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All about Gamma
I see the new Gamma design of Aptera in the recently added Fleet tab of their website. What ideas can you think of where Aptera could promote this vehicle online or at events to the fleet and rental market that would not cost much?
At 355 MPGe I recall a person that wanted to use it for a group of Uber Eats drivers. I talked to a business owner that owns more than a half dozen E-bike stores in the hot Southwest and rents out EV vehicles. He saw a good fit for Aptera because it has room for luggage, heat, and air conditioning. He plans to add his company logo to the vehicles to increase his exposure. Plus he said a vehicle “Driven by the Sun” looks more like a vehicle “Driven for Fun”.
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128 Replies
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All about Gamma
updated 11 months, 2 weeks ago
62 Members
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128
Replies
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They really should have mocked up a fake company wrap in the fleet renderings. The aptera is an incredibly eye catching vehicle and for many businesses a fleet vehicle is as much about being a rolling billboard as a tool to get around.
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it will be very interesting to see how other EV’s do in rental fleets, is customer interest growing?
Now with the lower priced Bolt will rental fleets now offer it as an economy car pricing?
<font face=”inherit”>When will the fleet managers start noticing the lower </font>maintenance<font face=”inherit”> cost’s?</font>
I do not see Aptera as a great big city vehicle, but a great open road vehicle, especially with its longer range and faster charging MPH than other EV’s.
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Yes sir!
What I had sent in , over the years (in blog threads and info@aptera.us ) …any services that could work within the two seater, 500# payload and cargo design etc…
Like some of these that come to mind at the moment…
Home Health nurse, computer tech, any Sales Rep, Solar, Home finishes/repair , pest service sales, mall/casino/community /stadium security , any food delivery service, ZAP vehicle service etc
I live in big retirement state. Golf carts are used often to scoot around. The Aptera will not fit in the town’s dedicated cart lanes but… who wants to get behind a cart😉 Aptera is much safer too!
Campuses like Corporate, Hospital , Universities, Government have maintenance and transport ( shuttles ) small vehicles
Isn’t there a move to electrify Federal vehicles?!
Hey you know the *EVSE-Angels we hope will form in greater numbers… to audit public EVSE… What better vehicle to check out and report status of the public EVSE as they soak up some of their power from the sun! ( I suggested *this in a ADOT meeting talking about our state’s EVSE Roll Out Plans)
⚡️ on!
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You can see a better image (the full image used on the fleet page) at:
https://i.imgur.com/wnhYHwA.jpgI’m guessing these are renders, but it could be a touched up version of the actual gamma vehicle. There is definitely a lot of photoshop work done on this image so it is a bit hard to tell.
The image is good to see though, looks like a LOT of progress over Alpha / Beta (not that beta was ever much to look at).
Now, to get the production line in place!
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Perusing the fleet page, I see the first ‘entity’ listed are utilities.
In year’s past, utilities – think member-driven co-ops – have been known to ‘sponsor’ products for their customers. Many are engaged in community development and all sorts of things like industrial development, etc. – you know locally subsidized 100,000 sq. ft. facilities including green field communities – where local economies chug along with opportunities being less frequent than in past decades.
And here Aptera comes with a package that includes six component areas to build a complete vehicle that could, in the case of electric utilities, have a special ‘sharing’ relationship on their 1000 mile batteries that effectively makes each vehicle a ‘node’ in a distributed battery backup system deployed in the co-op’s service area.
The “local” assembly plant becomes a joint-venture and would make from 5,000 to 20,000 Aptera … or maybe a local ‘inventor’ see’s how to cobble together any thing from an electric tractor for farming operations to an electric pickup all made using the Aptera formula of modular components and composite monocoque construction.
And because these utility-built Aptera are part of a utility led smart grid design (distributed battery backup) they make the vehicles available to their customers at subsidized rates. The switch enabling the subsidy would likely be from the software with possibly a digital key inserted in the vehicle. That means customers would have the option to participate in the subsidy or not.
Then there is the per-use rental gig where the Aptera earns money by the mile and, because of the integration with the grid in these utility compliant vehicles, the utilities can use the aggregate battery storage while making a profit from its use by individuals as a rental vehicle.
Aptera would in a sense adopt a mixed ‘franchise’ structure with franchised makers like the utilities choosing their production runs and ultimately new products, which could be developed and engineered by Aptera and its franchisee’s under the agreements. (Kind of like when a franchisee adds a new menu item that proves popular and is adopted by the franchisor.)
And as far as the fleet vehicles, they can buy them, which is fine, but going the route of making them expands the growth and benefits of Aptera to the broadest possible market more quickly than any other method; thus saving the world (The world is ‘saved’ if there are 2 million Aptera on the road in 2030.)
PS: We can never forget that we’re on a tight timeline with the environment. The genius of Aptera’s construction and assembly is that is essentially moving to commodify the components into parts products. The more widely used those commodified components are, the stronger the restraint on pricing as different suppliers may be drawn to produce particular components if those components are easily adapted to multiple vehicles designed on the same lean engineering concepts of Aptera.
Indeed, our salvation is not with the technology, but rather the technology being accessible in a time of economic uncertainty.
Could you imagine the stock value of Aptera stock if an announcement that they had partnered with suppliers x,y and z and a major electric utility in the southeast to assemble over the next five years 60,000 smart-grid compatible vehicles that, in aggregate, represents six-gigawatts of battery storage available to the grid for backup. The utility announces it will produced these smart-grid capable Aptera for use in its operations fleet, in a on-demand rental offering in the city and as a vehicle customers can lease at subsidized rates that cut the cost of transportation expenses in a family to under 10 percent of the average household income, freeing the family from the expensive burden of ownership including insurance.
The prospect of these kinds of announcements in the future, makes me excited.
PS: What America really needs is the broad-based education possible through the proliferation of lean-design concepts demonstrated by Aptera’s manufacturing design. Folks see that, they understand it and innovation returns and we make additional steps toward sustainable living.
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So Aptera knows they must get the major things right on this one.
Once the claims of range, solar miles of charging /day, acceleration and handling are proven to major reviewers, investors will line up and orders will pour in.
So they must meet or exceed the spec’s with this one.
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One other important matrix, the crash testing. It’s my hope that they beat the best crash tested vehicle! My gut says, many look upon the three wheels, and see vulnerability. Instead, I see a very strong composite, and agility for accident avoidance, like nothing else on the road. Many folks have bought Volvos, and Saabs for years, based on the crash tests showing that they are good in a crash. If Aptera can match, or exceed that, then minds will be changed about it. No question this is a game changer, but if proven to be extra safe, above other things, this will be a great help for the adoption of the brand.
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I agree that Gamma is important for validation before production and for further testing.
It will be interesting to see if funding comes after Gamma.
I am sure Gamma will be an awesome success and reach most if not all of the goals Aptera has set for themselves.
I am a lot more concerned about Aptera getting enough investment capital to reach full scale production. Some news on this would help ease my mind.
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Pretty big claim in your post. Not sure the current business environment supports such a rosy outlook.
I do agree they need to make good on their performance claims based on engineering simulations with real world test data. Especially the safety testing
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Safety testing will wait for the Delta’s if it finds problems, production will be delayed until resolved.
Currently Aptera seem to be hoping for an investing whale. However getting enough great reviews should bring in plenty of sharks. Also after those great reviews would be a good time to go public.
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Gamma has dropped; From Aptera. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlSBvucps9Y…
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Even more excited now, but what do I do for the next year waiting to get mine, except keep on dreaming about it
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Notice the charging is behind the rear license plate. There is no charger connector there, only the hole for one. Notice the size? What is the only connector that would fit that hole !
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The J1772 without the CCS could fit there, but that would be incomplete, but probably all I need. I would of course prefer the Tesla connector.
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I guess this is what constitutes the gamma drop, or a half of one, or a quarter of one. A little underwhelming for such a milestone event and still mostly focusing on the inside. A little “Side” an instant of “Front” and a “Back” that answers the question about where the charge port will be. I guess we will be getting a Tesla plug. Will need to find a CCS1 adapter somewhere. Hopefully, Aptera will sell or provide one. Understand Chris’s videos now trying to justify/convince about a decision to use a Tesla plug. We will be getting the Little Kitty yoke. I will adjust to that.
Still unanswered questions about what the other “Things” are on the back, visors, solar on dash etc.
Wish once we could get a whole story from Aptera at one time.
At least we know gamma exists in some form. No indication that it is complete or operational.
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Thanks, OZ. I do like the white interior even though it means I’ll need to carry a cleanup kit — my daily errands invariably end up with debris and smudges in places that surprise me;)
I’m 6 ft. so I appreciate the comments from the taller guy about having enough head room.
I’m also relieved that what appears to be a fabric-like covering (gray) on the yoke is a darker color that will not show dirt as readily.
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The bulb on the back is probably for license plate and charging port illumination.
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Any one else concerned about the status of the solar panel development? Because I’m solar-obsessed, throughout the video I did nothing but look for a hint of a solar cell and saw nothing. Someone talk me down please!
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Maybe the only obvious changes were the addition of more cells outside and the reduction of the number on the dash that was covered a couple of weeks ago? Perhaps some of the nitty-gritty changes will be announced at the event in September.
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I did freeze the video where I could see the tail section. Didn’t see any solar there. Maybe those tiles were the ones they referred to when they said they’d made room for more tiles on the roof and hood (I suspect) It would save on thin wires needing to run from the back of the car for 6 tiles.
I do like the white pineapple leather. If it’s like the Tesla you simply wipe it with a baby wipe.
The interior looks clean and minimalist. I suspect the center console hasn’t had any of the optional sections placed. Cleaner hinges, Intuitive new nose section and wheel covers all looks good.
Not crazy about a fabric yoke covering but the fabric looks tough like the older Jeep have. Mine is 25 years old and still looks good.
So far, it’s a hit out of the park for me.
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While the solar is a great idea, it is not that important to me. If they had a solid rear hatch with no solar cells on it, I would gladly take it. The rear hatch window lets in prying eyes and too much hot sunlight for me.
Aptera is the only two seater EV. Plus it is sporty and affordable.
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I hope they’ve made progress on more than just the interior by now.
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I don’t like how the seat back is severely reclined; hopefully it will be adjustable. At least one of the employees was filmed moving the seat itself closer to the pedals.
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@Dennis Swaney Both women have the seatback more upright and one of the guys has it more reclined than others…
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“I want an Oompa Loo…erm….I want an Aptera. I want an Aptera NOW!”
I guess I better start taking glucosamine and chondroitin supplements and keep my knees limber to get in and out of it.😆
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Getting in should be no problem. Getting out? That could be a problem…….
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I like that the charge plug is slightly shifted to the driver side to accommodate shorter cables of a certain type of public charger.
I hope the license plate light is durable since its the furthest back part of the vehicle and may be the mechanism to open the rear hatch.
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Every time I watch it I see new little details, does anyone have guess as to what the little Circe might be on the front of the wheel pants? Would be weird to have such a large cap covering a bolt in that spot so it must be a proximity sensor.
Also can’t seem to find the location of the lower backup camera or the upper rear view camera.
The only thing that that draws my eyes in and looks a bit off is the high mount brake light, I will definitely be tinting it black so it doesn’t stand out like a geometric thumb.
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That center brake light nestles in between the solar cells if equipped, though still kinda ugly. The cutouts inside it, do you think they’re shaped like water drops or more like arrowheads pointing upward?
I do think that’s a quick release fastener being covered on the pants front.
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I like the new headlight, rear corner lights and the full on flying saucer shape when viewed from behind.
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That Yoke looks really silly. And the logo on the frunk looks like a pimple at the tip of the nose.
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I like the redesigned license/charge port cover. Not sure if it is the law, but I believe when vehicles are charging in public, their identity should be displayed. The older version hid the license ID tag.
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