No side mirrors

[Lander Stoddard]

Article in Wired says new Genesis “GV60 comes with rear-facing cameras instead of conventional door mirrors.”

[kerbe2705]

Probably because they’re legally accepted replacements for mirrors everywhere on the planet except the US…

[OZ (It’s OZ, Just OZ)]

“Big Mirror” has the government in its pocket.

[Llewellyn Evans]

Big Mirror 🤣

[Ray Holan]

Looks like we’ll be stuck with side mirrors for now. Chris Anthony stated as much in a December 2021 video.

[Raj Giandeep]

At least the drivers side for now. But this could change. it’s not just aptera that wants this change in the usa

[Guy SKEER]

Write Yer Congresscritters, complaining about allll the Fuel Wasted with Big Ol Mirrors Heating the Enviro…

[GREG MIRICH]

If we have to have a drivers side mirror, maybe the powers to be will at least provide a passenger side camera and monitor. I think the autocycle requirement is that the driver side has to have a mirror. Maybe APTERA can make available a monitor, bracket and wiring harness so that a customer could install a driver side camera when the law changes.

[Vernon Michael Gardner]

Maybe they could put a snap on glass mirror over or under the camera so you would have both until the law changed and then remove the mirror

[Wes Man]

I’m definitely wanting the camera’s on both side. The snap on mirror is a great idea.

[Wayne Forkum]

Sounds good to me.

[Llewellyn Evans]

Snap Mirror is a genius idea

[Llewellyn Evans]

Snap mirror that goes over the camera …. with a section of clear glass or half silver mirror over the lens. The camera will still work even if the snap on mirror is attached.

[V Pilot]

Just make it a full one way mirror so the camera can see through

[Joshua Rosen]

Retractable mirrors and camera’s would be the best solution. The mirrors are only there for regulatory reasons if you have camera’s you don’t actually need them. If the mirrors were retractable so that they wouldn’t contribute to drag but could be folded out for inspection then the regulatory requirement could be met without compromising the aerodynamics of the car. Tesla mirrors fold in when parked, the only difference here would be that you could fold them in when driving also. If the camera’s were to fail then you would also have the option of using the mirrors normally, nice to have back up.

[Wes Man]

This sounds cool, but I’m pretty sure adding something like this, right now would be more trouble than it’s worth. How would they have time to validate the durability of a retractable mirror right now, and also make sure it doesn’t cause any leaks or add additional wind noise, through the retractable mechanism?

I’m not against some $20 bolt on motorcycle mirrors from Amazon and keeping them in my glove box until someone asks otherwise.

• This reply was modified 10 months, 3 weeks ago by  Wes Man.

[John Malcom]

Agreed.

A little late for engineering such a solution and integrating it into the design for Beta and future testing. Also additional complexity (Electric motors, hinges, mounting brackets, weather stripping, cover plate, and of course the legal size mirrors themselves, activation/deactivation switches, electric wiring to the 12 Volt battery, integration with vehicle status/display SW perhaps, maybe more I am not thinking about) Something more to fail and need replacement. and require the storage and handling of build inventory and spares management. Increase in cost (Probably small) Potential delay in production.

Not worth it at this point. I will take my Aptera with what ever solution the engineers came up with.

[V Pilot]

We just had a pretty good bout of freezing rain here where I live. .18-.2″, doors, windows, and locks frozen. I’m glad I don’t have flip up headlights let alone other things that fold or retract

[my_discord_number_is_0328 bloody stupid]

just make cheap mirrors that can be screwed on top of camera wings, so if u dont need mirrors u screw them off: https://aptera.us/community/discussion/visibility/

[Elzo Stubbe]

Is there any effort made to change the rules in favor of camera mirrors in the US?

By the way, the brand new highly efficient mercedes EQXX has conventional side mirrors!!. Why is this the case? Well head designer at Mercedes Benz Gordon Wagener says that they use more energy than the conventional highly aerodynamic mirrors the EQXX will have. On top of that he says that these conventional mirrors work much better than their digital counterparts….

What to think of that?

• This reply was modified 10 months, 2 weeks ago by  Elzo Stubbe. Reason: strange picture with text visibility? appears on my screen, Really buggy this community Environment

[Brandon Shaffer]

I’m a little late to this conversation, but I just joined the community and wanted to share a thought or two about the side mirrors.

Most people on this thread don’t like the side mirrors. I’m agnostic, but we don’t really have a choice – at least not in the US. Until the law is repealed or changed, we’re stuck with them.

So, if we must have side mirrors, why do we need the extra screens inside the cabin? They were originally located on the sides of the cabin, and now they’re behind the steering wheel (yoke). But, why? Can’t the video now be projected on the center monitor instead?

If we must have the mirrors, then I think they should simplify the cabin and remove the excessive monitors. My 2 cents.

[OZ (It’s OZ, Just OZ)]

Brandon, the physical side mirrors that are being installed, are there just to meet the minimum area size requirement, if you look at the way they have been designed, their main feature is being constructed in a way as to present the minimum drag. The long thin shape is probably pretty useless for viewing for most folk. They are also designed so as to be removed easily when the laws catch up to reality, and will detach and leave the far superior camera mirrors in place.

[J.P. Morere]

As Oz indicated, the mirrors are there strictly for compliance. The real rear view vision system is the camera system. The center rear-view is also video whether you get the glass rear hatch or the (opaque) solar hatch.

[Jason Towne]

I might be wrong, but I could have sworn in one of the many Aptera coverage videos on YouTube it was mentioned that the side “mirrors” we see are easily removable, with the cameras in the stem/arm of said “mirror.”

Saying “mirror” because I believe they also stated they aren’t actual mirrors, but reflective surface that works well enough for it to pass as a mirror.

[kerbe2705]

@Jason Towne The problem with many of the YouTube coverage sites is that they’re working from hearsay and supposition: To meet current US regulations, sideview mirrors cannot be “easily removeable” or temporarily installed. My best guess would be that, should US regulations change to allow sideview cameras INSTEAD of mirrors, Aptera will offer “wing cameras” to replace the current mirror arrangement. I assume the installation process would involve dismantling the doors or, at least, removing their inner panels to access attachment points and camera wiring…

[OZ (It’s OZ, Just OZ)]

kerbe, but as we well know Aptera, is classified as a motorcycle. Every motorcycle that I’ve owned or seen has had easily removed mirrors. I have seen the video (At least one.) where Chris Anthony basically says that the removing the mirrors would be a simple task. The current design looks to me to be a mirror cover over the actual video cameras which look out through the base.

[Paul Schultz]

Yes, here is a blurry cropped pic of the side mirror taken from the Aptera Gamma reveal youtube video. A bit grainy but the camera does not to be separate from the mirror.