The new Aptera Type One!!!

[RitterKreuz]

The Aptera... a very nice looking all electric (or the  hybrid Aptera Type 2) car for those of us sick of high gas prices.

the all electric model will travel 120 miles at highway speeds before requiring a recharge. recharge takes 4 - 6 hours.

plus the car is cool looking too. light weight, aerodynamic, and the forward frame system is designed to roll under the car in front end collision.

the hybrid electric gasoline version claims up to 300 MPG highway

estimated retail $30,000

but dont consider this as a replacement for your long range fuel sipping Sedan like the carolla or cobalt.

it is simply an option for a person who frequently has a one or two person commute of up to 120 miles and would rather pay $3.80 for the round trip trip versus $33.00 for the round trip.

I can think of a trip my wife and i made last night as an example. we took her carolla. Drove about 7 miles to Buffalo Wild wings for dinner, then on the way back home went about 4 miles from there to the mall, then an additional 3 or 4 miles to wal mart to pick up some odds and ends for her work, then about 2 miles home from there. total trip distance was around 17 miles.

we had maybe 3 grocery bags and a to-go box...

the Aptera Type 1 could have completed this task SEVEN times over without using a single drop of gasoline.

If one wishes to make a 200 mile weekend get away - by all means take a fuel efficient sedan like the carolla... the fuel price will be about $55

...or just wait until the 5 passenger Aptera TypeX comes out, the same 200 mile road trip would cost only about 6 or 8 bucks  :o

have a look! i want one of these neat cars!!!

http://www.popularmechanics.com/automot ... 37853.html

[Craig.]

So they want people to drive around in something that looks like sperm with wheels?

[RitterKreuz]

i think it looks cool  :D

if it gets 300 miles per gallon ill drive it if it looked like a big boob

[eno]

I love these claims for electric cars ...... and the convenient fact that they forget that to charge the batteries you need to use electricity that is sourced from fossil fuel burning power stations. Therefore not lowering the amount of greenhouse gasses emitted.  :-/ :-/

[RitterKreuz]

well here is the logic... the power plants are going to be churning away to power cities anyway... so what difference is it going to make if you plug your car into a wall socket when your car is capable of traveling 300 miles per gallon?

Power stations producing one billion cubic feet of pollution

plus

Automobiles producing one billion cubic feet of pollution

equals

2 billion cubic feet of pollution  ;D

now factor in the electric commuters with zero emissions and you just cut pollution in half... if not at least by a signifigant amount.

also... IMHO it has little to do with being "green" and a lot to do with saving "green"  - money that is  :D

look at it this way...

I have a 200 mile round trip commute to work that I must complete 4 times per month. this translates to 800 miles driven per month on my car. this means that my car alone burns approximately 30 gallons of gas per month assuming i only use it for my commute to work.

this means that every month, the fuel bill for my car alone is about $120.00

now... assuming i was driving the Aptera Type 1, i would have used no fuel.

assuming i went the hybrid route and drove the Aptera type 2, i would have used 2 1/2 gallons of fuel which for the month cost me about $10

MY ENTIRE COMMUTE FOR THE MONTH... TEN BUCKS  :o

thats a savings of $110 every month, or a savings of 1,320 every year.

personally i can find a lot of things to do with $1300 per year... fund a vacation to Disney world or a cruise to the Bahamas? (just as an example)

the next argument is that it will cost you more on your electric bill.

true - but only partially true.

the charge rate on an aptera is similar to that of a trickle charger, and the resultant increase in the electric bill is negligible. we are talking maybe 20 dollars per month.

economy cars like the corolla for example arnt going anywhere. they will still be used by millions for long distance commutes. however, cars like the aptera offer an economic and environmentally friendly alternative to long distance commuters like myself, who frequently travel alone, or with one other person.

finally consider this... how many times have some of us been in a situation where we hopped in our cars for a trip across town to meet friends for dinner or lunch, and to run a few loose errands? the total distance covered by such a trip is perhaps 15 to 20 miles total?

Imagine doing that same inner city errand running... say... 10 times ... without using ANY fuel? it cost you literally a few cents to make such a trip where in the past it may have cost some of us a few dollars.

[eno]

You have to admit though that the logic is very fuzzy.... replace every gas guzzler on the planet with electric cars and you have to build thousands more power stations to keep up with demand.

I agree completely with you on the money side ..... but only if you use a hybrid such as the Toyota Prius. I looked on in envy last night as I filled the tank on my car at a cost of approximately $10 a gallon (approx

[Craig.]

Theres one flaw with the Prius.
The diesel BMW I think its either the 3 or 5 series gets better fuel mileage,

[TSC.]

Theres one flaw with the Prius.
The diesel BMW I think its either the 3 or 5 series gets better fuel mileage,

That test made me laugh.  ;D (here)

I'm with eno on the power station thing, power stations are 'producing one billion cubic feet of pollution' at the moment, with hardly anybody using electric cars - how much pollution will they produce when 85% of cars are electric?

TSC.

[Craig.]

the big thing is modern nuclear power plants. But that becomes a political topic that we can avoid

[RitterKreuz]

You have to admit though that the logic is very fuzzy.... replace every gas guzzler on the planet with electric cars and you have to build thousands more power stations to keep up with demand.

your right but only partially.

I dont think the idea is to get rid of ALL the gasoline burning cars on the planet.

I think the idea is for a majority of families to operate one gasoline car for long distance commutes, and one electric car for trips to the grocery store.

and not all power plants are coal burning monstrosities. take most of the cities in west Texas as an example... go out to the middle of the desert and you will see hundreds of large wind turbines. how much pollution do wind turbines produce?

go to some of the new "green" homes in california... solar powered, even on cloudy days they generate enough power to at least run the house on a conservative basis.

Nuclear power... otherwise safe and clean unless a major problem occurs.

one final point, given enough time... the car wont really even have to be plugged in at all. go through the slide show on the site i linked to. there are solar panels on the top of the car which given enough time will charge the battery when power plugs are not available. - free of charge - and we didnt have to build ONE power plant

perfect for someone like me who has to commute to work and leave the car parked outside for 3 or 4 days in a row.

as for inner city trips for groceries, you could go an entire month on one recharge.

Im not saying the car is perfect, but it is a great alternative to owning two gasoline burning cars when you could own one gas car and one of these.

[beaky]

The key factor, for efficiency as well as reducing pollution, is that electric cars use energy that is produced centrally.
A big powerplant is going to use whatever fuel it's using more efficiently, and it's a lot easier to control emissions at a single location, even a huge coal-burning plant, than it is to control it at every tailpipe.

Also makes for cars that are quieter, safer, and simpler (meaning less maintenance and cost of maintenance).

Then there's (potential) performance: nothing delivers torque-on-demand like an electric motor. Pound-for-pound, they are vastly superior to piston engines.
Consider the Tesla Roadster next time you hear about "wimpy" electric vehicles (zero to 60 mph in under 4 secs; almost 250 hp from a motor that weighs less than 120 lbs).

Cheaper to operate, too... which is the only selling point a big auto mfr. can work with. It's the same point used to sell a gajillion VW Beetles in the US in the 1970s, during the last big surge in gas prices.

But the current state of the art in hybrids and pure electrics is pretty disappointing.