Wonder how it does on the Grapevine or at 95 mph on the 405.

mrchuck85

that's not that pricey for 300mpg...holy crap, what an awesome commuter vehicle!
The $360/month in fuel savings (will rise as time goes on too) would almost pay for it.

EMoShunz

omg eco save the world ..... just have to sell your body to pay for it.

swpoison

It looks surprisingly comfortable, although I worry about those doors hitting the ceiling in my parking garage. If they can it down to $20k, I might buy one.

Erwos

And like Schwartptrzcchnegger, chic & cool like a Barby.

valis

uh is it just me or does this car closely resemble a sperm. GENIUS!

fezzercanezzer

Hmmm, ok. Impressive. Really - super impressive. I'm impressed. Now let's see them crash test it...

ir_427

@kevjohn: money or power....oh, i get it, greatest jedi ever...bla bla bla :)

EMoShunz

With that big old stinger on the back, I'd be worried about backing or out of a parking spot. If you thought that backing an SUV into a kid was bad, wait until you skewer some 70 walking through Wal-Mart's parking lot...

mmcnary

@EMoShunz: The mystery in the Verse is how a lame douchebag can ever end up with a hot chick.

kevjohn

@OMG!!! Ponies!!!: i absolutely love how you go off on these tangents, reminds me of my stoner days.
personally, episode 2 was the big let down for me. that dude was such a spoiled brat, why would a hottie like that even look at him twice?

EMoShunz

Does it come with that brat from the Phantom Menace?

Talk about a seriously flawed movie. First of all, Darth Vader - at no point in his life - ever said "yippee". Unless the Galactic Gasbag edited out all the parts of Empire Strikes Back with Darth Vader skipping through Bespin, picking daisies.

Second, that kid had a lot of free time to play for a slave. Maybe it's my upbringing, but I think "slave" and I think heavy manual labor with some guy whipping you every five seconds for spending too much time breathing. Darth Vader was not a child slave. He had an after-school job working for an asshole that paid shitty wages. If that's slavery, we all qualify.

Third, you'd think that blowing up a battle station using a stunt fighter to deliver a targeted attack on a ventilation system would be a valuable learning experience. Evidently not.

The Galactic Empire - is it any wonder they fell?

OMG!!! Ponies!!!

well, i'm sure they'll sell a total of 5 by the end of 2009.

froggy

Emo,
How do you figure $360/month in fuel savings? On the east coast, gas is roughly $3/gallon. That's 120 gallons a month. Even at only 15 mpg, that's 1800 miles. And if you currently drive a compact (which I'm assuming is the competition for this thing), you probably get closer to 30 mpg, which would require you to drive 3600 miles a month. Do people really drive that much? I guess it's possible, but for someone who lives in the city and walks to work, that much time in a car seems crazy to me.

crash

@Munch: I completely agree. Coupe-de-Sperm.

senorbelly

Hey guys you don't have to worry about the tail because once it makes is way into the garage the tail will fall off.

fezzercanezzer

I'm just curious as to how the Aptera can/will handle a Michigan Winter, we can easily have six-eight feet of snow dumped on us completely out of the blue after a nice 60 degree day.

Once I see that kind of road test, then I'll make my decision. But jesus tapdancing christ, I want this thing.

rockosolido

I saw both. Yes, the Island wasn't a complete ripoff. Logan's Run wasn't about cloning yourself for parts. It was about cloning to keep the population levels down.

Anyway, interesting looking car.

LoganSix

Wow, a "Logan's Run" reference. Why did nobody notice that "The Island" was a blatant ripoff of that movie? Wait, maybe that's 'cause nobody saw either of those movies.... Both good though (the second one was good despite being made by Michael Bay).

Zlevee

@fezzercanezzer: Me too. I was suprised that it took the 13th post to point that out.

Munch

Mfaerber's post went in before mine but after I started typing. Take it from someone who knows- DO NOT rely on backup cameras or backup sensors. They are pretty much guaranteed to get you into trouble.

And no, I don't have one. I just have a job where I learn these things through other people's stupidity.

rsquared

Haha, I wanted one just cause Jesus compared it to something from the funniest movie ever- "Sleeper", but then fezzercanezzer added another Woody Allen reference (Although tangentially since he didn't actually mention "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Sex") so now I definitely want one. When it's time to retire the Subaru you may well see me behind the wheel of one of these babies. Could they make a convertible model though so we can enjoy the SoCal sunshine while enjoying the MPGs?

rsquared

The desing of this car is not embarrassing. What IS embarrassing is that some 100 years after the first cars fuel efficiency has barely changed in this country (relative to all other forms of technology). I would buy this in a HEARTBEAT if I lived in CA. As soon as I can buy it on the east coast, I'll be the first in line.

RE MMCNARY: It has a rear-view camera.

RE P3NNST8R: Do that, and it wouldn't achieve 300mpg. It's a very small sacrafice to make to pollute less.

mfaerber

they would have to make special parking spaces for those cars...

analyticalmind84

@p3nnst8r: It definitely serves an aerodynamics purpose, and there is no way it would have the mpg it does without being ridiculously aerodynamic, but I think it also might be there to crush during an accident.

JeffCarr

@mmcnary:

Seriously, does that serve any purpose? I can think only possibly stabilization and aerodynamics, but is it really needed to that extent?

Regardless, i'd get this car in a heartbeat if they downgraded the body style of the thing to something a little less futuristic.

P3nnst8r

the important question: does the spermmobile have a place to plug in my (insert proprietary DAP name here)?

adamdouglasking

@mmcnary: If you watch the video on the linked PM website, you'll see that the back end isn't a pointy skewer, but a flat bar that's the width of the body.

Having said that, with a vehicle that light I'd be happier with a skewer to discourage tailgating....

GoPadge

@fezzercanezzer: lol, now i want one even more...makes me think of stewie in a sperm fighter

EMoShunz

@nutbastard:
Every fourh year you ebay a set to the bastards who drive gas-guzzling Insights.

discomonkey

@nutbastard: Spare tire. Duh.

ideaman2020

"The tires on the prototype are the same 165/65R14 tires from the Honda Insight. "

what do i do when the "BUY 3 GET THE FOURTH FREE" tire sale events come around????

nutbastard

@SalParadise:
"The chassis has steel reinforcements in key areas: at the roll hoop, along the bottom of the windshield, in the doors (for side impact protection) and, of course, in the front subframe (for the suspension system as well as the engine and battery cradle). "

might help

nutbastard

guys guys guys...

go to:

[www.aptera.com]

look at their crash-test area. it's amazing. my friend helped build the struts on that car, and he said up-close and personal; you just can't believe how high-quality it is, especially the fact that they finally got a [low] priced concept car to be manufactured so well.

first off, to scrub anyones criticism...

on their website they boast the bubble-like typ-1 recieves around 120mpg. that's a whopping 120 and more than you'll find anywhere else. the starting price for that is somewhere (if i remember right) around 27k. with 27,000 you could buy a brand new honda civic. the second version of this car does indeed reach 300mpg, and even read in a few other reviews that it COULD receive around 330mpg. the price tag for the second version is just under 30k.

whether you like the design or not, just understand that a concept/pseudo-kit care like this could easily be in the 80k arena. i mean... com'on! this car is amazing. don't expect to get, ya know, 130k miles on it... but just think of what you'd save instead of getting a civic-hybrid.

now that's awesome ;)

devianaut

@SalParadise:
well, you're not supposed to crash it, duh.

nutbastard

of course i'm driving something fairly economical so lets see, 1397/30 = 46 gallons @ $3.30 = $154 a month, but i usually do around another 80 on the weekends, so figure total would be 58 gallons a month, so if this thing gets 10X my mileage i subtract 5.8 to get 52 gallons, which is $172 a month. ALMOST a car payment!

nutbastard

Look great to me, but has anyone driven it into a wall at 5 mph? How about at 50 mph? What's going to absorb the impact, besides your legs?

SalParadise

@crash:
5 days a week it's a 65 mile round trip. So 4.3 weeks in a month = 1397 miles and i know fools who drive even more. It's only 45 minutes each way. So yes, people really do drive that much. that 1397 ONLY covers going to and from work.

nutbastard

@crash: you are right. my wife's car gets (just under) 30mpg on a good warm day. She has to fill up 7 times a month at $65/ea. (we are paying $.90-$1.10/ltr, or about $3.50-$4/ gallon). so really, it's closer to $410 per month in savings, but i figured roughly $50 to plug it in at some point since i don't really know if it is a plug-in hybrid or not (i didn't watch the video).
it's sad, but by commuting 125 km each way every day she makes $20,000 more a year (almost double than the same job in town) and gets good benefits.

EMoShunz

My wife hasn't seen Sleeper.
Awesome flick.
-but she will.

strider_mt2k

Holy crap I wonder what that looks like after an impact with a Suburban.

PatrickAustin

i am gonna move to california baby!

kittenman

@MMCNARY:
The futuristic look is one of the main reasons I *WOULD* buy it. It looks like a concept car that managed to go from Syd Mead's sketchbook to reality without getting mutilated into another bimbomobile or mombox along the way.
If you'd ever seen the "concept" version of the Neon or Focus or Stylus, you'd know exactly what I was talking about.

I think, for the first time in my life, I am actually experiencing car lust...

jetdillo

@Empire:

going north right before the 5- just in time to crusie into the tunnel and get instagibbed.

mrchuck85

No back seat? No trunk? Where to the groceries go? Hell where do the kids go? How do I change the tire in the rear? What happens when those dumb LCD screens take a sh*t? It's so light it'll never be able to drive over 1 inch of snow. I'll hold out for the 200mpg 5-seat station wagon version. I live in the real world.

SuperMacGuy

@EMoShunz: They lost me at Mitichlorians.

@mrchuck85: When can you go 95 on the 405? 3am?

Empire

A couple of comments. First, even an economy car won't get 30mpg in rush hour traffic. I have an Acura TSX, gets 31-32 mpg on the highway. Take that into the city and it gets about 25 mpg. In rush hour that drops to 19 mpg. When you're in rush hour traffic you spend more time sitting burning fuel than moving. Mileage drops drastically so a vehicle like this might be just the ticket.

What I want to know is where do you attach the wings? LOL

cowboyshootist

It's all fun and games till someone pops a wheelie.

johnnyabnormal

What's up with the needle-tail? I thought Kamm-back designs that truncated the tail were more aerodynamic in the first place. After a certain point, you can chop the tail off and the air will still follow the same path, except without the surface drag of flowing along the long tapered tail.

raygundan

I hope they make enough of them so everyone in califormina who wants one can get one. I literally WILL buy one if there isn't some absurd waiting list (I'm looking at you, EV-1!)

m4ximusprim3

@rockosolido: i didn't even think of that, i guess i just assume that all cars work in snow...stupid me. i wonder how much longer us snow birds will have to wait :(

EMoShunz

I would drive that

DoPeY5007

This thing would make a most excellent flashlight.

DelosWorld

@Zlevee: Well "the Island" was based off a book called "The Experiment"

jcraig

@SuperMacGuy: Why do you assume your world is the only one that's real? According to the write-up, this is a niche vehicle with a market limited to California. It's for long highways with no snow.

sumocat

@raygundan:
I for one am not gong to argue with it. 0.11 coefficient of drag is pretty much nothing.

nutbastard

@tdenton1138: maybe, but what would the crash survivability of a gas powered bicycle be?

EMoShunz

We've got the form factor for our first flying car... now we just need someone to make it fly!

Jordan Lund

As much as I would like to get 300mpg, there are other ways... like a gas powered bicycle. It looks to me like the crash survivability would be the same against my 1987 Suburban: ~Zero. Wake me up when these cars are safe.

tdenton1138

i was finally able to watch the video. if the whole question of winter gets solved...i am in!

EMoShunz

That thing got a HEMI?

discomonkey

I wonder how this will compare to the VentureOne Carver (www.flytheroad.com)?

ackthbbft

@ackthbbft: i can't find the price for that, but it gets less milage and has less interior room to start with.

EMoShunz

very cool, pretty impressive, not practical. If I had $20,000 lying around I can think of a few things Id rather blow it on than this.

If I had a couple mil lying around tho, Id definetly snap one of these babies up.

pevans34

if you check out the website, it gives you THEIR crash test pics. Having said that, if this car were to get into a fender bender, it would be impossible to get fixed.

From the pics, it doesnt seem that the windows open at all. So you can't breath the fresh air that you are trying to save.

blein

@tdenton1138:

You're the reason we need cars like this, and usually the only way there's going to be someone CRASHING into your suburban is either you're not paying attention or they're not paying attention.

Please go ahead with driving your suburban, apparently you have managed to keep it from failing emissions tests, or just plain avoided major accidents, which kinda puts to rest your own argument about crashing.

You live in California?

skulldriveshaft

@EMoShunz: £ 22,500 is the price for the carver when and if it gets into production, a little more if you want one right now because it would be hand built :]

But it does exist already :]

skulldriveshaft

@skulldriveshaft: @ackthbbft: then price to feature...i'd say it's a close call, for 30% less money, the smaller space and less milage would be acceptable for a lot of people in this niche. i wonder why these things are so secretive?

EMoShunz

The more I keep up with this car, the more I believe this is the first real re-thinking of the automobile since its inception. I know this sounds a little over the top, but the Typ-1's design is what I consider truly clean and innovative. In fact, I think if this car achieves satisfactory adoption, the rest of the auto industry could very well be shaken up. And that, in my opinion, is a very good thing when the status quo of auto makers today is entrenched in the production larger and larger oil belching monsters....

Crosstalk: [dataland.wordpress.com]

dataland

So, when are they going to make that little half airplane back into the rest with a rear prop and fly away home? Best commute ever-fly to the airport and drive to work.

SewMaster