24 January 2009

Aptera Update

Capable of a 90 miles per hour cruise...
Range of 100 miles between charges...
The equivalent of 200 miles per gallon.

The first run of vehicles, scheduled for October delivery, will be sold only in California. I'm assuming that is because of the climate there and a desire to keep a close eye on any problems that might develop. But the company looks to be a leader in the race for the "Progressive Automotive X-Prize"...
That 10 million dollar prize will be awarded to the first car to meet three requirements:

1. It must get the equivalent of 100 miles per gallon.

2. It must emit less than 200 grams of greenhouse gases per mile.

3. It must be mass produced... 10,000 per year at a reasonable cost.

What is reasonable? Aptera hopes to market the 2e for $25 to $45,000. They have taken deposits from 4,000 hopeful buyers.

Twenty teams are racing to win the X-Prize.
The writing is on the wall... all the major manufacturers have plug-in hybrids or pure electric cars on the drawing board. Some even are showing concept cars in major car shows. It's not a question of whether, but WHEN we'll all be able to buy a car that doesn't need to stop to refuel with a fossil fuel.

If you're interested, you can find an article with more links to tell you all about the Aptera here.

2 comments:

gnomædh said...

I really hope to see all of these new technologies developed to replace the standard vehicles we drive today. It's time for a paradigm shift in our attitudes about what transportation is supposed to be. We could use absolutely everything that's being developed and still have room for more possible designs to hit the market! Wouldn't a variety of vehicles and fuel systems be a nice change compared to the status quo? I think it would be a refreshing change of pace!

regards; gnomædh

http://flowair.blogspot.com

Cassie said...

what about the greenhouse gasses produced generating the electricity to charge these vehicles, California is just trying to move the problems elsewhere