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Old 05-26-2008, 11:40 AM   #26 (permalink)
NeilBlanchard
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Hello,

The base Aptera Type 1E is ~$27,000 and the Type 1H is ~$30,000 -- but these are early production numbers, and early adopters will always pay more. And they will average 200+ miles per gallon! The 130mpg is a minimum based on all-hybrid operation, w/o any plug in charging. Plug it in at night, and for about $1-2 of electricity, you can drive ~80 miles before the hybrid generator kicks in.

Say it has a 4-5 gallon gas tank: at minimum, that would be 80+(4 x 130) = 600 miles range. For my typical commute (about 100-110 miles round trip), I could charge it each night, and the would be (6 x 80) + 520 = 1,000 miles between fill ups; or 250mpg plus $6-12 worth of electricity. (Here in New England we pay ~20cents/kwh, which is high, so I'll carry the $2 cost.)

Totaling up the cost of fuel for 100,000 miles would be (4gal x $4 x 100)+($12 x 100) = $2,800 total. Compare this to my Scion xA, which would be (100,000 / 37mpg) x $4 = $10,810.

I would save $8,010 per 100K miles -- so if I drove the Aptera for 200,000 miles, the extra cost would be worth it -- and that is at just $4/gallon! We will likely see $5-5.50 by the end of this year, and $6.50-7 next year -- so the Aptera would pay for itself pretty quickly...

I've been wondering if they want/need to start up an east coast production facility?
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Last edited by NeilBlanchard; 05-26-2008 at 11:51 AM.. Reason: typos and more comments
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