Aptera's Aerodynamic Hybrid Shames Mainstream Carmakers

I am tired of the stalling by automakers who keep crying they can't make a profit investing in technology we desperately need to save our economy from looming resource depletion.

Forget saving the whales, this is about saving the human race!

Our boxy contemporary cars are designed in a manner which uses half the energy they extract from fuel to overcome air resistance. Aerodynamic resistance and weight must be reduced, no new hybrid or hydrogen power-train is going to overcome the laws of physics, yet automakers keep pushing 4,000 lb barges with square features.

The U.S. industry average vehicle weighs 3,455 pounds. Epidemic of obesity, indeed.

Even easy aerodynamic design changes, such as recessed windshield wipers and rear-view cameras to replace mirrors, have been slow in coming.

I think aerodynamics and composite carbon-fiber weight reduction will be increasingly important in the next decade. Most of this technology has been around for years in aviation while carmakers plodded along with only superficial improvements.

There have been very few serious attempts to create a start-up since the failure of the DeLorean DMC-12 in the early 1980's. Those that had any success were bought up by Detroit and effectively silenced.

Who remembers the 1970's McKee Sundancer electric roadster, with the replaceable battery tunnel chassis eliminating the need to wait for recharging? After a prototype was featured in a cover story by a national magazine, the company was bought by an auto manufacturer (GM?) and never heard from again.

But the obvious vacuum created by a stonewalling car industry is encouraging private entrepreneurship in America.

Eleven new electric car companies, working independently, have launched new automotive products.

Can these start-ups produce a practical alternative to the oil company-automotive axis, an electric car for the the mass market?

We already have seen the high end electric sports cars, with blazing performance and $100K price tags, suitable for Hollywood limousine liberals and Wall Street playboys.

What if somebody actually produced a quantum leap in fuel efficiency in a stylish package the public could actually afford?

Such a car could sell quickly, on a global scale.

One small start-up company, Aptera Motors, has created a stunning example of what automakers world wide could be doing.

New breakthroughs in fiber composite body material, computerized design, and aerodynamic styling have produced a space-age hybrid that gets over 100 miles per gallon in sustained operation.

Short distance mileage, where stored electricity from the grid powers the car, yields figures in the many hundreds of miles per gallon.

The "secret?" A tiny aerodynamic drag coefficient of 0.11, and a 1,500 pound gross vehicle weight.

Aptera's gas hybrid debuts in 2008 for around $27,000, with a pure plug-in battery version for $30K.

This urban car has a composite body. Constructed of carbon fiber, fiberglass, and Kevlar, it looks like something out of the Experimental Aircraft Association. Two adult passengers and a rear baby seat or grocery stash make this little car big. Aptera measures only an inch shorter than Toyota Prius, the fold down rear seat allows a long storage area.

High tech features like "suspension touch interface control", which monitors and adjusts the vehicle's ride height and angle of attack on the fly, abound on the Aptera.

Roof mounted solar panels help charge on-board batteries, and operate the air-conditioning system while the car is parked in hot sun. This eliminates the need to leave the car idling in the grocery store parking lot.

Aptera's designers have invested much to overcome the safety issues inherent in a car this size.

Two video screens display a wide angle view to the rear, using lens-free cameras to eliminate protruding mirrors.

A large 45" frontal crumple zone, side-impact beams, airbags, a steel safety cell for rollover protection, and airbag-in-seatbelt technology make Aptera more crash worthy than many Chinese exports.

The manufacturer has crash tested the car to 45mph, with very good results.

But with just three wheels, single drive wheel in the rear, Aptera will be considered a motorcycle in most states.

This will exempt it from many automotive safety requirements.

While the safety emphasis is lauded here, it may make Apteras too expensive for a global market, and for many Americans.

I think buyers will appear for this and other innovative and attention getting futuristic cars.

Aptera is the essence of the engineering long missing from the car business.

But I expect any success to be bought out and buried as previous designs have been.

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