Did a search on the forums and saw one simple reference to this but no discussion - Aptera. Any thoughts??
It's a motorcycle with a fiberglass hood on it. Cool but not pratical in the real world (75 MPH traffic with Semis) OMG!
Not sure what search function you used, but there are about 10 PAGES of discussion on this vehicle. Online resource for the Toyota Prius offering discussion forums, research, and shopping. - Search Results for aptera In any case, it's a great option for some people, but not the safest thing on the road and not practical for many. That said the technology of the vehicle is fantastic. Get me room for 3 car seats in there and I'll take one.
Check out the Aptera forum for much current discussion. Many people on the waiting list belong to this forum. ApteraForum.com - Aptera Car Forum -
Please, before statements are made that are untrue (and I believe it may already be too late for that), go to ApteraMotors.com and read about the car's features, including its safety features. A car that is built with the crash frame of an Indy car is nothing to sneeze at in the safety department. Read about who has been brought in to design the car (if you are a car enthusiast, you will be impressed by the car's pedigree), and read how it has been rebuilt from the ground up with safety in mind. Watch the videos on YouTube of the Aptera being passed by an 18-wheeler on the highway and notice how it does not even shake. And simply calling this vehicle a 'motorcycle' is like calling the QE-II a dinghy. Just because legally it is classified as a motorcycle due to the number of wheels it has, it is anything but a motorcycle. No one that drove motorcycles would call it a motorcycle and no one that has seen it would call it a motorcycle. I love my Prius as much as the next guy and I plan to keep it to take my family of 4 around until the poor thing is driven into the ground, but for my daily commute and to go around town for groceries and other trips, the Aptera that I am on a waiting list for will be my 'Go To' vehicle. 50 MPG is impressive for the Prius and I love it, but 300 MPG is fantastic! And that's just for the hybrid version. By the way, if you'll look at the Aptera closely you'll see that the heat pump is powered by a solar panel on the top of the vehicle. Hmm...I wonder who has been getting a lot of press coverage this month for 'introducing' solar panels to run the AC?? Yeah, that's right. Toyota has on the 2010 Prius. Seems they are just following the Aptera. Don't flame me...just go read about the Aptera. Then let's have a discussion about it's merits. It's not perfect, but it is another step in the right direction.
I read the website. The Aptera has some problems. First, it only has two seats. A two seat car only appeals to a select demographic. Single people. I'm not saying families won't buy it but they will regret buying it the first time dad needs to pick up the kids on the way home from work. Second, it is classified as a motorcycle. Not a bad thing, motorcycles are cool. Only problem is insurance companies and loan officers hate motorcycles. It's reflected in their rates. It won't matter to them that it's not really a motorcycle...if it's classified as a motorcycle...it's a motorcycle. This 3-wheel configuration is not new to the motorcycle world...I saw one at Chik Fil-a just the other day. Third, it's too unconventional for a car. Most people are stuck on the notion that cars have 4 wheels. Your wife/mother/friends may not want to ride in it. Not a huge concern but it could be a problem if you'd like/have to take them somewhere. Would I like to own one? Absolutely! I just don't think I'd be able to with kids and my real world daily transportation needs. There is no way my wife would go around the block in it. Well she'd go around the block but not out of the nieghborhood. If I bought one, it would have to be my third (toy) car.
The Aptera is a very interesting vehicle indeed, and I agree.. let's not get side-tracked with misinformation. First, the 300mpg claim can be very misleading. When the hybrid is running on the battery, it is getting the equivalent of 300mpg, but to say the car gets 300mpg is blatantly false. With a 5 gallon gas tank, the car will have a range closer to 600 miles, or an average of about 120mpg between what it gets running on electric/battery only and then on the gas. Second, I agree that this is not going to be a vehicle for the mainstream. With it's wide stance, the width is purported to be around 7 1/2 feet. That's pretty wide for any passenger vehicle and is more like a F250 pickup truck than your Prius. It's also pretty long. Aptera doesn't have any published dimensions yet, so these dims are all from the Aptera forum where people have dissected published photos of the Aptera parked in areas where you can go back and compare against landmarks. Third, I personally think the vehicle's wide stance is going to be a problem... it will be difficult to maneuver in parking lots, there will be a learning curve to get used to knowing where the wheels are, especially on your blind side (the passenger side). There may be increased accidents of other vehicles not seeing the front wheels hanging out there (outriggers) and bump into them (especially in parking lots). Having said that, the Aptera has a pretty big following... close to 3,500 firm deposits down... @ $500 each, that's a pretty penny. Aptera has rumored plans of following this 'motorcycle' with a conventional 4-wheeled sedan. That's pretty smart, I think... The current 3-wheeler (motorcycle) as the previous poster has said has been designed with safety in mind. Get a few years of these out, build capital from the sales, and then reinvest that in a more mainstream 4-wheeler... Unconventional, perhaps... but more on the right track than a lot of other big automakers at this point, I'd say.
