Cars Cars Cars Cars @%$%^(*&%$@@

[#juan]

The thing about the Aptera Tracy, is that it is not much more than a motorcycle. The Camry is a full sized car. These days when the vehicle of choice among the young and brainless is the four door Ford F-350, I want my family in something a little more substantial.

 

[Unforgiven]

You just gotta think old school Nugglet my boy. ;-)

http://tinyurl.com/5lzq2x

 

[tracy]

The thing about the Aptera Tracy, is that it is not much more than a motorcycle. The Camry is a full sized car. These days when the vehicle of choice among the young and brainless is the four door Ford F-350, I want my family in something a little more substantial.

Such a traditional view (bigger = safer). I'll wait and see how it actually does in crash testing. It has to pass the same safety tests as other cars, so like I say, I'll wait and see how it does before judging. The alloy it uses is apparently a lot stronger than traditional cars' bodies.

 

[#juan]

As near as I can tell the price for the Aptera tricycle will be around $26,000.00 compared with the Toyota Camry Hybrid at about the same price or slightly above when we include the government tax incentives. The handling of the Aptera at highway speeds, in the rain or snow, is something I don't even want to think about.

 

[tracy]

Why wouldn't you want to think about it? I'm not saying it will be better or worse, but I find it strange that people cling so hard to their traditional ideas. Snow isn't really a concern for me, but rain is. Judging by the amount of accidents here everytime it rains, regular cars offer no protection against drivers' stupidity. I think that's the real danger with most cars.

The Aptera's big downside as far as I can see is the inability to do long trips without recharging. But, again, with fuel economy 6 times better than any hybrid out there it still would work out better for me. They cover a lot of questions in their faq section.

www.aptera.com

 

[#juan]

I bothers me a little Tracy that they went to the tricycle layout. The Aptera is considered a motorcycle for some reason but at this point I don't know why that is. If you are building a $26,000.00 electric car, why not use the tried and true four wheel layout? Breaking, stopping, steering, handling, would be within normal, predictable ranges. The Aptera with those wide-set front wheels looks like an accident looking for a place to happen. In my younger days I raced sports cars and I know a little about this. But what the hell. We only live once.....:lol:

 

[tracy]

The tried and true layout is partly why cars require so much gas. The aptera's three wheel layout is really unique because of the fact that the 2 wheels are in front (that's why it can't really be compared to traditional tricycles with one wheel in front and two in the back).

Hybrids are just not doing enough for drivers. They were touted as a miracle when they first came out, but they haven't lived up to the hype. You can get a small car that will get 30mpg for way less money than a hybrid. The hybrids don't save enough money in gas to really make up for the higher sticker price. As far as I'm concerned, I'm happy to see some more revolutionary ideas rather than just small improvements over the same old inefficient ones. Maybe it will work well, maybe it won't... but I'm glad someone is trying something different.

 

[#juan]

The tried and true layout is partly why cars require so much gas. The aptera's three wheel layout is really unique because of the fact that the 2 wheels are in front (that's why it can't really be compared to traditional tricycles with one wheel in front and two in the back).

Hybrids are just not doing enough for drivers. They were touted as a miracle when they first came out, but they haven't lived up to the hype. You can get a small car that will get 30mpg for way less money than a hybrid. The hybrids don't save enough money in gas to really make up for the higher sticker price. As far as I'm concerned, I'm happy to see some more revolutionary ideas rather than just small improvements over the same old inefficient ones. Maybe it will work well, maybe it won't... but I'm glad someone is trying something different.

What burns gas Tracy is anything that resists movement. It could be wind resistance. It could be rolling friction, form drag, all sorts of things. The three wheel layout of the Aptera will give it terrible handling and it will not help it's economy As I understand it, the Aptera is a totally electric car with no gas engine, and a rather expensive electric car at that. The Aptera is a vehicle that carries two people. I'm not trying to sell you a Toyota Camry. It is just the example we started with. but the Camry will carry five people in relative comfort plus a trunk full of luggage, and get 55 MPG while doing it. The new Camry plug-in Hybrid will get over a hundred MPG and while it will be more expensive, it will also be more efficient. The Smart car may get good gas mileage, but it is not as fuel efficient as the Toyota Hybrid, and the hybrid is surpassing it in gas mileage. I can understand that not all of us can put out the thirty grand on a Hybrid but as far as I can see, at this time, it is the way to go.

Electric cars are the way of the future. But not yet.

 

[tracy]

If you actually go to their website you'll see that the Aptera is not just a totally electric car. That's one of its versions, the other is a gas/electric hybrid (costs 29K). It can carry three people (2adults+1infant/toddler seating) and has a decent sized trunk. I don't have a family to drive around so a full sized car is really overkill for me. 95% of the time, I drive with one passenger or alone.

If cost is equal between the two cars and gas mileage is 3 times better in one than the other, it's hard for someone in my situation to pick the one with the lower mileage per gallon (unless the safety tests turn out poorly for the Aptera). I am excited to see how the new Camrys do as well, though I'm thrilled about their size. I've owned 6 cars and they've all been the smallest models I could get. A life spent driving and parking in large cities has impacted my choices

 

[tracy]

When is the 100mpg version coming out btw?

 

[#juan]

Looks like it is a ways off right now. Originally they said Spring of 2008. They are only just delivering plug-in Hybrids to the universities. I'm guessing they will be six or eight months late to the general public.

 

[#juan]

The whole idea of the plug-in is to go further on the battery. If, on the original overnight charge, you can go seventy or eighty miles, your commute gets fairly cheap. Right now hybrids go only seven or eight miles on the battery so obviously a bigger battery is the answer. By comparison to running on gas, the overnight charge is almost free.