Thread: New Aptera
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Old 12-14-2009, 10:15 AM   #133 (permalink)
thatguitarguy
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Quote:
Originally Posted by basslover911 View Post
It doesn't matter what "rules" they follow, it matters in where the money is. And that is with the oil companies and governments... ANY vehicle or "thing" for that matter that will threaten those companies cash flow will not be allowed to go into the market...

Then again, you might ask, why is the tesla out? Well, thats not really a threat (a 90k sports car that half the american population can't get into leaves about 1% of the population being able to purchase it).... Now the Ev1, the Aptera...
But the rules do matter a lot. A manufactured car has to have airbags, bumpers, seatbelts, safety glass. etc. It's one reason the Tesla is so expensive. Besides the unique and expensive propulsion system, it has all that stuff as mandated by law.

The only safety feature my bike has is ABS braking, and most bikes out there don't have that. It's one reason that there are a lot of choices for bikes out there, and a lot of different companies building bikes, with a lot of different price points way below what you might pay for a car.

If Aptera can successfully negotiate that "loophole", and be sold as a motorcycle, without needing all the safety equipment, but installing a lot of it anyway, without needing to do expensive crash testing, and do everything that the gov't makes car manufacturers do, then it might be able to market a "motorcycle" to people who really want a "car".

It's still a niche market, but Harley Davidson has been successful as a niche market. You can buy a bike that functionally will do everything that a Harley will do for a lot less money, but Harleys still sell because of a certain "bling" factor.

So if Aptera can market a "motorcycle" to a "car" demographic, closer to the price range of a Harley than a Tesla, They stand a chance of being successful.
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