TEG

www.aptera.com





Steve Fambro interview

jsnable

Great video and write up now on Popular Mechanics:

Aptera Electric Typ-1 e - Video Test Drive - First Look Details and Slideshow - 300 MPG - Popular Mechanics

Jay

mt2

There were a few items in the article that I hadn't read before that struck me as interesting about this vehicle.

The one that turned my head was with the number of units sold. I already knew that 580+ Californians had plunked down $500 pre-orders. But according to Steve Fambro, the company need only sell 300 cars to go into the black. Hello?! They'll be turning a profit before they finish delivering the advance sales?

It seems to me they could drop the price a little. That would boost interest and they'd still get in the black by the end of the first manufacturing year.

__________________
Mark Tomlinson
"I am not a trouble maker; I'm a catalyst for change."

tonybelding

A surprising thing to me was that the production car will have windows that can roll down. I don't see how that's going to work, unless they only roll down like 1/3 of the way, maybe.

Is it even a good idea for this car? I mean. . . Driving with the windows down would play hell with all their carefully designed aerodynamics, plus you're adding the mass of the window motors and mechanisms, plus the car has a solar-powered ventilation system already (so you won't need to crack a window when parked in the sun). . .

mt2

I guess enough people asked for it that they felt it was necessary. Surprises me too.

I have to use my ID badge to get through the gate at work in the morning and wondered how I'd do it on a rainy day without windows that roll down. The same for toll booths and parking garages. Then I realized that the doors provide a degree of cover and don't extend past the wheels, so that would work just fine for me. Even better than windows that roll down, actually, because the location of the wheels mean it is a long reach from the driver's position to the carry-out window and I'd have to open the door anyway.

__________________
Mark Tomlinson
"I am not a trouble maker; I'm a catalyst for change."

The Other Martin

Last week I followed a guy in the drive-through lane at a restaurant. His window must have been broken, because he opened his door to pay and receive his food. Quite awkward.

So yes, the open-able window option is hard to live without.

neo914

It looks like a more real world design than the Meyer's NMG 3-wheeler. It has fresh styling and appears to be have good production quality. It reminds me of a wingless Cessna or Lear jet. I particularly like the use of solar cells, rear cameras, and heat pump/thermoelectrics. I don't see how they be profitable at for $30k but hat's off to them for offering yet another all-electric alternative...

mt2

In a conventional car, yes.

But look at the Aptera with the doors open and note the position of the wheels. The door was designed to swing up and out of the way. Because the wheels extend out from the body of the vehicle 16 inches, you'd have to hang way out of the window to reach an ATM machine or grab the pneumatic tube at the bank. The shape of the car makes roll-down windows fairly useless for drive through anything. The doors, on the other hand, open with minimum obstruction.

All of which makes me wonder, as Tony does, why they'd add the expense, complication, weight, and possible drag of roll down windows. Or will they? PopSci says "windows that roll down", but that was not a quote. The Aptera FAQ says only "Yes the windows will open". Perhaps windows that 'open' are not the same as windows that 'roll down'. We shall see.

__________________
Mark Tomlinson
"I am not a trouble maker; I'm a catalyst for change."

mt2

Since this is the Tesla Motors Club, I'm going to wonder out loud about some Aptera technology that Tesla might want to license - PAC2.

Once upon a time, Aptera Motors was Accelerated Composites. They had developed a composite material process called Panelized Automated Composite Construction (PAC2), which is what makes the Aptera so strong and light weight. From what I understand, it is much less expensive and can be scaled up in production rates better than conventional carbon fiber methods.

Sounds like something the WhiteStar can use, perhaps? And I don't think the guys over at Aptera Motors / IdeaLab would say no to another revenue stream.

__________________
Mark Tomlinson
"I am not a trouble maker; I'm a catalyst for change."

tonybelding

The Aptera is really fascinating to me. If I wasn't already committed to the Tesla Roadster (and the promise of sports car performance!), and if the electric range was longer, and if the Aptera was going to be available in Texas anytime soon. . . Hmm, that's a lot of ifs. But my point is, it's an attractive vehicle.

I have a Webster's New International Dictionary, Second Edition, Unabridged -- published in 1934. It has two pages of photos showing different kinds of automobiles: Roadster, Electric Brougham(!), Runabout, Coupe, Sedan, Touring Car, etc. . . And of course they all look totally archaic by today's standards.

I was just looking at the Aptera and thinking, many of today's cars -- especially SUVs -- look just as archaic by the side of it. This is the 21st Century car, arriving just a few years late.

Another thought I had when looking at it. . . Is it manufactured like a small plane? Would it make sense for small plane makers to get into the car business, or for an electric car company to partner with an aircraft company?