Aptera backseat?

[Apteratude]

Anyone have pictures or know if the Aptera actually has a miniature backseat, or if it's just a flat with a harness to fit through a child safety seat. I have two kids currently ages 5 and 6 that will be riding with me. Wondering how long they'll fit in the Aptera.

I've seen one pic with the shell partially stripped to show the frame construction, but that's it so far in 4 months that I've been able to find.

[pk-sd]

I also have two kids, 10 and 7. By the time I get the car (probably in two years) I will have a better understanding of their 4-door (5 seater ?) model. Maybe I will just wait for that instead.

[palmer_md]

I looked everywhere, and I cant find where I read or saw on a video or what, but my understanding is that there is provisions for a single (1) child safety seat in the back between the two front seats. In other words it is not a back seat but rather a place to put an infant seat in the back that is accessed from between the two front seats.

I don't know this for sure, but that is what I remember....its just I cant find the information again to confirm my memory.

Michael

[Chupacabra]

If you have 2 growing children, the Typ-1 is probably not for you unless you have a second car..

[3-4-me]

I looked everywhere, and I cant find where I read or saw on a video or what, but my understanding is that there is provisions for a single (1) child safety seat in the back between the two front seats. In other words it is not a back seat but rather a place to put an infant seat in the back that is accessed from between the two front seats.

I don't know this for sure, but that is what I remember....its just I cant find the information again to confirm my memory.

Michael

I remember it the same way. I recall a video showing a small flat depression right behind the seats.

[LQUAN]

I suspect the rear seat can only accomodate a small person - say under 4 feet! It's more like for pet.

Your kids will outgrow the rear seat in no time. :)

http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4237853.html?page=2

With the backseat back supporter raised, you won't be able to use rear window at all. That's why rear camera is necessary.

[Apteratude]

Thanks LQUAN, that's the picture I remembered seeing. That's the only/best pic out there for those of us trying to figure out the backseat accomodations. We'll see what happens. My kids won't be riding with me for very long, only a couple of miles to my work until my wife can pick them up a few minutes later. If they have to turn their head sideways, then so be it! They can sacrafice for the environment...who knows, maybe the school will give them some sort of medal for putting up with harsh conditions to save the environment. Or maybe arrest me for child cruelty!

[EVdreamer]

I have a 1 year old who might be too big by the time my reservation # comes up. I asked if the infant seat was an actual seat or just a platform with Latch carseat compatibility. Here's the answer I received from customer service on July 1, 2008:

The rear seat is an actual seat that can accommodate someone up to the average size of a three year old.

[garygid]

"With the backseat back supporter raised, you won't be able to use
rear window at all. That's why rear camera is necessary."

Or, exterior rear-view mirrors would be "necessary".

[speculawyer]

I've heard it described as a 'baby seat', so I doubt either of your kids would fit by the time you get an Aptera.

[daddio]

I thought I read/saw that the seat would be rated for up to a three year old.. If so... I suppose it is tied to the type seat allowed in the US for a child up to three years old(???)
Funny Aptera is classified as a motorcycle... yet typical motorcycles have no provisions for children...RIGHT?

[garygid]

3 wheels and under 1500 lbs makes it a motorcycle in CA.

[Sloopy]

Read post #8 in this thread which gives Aptera's answer to what the seat is and what it might be used for. Children ride behind the driver on most motorcycles, and on trikes either behind or beside the driver, so is that what you would consider providing a place for a child to ride? Maybe most motorcycles have no provisions for adult riders either, if you think they need to be cradled, strapped, and buckled, and maybe have a roof over their head.

[rotus8]

Children on motorcycles is an interesting problem. I remember one day riding with my son on the back. I feel his grip around my middle start to loosen a bit and wonder what he is doing - it turns out he is asleep! I had to stop and wake him up so he wouldn't fall off. Oh, and by the way, I use "child" loosly here - I think he was about 15.

Sleeping in the Aptera won't be a problem, in fact I worry the driver will be lulled to sleep in the recliner seat and blissful silence.

[EVdreamer]

It's occurring to me now that if I have my son in the carseat I won't have much (if any) cargo space. Maybe the :aptera: will have to be primarily my husband's commuter car and I'll have to get a low speed EV, like the Miles ZX40 for the quick trips to the grocery store.

[KarenRei]

In all the pics and vids I've seen, it looks like there will be plenty of room in the back even with a carseat. The area back there isn't very tall, but it covers a pretty large area.

[Apt3448]

With a car seat, the remaining cargo space should still be considerable. For 'quick trips to the grocery store' I usually just dump the bags in front of the passenger seat. Together, that should work, no?

[garygid]

Since an NEV (like the Miles ZX40) is limited to streets with
35 mph (or under) speed limits, I could not legally get out of
my subdivision (which requires going on a 45 mph speed limit street).

So, I could not even legally get to the grocery store, or any
store, for that matter. I would be limited to just my little local
subdivision, so basically of no use whatsoever.

Now, if they raised the 35 mph limit to 45 mph streets, I could go a little
ways, but then I would soon encounter sections of "city" streets that
have 50 mph speed limits. But, I could at least get to some stores,
probably even a mall.

I guess that is why they call then "Neighborhood" EVs.

[EVdreamer]

Sure, I see your point. I like the look of the Aptera so much, and I am excited at the prospect of owning one. I just wish it could also be the "family car". I'm hoping once we get the chance to see it in person and test drive it, all my doubts about cargo space will be over. If not, we may end up having to wait for the plug-in Vue or plug-in Prius.

[JakesOnline]

http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/1/apterachildseatwr4.jpg

[speculawyer]

http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/1/apterachildseatwr4.jpg
That really is a baby seat, not a child seat. Plenty of room for groceries though.

For most families, the Aptera is a decent 2nd car for use by a parent that commutes. But you'll definitely still need a bigger car. Ideally, a plug-in series hybrid that will mainly run on electricity for daily usage but will still have the long range needed for family car trips. The Volt would work.

[Apt3448]

Hey Jakes, where did THAT picture come from?? Looks like a half finished internal support? And, uh.. nice baby...

[APTERA 2356]

I believe thats the jig used to bond the two main sections together, you are looking in from the rear no rear hatch

[KarenRei]

Remember from the tour, that Aptera has a daycare center in their building? Guess it comes in useful. ;)

Look at that wood and "skylight" overhead... almost looks like this was shot in a barn. Strange. Flash photography, too, so the room was dark.

Update: After brightness and contrast-enhancing the dark upper part, I'm of the conclusion that this is just Aptera's normal building or a similar one, and that the "wood" must be metal; it's "warehouse-like", with steel bars or pipes and fluorescent-tube lighting.

[Matthijs]

Remember from the tour, that Aptera has a daycare center in their building? Guess it comes in useful. ;)

Look at that wood and "skylight" overhead... almost looks like this was shot in a barn. Strange. Flash photography, too, so the room was dark.

Update: After brightness and contrast-enhancing the dark upper part, I'm of the conclusion that this is just Aptera's normal building, and that the "wood" must be metal; it's "warehouse-like", with steel bars and fluorescent-tube lighting.

Maybe it's Phoebe from the Aptera video:

fmPiKWWOcAw
Link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmPiKWWOcAw)

[EVdreamer]

Nice photo. Thanks!
Yes, I think we'll need to find a family car too. The Volt though? I just wish it wasn't $40,000. I know GM's in trouble, but I think they'd be better off if they could mass produce a cheaper plug-in hybrid. If they want market share back, they should take a cue from the iphone and sell it at half the price.
Now I'm off topic. Sorry!

[Vasil]

Remember from the tour, that Aptera has a daycare center in their building? Guess it comes in useful. ;)

Look at that wood and "skylight" overhead... almost looks like this was shot in a barn. Strange. Flash photography, too, so the room was dark.

Update: After brightness and contrast-enhancing the dark upper part, I'm of the conclusion that this is just Aptera's normal building or a similar one, and that the "wood" must be metal; it's "warehouse-like", with steel bars or pipes and fluorescent-tube lighting.
Your assertions are correct. They are operating out of a small corporate building with office space and enough warehouse room for a production floor. The reason the building seems dim at times is because they have lots of windows and skylights, so they operate lighting minimally. Many such buildings come as-is to buyers/renters, often times with the structure exposed such as rafters, wall beams, and electrical boxes.

[speednut]

http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/1/apterachildseatwr4.jpg

Jake, thanks for posting this photo as I haven't seen it before...

Looks like my master plan of getting a Recaro Young Sport child seat in that location for my 1.5 year old is not going to work out... :rolleyes: Weekend shopping will have to be done with one of our other cars then.

[KarenRei]

It'd be nice of that jig component wasn't there in the photo. You can't really tell how high the ceiling goes over that car seat because of it. And I can't think of any way to eliminate the effect of perspective here to make measurements :P Perhaps Jake could offer more insight?

EVdreamer: The iPhone is only as cheap as it is because you're really paying for the hardware through your contract. The contract-free versions of the iPhone are $600 and $700, respectively.

I hate when people distort prices with contracts, which is why I have a strong aversion to the concept of "battery rental" in EVs. That, and if I buy an EV, I want to actually *own* it. ;) I don't want anyone telling me what I can and can't do with it.

As for alternatives to the Volt, do consider the Mitsubishi i-MiEV. It's another four seater, is (currently) cheaper than the Volt (hard to say how things will end up; it depends on how much each company subsidizes their respective vehicles), all-EV (if that's okay with you; if not, you don't want it), with 100-120 mile range, depending on the battery model. Looks like a pretty good car.

[speednut]

It'd be nice of that jig component wasn't there in the photo. You can't really tell how high the ceiling goes over that car seat because of it. And I can't think of any way to eliminate the effect of perspective here to make measurements :P

Still seems easy to visualize the ceiling peak based on the slopes on the sides before they get blocked by the jig. Also, that infant seat is reclined back far too much, at least from this photo's perspective (can't see the bubble levels in the seat base)

{GM} should take a cue from the iphone and sell it at half the price.
:rolleyes: :sign0020: I'm sure GMAC would love to do this, sell you a Volt for $20k, then bill you monthly for $1k for the privilege of driving it with a minimum 2 year contract, then monthly still for $1k as long as you wish to drive the car. You do realize that the new iPhoney is $160 more expensive than the old one with the $15/month extra monthly service cost over 2 years, right? Gotta love that reality distortion field. :D (and yes, I use multiple apple products)


Thanks Jake for the additional photo. Please feel free to post any others you happen to find. :D

Is it just me or in Jake's latest photo post, it looks like it would be a PITA to unlock the infant seat from the base with the available room here? Still not seeing room for a forward facing child seat here either. (nor was I promised this feature)

[speculawyer]

I hate when people distort prices with contracts, which is why I have a strong aversion to the concept of "battery rental" in EVs. That, and if I buy an EV, I want to actually *own* it. ;) I don't want anyone telling me what I can and can't do with it.
I'm usually turned off by leasing but leasing the batteries might be OK. It delays some of the cost and moves some risk over the leasor. If there is a battery technology breakthrough, perhaps you could terminate your lease, return the battery, and install a new battery that you buy.

Actually . . . this is another whole area where some standardization might be nice . . . perhaps there should be some battery size & connection standards such that service stations could swap out drained batteries for charged batteries the way Blue Rhino swaps empty propane tanks for filled propane tanks.

[JakesOnline]

It'd be nice of that jig component wasn't there in the photo.

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/4301/babyseattopnm7.jpg

[rotus8]

I don't think that bar is any kind of jig. I think it is structure in the car to support the rear sub-frame for the wheel, suspension, and motor.

[garygid]

1. The wood bar is outside the Aptera - see it overlap
the edge of the back hatch frame on the left.

2. Notice the shell (in the jig) does not have a white
gel-coat finish. Does this mean that they have decided
to apply the finish later, of is this just an early prototype
picture?

[PaulO]

Yeah..I don't think the wooden bar is part of the car either. The 2 surf boards would not fit as advertised.

For the glossy finish composites I have worked with, we always paint at the very end. You can add a dye to the expoy when laying up the fibers, but it doesn't looks as good as paint.

[butter]

As someone else alluded to in an earlier post, I too would love to know where JakesOnline is getting these awesome and hilarious pictures.

[KarenRei]

Okay, this is just taunting us, Jake ;)

[jstdadd]

Have your kids got one of those little electric jeeps to practice on?

[EVdreamer]

KarenRei: You're right about the iphone, of course. Bad example. I'll look into the Mitsubishi i-MiEV. Thanks for the tip!

[OCP]

the way the baby seat is there, is that really safe?

[OCP]

Any more pics? Thanks

[APTERA 2356]

I believe that's an incomplete shell the baby seat would need to be strapped down
l

[garygid]

I feel that Aptera will make safe, or they will not offer it.

[Kratos Aurion]

Well if its only a child seat or just a small seat in the back then I guess we have to wait for the Aptera Type 2 and hope its has 4 seats

[garygid]

Yes,
If you need to transport more than 2 adults and one very young
child, then the 1e and 1h might be a poor choice for that job.

Although you could possibly belt 2 not-too-large children into the
passenger seat, it is not legal and you could get a non-trivial ticket.

[JakesOnline]

Yes,
If you need to transport more than 2 adults and one very young
child, then the 1e and 1h might be a poor choice for that job.

Although you could possibly belt 2 not-too-large children into the
passenger seat, it is not legal and you could get a non-trivial ticket.

Will seat belts be required?

[garygid]

Yes, seatbelts are definitely required by state law, as I remember,
but crash helmets are not required.

[Matthijs]

Well if its only a child seat or just a small seat in the back then I guess we have to wait for the Aptera Type 2 and hope its has 4 seats
Aptera is already developing a 4/5 seater 4 wheeled car under the codename Palomar. :) Link (http://apteraforum.com/showthread.php?t=764&page=4) Link (http://apteraforum.com/showthread.php?t=1130)