Aptera's back...Solar Electric Vehicle

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

I really hope Aptera succeeds. To be honest, I love the idea of driving an
What I hope for is more versions of the Aptera. 4 wheels, 4 doors, 5/6 seats or more. But with ultra aerodynamic body styling.
it.

I too would love to see the Aptera survive
My main interests in it
Range
Lower Registration
Unique

If the 4 door / 4 wheel has the same range/efficiency it would be compelling but as a secondary car the high registration and insurance sort of kill the deal for me but might work in a broader audience.

The Aptera however is made by being a 3 wheeler, it’s really nothing special as soon as you get into 4 wheels

[Isaac Zachary]

I don't mind it having three wheels. The only downfall is it's hard to miss potholes in a three wheeler.

But two, three, four or more wheels, a car with that aerodynamic shape is unique regardless of how many wheels it has.

Hell, keep it a 2 door three wheeler! Just make enough room so I can fit in the wife and kids.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

There were lots of cars and not necessarily much more powerful than the rest, but each was cool in its own right.

This makes a lot of sense. Nowadays it's somewhat hard to identify some feature which would really make some random car stand out of the crowd.

The older air cooled VW's and the muscle cars were still driving in their natural habitat.

I still see air-cooled Volkswagen on a regular basis. Local equivalents to what a muscle car would be, on the other hand, only occasionally I see one.

Even minivans were cool since you could also go for a mid-sized Chevy Astro or Ford Aerostar. Or you could get a mid-engine super-charged Toyota Previa.

This may explain why I actually consider minivans quite enjoyable, while so many folks look at them with some unjustifiable disdain.

Today we live in the CUV invaded apocalypse. If you want a vehicle you get a grey CUV. If you want to be cool you get a grey CU-EV. If you really want to really stand out you get a blue CU-EV.

Makes me wonder when will a compact double-cab coupé-utility be labelled the conservatives' "car" of choice. On a sidenote, recently the Corolla Cross CUV was released in my country. Even the highly-conservative Corolla turned into a CUV.

• A lot of people rent and don't have a way of installing a 240V level 2 charging system on the apartment. But if the car is efficient enough they could maybe get by with just running a 120V 15A extension cord to their car out the apartment window.
• If the car is ultra efficient you won't need such expensive quick charging infrastructure, lower wattages would suffice. Or charge up much faster with such chargers.
• Cars could be priced lower with smaller batteries and still get you as far or father than they can now.

All of these things would be the benefits of ultra efficient EV's. Or we can just keep driving lame, boring sedans and CUV's forever and ever.

Whenever I see something too fancy being highlighted as "eco" simply for being electric, it actually seems quite pointless. Had it been really about "the planet" or whatever excuse to get a Porsche Taycan or a Tesla, I'm sure there would be a greater demand for something comparable to the Aptera.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

Whenever I see something too fancy being highlighted as "eco" simply for being electric, it actually seems quite pointless. Had it been really about "the planet" or whatever excuse to get a Porsche Taycan or a Tesla, I'm sure there would be a greater demand for something comparable to the Aptera.

Fancy or not, most "green" things aren't meant to solve a problem, but to market to the devout in the green religion. People will spend money (sacrifice) to atone for guilt or shame. It's one of the oldest religious concepts.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Fancy or not, most "green" things aren't meant to solve a problem, but to market to the devout in the green religion.

It's either this, or some folks willing to show off how they can afford what might be featured by the mainstream media as a technological "breakthrough".

[Isaac Zachary]

I'm no expert about climate change and green tech and such, nor do I care to argue about it nor try to blame one side or the other of following a cult of some sort. But for me as a person who needs to get to work, to the store, get kids to school and to other activities other than playing Nintendo and visit my parents and my in-laws, well I need to put A, B and C together to make it work.

First off lots of governments are shooting for an all-electric future. Washington state apparently just marked 2030 as the year when neither new nor used ICEV's can be registered in the state. So if that's the way things end up going then it's only a matter of time for my state to adopt similar laws and for me and lots of others will have to accept this future.

And even if EV's don't end up being forced like governments say they are, that doesn't mean as a consumer I can't put EV's on the list of possibilities. When I got my Leaf it was the nicest car I ever had and it was also the cheapest to own and operate according to Edmunds 5 year TCO calculator, other than a used Mitsubishi Mirage. And the Leaf would have worked out quite well had my circumstances not changed so that I now had to travel much farther distances.

Looking at the outlet I have outside right now on this rented property and on the apartment I may get in the near future I see that I may be limited to a 15A 120V outlet (unless the government also mandates that all homes have to have level 2 EVSE's installed on them). Guessing that 120V charging is 80% efficient on a Tesla Model 3, that gives me about 35 miles EPA range per 8-hour night, again for all my future EV's combined. Of course that's not accounting for -20F or colder weather.

So it's either I pay for more charging or figure out how to drive farther on the same amount of electricity or avoid EV's as long as possible.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

And even if EV's don't end up being forced like governments say they are, that doesn't mean as a consumer I can't put EV's on the list of possibilities.

Sure a BEV might serve just right for some users, but trying to force it as the one-size-fits-all approach is troublesome. Just like the average Joe may take a look at Diesel engines as too specialized for heavy duty or harsh environmental conditions in applications such as boats and military vehicles, there are niches where an EV may fare better, or even alternate fuels such as ethanol and CNG.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

First off lots of governments are shooting for an all-electric future. Washington state apparently just marked 2030 as the year when neither new nor used ICEV's can be registered in the state. So if that's the way things end up going then it's only a matter of time for my state to adopt similar laws and for me and lots of others will have to accept this future.

And even if EV's don't end up being forced like governments say they are, that doesn't mean as a consumer I can't put EV's on the list of possibilities.

Our government isn't supposed to be forcing anything on us; it's supposed to be in accord with our will. That we even accept an idea like "the government forced us" (against the will of her citizens) is troubling.

If the government is going to restrict choice (liberty), then it has got to have an extremely good reason for doing so AND be the will of the people.

Some yayhoo starts talking some nonsense like "ban everything but EVs" in my local government, and I'll see to it that they get a real job rather than waste everyone's time and money. That "idea" is as dumb as "all fruit trees must now be pear trees". Did nobody ask why?

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Our government isn't supposed to be forcing anything on us; it's supposed to be in accord with our will. That we even accept an idea like "the government forced us" (against the will of her citizens) is troubling.

If the government is going to restrict choice (liberty), then it has got to have an extremely good reason for doing so AND be the will of the people.

Some yayhoo starts talking some nonsense like "ban everything but EVs" in my local government, and I'll see to it that they get a real job rather than waste everyone's time and money. That "idea" is as dumb as "all fruit trees must now be pear trees". Did nobody ask why?

I understand what you're saying. And I'm no expert and have no idea of what comes next. But it seems the USA is divided 50:50 on just about everything. That, to me, makes the future uncertain. Again, I could be wrong and 98% of the population is and will remain strongly against an all EV future and will never let that happen. But for me, whatever happens happens, I'm not taking sides. This isn't Eco-how-to-win-at-politics-modder. Regardless if the EPA lets manufacturers go back to carburetors, or older carbureted cars get banned, or we're allowed to take our catalytic converters off or if the federal government decides to ban aftermarket cats and we can only use OEM ones, whether ICEV's will have to run on expensive synthetic fuel made from carbon capture because that's all there'll be at the pump or whether we'll have no limit to fracking and drilling until every last drop off carbon has been unearthed and burnt, I just want to be able to get the most out of my vehicles with the help of sites like Ecomodder.

Let other forums deal with the politics. All I'm saying is my limited foresight sees the possibility of more EV's in the future. Maybe a little more or a lot more, but more.

[freebeard]

Our government isn't supposed to be forcing anything on us; it's supposed to be in accord with our will.

100 CEOs needn't convene over some State's election laws. ....but here we are.