And like Schwartptrzcchnegger, chic & cool like a Barby.

It looks surprisingly comfortable, although I worry about those doors hitting the ceiling in my parking garage. If they can it down to $20k, I might buy one.

omg eco save the world ..... just have to sell your body to pay for it.

that's not that pricey for 300mpg...holy crap, what an awesome commuter vehicle!
The $360/month in fuel savings (will rise as time goes on too) would almost pay for it.

Wonder how it does on the Grapevine or at 95 mph on the 405.

Does it come with that brat from the Phantom Menace?

Talk about a seriously flawed movie. First of all, Darth Vader - at no point in his life - ever said "yippee". Unless the Galactic Gasbag edited out all the parts of Empire Strikes Back with Darth Vader skipping through Bespin, picking daisies.

Second, that kid had a lot of free time to play for a slave. Maybe it's my upbringing, but I think "slave" and I think heavy manual labor with some guy whipping you every five seconds for spending too much time breathing. Darth Vader was not a child slave. He had an after-school job working for an asshole that paid shitty wages. If that's slavery, we all qualify.

Third, you'd think that blowing up a battle station using a stunt fighter to deliver a targeted attack on a ventilation system would be a valuable learning experience. Evidently not.

The Galactic Empire - is it any wonder they fell?

@OMG!!! Ponies!!!: i absolutely love how you go off on these tangents, reminds me of my stoner days.
personally, episode 2 was the big let down for me. that dude was such a spoiled brat, why would a hottie like that even look at him twice?

@EMoShunz: The mystery in the Verse is how a lame douchebag can ever end up with a hot chick.

With that big old stinger on the back, I'd be worried about backing or out of a parking spot. If you thought that backing an SUV into a kid was bad, wait until you skewer some 70 walking through Wal-Mart's parking lot...

@kevjohn: money or power....oh, i get it, greatest jedi ever...bla bla bla :)

Hmmm, ok. Impressive. Really - super impressive. I'm impressed. Now let's see them crash test it...

uh is it just me or does this car closely resemble a sperm. GENIUS!

@fezzercanezzer: lol, now i want one even more...makes me think of stewie in a sperm fighter

@mmcnary: If you watch the video on the linked PM website, you'll see that the back end isn't a pointy skewer, but a flat bar that's the width of the body.

Having said that, with a vehicle that light I'd be happier with a skewer to discourage tailgating....

the important question: does the spermmobile have a place to plug in my (insert proprietary DAP name here)?

@mmcnary:

Seriously, does that serve any purpose? I can think only possibly stabilization and aerodynamics, but is it really needed to that extent?

Regardless, i'd get this car in a heartbeat if they downgraded the body style of the thing to something a little less futuristic.

if you check out the website, it gives you THEIR crash test pics. Having said that, if this car were to get into a fender bender, it would be impossible to get fixed.

From the pics, it doesnt seem that the windows open at all. So you can't breath the fresh air that you are trying to save.

they would have to make special parking spaces for those cars...

@p3nnst8r: It definitely serves an aerodynamics purpose, and there is no way it would have the mpg it does without being ridiculously aerodynamic, but I think it also might be there to crush during an accident.

The desing of this car is not embarrassing. What IS embarrassing is that some 100 years after the first cars fuel efficiency has barely changed in this country (relative to all other forms of technology). I would buy this in a HEARTBEAT if I lived in CA. As soon as I can buy it on the east coast, I'll be the first in line.

RE MMCNARY: It has a rear-view camera.

RE P3NNST8R: Do that, and it wouldn't achieve 300mpg. It's a very small sacrafice to make to pollute less.

Haha, I wanted one just cause Jesus compared it to something from the funniest movie ever- "Sleeper", but then fezzercanezzer added another Woody Allen reference (Although tangentially since he didn't actually mention "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Sex") so now I definitely want one. When it's time to retire the Subaru you may well see me behind the wheel of one of these babies. Could they make a convertible model though so we can enjoy the SoCal sunshine while enjoying the MPGs?

Mfaerber's post went in before mine but after I started typing. Take it from someone who knows- DO NOT rely on backup cameras or backup sensors. They are pretty much guaranteed to get you into trouble.

And no, I don't have one. I just have a job where I learn these things through other people's stupidity.

@fezzercanezzer: Me too. I was suprised that it took the 13th post to point that out.

Wow, a "Logan's Run" reference. Why did nobody notice that "The Island" was a blatant ripoff of that movie? Wait, maybe that's 'cause nobody saw either of those movies.... Both good though (the second one was good despite being made by Michael Bay).

I saw both. Yes, the Island wasn't a complete ripoff. Logan's Run wasn't about cloning yourself for parts. It was about cloning to keep the population levels down.

Anyway, interesting looking car.

I'm just curious as to how the Aptera can/will handle a Michigan Winter, we can easily have six-eight feet of snow dumped on us completely out of the blue after a nice 60 degree day.

Once I see that kind of road test, then I'll make my decision. But jesus tapdancing christ, I want this thing.

Hey guys you don't have to worry about the tail because once it makes is way into the garage the tail will fall off.

@Munch: I completely agree. Coupe-de-Sperm.

Emo,
How do you figure $360/month in fuel savings? On the east coast, gas is roughly $3/gallon. That's 120 gallons a month. Even at only 15 mpg, that's 1800 miles. And if you currently drive a compact (which I'm assuming is the competition for this thing), you probably get closer to 30 mpg, which would require you to drive 3600 miles a month. Do people really drive that much? I guess it's possible, but for someone who lives in the city and walks to work, that much time in a car seems crazy to me.

well, i'm sure they'll sell a total of 5 by the end of 2009.

My wife hasn't seen Sleeper.
Awesome flick.
-but she will.

@crash: you are right. my wife's car gets (just under) 30mpg on a good warm day. She has to fill up 7 times a month at $65/ea. (we are paying $.90-$1.10/ltr, or about $3.50-$4/ gallon). so really, it's closer to $410 per month in savings, but i figured roughly $50 to plug it in at some point since i don't really know if it is a plug-in hybrid or not (i didn't watch the video).
it's sad, but by commuting 125 km each way every day she makes $20,000 more a year (almost double than the same job in town) and gets good benefits.

@crash:
5 days a week it's a 65 mile round trip. So 4.3 weeks in a month = 1397 miles and i know fools who drive even more. It's only 45 minutes each way. So yes, people really do drive that much. that 1397 ONLY covers going to and from work.

Look great to me, but has anyone driven it into a wall at 5 mph? How about at 50 mph? What's going to absorb the impact, besides your legs?

of course i'm driving something fairly economical so lets see, 1397/30 = 46 gallons @ $3.30 = $154 a month, but i usually do around another 80 on the weekends, so figure total would be 58 gallons a month, so if this thing gets 10X my mileage i subtract 5.8 to get 52 gallons, which is $172 a month. ALMOST a car payment!

@SalParadise:
well, you're not supposed to crash it, duh.

guys guys guys...

go to:

[www.aptera.com]

look at their crash-test area. it's amazing. my friend helped build the struts on that car, and he said up-close and personal; you just can't believe how high-quality it is, especially the fact that they finally got a [low] priced concept car to be manufactured so well.

first off, to scrub anyones criticism...

on their website they boast the bubble-like typ-1 recieves around 120mpg. that's a whopping 120 and more than you'll find anywhere else. the starting price for that is somewhere (if i remember right) around 27k. with 27,000 you could buy a brand new honda civic. the second version of this car does indeed reach 300mpg, and even read in a few other reviews that it COULD receive around 330mpg. the price tag for the second version is just under 30k.

whether you like the design or not, just understand that a concept/pseudo-kit care like this could easily be in the 80k arena. i mean... com'on! this car is amazing. don't expect to get, ya know, 130k miles on it... but just think of what you'd save instead of getting a civic-hybrid.

now that's awesome ;)

@SalParadise:
"The chassis has steel reinforcements in key areas: at the roll hoop, along the bottom of the windshield, in the doors (for side impact protection) and, of course, in the front subframe (for the suspension system as well as the engine and battery cradle). "

might help

"The tires on the prototype are the same 165/65R14 tires from the Honda Insight. "

what do i do when the "BUY 3 GET THE FOURTH FREE" tire sale events come around????

@nutbastard: Spare tire. Duh.

@nutbastard:
Every fourh year you ebay a set to the bastards who drive gas-guzzling Insights.

It's all fun and games till someone pops a wheelie.

A couple of comments. First, even an economy car won't get 30mpg in rush hour traffic. I have an Acura TSX, gets 31-32 mpg on the highway. Take that into the city and it gets about 25 mpg. In rush hour that drops to 19 mpg. When you're in rush hour traffic you spend more time sitting burning fuel than moving. Mileage drops drastically so a vehicle like this might be just the ticket.

What I want to know is where do you attach the wings? LOL

@EMoShunz: They lost me at Mitichlorians.

@mrchuck85: When can you go 95 on the 405? 3am?

No back seat? No trunk? Where to the groceries go? Hell where do the kids go? How do I change the tire in the rear? What happens when those dumb LCD screens take a sh*t? It's so light it'll never be able to drive over 1 inch of snow. I'll hold out for the 200mpg 5-seat station wagon version. I live in the real world.

@Empire:

going north right before the 5- just in time to crusie into the tunnel and get instagibbed.

@MMCNARY:
The futuristic look is one of the main reasons I *WOULD* buy it. It looks like a concept car that managed to go from Syd Mead's sketchbook to reality without getting mutilated into another bimbomobile or mombox along the way.
If you'd ever seen the "concept" version of the Neon or Focus or Stylus, you'd know exactly what I was talking about.

I think, for the first time in my life, I am actually experiencing car lust...

i am gonna move to california baby!

Holy crap I wonder what that looks like after an impact with a Suburban.

@SuperMacGuy: Why do you assume your world is the only one that's real? According to the write-up, this is a niche vehicle with a market limited to California. It's for long highways with no snow.

@Zlevee: Well "the Island" was based off a book called "The Experiment"

This thing would make a most excellent flashlight.

I would drive that

@rockosolido: i didn't even think of that, i guess i just assume that all cars work in snow...stupid me. i wonder how much longer us snow birds will have to wait :(

I hope they make enough of them so everyone in califormina who wants one can get one. I literally WILL buy one if there isn't some absurd waiting list (I'm looking at you, EV-1!)

What's up with the needle-tail? I thought Kamm-back designs that truncated the tail were more aerodynamic in the first place. After a certain point, you can chop the tail off and the air will still follow the same path, except without the surface drag of flowing along the long tapered tail.

As much as I would like to get 300mpg, there are other ways... like a gas powered bicycle. It looks to me like the crash survivability would be the same against my 1987 Suburban: ~Zero. Wake me up when these cars are safe.

We've got the form factor for our first flying car... now we just need someone to make it fly!