6/30/08 - Aptera Motors Sends Us Into the Future - damonclifford.com

[JoeReal]

June 30th, 2008 by Damon Clifford

AptreaMost of the competitors in the Auto X Prize competition are redesigning current vehicles or putting their technologies in traditional design cars with a sharp, new style. One of the few competitors that has a totally unique design for their vehicle is Aptera Motors. Not only are they trying to change how we drive but also the style of car we’ll drive. I have to applaud them for their design work.


Complete blog:
http://www.damonclifford.com/blog/2008/06/30/auto-prize-aptera-motors-sends-future/

[Matthijs]

Fambro says that there have already been about 400 people who have already put down a refundable reservation of $500 for their spot in line for the vehicle.

I think he missed a 0 here. :happy0025:

[JoeReal]

Last time I checked with other reports, it mentioned something like 11,000 in the queue.

[Matthijs]

Last time I checked with other reports, it mentioned something like 11,000 in the queue.

11K? Where did that come from? I only look here for numbers. :happy0025: Link (http://www.apteraforum.com/showthread.php?t=526)

[ciege]

Just saw a post with 3855 as new........................

[DamonClifford]

Thanks for letting me know about the number of reservations for the Aptera. I've updated it on my site.

Damon

[JoeReal]

11K? Where did that come from? I only look here for numbers. :happy0025: Link (http://www.apteraforum.com/showthread.php?t=526)

It came from one of the scripts that accompanied some Aptera videos, mentioned by reporters, IIRC. The fact that it came from reporters so it might be a stretch of projected imagination.

[JoeReal]

It is mentioned here. I think there could be commercial customers that order by the thousands, or the report was wrong.

Joe


http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/car_tips&id=6039270

By Dave Kunz

CARLSBAD (KABC) -- If you've paid for gas lately, you've probably paid a record amount to top off your tank. But there's a new car coming onto the market that reportedly costs a penny-per-mile to drive. It's the latest "gas sipping" vehicles on the road.

The Aptera Typ-1 is the car of the future -- or at least one of the cars of the future. While it may look like some sort of spacecraft that became land-bound, it's a functional two-seat car that runs on electricity.

"It doesn't require a special charger," said Aptera COO Chris Anthony. "We've got a charger installed in every home in America -- you just plug it into your 110 outlet."

Aptera says it costs about a penny-per-mile. The company has already received over 11,000 deposits for the car, and they say deliveries will start later this year.
....

[JoeReal]

11K? Where did that come from? I only look here for numbers. :happy0025: Link (http://www.apteraforum.com/showthread.php?t=526)

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/car_tips&id=6039270

... Aptera says it costs about a penny-per-mile. The company has already received over 11,000 deposits for the car, and they say deliveries will start later this year.

[gg222]

It says "eleven hundred" (1,100)

[javan]

The abc story reminds me of the old Mark Twain quote which applies to local tv and radio news as well as it does to newspapers: "If you don't read the newspaper, you are uninformed. If you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed." ; ) Jim

[JoeReal]

As they always say...

What was written counts more than what was said.

:)

[Matthijs]

Well 11k would be great! I hope deposits keep coming in! Maybe then they will ramp up production faster.

[butter]

I remember reading that article at the time it was published, and I distinctly and clearly remembered the reservations to be a lot lower than today -- I took that "11,000" to be a clear and unambiguous typo.

I would bet my future Aptera that it was a typo.

[JoeReal]

Well, many are optimistic...
Reported elsewhere is that if Aptera Motors hit orders of at least 160 vehicles and produce them, they would be profitable... So they sure are guaranteed to reach profitability if they can just produce the vehicles.

[dalewright3]

Now that we have the deposits figured out, how about some delivery dates for buyers in other states

[APTERA 2356]

first we need delivery dates for California