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Funky 300 MPG Car Taking Pre-Orders
ecogeek.org — The guy who was building it said that it they were indeed going to build and sell them, indeed...for less than $20,000. We were skeptical, and rightly (the price has risen). But they've done it. The prototype has hit interstates, and they're taking reservations for delivery in "approximately 12 months."
sepultura- 971 diggs
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- chiv, on 10/10/2007, -7/+14I applaud the alternative thinking to this and think the Demaxion/Cessna look is incredible and ahead of its time. However, I live in WV- I'm a little skeptical about three wheels gripping the roads in snow and have concern about pulling off of the main road on some of the terrible roads we have here. There also seems to be some awful blind spots. I don't mean to berate this auto though. I love the interior. I just need a bigger back window and better grip on the tarmac.
- hankmt, on 10/10/2007, -0/+24It should probably be treated like a motorcycle in terms of icy roads. Alas, California will be it's big market to start, for that, and other reasons. But as for the blind spots, it has 180 degree wrap around in front, and rear cameras catch whatever's going on behind, which is then displayed on a central viewing screen. Pretty cool really....
- davidrools, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5About the blindspots: check out the 3 screens just in front of the steering wheel. Those show the left, behind, and side views of the car and should give you a full view of your blind spot without even having to turn your head! The big screen in the middle will probably take care of media and navigation.
And about grip: with a car this light, you don't need as much rubber on the road. balance in the corners can be achieved with the right amount of traction in the front vs. the rear to avoid over/understeer. you'll notice the rear tire is much beefier than the front ones to provide traction under acceleration as well as in cornering. - ophello, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1You know...I kind of want one.
- RicktheBrick, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1What is thet total cost of ownership. I just bought a used ford for about $2500 so I am already $24,000 less. I drive this car about 8,000 miles a year and get 20 miles per gallon so I spend $1200 on gas. Lets say this car gets free gas so it would still take 20 years of travel to make up for that expense but I am sure that this car will cost at least $1000 a year more for insurance so it will take 200 years to make up for the high cost of the automobile. Even if gas cost $10 a gallon than 400 gallons would cost $4000 so it would take 8 years to make up the difference. The car is not for anyone with a family or anyone who needs to transport any cargo. For instance if one needs to take 6 people anywhere one would need 3 of those cars I can just see someone trying to buy a television set and transporting it in that vehicle. The car is a play toy for the rich.
- spiralspirit, on 10/10/2007, -5/+26I'm a little skeptical about parts if anything breaks.
- merreborn, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Assuming that by "skeptical about parts", you mean "skeptical about the price of parts",... No *****. It's a $30k hybrid motorcycle. The parts are going to be astronomically expensive.
- brad3378, on 05/24/2008, -0/+1The same car after being driven 12 years.
http://www.ductbills.com/images/duct_tape_car8.jpg
- brad3378, on 05/24/2008, -0/+1The same car after being driven 12 years.
- merreborn, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Assuming that by "skeptical about parts", you mean "skeptical about the price of parts",... No *****. It's a $30k hybrid motorcycle. The parts are going to be astronomically expensive.
- Error601, on 10/10/2007, -32/+2How obvious does a scam have to be? If they want money for a product that you can't try right now with grand claims, it's a scam. The solar A/C claim is actually pretty funny because it's such obvious nonsense.
- jmpeagle, on 10/10/2007, -0/+9you don't have to pay any money up front. There is a $500 reservation fee that is refundable at any time. That money is just to hold your name on the list.
- nigh7dagger, on 10/10/2007, -3/+0Of course they would SAY it's refundable.
- eexlebots, on 10/10/2007, -1/+13Solar AC is in some VW vehicles right now. It actually makes a whole lot of sense.
- muniak, on 10/10/2007, -1/+8Why is that nonsense? It's completely possible. Use a separate smaller battery for the A/C and use the solar panels on the roof to charge it... or a plethora of other methods.
- urbandistrict, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2Error601, VW needs you for their next "3 V-dubs for under $17000" campaign...
Some people just walk around with doom-clouds permanently looming overhead. - vorsicht, on 10/10/2007, -4/+1Sounds like a scam to me. How many Nigerian emails promise your money back. Just base the company outside the borders and it is next to imposable to get the refund. Heck that coral calcium did the same thing. Promise the money back if you arn't healthy then never shipped.
There are tons of other red flags. They keep referring to a lot of energy out and tiny bits in. There science needs some support.
And there are a crap load of safety regulations to be street legal. You can't just call it a motorcycle.
Obvious scam- ophello, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Youre an obvious cynic whos opinion and a dollar will get me a cup of coffee at dennys.
Not everything is a scam, Mr. Grinch. If they don't refund you, what makes you think they'd get away with it? Scams aren't done with solar cars. There are 10000000000 easier ways to screw people over.
- ophello, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Youre an obvious cynic whos opinion and a dollar will get me a cup of coffee at dennys.
- jmpeagle, on 10/10/2007, -0/+9you don't have to pay any money up front. There is a $500 reservation fee that is refundable at any time. That money is just to hold your name on the list.
- corvin, on 10/23/2007, -10/+16I'm all for eco friendly cars and everything, but why do they always have to look like they came straight out of a cheap sci-fi movie?
- FuzzyBunny, on 10/23/2007, -0/+27Because if you're going to make a car that gets 300mpg then aerodynamics are pretty damn important to how it works.
- tippmann1, on 10/10/2007, -8/+2then how come Ferraris and other super high end cars are incredibly aerodynamic AND incredibly cool looking?
- davidrools, on 10/10/2007, -0/+9First of all, the word "aerodynamic" itself is vague, and can imply any number of things that have to do with air that moves. Efficiency is increased when drag is reduced. Ferraris and high performance supercars actually have a lot of drag for their size, since they need to create downforce to remain stable at high speeds (the flat underbelly and rounded roof tend to create lift on any ordinary vehicle, which makes added downforce necessary). They're aerodynamic in the sense that they minimize drag as much as possible while creating the necessary downforce for stability and traction. Their aerodynamics are focused on performance, not efficiency. A vehicle like this uses aerodynamics mainly to improve efficiency and so look completely different. The look is subjective. I think it's kind of a cool airplane looking car-thing.
- nicktheawesome, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3Because Ferraris are not incredibly aerodynamic. They are extremely wide. More air to move = less efficiency.
Ferraris are more aerodynamic than many cars, but not all. The sheer width of them doesn't help, nor does the squared off rear end. Also spoilers and the like are horrible for gas mileage, but they are very good for making your car stick to the road. Air is pushing it down onto the road that hard, more air to move.
- tippmann1, on 10/10/2007, -8/+2then how come Ferraris and other super high end cars are incredibly aerodynamic AND incredibly cool looking?
- acitcratnA, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3People who pay a premium price for a car, want to show it off. Duh.
- ophello, on 10/23/2007, -0/+2AERODYNAMICS DUMB ASS
- nihao, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Did it ever occur to you that, quite possibly, those designs are designs we will eventually move towards?
I mean, no, a society with processing power that doubles every two years coming out with a car that looks like something from a genre that is *based around, in many instances, realistically predicting the future*?! No way!
What do you think cars of the future are going to look like? Spruced up Ferraris? Seriously, that's akin to someone in the 1940s thinking that the cars we produce today will look like the cars did back then.
- FuzzyBunny, on 10/23/2007, -0/+27Because if you're going to make a car that gets 300mpg then aerodynamics are pretty damn important to how it works.
- FreakyD, on 10/10/2007, -11/+19Wait till one of those meets a Suburban XL.
No one is arguing the greatness of being eco friendly, but ***** me. As long as they allow beasts like the Suburban, Hummer, Denali and vehicles alike on the road, I would never put my kids in anything like that.- Kopiok, on 10/10/2007, -1/+12Considering it's a 2-seater, I don't think many people would be putting their kids in it anyway.
- FreakyD, on 10/10/2007, -14/+4I saw that, and it's not the point. Come out with something reasonable....that's the point. But thanks for stating the obvious
- Pilot85, on 10/10/2007, -0/+10yeah, probably shouldn't buy one unless you are willing to drive a motorcycle.
- screensnot, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5I think a motorcycle might be slightly safer than this vehicle. The one good thing a motorcycle can do in a crash, is avoid the crash in the first place.
In the relatively small amount of time I've spent riding a motorcycle, I've avoided 3 accidents because the bike was small and maneuverable. Of course, those near misses were largely due to the bike being small and hard to see.
So, I guess it's a bit hard to say which outweighs the other; better maneuverability or better visibility.
I'd drive it, though. Safety has never been a big concern of mine. But, I am single with no dependents. I can see how a family man might have different priorities.
- screensnot, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5I think a motorcycle might be slightly safer than this vehicle. The one good thing a motorcycle can do in a crash, is avoid the crash in the first place.
- vertinox, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3Its basically a 2 seater motor cycle with enclosure. Do you make your kids ride on the back of your motorcycle as you go down the highway?
I mean the only thing between a motorcyclist and a transfer truck is his helmet and a leather jacket. I'd say this is a tad bit safer.
But no... Don't use it for your kids.- nihao, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0SUVs are equally as fragile as cars--the material that they're made out of isn't much different, adding more if it doesn't do much. If you put your kids in the back seat, they're just as likely to die in a collision as if you used a regular car. The only person surviving would be you, because of the head-on-collision advantages that SUVs have.
- davidrools, on 10/11/2007, -0/+14Maybe if the suburban drivers would put down the latte and hang up the phone, they wouldn't be hitting things so often.
- rhabd0mancer, on 10/10/2007, -4/+4It's basically a coffin on wheels.
Very convenient.- nihao, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0You're more likely to die if you drive an SUV than an Aptera. Somehow, I doubt your ability to look at a car and make sweeping judgements about its safety is accurate.
- Humptydank, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1This is (and they say as much) an enclosed electric trike, with the safety profile of a motorcycle. As a former motorcycle owner I know that the safety profile of a motorcycle is basically, "don't hit anything or you're dead." The main problem here is, however, that you now have a motorcycle with heavier things like batteries to create crushing injuries and, more important, drivers and passengers are unlikely to wear helmets because of the enclosure. The first person to crash one of these is going to learn pretty quickly the difference between "plastic roof" and "roll cage."
They should call this car the Model FSS -- the False Sense of Security. - nihao, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0You wrote a similar remark about the biologically-inspired car earlier. Have you actually researched the safety issue? SUV's aren't much safer unless it's a head-on collision. Your kids would have an equal chance of dying because the same amount of weak metal is protecting them as that of an normal car--the only person that would be safer would be you.
- Kopiok, on 10/10/2007, -1/+12Considering it's a 2-seater, I don't think many people would be putting their kids in it anyway.
- nelsonuwp, on 10/10/2007, -6/+14"and so doesn't have to jump through any of the normal safety hoops"... what the ***** is that supposed to mean?
- eexlebots, on 10/11/2007, -2/+10Means it isn't classified as a "car" or "truck" but more liek a motorbike, thus bypassing tons of safety regulations. And that does mean it is going to be more dangerous to its occupants in a crash.
- davidrools, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5no (or fewer) crash tests, seat belts, airbags, and a whole host of mandated specifications outlined in the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards manual...in addition to state regulations.
- vorsicht, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1It means the thing is not street legal and they have no plans to make it so. They figure that you will get so confused by the statement that you won't remember that there are a crap load of regulations for a street legal motorcycle.
- cappslite, on 10/11/2007, -5/+37Looks like sperm.
- fuckinhell, on 10/11/2007, -1/+0So do you.
- nihao, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0What's your point? Is it supposed to look like something?
That might be a good thing. Nature's shapes are most likely far more effective than the shapes humans design themselves, because they've evolved to be that way. Your logic of "aptera = suck because it resembles something humorous" fails. "LOL SPACESHIPS LOOK LIKE PENISES ROFL!!"
- acarr, on 10/10/2007, -7/+3Good luck to you, when you get into an accident in one of these things.
- eexlebots, on 10/11/2007, -1/+10People never say that when a new motorcycle comes out...then again, this does look like a car. People might be fooled into thinking they are safer than it they actually are when driving one.
- turpenine, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2read the car's website, it says they put some safety ***** in it. I trust them a bit more than you are making it out to be.
- Eizz, on 10/10/2007, -5/+6Yeah but if everyone drove one of these things, it'll be very safe. Just imagine the entire highway with motorcycles, it'll be efficient with nearly no traffic jams since motorcycle take so little room. And if you do slip and fall, you have a higher chance of surviving an impact from a motorcycle vs. a 2 ton SUV. Take Europe for instance, where gas is easily $6 dollars a gallon, cars there are generally smaller, and their traffic fatalities aren't higher simply because everyone drives a small car. SUVs might be safe in a crash, for the driver, but not the other person. Here in U.S people just drive bigger and heavier cars that's suppose to make them "safer" but in reality we're just like a destruction derby that's reinforcing our cars more and more just so we can have it "safer" than the other guy.
- nihao, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0It really wouldn't matter unless it was a head-on collision.
- eexlebots, on 10/11/2007, -1/+10People never say that when a new motorcycle comes out...then again, this does look like a car. People might be fooled into thinking they are safer than it they actually are when driving one.
- RubberBinder, on 10/10/2007, -4/+3make it $15000 and I might buy it. =/
- MasterChi, on 10/11/2007, -1/+14"It also stays light by doing away with one of the wheels. This also helps because then, according to American safety regulations, it is technically a motorcycle"
So does that mean i need a motorcycle license to drive this thing or will a regular drivers license work?- MutatedNantuko, on 10/11/2007, -0/+17I bet you'd need a motorcycle license, but even so those are not difficult to get.
- Myonosken, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5They are trickier than normal ones though.
- SerifTheRobot, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Considering the obvious hazards of driving the car, that might be a good thing. Weed out the auto-idiots.
- mucnix, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5well, yeah you could probably put a fake mustache on a monkey and he could get a normal license.
- Myonosken, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5They are trickier than normal ones though.
- armnpsycho, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I wonder if that means you can use these to take the motorcycle test then?
I could just see someone trying to go through the slalom cones with one of these.
- MutatedNantuko, on 10/11/2007, -0/+17I bet you'd need a motorcycle license, but even so those are not difficult to get.
- TempestStorm, on 10/11/2007, -1/+29New Wii commercial car.
- ZenFountain, on 10/11/2007, -1/+12Car is misleading, as the article says it's technically a motorcycle with all the associated risk. Personally I'll wait for the Chevy Volt =)
- omgTHEPATRIOTS, on 10/10/2007, -9/+2107 diggs and down :(
- gameforge, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1http://www.duggmirror.com/environment/Funky_300_MP ... worked for me.
- chukd, on 10/17/2007, -1/+11You can down play this vehicle but it is a step in the right direction. I am for any prototype that shows American industry how to do something different and innovative.
- jnadke, on 10/10/2007, -7/+4Wow, a 100+ mpg fuel efficient car that can do the speed limit on most highways.
Now if only it didn't look like a giant sperm.- nihao, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1xposted from another sperm comment similar to yours:
"What's your point? Is it supposed to look like something?
That might be a good thing. Nature's shapes are most likely far more effective than the shapes humans design themselves, because they've evolved to be that way. Your logic of "aptera = suck because it resembles something humorous" fails. "LOL SPACESHIPS LOOK LIKE PENISES ROFL!!""
- nihao, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1xposted from another sperm comment similar to yours:
- lewhich, on 10/17/2007, -2/+7They should just share lanes by vehicle weights - since everybody is expected to go at the same speed the [Fast] lane doesn't really matter anymore.
Lane 1: Eco, Bikes, PRIUS & other small cars
Lane 3: Tahoe, Yukon, Humer, Jack Knives etc.
Lane 2: Cops and dare devils - Krumm, on 10/10/2007, -9/+3Ok, cunning plan...
1) Buy a load of these.
2) Strip off the plastic, drop the guts into a chassis that doesn't make you want to vomit.
3) Sell for more than you bought it.
I'll happily buy a greener car, as soon as someone brings one out around the price-point of this 'thing' but shaped like a normal car.
The Prius was a good start, but let's face it, it looks like *****, and now is just a talking point for celebs and smuggers.
Please car makers, take one of your high selling models, stick an electric drive in it, and you'll be even richer - but don't forget to let us charge it from a standard socket so I can plug it in at work :)- DBNKR, on 10/10/2007, -2/+8You are a dum *****
It is all about aerodynamical *****. Youd destroy that if you put another chassis on.
Damn dude..- Krumm, on 10/10/2007, -4/+3Well...duh!
The point is very very few people are going to buy this, if you bridge the gap between something like this and a normal car, you're making progress.
I'd be prepared to sacrifice a few mpg for something that won't kill you as soon as you hit a bump in the road, and so would many others.
Don't worry though, someone will figure it out eventually, and with the money they make, they can buy you a "b", a full stop, and an apostrophe for your comment.
- Krumm, on 10/10/2007, -4/+3Well...duh!
- nitrojunky24, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3civic hybrid?
- Ansible, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Here's a cunning plan for you: buy a load of these and drop 100+ horsepower motorcycle engines in. Fun stuff!
- DBNKR, on 10/10/2007, -2/+8You are a dum *****
- crgnetworks, on 10/10/2007, -5/+1http://www.duggmirror.com
- crgnetworks, on 10/10/2007, -7/+1http://www.duggmirror.com
I solely linked to duggmirror for self interests, do not click it, it's my link. - trouble916, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3I was going to put in my reservation until their stupid system kept resizing my browser window....
Very cool car! I liked the looks of it from the beginning and I couldn't care less about safety. I knew their mileage and price and availability numbers were unrealistic, but I'm used to that from electric car manufacturers now. Still a hell of a deal if they can finish it off right. - Kronos43, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2the web site is dead..
how reliable is the car?- epsilona01, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Site works for me.. but i can't read it since it won't render properly in Firefox or Opera. Half the text is covered up with ads and ***** on the right. Buried because I don't feel like editing web pages to read them.
- motiontomove, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3I love it.
Just not the price tag. - Eizz, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6Wow! Solar powered AC that keeps your car cool even when you're not in it??? I would like to have that on every car! Can I get some after market installation for that?
- wzeallor, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3looks neat but i wonder if it will be road legal given how it looks like bridge crosswinds will make it fly
- gbro, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1How much does it weigh? (Not in article)
- Ansible, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1850 lbs
- gbro, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1How much does it weigh? (Not in article)
- yoda17, on 10/11/2007, -8/+4This brings up a problem.
Let's see, solar panels on the roof...
Car A/C = 13 H.P. @746watts/HP = 9698W. Let's be conservative and round to 9KW.
Now solar output at the surface of the earth is roughly 1013W/m^2 on the equator at noon on the equinox. So....
9000/1013 = 8.88m^2. This is perfect efficiency. Something very difficult to obtain with solar panels. I think the world record is around 34% and these are for the super expensive ones that they put on satellites. So if this car is under 45million dollars, they're probably using he lesser efficient variety @17% or more likely even the 11%.
Again we take 8.88/.15 (picking some conservative mid value here) and we get 8.88/.15 = 59.23m^2 to power the A/C. But again, this is at the equator at noon.
If we say we live in L.A., someplace where we might want to use the A/C, we'd have to use some trig. Something like /cos(latitude), or approximately 59/cos(34). OK, so we're cruising Compton in our (59.23/.829) car with a roof area of 71m^2, which would be about 35m long if we limit ourselves to a 2m (about 6') wide car and we want to make a right turn to get back to Disneyland. 35m is just over 100'. We won't be able to turn the car!!!
HOW ARE WE GOING TO GET OUT OF COMPTON??????- Eizz, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2I'm no expert or anything but I'm pretty sure "Car A/C = 13 H.P." isn't exactly accurate. It is fair to say that a car with a/c running will lose 13HP while driving. However that doesn't mean the entire 13HP went to power an air conditioning. It just suggest that the same amount of engine output that translates into 13HP is inefficiently used to convert into electricity for the heat pump that runs the a/c. Besides if you look at air conditioners people install, a typical 10000 BTU a/c is only 1200 watts and it cools an ENTIRE room. A car is maybe at best 1/4th the size of a typical bed room, hence I wouldn't be surprised that they only take 300 watt to power. Again I'm not an expert on automobile air conditioning, but I can vision solar panels on the roof cooling the vehicle. Besides a hotter day will juice the thing more which cools more, vice versa.
- bennomatic, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Well, the question is, how much AC is it going to give you? This isn't a question with a binary answer. If you can cool my car ten degrees without wasting any gas or battery power while it's sitting in the sun, that's 10 degrees better than what it would have been without those solar panels. And even without freon and a heat pump, I'll bet you could get 10 degrees by automatically opening up some cleverly placed vents and turning on some fans.
- xutopia, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1What if all the solar panel powers is a small vent when the car is idle? That alone would keep the car 20 degrees cooler easily without having to power an inneficient conventional AC unit.
- apeweek, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1The GM EV-1 used an efficient heat pump for cooling that only drew 1500 watts (about 2 horsepower.) It also had more insulation around the passenger compartment so that efficient cooling would be more effective. heating/cooling doesn't have to be inefficient - typical cars don't bother with much efficiency.
- etx313, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3I'm waiting for the Chevy Volt.
- chibimmy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2From behind that car looks like a Tachikoma... I wonder if i could get one painted blue and gray.
- davidsmero, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Reminds me of "It" from South Park.
- rendereduseless, on 10/11/2007, -14/+1they paid Asians to digg this...
- urbandistrict, on 10/11/2007, -0/+10I buried you, for free.
- cpjax, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1Its probably heavy enough to survive winds not hurricane strength but I'm sure that all auto makers try to take that into account
- NoTiG, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3The aerodynamics of this remind me of what Viktor Schauberger talked about... comprehend and copy nature. now all they need are gill like intakes and inject the air out back behind it in a vortex manner like salmon shooting upstream
- EdgeOfEpsilon, on 12/26/2007, -0/+1they do
- ItsMyWii, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Wait, so do you need a motorcycle license to drive one??
- Obligation, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2I wonder how hard it would be to insure.
- flippedcracker, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2indeed
- yoda17, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2According to this thread, the A/C for an RX-8 uses 20HP!
http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?p=2079518
I was being conservative in my calculations. I also own two electric cars and was a member of my schools electric race car team.- xutopia, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Like I said in a comment above, imagine just powering a fan with that solar panel. That alone would keep the temperature way down for when you actually come back in the car.
- Ansible, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1That fan had better do a good job, because you are not rolling down a window in that thing. However, I think it is quite cool nevertheless. Even if the climate has to be just right to make it useful, I still like it.
- scecilio, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I guess you can drive this thing in the cold weather or in rain unlike a conventional motorcycle.
- yoda17, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1"at least 6HP, 4.5kW" according to mythbusters
http://kwc.org/mythbusters/2004/11/mythbusters_boo ...
I was told 13HP by my truck dealership (but they lie often) - mphree, on 10/10/2007, -4/+10-60 in 11 Seconds? That's a lot.
More than $20,000? That's a lot too.
Not to mention that is is hideously ugly. No, thanks. - ttucp, on 10/10/2007, -3/+0I can see plenty of Silicon Valley folks driving one just so they can use the commuter lane....motorcycles are permitted in the HOV lane.
- coustoe, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1deathtrap, I always wanted to go out in geeky style.
- Scorps111, on 10/10/2007, -4/+2That is the most uglyist thing i have seen in my life TUBGIRL is sexier than that
- watcht, on 10/18/2007, -0/+1aww man you had to remind me of that...now i got to relive those nightmares agn...
- nihao, on 10/18/2007, -1/+0the ugliest*
Your hyperbole isn't funny nor ironic. I think the car you drive is ugly, too, however my aesthetic preference has objective efficiency on its side while yours has been irrationally cemented.- Scorps111, on 10/18/2007, -0/+1You must work for this company, and i bet u have an ugly ass wife
- DrBeaverhausen, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1No fuel efficient/eco friendly car is going to succeed in the US as long as there is no room for kids and groceries. That's the main reason us Americans love our SUV's. I love the idea, but its a useless vehicle to me, because it only has 2 seats and no cargo room.
- Ansible, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1There's room for grocs and/or 1 kid. there's room for 2 full size golf bags according to the website.
- nihao, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1To everyone else in the world: Please do not judge Americans based on this person's comment. On behalf of America, I apologize.
- dogstylee, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Great now I can drive down the street in something that looks like Jane Jetson's tampax.
- cjwl, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1The Messerschmitt Kabinroller lives!
aka, the coffin on wheels. - tntgs, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1If I had the money, I would buy this. Instead I will wait until the price comes down (should it be a successful and reliable product) or until I read about the flaws/failures/short-comings of this car in Harvard Business Review.
- skydolphin, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0They want $27k for the car.
Currently $10k gets you a new Chevy with 27 mpg city / 37 mpg highway. Let say it costs you $2k a year in gas ( $3 / gallon => 18k miles a year). That's 8 years worth of driving.
These things are nifty solutions looking for problems. IF they really wanted to solve problems, they need to compete in the economic problem space faced by real people.
In other parts of the world there is a price point and market niche between motorcycles/scooter and cars.
But the 10k cars fill that niche in the US.
Mercedes sank millions into their joint venture with Smart City car. They could not make it work from pricing point of view. No one wanted to buy them when for the same money they could get something with more utility and prestige.
Take a look the the launch video on their website: http://aptera.com/launch/
They made the dangerous choice of exposing the metal blades in the charger plug. I am not sure whether they really though the design choice there.
If aerodynamics was the main reason they chose the shape, why not have 2 tandem seats front and back like a motorcycle for even less frontal area.
At least their price point is better than the Tango from http://www.commutercars.com. 30k for a vehicle like
this does not make financial sense. Currently Tango goes for $108k. George Clooney owns one.- nihao, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The reason they did not choose the most aerodynamic shape possible is because idiots like the ones on this page would scream 'ugly' for hours until they managed to orgasm over 0-60 stats.
- p51d007, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Unless I was a flaming fag from San Fran, I wouldn't be caught dead in this.
Just think of all the car wrecks one would cause by people laughing their asses off
seeing anyone drive this POS- nihao, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I assume you're one of the anchor weights preventing America, and for that matter, the world from progressing as quickly as it should be due to such heavy conditioning present in you.
- blumoose, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1I worked on a very similar looking solar car at MIT back in the early 90's. It had basically the same body shape for the same reason - very low drag with enough room for two people to sit side-by-side (it raced in the commuter class). It was abandoned several years ago, but it looks like someone is trying to bring it back to life.
http://www.evadc.org/aztec.html64 - blumoose, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1I worked on a very similar looking solar car at MIT back in the early 90's. It had basically the same body shape for the same reason - very low drag with enough room for two people to sit side-by-side (it raced in the commuter class). It was abandoned several years ago, but it looks like someone is trying to bring it back to life.
http://web.mit.edu/solar-cars/www/flash/vehicles/a ... (this link should work) - screensnot, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1No one has mentioned that you'd have to wear a helmet to drive this "motorcycle" in many areas.
Probably not a good selling point, though. -
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