Why is the Aptera design team working on a solar boat??

[turbo wing]

:mad: Why is the Apter design team working on a solar boat
who's paying them to spend time on anything other then trying to figure out just how they plan on delivering 5000 cars in a realistic time frame
if you want your car with in a year they will need to find a way to build 13.6 cars a day, I think there team is out to sea and we wont see our cars in the next ten years
Now I'm getting upset :mad:

[paddler13]

Oh brother. One member of the Aptera team came on board when he was also working on a solar boat, being in the boat business and all. As far as I know it is his personal project.

[turbo wing]

Oh brother. One member of the Aptera team came on board when he was also working on a solar boat, being in the boat business and all. As far as I know it is his personal project.

Then maybe the admin teem should be more careful what they say so not to give a wrong impression during such sensitive times,,,,,it makes me wonder were there priorities are

[3WELECTRIC]

:mad: Why is the Apter design team working on a solar boat?
:


It's the "designer", "Jason Hill" from Eleven Studios who made the design for the boat. He is his own company, alone from APTERA.:jumping0006:

[turbo wing]

It's the "designer", "Jason Hill" from Eleven Studios who made the design for the boat. He is his own company, alone from APTERA.:jumping0006:

It's sad to say but, OK for what ever reason this guy wants us to see his solar powered boat, the problem is, it was posted in a way that leads me and I'm sure others to think Aptera is bragging about some boat they have designed, What ever!!! it is totally inappropriate to be posting misleading info,
How many people have given a deposit for a car and are now extremely unhappy because the price is going up from what they were told it would be, and the delivery date is a running target along with many other unfulfilled promises, postings like this can damage the company image.

What happened to the finely tuned engine that will regen the batteries ( is it still part of the plan and how much will it add to the price ) and now that your going front wheel drive were are you going to put that genset, why is Aptera so secretive about the things that we as potential customers are looking for, I see the eVaro electric car already has a genset in one of there cars and even with out it they have 120 mile range and as much as 300 mpg, Did I leave a deposit with the wrong company???

[greenguy]

Dodge looks like it will be out with an incredible looking ev with great range and speed.....I have no idea on the price but kkyou can look it up on the web.:jumping0007: :happy0025: :wavey:

[KarenRei]

I see the eVaro electric car already has a genset in one of there cars and even with out it they have 120 mile range and as much as 300 mpg, Did I leave a deposit with the wrong company???

Hey, if you want to put down a deposit for what's basically a pre-assembled plastic kit car from a company which has only minimal funding, that's completely your choice.

[turbo wing]

Hey, if you want to put down a deposit for what's basically a pre-assembled plastic kit car from a company which has only minimal funding, that's completely your choice.

Well I thought Aptera was a pre assembled plastic kit car LOL, As for the minimal funding ( maybe they have millions but spend it wisely ) I think it shows some companies know how to make things happen without mowing thru millions, more to the point, we all want to deal with a company with solid business skills, and I just want an EV that dose what it was claimed to do for the price I was promised :biggrin:

[KarenRei]

Well I thought Aptera was a pre assembled plastic kit car LOL

It's not. First off, the Aptera is not plastic; it's foam-core composite. I hope you know the difference between composites and plastics. On the eVaro, even the windscreen is plastic. Secondly, the Aptera developed by a team of nearly 100, versus a team of, what, 5-ish? In terms of producing a refined vehicle, there's no contest.

As for the minimal funding ( maybe they have millions but spend it wisely )

They don't.

I think it shows some companies know how to make things happen without mowing thru millions

Anyone can make a kit car. Producing a quality car in volume takes cash. Heck, eVaro don't even have a rough price out there at this point. Heck, they don't just refuse to state a price -- they outright claim, "We are still developing the hybrid system, so costs are still a mystery." Costs are still a mystery? Yeah, that's a phrase that's going to attract investment capital for production...

Best of luck to them, but they come across more as a college EV team than an automaker.

[turbo wing]

It's not. First off, the Aptera is not plastic; it's foam-core composite. I hope you know the difference between composites and plastics. On the eVaro, even the windscreen is plastic. Secondly, the Aptera developed by a team of nearly 100, versus a team of, what, 5-ish? In terms of producing a refined vehicle, there's no contest.



They don't.



Anyone can make a kit car. Producing a quality car in volume takes cash. Heck, eVaro don't even have a rough price out there at this point. Heck, they don't just refuse to state a price -- they outright claim, "We are still developing the hybrid system, so costs are still a mystery." Costs are still a mystery? Yeah, that's a phrase that's going to attract investment capital for production...

Best of luck to them, but they come across more as a college EV team than an automaker.

As an air craft enthusiast and builder, I'm fully aware the Aptera is a composite, what I am now more interested in is your comments regarding the eVaro, first off your wrong on three counts,
First, the evaro is a state of the art composite carbon/Kevlar/foam structure, not like the ale' which was composite over a steel frame
Secondly, there windscreen is and always has been DOT approved laminated safety glass like any certified car, the canopy is acrylic like a jet fighter,
As for your comment, "it is a Kit car" that's a laugh as it is no more a kit car then the Aptera, I believe a kit car is something any one can buy and assemble in there garage with minimum hand tools
and since neither the Aptera or the eVaro are publicly available as a kit I guess that makes you wrong on all three counts,
I saw the first one at the SEMA show back in 06, and another one at the NY show in 08
As for there finances, like you,,,, I honestly don't know the details

[KarenRei]

First, the evaro is a state of the art composite carbon/Kevlar/foam structure, not like the ale' which was composite over a steel frame

Where are you getting that from? I saw an article a while back that said plastic, although they could have just been referring to the canopy.

Secondly, there windscreen is and always has been DOT approved laminated safety glass like any certified car

The eVaro is not a car. It's a motorcycle. Motorcycles do not have to have glass anywhere on them.

the canopy is acrylic like a jet fighter

Fine -- you make a distinction between windscreen and canopy on this vehicle where the two pretty much blend into each other, and I don't. Acrylic may be fine for jets, but not for cars. It's not as durable. It loses visibility over time. It makes for a flimsy build. That vehicle will be a nightmare in a rollover -- if the canopy doesn't crush you, you'll at least be trapped inside (even if they switch from side-opening to retraction, good luck having a sliding mechanism still work in that situation). And with the narrow track, well...

Even ignoring safety issues, even on a jet, which spends most of its time in a hangar, a *well made* acrylic canopy will only last about ten years. And during that time it can get scratched (much more easily than glass) and you need to use something like Finesse-It on it to remove them. And a jet cruising at 10,000 feet doesn't exactly encounter a lot of road debris.

As for your comment, "it is a Kit car" that's a laugh as it is no more a kit car then the Aptera, I believe a kit car is something any one can buy and assemble in there garage with minimum hand tools

The stereotype of a "kit car" is a minimally engineered vehicle with poor safety/durability/comfort stats produced by a small number of people. I stand by their statement of "what's basically a pre-assembled kit car". Where's the airbags? Any sort of safety stats apart from bold assertion? Come on, at least give me *one* of either virtual crash testing, physical crash testing, or crush testing. Heck, they don't even mention your most basic creature comforts like AC. The interior looks barely more user-friendly than the Mk0.

As for there finances I like you I honestly don't know the details

Read their website. They all but say that they don't have the money for it. Six guys in a garage does not a car company make. If they had the money, they'd be staffing up all of the component engineering/manufacturing/QA/sourcing/etc and line development/management positions, would be listing their prior fundraising rounds in their plaintive fundraising pitch, etc. They do not have the money.

[IanO]

[Future Vehicle Technologies] all but say that they don't have the money for [the eVaro]. Six guys in a garage does not a car company make. If they had the money, they'd be staffing up all of the component engineering/manufacturing/QA/sourcing/etc and line development/management positions, would be listing their prior fundraising rounds in their plaintive fundraising pitch, etc. They do not have the money.

Looking at this issue from the Automotive X Prize perspective:

The X Prize is starting to see a winnowing of the 111 registered teams, separating the teams which really do intend to mass produce their vehicles from those who threw their hat in the ring simply for cheap publicity. Every week another entrant is dropping out when faced with the task of producing a business plan to sell several thousand vehicles a year. Some have dropped out because the team is only interested in producing a concept vehicle, some because they only *want* to produce low-volume kit cars, some because they have found that going the last 10% to get over 100 mpg has gone beyond their budget or their expertise.

Aptera has aimed at mass production from the very beginning; they are a very safe bet (especially with the modified loan bill nearly through the Senate). Personally, I also like the technology in the eVaro. FVT has done a fine job considering their small staff, shoestring budget, and having to start from scratch after their entire factory was gutted by a fire! The eVaro is one of the few X Prize entrants that are far enough along to have measured real-world mileage above 100 mpg. The only others I know of are Aptera and Avion.

[turbo wing]

Where are you getting that from? I saw an article a while back that said plastic, although they could have just been referring to the canopy.



The eVaro is not a car. It's a motorcycle. Motorcycles do not have to have glass anywhere on them.

In Canada all three wheeled enclosed vehicles are considered a car and for that reason need to pass all car regulations, so that is why the front windshield is safety glass

Fine -- you make a distinction between windscreen and canopy on this vehicle where the two pretty much blend into each other, and I don't. Acrylic may be fine for jets, but not for cars. It's not as durable. It loses visibility over time. [COLOR="Blue"]yes yor right about that [COLOR="DarkRed"]It makes for a flimsy build. Not necessarily, it has three role over structure built into the car that exceed DOT role ever requirements That vehicle will be a nightmare in a rollover -- if the canopy doesn't crush you, you'll at least be trapped inside (even if they switch from side-opening to retraction, good luck having a sliding mechanism still work in that situation). And with the narrow track, well... How narrow of a track do you think it is? Did you know the eVaro track is over six feet wide and all the weight is in the center and low to the ground so it will corner at over 1.5 G’s

Even ignoring safety issues, even on a jet, which spends most of its time in a hangar, a *well made* acrylic canopy will only last about ten years. And during that time it can get scratched (much more easily than glass) and you need to use something like Finesse-It on it to remove them. Yes they do, and your right the life span can be short, however with proper maintenance like on a motorcycle it will last a good while, also for the benefit of all that visibility I don’t think it’s too much to replace if it gets bad, one of their guys told me in the future it may be made of glass


The stereotype of a "kit car" is a minimally engineered vehicle with poor safety/durability/comfort stats produced by a small number of people. So you’re saying that the eVaro is not safe and it is a flimsy piece of work? To start with they are certified and licensed which means they pas all Government regulations and FVT IS registered a legitimate Auto manufacturer, they were only nick named six guys in a garage by Brian Till of Speed Vision in 06 at the SEMA show I stand by their statement of "what's basically a pre-assembled kit car". Where's the airbags? In the steering wheel were it belongs Any sort of safety stats apart from bold assertion? Come on, at least give me *one* of either virtual crash testing, physical crash testing, or crush testing. Heck, they don't even mention your most basic creature comforts like AC. The interior looks barely more user-friendly than the Mk0. I guess the real fun starts when you line up at the X prize race beside them to find out what you think is all wrong, LOL I have seen what there working on and believe me you’re in for a surprise, I think they want everyone to think like you and in the end you will be caught off guard

Read their website. They all but say that they don't have the money for it. Six guys in a garage does not a car company make. If they had the money, they'd be staffing up all of the component engineering/manufacturing/QA/sourcing/etc and line development/management positions, would be listing their prior fundraising rounds in their plaintive fundraising pitch, etc. They do not have the money.
Maybe maybe not but there doing a hell of a job with nothing then:happy0025:

[KarenRei]

Maybe maybe not but there doing a hell of a job with nothing then:happy0025:

In industry, that's called a "Friends and Family" round. ;)

Any small team can make a neat concept car -- and all over the world, many do. It's bringing it into a refined, safe, production car that's the tough, expensive part.

I took no interest in the Mk0. It's when they came out with the Mk1, where they had put in safety features, demonstrated software crash testing, physical crush testing, and a whole suite of basic comfort features, done Series A (and later B) fundraising, started really upping the head count, and so forth that I took interest. I saw the early article about them on Autoblog Green when they were showing off the Mk0, but didn't think much of it (just another concept) until around the time of the Popular Science video. There are many neat concepts out there, but most of them go nowhere.

And as far as concepts go, the eVaro just doesn't seem as well thought out. Canopy doors do not generally have a good history, and that's a lot of vertical-facing greenhouse for such a small vehicle. The use of acrylic just adds to my concerns. I'd use acrylic on a greenhouse, but not somewhere where it'll be facing road debris. The shape is wrong, with flairs designed more to *look* hot than to slip through the air. And so forth. Their statements (including those right now on their website) make it sound like they have no clue how much engineering needs to go into making a good PHEV, or even a refined EV. I hold out little prospects for them.

They are, of course, free to prove me wrong. ;)

[Telchar]

torbo wing: please, for the love of god, learn the difference between there/their/they're and your/you're. I can't stand to read your posts when you keep messing these up.

[maestronius]

How many people have given a deposit for a car and are now extremely unhappy because the price is going up from what they were told it would be, and the delivery date is a running target along with many other unfulfilled promises[/B]

Zero people have given a deposit. We have all paid for a reservation. A deposit would hold us to buying the car. With a reservation, we can back out at any time.

We have never been told what the price will be. We have been given an estimate what the price will be. I recently had some extensive repairs done on my truck. The estimate changed five times in the four days my truck was in their shop. When I finally picked it up, the price was different still.

There has never been a delivery date. The dates have all been projected. Goals for the company. Have you ever had a major project run long? Were you crucified for it?.

What other many unfulfilled promises? They have only made one promise: "Were gonna build a really cool car, and you will be given the opportunity to buy the x numbered one that comes off the line." No one has jumped my spot yet. Have they given your reservation number to someone else?

If you want to continue trolling on this forum, you will appear less an idiot if you had your facts straight.

[evmavin]

Zero people have given a deposit. We have all paid for a reservation. A deposit would hold us to buying the car. With a reservation, we can back out at any time.

We have never been told what the price will be. We have been given an estimate what the price will be. I recently had some extensive repairs done on my truck. The estimate changed five times in the four days my truck was in their shop. When I finally picked it up, the price was different still.

There has never been a delivery date. The dates have all been projected. Goals for the company. Have you ever had a major project run long? Were you crucified for it?.

What other many unfulfilled promises? They have only made one promise: "Were gonna build a really cool car, and you will be given the opportunity to buy the x numbered one that comes off the line." No one has jumped my spot yet. Have they given your reservation number to someone else?

If you want to continue trolling on this forum, you will appear less an idiot if you had your facts straight.


Actually, many people have given a non-refundable deposit per Aptera.

[turbo wing]

torbo wing: please, for the love of god, learn the difference between there/their/they're and your/you're. I can't stand to read your posts when you keep messing these up.
:wavey: Thanks for the heads up, spelling is not my strength and I will indeed remember you next time in my weakness misspell something that bothers you, :happy0025:

[maestronius]

I stand corrected, Mave. I had forgotten about those who have locked in.

[maestronius]

I think there team is out to sea and we wont see our cars in the next ten years
Now I'm getting upset

What do you mean by we won't see our cars? How did you place your reservation with you living in Canada? Did you do it by proxy and intent to drive it up to the Great White North?

I have also taken 30 seconds and read all your posts since you joined our forum four whole days ago. All of them are ripping something.

I invite you to please go troll somewhere else.

[jstdadd]

What happened to the finely tuned engine that will regen the batteries ( is it still part of the plan and how much will it add to the price ) and now that your going front wheel drive were are you going to put that genset, why is Aptera so secretive about the things that we as potential customers are looking for, I see the eVaro electric car already has a genset in one of there cars and even with out it they have 120 mile range and as much as 300 mpg, Did I leave a deposit with the wrong company???

YES, YOU DEFINITELY LEFT A DEPOSIT WITH THE WRONG COMPANY! GET YOUR MONEY BACK NOW AND PUT IT DOWN ON AN eVaro ELECTRIC CAR! IT ALREADY HAS A GENSET!:happy0029:

Geez. Get your money back. I hope your line number is before mine, so that I move up.

[turbo wing]

What do you mean by we won't see our cars? How did you place your reservation with you living in Canada? Did you do it by proxy and intent to drive it up to the Great White North?

I have also taken 30 seconds and read all your posts since you joined our forum four whole days ago. All of them are ripping something.

I invite you to please go troll somewhere else.

My entire family lives in here in Anaheim, I work here and in Canada & South Africa, I don't need permission to by any thing from any one and as for my comments I apologies for merely touching on some truths or asking questions about sensitive issues, :happy0017:

[turbo wing]

Dodge looks like it will be out with an incredible looking ev with great range and speed.....I have no idea on the price but kkyou can look it up on the web.:jumping0007: :happy0025: :wavey:




Chrysler Shocks Electric Car Timeline With New Plug-ins for 2010: Live First Look (With Dodge EV Test Drive!)


I saw this before, its nothing more then a Tesla, same car same running gear, there's nothing original here,:)

[drivin98]

My entire family lives in here in Anaheim, I work here and in Canada & South Africa, I don't need permission to by any thing from any one and as for my comments I apologies for merely touching on some truths or asking questions about sensitive issues, :happy0017:


Canada and South Africa eh? Elon! Is that you?

[Tlee]

Turbo Wing, Your message is often lost in your poor grammar and spelling. A couple of quick hints: The plural possessive is ‘their’ not there. The synonym for purchase is ‘buy’ not ‘by. I would also suggest using a period a little more often. I 'apologize' if this constructive criticism offends you in any way.

[turbo wing]

Turbo Wing, Your message is often lost in your poor grammar and spelling. A couple of quick hints: The plural possessive is ‘their’ not there. The synonym for purchase is ‘buy’ not ‘by. I would also suggest using a period a little more often. I 'apologize' if this constructive criticism offends you in any way.


No offence taken as not only am I dyslexic I am also aware of my weaknesses. writing is the one I struggle the most with :)