New Aptera

[gone-ot]

Originally Posted by thatguitarguy

Nah, they'd just lease them out to movie stars, then recall them and and crush 'em.

...deja' vu all over again!

[cfg83]

Daox -

Originally Posted by Daox

You want the latest and greatest cool/fun stuff? Ya gotta pay. Simple as that. Once it goes mainstream, its cheap and everyone has one. Thats the wonder that is mass production, and the Aptera will not be mass produced. I think 27k is a great price for what you get.

I agree that if the MPG claims are met, it's worth the price to prove the technology. Economies of scale should bring the price down, but I don't have the feeling that the Aptera will ever become mainstream. Maybe mainstream to long distance commuters.

I am interested in what the price of the normal gasser will be.

CarloSW2

[Frank Lee]

IF Aptera ever comes to be a real product and IF customers take to them in any number the market would soon be flooded with copycat versions. Don't hold your breath. As it is, it's a niche product AT BEST.

[JackMcCornack]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

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 <snip>

So the drag improvement (Cd came down a claimed 9%, area went up about 8%) is about 1%. Bigger is usually better for Cd.

On another subject, one advantage for PEVs is the ability to get a low CG relative to wheel track and still keep the driver high. The most dramatic example is the Tango, but the Aptera is riding the same wave. To keep its rollover resistance acceptably high, an ICE Aptera is going to either have a bunch more area or be a lot lower.

[jamesqf]

Um... Jack, you did notice that mention of "copycat version", didn't you? Hint, hint :-)

[basslover911]

Hahaha common guys! Just another car thats never going to happen lets face it...

A car company must come, unnoticed, and then BAM make a big splash with a great car and sell TONS of them so nobody (ie governments, oil companies, etc) can take them back or put them down before they come out... that's the only way...

[thatguitarguy]

But is it the same for a motorcycle company?? Isn't the Aptera registered as a motorcycle? I'm thinking very different rules here.

[basslover911]

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...

[cfg83]

Frank -

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

IF Aptera ever comes to be a real product and IF customers take to them in any number the market would soon be flooded with copycat versions. Don't hold your breath. As it is, it's a niche product AT BEST.

I have to agree. Long distance commuters and make-a-statement drivers (efficiency and/or eco).

CarloSW2

[NeilBlanchard]

Hi,

Originally Posted by basslover911

Hahaha common guys! Just another car thats never going to happen lets face it...

A car company must come, unnoticed, and then BAM make a big splash with a great car and sell TONS of them so nobody (ie governments, oil companies, etc) can take them back or put them down before they come out... that's the only way...

I've been thinking the same thing myself, lately. The example of the Britten motorcycle (elsewhere in this forum) is a case in point, I think. The only reason we do not see a whole bunch on Britten motorcycles on the road now, is that John Britten died an unexpected early death at 45 of a vicious cancer.

Eric Buell might be another example. Or Google...