The price range for this car is about $26,000 - $30,000. Very afforadable...
Totally.
but maybe a sign of some cool things to come
in the year 2000.
Alternatively, Mr Bean in the 25th Century.
It looks like something out of the Jetsons.
Why does it look like it's out of a Pokemon catalog?
Also ideal for our child-free, net-zero TFR future.
a sign of some cool things to come
if by "cool" you mean "totally lame 50s-esque sci-fi", then yes.
Seriously, I presume that the photographer's intention was to select the angle at which that car looks most like a silhouette of Mickey Mouse, wasn't it? Am I going mad here?
Dsquared loses a few pounds and now it's all about looks with him.
It's really a Flintstones meet the Jetsons design. If you look closely there are leg holes for enhanced braking capabilities.
Keeping up with trends is more or less impossible these days. The Mickey Mouse look is reportedly the way to get the Millennial panties off.
Young people today.
these shields for the tires look a little bit cartoonish if those could be hidden under the corpus then it would look maybe neat, a bit like ufos
I think you unlock this for Koopa Troopa when you win 75 races or more in Mario Kart.
That car is dumb looking. The styling is lame. Good concept, though. I'd rather have a Tango.
None of you have souls. That thing looks awesome.
18: look at the rear views; super lame.
I know it's classed as a motorcycle, but I'm not sure why. Easier to get it approved for the road?
21: because of the single rear drivewheel, I think. Also the weight maybe?
I'm not sure why
More flexibility with design, particularly in terms of safety requirements, I think (although they claim it's quite safe in any case).
20: Dude. How can you say that? Totally awesome.
I'm with McManlyPants on this one. I kind of want it, but I suspect the interior construction is going to have a cheap look and feel that will make it hard to justify spending that much money on it. It's more likely that my next car will be a Honda CR-Z.
Classification as a motorcycle also, I believe, affects insurance requirements in most states, not to mention licensing.
(although they claim it's quite safe in any case)
If the battery runs out you can slip on a pair of five-toes natural shoes (included), put your feet through the hatch in the floor, and run along the road under your own power.
"Based on our wheel layout and our weight,
the Aptera Typ-1 is registered as a motorcyle."
26: Not driver's licensing, if that's what you mean -- "You are not required to wear a helmet to drive the Aptera, nor is an endorsement on your drivers license required. Anything in the state of CA with three wheels does not require a motorcycle license and enclosed vehicles with three wheels do not require the use of a helmet."
I liked this one, though I'd feel a little exposed. But mostly I still want a Toyota PM, so I could feel like Gary Numan.
22, 23, 26: Sorry. I meant more why they decided to make it count as a motorcycle as opposed to why it does.
Eventually I will purchase a car, but I have no idea what we'd get. I think it depends in part on how much driving we'd be doing. We have an ancient fuel-inefficient van right now, but when we drive a total of maybe 20 miles a week, it's not really a big deal.
I can totally see Cory Doctorow driving around in one of these perishing in the fiery destruction of one of these.
"15 grocery bags or 2 seven foot surfboards" means my 150 lbs of puppies will fit. They are very quiet and calm when riding. They can trade shotgun.
Too fast, though. No environmentally conscious person needs to go 85. I seldom go over 40.
I seldom go over 40.
That's pretty good for a dog sled in Texas.
19- I like the Tango as well, but this from the site gives me pause:
his car has not been designed yet as it will require a team of engineers, tens of millions of dollars, and at least 18 months to meet all of the safety requirements. Federal requirements include air bag systems and crash testing that must be passed even if the occupants are not wearing seat belts
Just saying I wouldn't drive a car this narrow around LA the night Lakers win the championship IYKWIMAITYD.
So it gets to drive in the carpool lane?
Yes.
"Top speed 85" means "you can safely take it on the freeway," not "you have to drive 85 on surface streets", troll.
No, Ham-Love, it's either not moving or it's going 85mph. Zeno can explain this to you.
Wow, no matter how you like your commas and quotes, 38 is wrong. I rule.
I can never seem to get close enough to Zeno to hear his explanations.
But mostly I still want a Toyota PM, so I could feel like Gary Numan.
Operating the Toyota PM after taking Tylenol PM is deprecated.
Ogged, have you seen the Tesla? Of course it's more (about 100k, and a big waiting list at that price), but it's a really amazing electric car. They basically dropped something like the equivilent of 700 laptop batteries into a Lotus Elise, and it's 0-60 in 3 seconds flat or something close, with a ridiculous torque curve, and all as silent as an electric golf cart. Pretty game changing, from what I understand. Big among silicon valley types.
If anyone needs us, Ham-Love and I will be driving our Apteras around in the future.
I meant more why they decided to make it count as a motorcycle as opposed to why it does.
I assume because cars have to meet a whole bunch of safety standards that motorcycles don't. Crash testing has to be expensive, for starters.
I could have sworn I said that in 23, but it wasn't good enough for Cala.
You did, but it's more plausible from a white guy.
have you seen the Tesla?
I have, but like you say, it's $100k. At least your average Prius owner could buy an Aptera.
38:Umm, I seldom go over 40 on the freeway either. Usually in the leftmost lane.
You would like me if you encountered me there just as much as you like me here.
I seldom go over 40 on the freeway either. Usually in the leftmost lane.
On a riding mower. Pulling a trailer with the dogs.
Tricycles scare me. I think they're pretty vulnerable to tipping over, and at least on a motorcycle you can be safely thrown free of the accident.
If anybody wants one of the old-school kinds from Knecht's 49, the auction ends in 45 minutes.
ogged is such a dreamer! What's the Woody Allen film I'm thinking of? Anyway, plastic clothes, futuristic vehicles, human beings stripped of foibles or cellulite. Kewl idea.
But the Aptera is not very affordable. We'll be better to grow more trees if there's some thought to counter climate change.
the Aptera is not very affordable
Considering that they're making a small batch in a production facility that they're building, $30k is actually a pretty low initial price. One imagines that if demand takes off, the price will come down a lot.
Buckminster Fuller designed a three-wheeled car with an extremely small turning radius.
52:It's a 1993 with 25k miles on it. Speedometer barely goes past 70, car won't.
Parks, woods, groceries. Come to think of it, that's all.
Had to replace a taillight last year, spent four days crawling arounf boneyards. Finally had to juryrig a taillight for a 94 4-door. Slipped the inspector an extra 5.
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Beef makes Koreans insane.
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You would like mock me if you encountered me there just as much as you like mock me here.
$30k is actually a pretty low initial price
Indeed it is. I have trouble talking about this seriously, because that vehicle isn't suitable to a lot of people's needs. It's a vehicle for the so-called elite, so demand will take off only in that small realm. It's a band-aid, a soothe. But it's cool, very. In conjunction with other things, like increased public transportation and locally sourced agriculture, it's nice to picture a future in which people mostly use such things for short, personal trips. All the people I see driving around with ladders and PVC pipes strapped to the tops of their vans and trucks can't use anything like an Aptera.
Yeah, if casual, recreational drivers can afford to switch to these things, it helps.
I forget how many carmakers there were in this country in 1905. Well over 1,000, I think. Expect the same with electric/hybrid vehicles. And then the great winnowing. At the back end will be...a hovercar that gets 10,000 miles/charge. And is shaped exactly like Mickey Mouse. I'm waiting for one of those.
1,000 s/b 100. And I should be smart. Alas.
All the people I see driving around with ladders and PVC pipes strapped to the tops of their vans and trucks can't use anything like an Aptera.
Aww hell. 3-4 times a year I rebuild a section of fence. 10 6 foot slats and 3 10 foot crosspieces in a subcompact. I use all the windows, look like a porcupine. Only three miles, and the other drivers kindly leave me a lot of room, since the wood across my chest sometimes causes steering errors.
It would be a great commuter car for people like me, with no kids, who live and work in the same city, and aren't concerned about their perceived manliness.
Of course, it would mean that the "big car" in our household was a friggin' Mini Cooper. That has some logistical consequences, I'm sure.
There's something to be said at a societal level for "halo" or otherwise high-profile cars being very fuel efficient and elegant rather than blindingly fast.
62: I'm not sure if it's an elite car, but it's definitely a car that makes more sense as a secondary vehicle, like a commuter-only car.
OT
That color may be appropriate for Puerto Rico but it isn't for Marin County
I was wondering if "cyclecars" would start reappearing. There've been two periods where there were quite a few, both times in Europe, never more than trace numbers in the US: right after each of the World Wars. It was partly to counter the challenge Of cyclecars like the Messerschmidt and Issetta that Alec Issagonis designed the first Mini in the mid-fifties. Probably the greatest and most influential car of the last fifty years.
In GB, the Morgan three-wheeler survived in production until around WWII, and got tremendous performance, particularly acceleration, out of a car-like front and single, motorcycle-based rear wheel.
69:The point-of-view reminds me of my carefree youth.
Your carefree youth may be appropriate for Puerto Rico but it isn't for Marin County.
Tiny cars are great. I tried to convince my parents to buy a Smart Car when my dad's car died a few months ago. It would have been perfect--he has a short commute, and they have the Subaru for hauling stuff. But alas, they never seriously considered the idea and instead bought a Volvo like the Brooksian practical-yet-decadent suburbanites they are.
What's the Woody Allen film I'm thinking of?
Sleeper?
I think most childless people could do just fine with one of these as their day-to-day. Yes, if I had an Aptera I would keep something bigger around for the rare occasion when I need serious cargo room but honestly Rah and would be just fine with a 2-seater 95% of the time. Even if all sedans of all childless persons were magically converted to Apteras overnight, however, there would still be a lot of need for bigger things. Most of the cars on our street would not be replaced with Apteras in that scenario.
By the same token, part of why I drive what I drive is that when I got it I (a) absolutely had to be able to get to work in anything short of a blizzard and (b) was the only one with a chance of purchasing a real hauler in a household of six and gas was cheap. It was extremely practical at the time. These days there's less hauling to do in a household of two and I can work from home if needed.
Aptera is the Macbook Air of cars -- not going to work as anyone's primary or only unit, but an interesting option for a lightweight second one.
No wings, eh? Why advertise a car based on its LACK of a killer app?
76 gets it exactly right.
Ogged, you have now become Instapundit. The latest Popular Mechanics gewgaws are a mainstay of his blogging. In fact, he's covered the Aptera quite a bit.
76 might be stretching it with that "anyone's".
I wonder if you could put a roof rack on that thing.
81 asks the essential question! Phrased in exactly the right way!
I disagree with 67. They should be both! Or they should be otherwise nifty. Making green cars valuable for reasons other than pure efficiency is totally key. That's one of the things that's great about the Tango - great performance, and it can split lanes! Ditto the Tesla, ditto West Coast Conversions. Coöpt hot rod culture!
Coöpt
None of that New Yorker bullshit from you, now. It's bad enough with w-lfs-n doing it.
84: I've been doing that since I started commenting here, more-or-less.
the Messerschmidt
I was thinking about this, too. And the BMW bubble cars. And the Sinclair C5, of course.
I swear when I was a kid I saw something like this for sale at a used car place in Florida in the late 80s. It was a 3 wheel motorcycle covered with a shell, I think the shell was more winged than this- there weren't struts holding on the front wheels, they were just under the wings that came out from the body. It was advertised as 100+ MPG. I have no idea what it was.
Last year I recall seeing a gyrocopter kit for sale on Ebay- that's the way to beat traffic, screw splitting lanes.
Was probably a Corbin, a cyclecar from a few years ago by the motorcycle accessory maker of that name.
As I said above to the usual indifference, cyclecars like this are an old idea, and have periodically reappeared when gas is very dear, as it has never really been in this country by world standards.
I have terror-filled memories of driving down a Dallas freeway in something with four wheels and a perfectly normal size for Europe while huge trucks took turns trying to kill me. With only three wheels you would simply be there to provide the intro level for their game, where they learn the simplest manoeuvres, like squashing small cars one at a time on an otherwise empty road.
Very sweet. Last week I saw numerous electric cars in London Towne and a variety of electric car charging points. The times, they is a changin'. Unfortunately the electric cars looked like crappy tin cans. I can't imagine the people who can afford them would drive them if they didn't have the green cache. What is needed in a Smart Car that runs electric. They have some sweet design and so would be more acceptable to the masses.
Now I've always wondered if electric cars are really that efficient. It seems that taking hydrocarbons out of the ground, burning them to create electricity, and then using that electricity to drive cars is less efficient than removing the intermediate stage. Perhaps the economies of scale (and ability to use alternate energy sources like gas and nukes) overcome the loss incurred by the extra stage. Of course I could just look this up on Google, but I'm not that interested in the answer. I just want to pontificate in public.
I saw a three-wheeler Morgan recently, driven by an older chap wearing the full leather helmet and goggles get-up.
I did feel a twinge of envy as the car looked cool [and was going pretty bloody quick, too].
http://fgk.panultima.net/ware/morgan3ec04.jpg
http://fgk.panultima.net/ware/morgan3ec04b.jpg
It seems that taking hydrocarbons out of the ground, burning them to create electricity, and then using that electricity to drive cars is less efficient than removing the intermediate stage. Perhaps the economies of scale (and ability to use alternate energy sources like gas and nukes) overcome the loss incurred by the extra stage.
There's not really an extra stage, though; you're eliding refining, which is far from a trivial process, and shipment (all those giant tankers). Further, internal combustion engines are at best around 30% efficient, and you need a load of gears in the drivetrain weighing and creating friction. The well-to-wheel efficiency of ICEs is truly horrible. Also, because of the torque profile, you need an engine far bigger than required to push the vehicle along at speed to provide reasonable performance - electric motors produce most torque at zero RPM, so that isn't a problem.
And even if you were burning oil to produce electricity, you'd be doing it in a big gas turbine, and turbines are the most efficient heat engines - 60-80% compared to 30 or so.
It's time we junked all this 1880s stuff and swapped it for something more modern - from the *second* industrial revolution, in the 1890s!
Of course I could just look this up on Google, but I'm not that interested in the answer. I just want to pontificate in public.
There's your problem.
They are quite a bit more efficient, and in fact have come up with a handy-dandy figure known as "miles per gallon" which measures the fuel necessary to power them; in electric cars it averages around 300 MPG, if I recall.
94: They are quite a bit more efficient, and in fact have come up with a handy-dandy figure known as "miles per gallon"
Wow! They really are "smart" cars!
95: I meant "come up with" like "battled alongside on the hard journey from the mean streets they prowled as youth".
but what if you took this car to Africa or Iraq and had to power it up using a domestic diesel-powered generator? Your fuel efficiency figures wouldn't look so good then would they, imperialist?
Or if you took it to an uncontacted tribe in the Amazon? They'd be way more freaked out than they'd be with a boring old Honda Civic.
I seldom go over 40.
I'm imagining McManus driving 40 in the passing lane just to troll the other drivers.
I like the Aptera, but I like the Isetta more. The only thing better than living in the future is living in an Italian neo-realist movie.
I'm imagining McManus driving 40 in the passing lane just to troll the other drivers.
With his turn blinker on.
98: I wonder whether they would? I certainly see your point, but would a truly uncontacted tribe who had none of our cultural points of reference necessarily see that thing as intrinsically more alien than a Honda Civic? I think Ludwig Wittgenstein had some suggestive remarks, but that's another story, missus.
Of course, if you took it to an uncontacted tribe and then opened the doors like in the photo, the tribesmen would just say "hmmm, that thing looks like a fucking mouse".
I certainly see your point, but
Based on how earnestly you answered, I'm not sure you did.
I'm imagining McManus driving 40 in the passing lane just to troll the other drivers.
He did say he drove in the left lane. Trolling drivers is fun, because you don't just annoy them: you make their lives way more dangerous! Whee!
102: I worry the Aptera couldn't take a good barrage of arrows. Also, how the heck did you make d^2 get all earnest? Next are you going to make Witt glibertarian and gswift vegan?
It seems that taking hydrocarbons out of the ground, burning them to create electricity, and then using that electricity to drive cars is less efficient than removing the intermediate stage. Perhaps the economies of scale (and ability to use alternate energy sources like gas and nukes) overcome the loss incurred by the extra stage.
A car that uses an alternate energy source: the 1958 Ford Nucleon. Available with tailfins!
With his turn blinker on.
His left indicator, clearly, showing everyone the way to go - which would be either into a concrete abutment in the UK or into oncoming traffic in the US. Or perhaps his right one, to demonstrate how committed he was to heightening the contradictions.
My favorite Isetta scene is Eleanor Bron, getting off work in the original sixties Bedazzled, running to get into one with her date.
Both "bubble cars" and cyclecars have long histories, and are periodically reintroduced
"if by "cool" you mean "totally lame 50s-esque sci-fi", then yes."
Well, duh. That's the epitome of cool. Look, everyone complains that reality never lived up to 50s sci-fi's predictions of the future. Well now you can live in a 50s sci-fi movie. How is that not cool?
The Nucleon is clearly the future. It would simultaneously reduce atmospheric pollution and encourage safer driving. The govt should outlaw all other cars in their favour, and they should be required to glow a phosphorescent green to alert other drivers to their presence (no more accidents because you couldn't see the other car).
