New Aptera

[Curly1]

Sure there could be weeds, plastic bags, shirts etc. I have seen all kinds of stuff blowing around on the highway. While it is possible I do not think the exposed axles are too big of a problem.
Basjoos has proved several things with his car that aerodynamics can make a huge difference. The Aptera is using really clean Aero and lightwight to make a car that will not need much power to get decent performance and great power. Not only that I like the look of the Aptera. It is designed to perform with few comprimises made for looks.
In other countries they use bicycles, mopeds, busses for transportation. The Aptera can give good mileage and still have much of the freedom and creature comforts just not possible with those other means of transportation.
I think this is the car of the future in many ways. In Europe people like in massive apartments that have thousands of people and busses and mass transit is a good means of transportation. Plus those apartments do not even have a place for them to park the cars if they had one. Here in America most people live in their own house or smaller apartments spread out more. Mass transportation is just not a good option here and bicycles or mopeds is not good for most of us to.
In the near future I think there will be a bunch of these type vehicles and they will be mass produced and sell for $10,000 or so. In my opinion there is no reason for it to cost $30,000. I bet the motorcycle companies and some of the car manufacturors are taking a close look at this.

[jamesqf]

Why would grass &c around the drive shafts be a problem for the Aptera, but not for any other FWD car. The shafts are all exposed, if you look from underneath the car :-)

[NeilBlanchard]

Hi,

I don't think that the timing on the release has slipped as badly as some folks think it has. They will start to deliver 2e's to the depositors pretty soon -- the first is promised on January 16th -- which is only a week or so in the future! The late 2009 time frame may be the beginning of volume production; when they will be able to sell to the general public.

[cfg83]

NeilBlanchard -

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

Hi,

I don't think that the timing on the release has slipped as badly as some folks think it has. They will start to deliver 2e's to the depositors pretty soon -- the first is promised on January 16th -- which is only a week or so in the future! The late 2009 time frame may be the beginning of volume production; when they will be able to sell to the general public.

I thought the January 16th date was "internal customers only". The request by Aptera to convert to a non-refundable deposit will generate a "give me my money back" response from some people (that's what I would do).

CarloSW2

[roflwaffle]

Originally Posted by cfg83

The request by Aptera to convert to a non-refundable deposit will generate a "give me my money back" response from some people (that's what I would do).

It's not a request, just a change in the reservation program. They are now providing the option of getting $250 off in exchange for making the $500 deposit non-refundable. The customer gets $250 off, so they save a bit, and Aptera gets to see who is serious and who is wishy washy so they don't have a bunch of cars sitting around when people decide gas isn't high enough to warrant the purchase.

As we move closer to volume production in the face of this challenged economy, it becomes increasingly important for us to accurately forecast our first year's production volume. To date, we have tried to provide the greatest flexibility possible by maintaining all deposits as fully refundable, and now it has become equally important for Aptera to properly model our operations to meet demand. To address this issue, we have created a proposition, known as "Lock-in," to reward your commitment to this point and in the future. Lock-in allows you to voluntarily convert your deposit from refundable to a firm, non-refundable one and receive an addition $250 credit towards the purchase of your Aptera vehicle. In other words, we will give you an additional 50% return on your money for sticking with us and taking the extra step.

I wouldn't be surprised if you could get your entire non-refundable deposit back if they don't deliver your car in order and start volume production by, what, Oct 9th 2009?

[basjoos]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

Why would grass &c around the drive shafts be a problem for the Aptera, but not for any other FWD car. The shafts are all exposed, if you look from underneath the car :-)

About the only exposed rotating shaft under a traditional vehicle is the shaft running from the transmission to the differential on RWD vehicles and it is oriented parallel to the vehicle's travel. Also most the vehicle has to pass over the grass before the exposed rear portion of the shaft reaches it. The Aptera drive shafts are outboard from the car's body and are perpendicular to the car's travel so it is potentially more exposed.

[roflwaffle]

Originally Posted by basjoos

The Aptera drive shafts are outboard from the car's body and are perpendicular to the car's travel so it is potentially more exposed.

Not really, from the POV of getting whacked by something on the ground I mean. It looks like they're using a traditional Macpherson suspension just like a whole bunch of other FWD cars, w/ the struts mounted in the wheel wells. The exposure in terms of vertical movement looks to be the same as just about any other FWD car these days. If anything, they'll whack the lower arm before the halfshaft is whacked. If they hit something tall enough it also looks like they'll smack the lower arm and connection w/ the body before they hit the halfshaft, which would be equivalent to a driver in a normal vehicle hitting something w/ their bumper I guess.

[cfg83]

roflwaffle -

Originally Posted by roflwaffle

It's not a request, just a change in the reservation program. They are now providing the option of getting $250 off in exchange for making the $500 deposit non-refundable. The customer gets $250 off, so they save a bit, and Aptera gets to see who is serious and who is wishy washy so they don't have a bunch of cars sitting around when people decide gas isn't high enough to warrant the purchase.

...

Ok, thanks for the correction.

CarloSW2

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by basjoos

About the only exposed rotating shaft under a traditional vehicle is the shaft running from the transmission to the differential on RWD vehicles and it is oriented parallel to the vehicle's travel.

Note that I said FWD cars, which are a large fraction of current production. Also most current 4WD have exposed axle shafts, as do many RWD with independent suspension. Bottom line is that there are lots of vehicles out there with shafts similar to the Aptera design (even though bodywork hides them from the casual glance), and there seem to be few if any problems.

[Frank Lee]

So much for parallel driveshaft gooking-up immunity...