Jay Leno talks about the Aptera

Jay Leno recently did a nice video about the Aptera on his website Jay Leno's Garage. He has some good footage and commentary on driving the vehicle.

Aptera Update

Read my most recent Aptera Newsletter today and there is some good video and article links. Company is still saying they will be selling to the public by October of this year. Bad news for us Colorado boys is that it will only be sold in California. They still want to build their customer support infrastructure as they go into production.

Edmunds did an article on the car along with an embedded video. Here's a small taste of what they said:

"With a curb weight of just 1,760 pounds - slated to drop to 1,500 pound in the final production version - and a drag coefficient that's about half that of the most aerodynamic production cars on the market today, the battery-electric Aptera 2e can go at least 100 miles on a full charge with two 180-pound adults and 250 pounds of cargo on board, Wilbur said, That's a fuel-efficiency equivalent of getting 200 miles per gallon.Configure the vehicle as a range-extended plug-in hybrid with an internal combustion engine generating juice for the electric motor once the initial grid charge is depleted and fuel efficiency jumps to more than 300 miles per gallon-equivalent"

The price tag of 25-45 thousand is still a little steep for me and I'd like to read something about how it does on ice an snow. Still, this little vehicle appeals to my inner geek.

[Image captured from http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2009/02/2010-aptera-2e-a-first-look-at-california-companys-three-wheeled-ev.html]

Aptera Electric Car

Saw this car on a TV commercial and did a little looking on the web to get more information. It's an Aptera electric vehicle and should be available for purchase next year in California. Found this Youtube video put together by Popular Mechanics that has the CEO explaining all the design features. The video could be used as a lead-in to many different kinds of classroom discussions and activities: design, form-vs-function, environment, transportation, etc.

Or forget the kids and give your inner-geek a little treat and watch the video.



[Image captured from Aptera Home Page: http://www.aptera.com/]