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Forum Replies Created
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Looks like a quarter scale DKW Schnellaster
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In the past I’ve used tube socks full of moth balls to repel rodents in cars stored over winter. The problem is that they also tend to repel people.
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Pet Mode so I can leave Doggo in the vehicle without being reported to the SPCA.
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The other big mover in Indian transport is Mahindra. They have a presence in North America with their tractors. Some years ago they tried to enter the U.S. market with a mid-sized (small by U.S. standards) diesel powered pickup. They were unable to get it emissions certified (unwilling to cheat, I guess) and pissed off a bunch of people who had invested in dealerships when they pulled out. They build a nearly original Jeep under license, which they sell here as an off-roader.
Synergies with Aptera? I can’t think of anything, but they might have some money lying around.
About India’s lack of a charging infrastructure and Aptera’s suitability: I think it is precisely the lack of a charging infrastructure that could make Aptera ideal, due to its efficiency. A regional version equipped with a 30kW AC charger could charge faster than 400 km per hour off of any household plug along your route. Tight moving traffic would still be a challenge, though.
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Was Tesla’s interest in widening SuperCharger access a flash in the pan?
Possibly, enabling non-Teslas to charge wasn’t just a way to be eligible for government funding, and other EVs will still be allowed to use SuperChargers. Nevertheless it would be ironic if it worked out that California was the one jurisdiction where Aptera owners couldn’t use Tesla chargers.
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Ideally, in addition to jacking points which lift the vehicle by the suspension, for changing tires and so forth, there would also be jacking points which lift the body, to unload the suspension when work needs to be done on it, such as replacing the coilovers, or working on steering components.
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Still not clear that there is any agreement about using the Supercharger network, but I’ll take it.
In my region I’ll mostly be using the CCS adapter anyway.
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It will be 42 kWh/400 miles for the launch edition, I think.
The 1000 mile version may very well require advancements in battery energy density beyond what is currently available, which is probably why it will be the last to be released.
It almost certainly isn’t possible with the cells they are using for the Launch Edition, but advancements occur daily.
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The projection has alway been about 10 miles per kWh. or 10 kWh per 100 miles if you prefer. That hasn’t changed to my knowledge.
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This reply was modified 1 year, 3 months ago by Bob Kirchner.
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This reply was modified 1 year, 3 months ago by
Gabriel Kemeny.
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This reply was modified 1 year, 3 months ago by
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They will be on the screen, which is horrible. No doubt they will be to some degree “automatic” and that will work well enough in southern California.
Also of some concern to me is that the single wiper appears to only clear about 3/5ths of the windscreen. That leaves a lot of your vision obscured if you get hit by a blanket of slush from a passing Semi.
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The core of Aptera’s design advantage is aerodynamic efficiency. A traditional radiator would destroy that. That is why skin cooling is sacred.
I am confident, though not certain, that Aptera will find a way to make it work. The missing link for now, maybe, is a heat pump that can be integrated into the cooling system somehow.
Aptera has assured us that all Apterae will be upgradable to DCFC when they work it out.
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Yeah. Scammers don’t spend money on specialty steel to make CFSMC molds.
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My understanding is that the alumin(i)um belly pan will not be in contact with the battery pack. There is some crush space between them.
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One of my reasons for reserving the 600 mile version rather than the 400 (in addition to range in extreme cold, etc.) is that my vehicle use can be very erratic.
600 miles allows me to keep the vehicle charged to enable a 300 mile trip on a moment’s notice, while also leaving some headroom for not wasting the solar intake if the vehicle stays parked for a sunny week in mid summer.
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I don’t have much experience with mud roads since leaving Africa, but it seems to me that the main issue is floatation: the ratio of weight to the tire contact area that supports that weight. My current vehicle weighs about 3000 lb. and rides on four 195 section tires. It does just fine on the soft roads I occasionally find myself on in springtime. Aptera weights 2000 lb. or less and rides on three 195 section tires. I think it should do fine.
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Lubricating the contact areas of the door seals with some sort of viscous silicone-based lubricant can go a long way toward stopping doors from freezing shut. But not all the way, unfortunately.
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My concern all along with Aptera using NACS has been that it makes Aptera vulnerable to capricious or even hostile decisions by Elon Musk. It doesn’t even need to be official Tesla policy- if Musk decides that he is opposed to the success of a “science-project weirdmobile’ he can simply stonewall Fambro and Anthony while Aptera withers on the vine.
Already automakers who were planning to switch to NACS say they have lost their contacts within Tesla. It might not have been intentional, but it certainly doesn’t seem to have been enough of a concern for Musk to plan the layoffs so that it didn’t happen.
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Those of us who live in snowy areas often like to keep a second set of wheels with winter tires installed to avoid the hassle and expense of having to book appointments for tire switchovers twice a year. That means having two sets of TPMS sensors, each with their batteries degrading whether they are in use or not. This would not be a problem if the sensors were reasonably priced, but they are instead insanely expensive.
I’ve often wondered why TPMS is needed at all, given that checking the pressure of your tires every few weeks is easy enough that I can’t understand why anyone would NOT do it. But I guess people are complacent, so those of us who aren’t need to bear extra expenses to make their life easier.
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While the Pear’s drop down tailgate does open in close quarters, it takes up a huge amount of space in the vehicle which could otherwise be used to expand its storage capacity, which ultimately matters more to most people, I suspect.
Meanwhile, the front storage is accessed by a sliding drawer, which will be mostly unable to be opened in close quarters. Weird choice.
Both features strike me as more gimmicky than practical.
The Ocean’s sales are poor, in my opinion, because it is just another mid-sized CUV is a sea of electric mid-sized CUVs. A screen that rotates and tiny rear side windows that drop aren’t a convincing reason to buy an Ocean instead of something from a more established competitor, given the risks of owning a potentially orphaned model.
This is a problem Aptera won’t have. As much as critics like to say that “no one” will buy a three wheeler, or “no one” cares about efficiency, it only take a couple dozen thousand of us “no ones” each year to give Aptera a chance, since there is literally no competition. Aptera will be a category of one.
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Looks like that investment was not intended to be on the leaderboard, as it has been removed.
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I recently had to import a U.S. market 2019 Honda Fit into Canada when my mom lost her driver’s license. It is very complicated and for all practical purposes requires enlisting a freight forwarder.
One key element of the process, for cars at least, is that the vehicle must be on a list of vehicles approved for importation by Transport Canada. I don’t know how Aptera being an autocycle effects this, but I am confident that Aptera is not on that list.
I think we will have to wait until Aptera reaches the point where they take on the process of exporting their vehicles here themselves. This will be more efficient (and possibly cheaper, by avoiding paying duplicate sales tax) than each Canadian buyer undertaking to do it themselves.
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Even if it’s just the colour of the seatbelts and the anodized cup holder, it’s more choice than you get on most cars these days.
It allows them to order one seat from their supplier in larger numbers.
It would have been nice to have the door pulls colour coordinated, but whatever. It’s all superficial.
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Initially they had said that it would likely have at least a 120v plug, but that seems to have gone away too, at least for the launch edition.
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This reply was modified 1 year, 3 months ago by Bob Kirchner.
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This reply was modified 1 year, 3 months ago by
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There will be footwell vents and defroster vents.
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Yes, that’s what it sounds like, in combination with a fast steering ratio to limit the number of turns lock-to-lock of the yoke, which Jack mentioned.