New Aptera

[RobertSmalls]

Ugh, focus groups! Just tool up and build it already, Aptera. Hurry, before the VW Einliter lands in the US! Before the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt beat you to market with desirable, refined electric cars.

[Frank Lee]

Focus groups are useless useless USELESS!!!

[gone-ot]

...redesigning to reduce "drag" is good, redesigning because someone said it was "slightly tight" is stupid.

[gascort]

I'm glad they're fixing it.

If they make it and 3/4 of people complain that it's too small, it won't ever do well. People like me will never buy it; I have a short commute and my $500 car getting 40+mpg - it's not anywhere close to economical. Who does Aptera need to advertise to? People like my wife, who would prefer to get a small SUV but do like the idea of energy efficiency. People who are going to want a new car anyway. People who expect that if they drop $35k to be able to be comfortable while they're using it.
I personally would like them to put in a really small 2*2 seating system - my mustang's back seat is small, but it CAN accommodate 4 adults, although only the front two are comfy.

[tjts1]

Good job aptera. Can't wait to see this on the road. When are you crash testing it?

[cfg83]

NeilBlanchard -

How did they get the 9% drag reduction?

CarloSW2

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by gascort

IIf they make it and 3/4 of people complain that it's too small, it won't ever do well. People like me will never buy it...
I personally would like them to put in a really small 2*2 seating system - my mustang's back seat is small, but it CAN accommodate 4 adults, although only the front two are comfy.

Unfortunately, all that's a pretty good way to ensure that I won't buy one. I WANT a car that is small & snug, not one that I rattle around in (and at 6'/200 lbs, I'm not exactly small), I don't want to carry around the excess weight of back seats...

They should build the thing as it was, and sell it to the people who liked it that way - I think they had quite a list of reservations just from California. Then once they're making money, if they want to build a larger model (or several) for additional markets, that's good.

[NeilBlanchard]

Hi folks,

I wish that I knew how they improved the drag (coefficient?) by 9% -- I traced their image of the old and new sections:



...and the new section is ~8% LARGER, so the drag improvement probably comes from a better overall shape (the tail may be longer, and the nose has changed, and the section shape (and size) has changed, and the windshield had changed, and the side windows have changed (and they also now roll down), and the width of the front wheels has been narrowed (down to ~7' from ~7'-8") and the wheel pods have made smaller and they are now asymmetrical (the inside face is flatter, and the outside curves more -- this may have improved the interaction of the air flows around them and the main body?). The ground clearance has been increased (which would likely help the drag).

Another major functional improvement of the production version, is that the doors open up more and get more out of the way -- so we do not whack our heads getting in. This was a complaint of many people; not just the tall ones.

I myself am 6'-4" and ~230 pounds, so I am very glad they increased the interior space. Some of the folks on the Aptera forum who have actually sat in the older versions, who are close to my height have commented on this improvement.

[NeilBlanchard]

We now have some more renderings of the "production" version of the Aptera:




These came from a page on Car & Driver's site for the "2011 Aptera 2e":
2011 Aptera 2e - Official Images - Car and Driver

[Curly1]

I still think it is too expensive for what it is as much as I would love to have one. I see no reason it can not sell for $13,000
For me most of my driving is around town and it would be good for that but I also have to go to three trade shows a year and each are usually 900 to 1400 miles away. If I was to buy one it would have to be capable of making those trips. I have drove 18 hours in one day at 70+ MPH only stopping for gas and quick breaks. Can not drive 300 miles and then find some place to charge it for 6 hours. Then drive another 300 miles.
Also living in Texas an GOOD air conditioner is a REQUIREMENT! not an option. A venting system will not cut it. When it is 105* outside dropping the interior temp to 95* is not much help.
I do not care if the back seats are very small they are rarely used any way. It would be nice if they fold down so you could carry some larger items.