$30,000 Electric Car to be sold in California

[octopus]

http://gizmodo.com/336615/aptera-electr ... -mechanics

Looks like something out of Star Wars... I don't know if I can bear the attention from driving it :D

[Khamsin]

http://gizmodo.com/336615/aptera-electric-car-works-great-says-popular-mechanics

Looks like something out of Star Wars... I don't know if I can bear the attention from driving it :D

I wonder what the insurance rates would be on it.

[Eaglestrike]

If I had the money I'd get that just on principle. My high school graduation present if I got a college scholarship (full) I'd get a new car. I chose to get a 2003 Toyota Prius when Hybrids were still fairly new. The car does look silly and the name is stupid, but getting away from gas usage ftw.

[Xavier]

Capable of achieving 300 miles per gallon in its hybrid version.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...outhHybrid.jpg

I don't know how other hybrids compare, but 300 mpg is incredibly high to me.

Car looks so ridiculous though, even if the interior is somewhat cool. I get the feeling that in an accident, that car would be absolutely demolished too. You'd save a ton of money on gas obviously, but it'd really depend on how much it cost to actually charge the car. Also, the source of the electric energy might make the environmental savings irrelevant anyway.

Looks like a fairly good start though.

[Khamsin]

If there were an affordable electric or hybrid car that didn't go out of its way to advertise the fact that it was hybrid (via eccentric car design, big HYBRID stamped on the side, etc.) then I'd get it.

As for the source of the electricity, at least that can be fixed. If all our environmental problems were confined to a few large sources rather than a billion small ones, it'd be worth it to invest in switching a coal plant to nuclear or something.

[Remyo]

that car looks dumb as hell

[Isiolia]

Not all hybrids are that much better than gas powered versions. Lot of them maybe meet diesels. Emissions are probably another story though.

300MPG is amazing.

What would worry me more is the stability of the platform and general on-road safety. It has no bumpers. It doesn't look to have more than maybe an in-wheel airbag. Why the three wheel setup? What happens when it snows?

As the article points out, it's classified as a bike, not a car. But with 3 wheels, you don't need an M license either. It seems like they're kinda skirting by some laws to make it as they are, but when one gets hit it'll be the driver paying the price.

[Khamsin]

Not all hybrids are that much better than gas powered versions. Lot of them maybe meet diesels. Emissions are probably another story though.

300MPG is amazing.

What would worry me more is the stability of the platform and general on-road safety. It has no bumpers. It doesn't look to have more than maybe an in-wheel airbag. Why the three wheel setup? What happens when it snows?

As the article points out, it's classified as a bike, not a car. But with 3 wheels, you don't need an M license either. It seems like they're kinda skirting by some laws to make it as they are, but when one gets hit it'll be the driver paying the price.

Or the other person's insurance company, when they pay to total the thing and replace it.

[Killgannon]

If there were an affordable electric or hybrid car that didn't go out of its way to advertise the fact that it was hybrid (via eccentric car design, big HYBRID stamped on the side, etc.) then I'd get it.

As for the source of the electricity, at least that can be fixed. If all our environmental problems were confined to a few large sources rather than a billion small ones, it'd be worth it to invest in switching a coal plant to nuclear or something.

see the civic hybrid, or the new on that chevy's coming out with thats the car... i forget the name of atm

[Hitoshura]

Fuck if 3.30 will give me 300 fucking miles I am all for it. I put in 40 dollars a week into my gas eater only to get 132 miles out of it...

[Jotaru]

As 'ridiculous' as the design is, I kinda like it :D I'm a pilot myself, so I'm used to the looks of aircraft, and this really looks like you're just driving one around, I half-expect to see wings everytime I see it. I dont know, I really like it D: I also really like the idea of going farther on $3 of gas than I can on my current car's entire gas tank, lol.

[Xavier]

You'd have to factor in the cost of actually charging the car with electricity too, but yeah, it'd have to be far cheaper than a normal car.

[TsingTao]

I'd buy one in an instant if I lived in Cali...and it didn't look like a death trap. A cool looking death trap but I wouldn't get in rush hour traffic in that despite the mileage. Slap the technology in something "normal" that will pass a few crash tests and it will sell like hotcakes. Even of the crappier aerodynamics means the car "only" gets 250 miles per gallon.

[Eaglestrike]

You'd have to factor in the cost of actually charging the car with electricity too, but yeah, it'd have to be far cheaper than a normal car.

Does it say how it gets charged back up? I know with my hybrid it gets charged up by two things:
1) Anytime I'm not pressing the gas pedal the wheels turning gets put back into charging the battery, as well as there being a gear that intentionally slows you down and charges the battery more (for going down hills and such)
2) Gas engine turns on and charges it.

What they really need to do with electric cars is put a solar panel on top.

[Khamsin]

You'd have to factor in the cost of actually charging the car with electricity too, but yeah, it'd have to be far cheaper than a normal car.

Does it say how it gets charged back up? I know with my hybrid it gets charged up by two things:
1) Anytime I'm not pressing the gas pedal the wheels turning gets put back into charging the battery, as well as there being a gear that intentionally slows you down and charges the battery more (for going down hills and such)
2) Gas engine turns on and charges it.

What they really need to do with electric cars is put a solar panel on top.

And a windmill between the air intake and your air conditioning.

[archibaldcrane]

What they really need to do with electric cars is put a solar panel on top.

Meh, while a nice idea, photovoltaics as they are used in "solar panels" are still pretty unrealistic for auto power - they just don't create much electricity for high-drain devices like cars. While "harnessing the power of the sun" is neato for P.R., it's not super practical in that manner. For electricity "power plants", the new way to use sun energy is actually kinda simple - they make a hueg "solar hot dog cooker" like this:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...er_tower_2.jpg
(light rays focused on the power tower, where liquid sodium is heated to turn a turbine)

Car looks kinda sweet though, I hope to see them soon on the road.

[Lordwafik]

I'm more worried about someone crashing into the rear of one of these and becoming decapitated.

[sephir]

kind of reminds me of the cats in Demolition man. Im fucking sold. Also the interior looks kinda nice.

[Blarg]

Can someone post the pic of the car, that page wont load for whatever reason.

[octopus]

http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/2...doorsuppt3.jpg