replaced eventually? How much would that cost?
 
That thing looks ridiculous. Can't they just make a nice normal looking car that happens to be electric? Most normal folks don't want to look like the ******* Jetsons when they're going to the grocery store.
 
Death trap? It is safer, probably, than typical cars. Did you not read where the metal is much, MUCH more stronger than other cars? It also has air bags. They are pretty confident in their safety and know of the critics waiting to tear them apart if they are not deemed safe.

Schnarkle, good question. I would assume that as battery sources or power sources continue to drop in price that it would not be that big of a deal. I know they dealt with this for the Tesla Roadster but that is also a reason you pay so much. Well, other than having a car that is fast as snot and looks cool as hell. The Tesla is handsome.

I have not poured through their entire site (Aptera) so maybe that is addressed, I dunno. The cost of the battery replacement would have to be really steep to not make it worth it. You are operating at or less than 1/6 the cost for just gas alone. Multiply those savings times 5 years (if that is what it is, for reference sake) and you have saved thousands of dollars at a minimum.

I am digging this. When they make the car available outside of California I am thinking i may get one. Good price point. Now, if they can find a way to charge it faster or have a generator you can carry with you, awesome. Baby steps.

I do think they need to put some form of noise maker on it (ha, a deer whistle) for visually impaired people at intersections.
 
It is an intresting car. I cant help wondering if it will have problems fishtailing on wet roads. There is only one back tire and they made the car very light so it seems that it would not have very much traction.
 
Mudrat, it is the "normal" vehicle that is not very aerodynamic. Because of engine placement restrictions, cars are sometimes limited in their aerodynamics. Feel free to read into this on the site. I think it covers it there or touches on it.
 
I'll bet any amount of money that whatever you are driving right now will be called a "death trap" in twenty years, especially the typical pick-up, SUV, and mini-van.
 
Something I am curious about is maintenance. I know it is much less than a petro car and there are fewer moving parts and it is easier to work on by the people who know how. But I am curious about that. What fluids do you have to change and how often? How many belts or hoses in comparison?

Accuratehorn, do you know about this angle of it?

I usually have to put fuel stabilizer in my gasoline since a tank of gas lasts me so long. Typically during a summer one tank lasts just about 3 months. Not having to worry about that would be awesome.

I would think the engine or power source life would be much greater and get less damage esp. if it is not used all that much. I like that it shows you how much charge you have and helps you to find methods in your driving to conserve and get the most of the energy you have stored up.

Rip, I was thinking about something. Would you consider your beautiful, no, your gorgeous Corvette safer and less of a death trap than this car which has a more solid body than even all metal cars of the past? I am not suggesting for one nano-second that this is more attractive or in the same ballpark as your whip.
 
Nap,
I don't do most of my driving with 1 person in the car. I try to carpool as often as possible, and I would guess about half the miles I drive or less are just me in the car. I also live 1 mile from work, so my commute distance is very very short.
Also, Nap, while most driving might be done with one person in the car, most people need the flexibility to put more than 1 person in the car. Basically, you would be suggesting that I have one of these cars, plus have something that I can put my entire family in, right?
Well, right there I have to have at least 2 cars. Having an entire extra car, a place to store it, and the production costs of it, and the purchase cost... make it not that great of a deal for me.
Now, don't get me wrong. I am all for efficient cars. This car would work for many people, but it doesn't work for me. What would be VERY practical is something that has room akin to a Honda Fit. room for 4 really, and great storage space as well.
 
Good point, THEU and also notable is your admission that it is good for some, just not for you. I would be curious how many fit into your category v. those in say mine or Nap's. If I could tweak it to where I could run the cargo area into the passenger seat area by taking the seat out I have a dream car. I can tote the dog around just fine.

Another thing I would want addressed for myself would be accommodation of a bike rack either on top or the back of the car. I assume it would fit on the cargo bay door (forgive me, Battlestar Galactica has its final episode tonight, I am geeked up a bit) the same way it does a trunk.

I like the thought that this could be the last care I would ever need to purchase. I don't know it has that kind of longevity but since it would not be used very much, who knows. If people develop a solar strorage method to fuel the car using the sun it is even more bad ***.

THEU, they are also developing other models from this company. I did not read all that much into them on their site but maybe something larger like a Fit type car is in the works? I also think it is cool you are conscious enough to carpool as is. That is much more than most people do now.
 
it looks like a bug that needs to be squashed.

Squashed is exactly what might happen when some redneck in his pickup truck manages to not see me, has I am hauling *** on 71 at 50 mph.

I kid, I kid.

It looks cool.
 
I just don't think the future of autos will be in all electric cars. Storing electricity is just very inefficient with our technology. The future of the electric car still depends on a big technological breakthrough.

A big part of the problem is that rechargeable batteries have a lifespan of a couple of hundred cycles. For a car they are also very expensive ($20,000 is a pretty good estimate). The battery costs eat up any gains in efficiency. For now most manufacturers have guaranteed the first replacement and have bet on big improvements in the next few years. Time will tell.

I think the future of autos does not rely on pure electrics, but on Chevy Volt style hybrids. Basically, have a small electric generator running at a constant RPM (which can be made very efficient, look at a honda generator) charging a battery. The cars electric motors draw power off the battery. Because the gasoline engine does not need to rev up to accelerate, it is easy to reach very high mpg's with this system.

The battery in this case would last a long time, because it is kept at nearly full charge all the time. You also don't have to worry about the loooong charge times of pure electrics.

It's always hard to predict the future, but after looking at this a good bit recently those are my thoughts.
 
This BS is good for the reason that it will force the (surviving) auto makers to post-WWI powered cars from post-WWII materials.
 
Cana, that is awesome! Good for you. I bet your friends envy you getting to stay at home. I would get too distracted if I had a job that let me stay at home.
 
I also question the long term sustainability of electric cars. Where/how are we going to produce that much electricity. If you think about how much 'power' it would take to run all the cars on our roads from the power grid... OUCH. Admittly I do not have any estimated numbers, but I can't imagine our current electricity production could come close to producing that much power.
At this point, I believe hydrogen will be the 'fuel' of the future.
 
There would be less maintenance on an all-electric car, because no gasoline motor equals no oil changes, spark plug changes, air filter, PCV valve, and antifreeze. It might still have power steering fluid and brake fluid to flush.
The reliability of the large battery pack would be the key, and the cost when it needed replacing could be more than all the normal maintenance on a gasoline engine car.
I can't see many people spending $20k on a battery after their car becomes eight or ten years old. I suppose the cost would come down if there were many of them on the road, though.
 
For the life of me I cannot recall where I saw this or heard this but it was from a good source on this stuff and the cost is somewhere around 5k. It is not the major cost of the car being built now like it once was. Advances are moving very quickly with price drops pretty much ensured.

The way I see it, this idea or type of car is becoming a no-brainer for a larger and larger group of people/commuter.

I would like to see this and something like Hydrogen be the go to things.

Dumb question but I don't know the answer. Accuratehorn, why not steam?
 
Finally an Electric Car that actually looks like a car: Tesla Model S was announced yesterday.

- 300 miles on a single charge
- 5 passenger sedan
- under $50k
- more cargo storage than any sedan on the market and most SUVs
- looks coolThe Link
 
SEXY! It appears that somebody broke into the car and stole some stuff and left the wires dangling. I guess it was parked in West Campus somewhere.
 
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