Sandy Munro likes the Nobe 3-wheel (Estonia); A LOT. Munro & Associates is working with them to help them improve their product. Their small factory had burned down and Sandy and team just like it so wanted to help them get reestablished and produced.
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Aptera
- Thread starter UCIBtheG
- Start date
Sandy Munro likes the Nobe 3-wheel (Estonia); A LOT. Munro & Associates is working with them to help them improve their product. Their small factory had burned down and Sandy and team just like it so wanted to help them get reestablished and produced.
bhtooefr
Active Member
Watts_Up
Well-Known Member
I like the comment of Jay Leno when talking about three-wheelers:
When there is a pot hole on the road, there is always one wheel hitting the the pot hole !!!
henderrj
Active Member
It looks like a Soviet Union era 1950s car. I suppose that's the idea. Still, I think I like looks of the aptera better. At least it has an excuse for how it looks! None of them, of course, look as nice as my S. 
empiredown
Member
I'm 11186 (and yes, their "line" is just as murky as Tesla's... They apparently started their numbering at 10,000) USD 100 to place an order (sounds familiar...), get a build in the queue. According to their business plan, this time (the company has been around a couple times, and is currently reborn with a serious crowd fund effort and a good bit of backing), they should produce around 314 Autocycles next year, with almost 4,300 in 2022.
https://ucarecdn.com/7aee331e-1fea-4f0c-888b-a396ebfca4ed/-/preview/
Reserved a 1,000 mile custom order Paradigm (their launch editions went fast and are Sold Out but you can still give them your money for a custom order of any variation that they offer) this weekend when they opened up. Full solar (Never Charge), Enhanced Audio, Safety pilot, and a Camping Kit. There are also Off Road and Pet packages.
Now to see who produces their next vehicles first, this or the Cybertruck... Totally different platforms, infrastructures, and company compositions, but as an order holder for each, this will be fun to track.
And here is my shameless referral link (which I don't feel too bad about, since someone else started the thread...):
http://i.refs.cc/cZWjv9tv?smile_ref...hbSIsInNtaWxlX2N1c3RvbWVyX2lkIjo2ODYxMzIwOTB9
Wish me luck!
ẞ
https://ucarecdn.com/7aee331e-1fea-4f0c-888b-a396ebfca4ed/-/preview/
Reserved a 1,000 mile custom order Paradigm (their launch editions went fast and are Sold Out but you can still give them your money for a custom order of any variation that they offer) this weekend when they opened up. Full solar (Never Charge), Enhanced Audio, Safety pilot, and a Camping Kit. There are also Off Road and Pet packages.
Now to see who produces their next vehicles first, this or the Cybertruck... Totally different platforms, infrastructures, and company compositions, but as an order holder for each, this will be fun to track.
And here is my shameless referral link (which I don't feel too bad about, since someone else started the thread...):
http://i.refs.cc/cZWjv9tv?smile_ref...hbSIsInNtaWxlX2N1c3RvbWVyX2lkIjo2ODYxMzIwOTB9
Wish me luck!
ẞ
Somehow when I look at the Aptera I think it won’t be easy to park, even with cameras. Wouldn’t want to back up into a ditch on one wheel. I was surprised by the amt of space in the trunk. I do think it’s a cool looking car in many respects and beautifully designed just think a two-seater is too limiting for many, and we’re basically a two-passenger household and still wouldn’t buy it. As minimal as I thought the Model 3 was when it came out and unsure how I would take to the center screen, I just really still love it and doubt I’d switch brands at this point.
That's an interesting thought. When parallel parking a 4-wheel car, you can see the rear tire in the side mirror to see how close it is to the curb, and then you can infer where the front tire is since it's in line with the rear tire. But in a 3-wheel vehicle, you'd have no such visual aid (assuming you can't see the front wheel directly). I wonder if they could put proximity sensors in the front wheel covers to help with this.
Possibly even more relevant, though, is the kinda-shocking width of the Aptera. The overall width is published as 88 inches. In comparison, the Model 3 width is 73 inches without mirrors, 76 inches with mirrors folded, and 82 inches with mirrors extended. At 88 inches, I'd only have ~2 inches clearance on either side when trying to get through my garage door opening.
When parking on the street, even if you were able to get the Aptera as close to a curb as a conventional car (which could be difficult since you wouldn't want to scrape the wheel cover on the curb), the street-side wheel will stick out awfully far. Granted, the portion sticking out will be down low, and the widest point on passing cars (their side mirrors) could pass over the top of it. But still, it might look weird with the wheel cover protruding out so far. (Although "weird looking" will be kind of a given with this car in a lot of ways.)
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That's an interesting thought. When parallel parking a 4-wheel car, you can see the rear tire in the side mirror to see how close it is to the curb, and then you can infer where the front tire is since it's in line with the rear tire. But in a 3-wheel vehicle, you'd have no such visual aid (assuming you can't see the front wheel directly). I wonder if they could put proximity sensors in the front wheel covers to help with this.
Possibly even more relevant, though, is the kinda-shocking width of the Aptera. The overall width is published as 88 inches. In comparison, the Model 3 width is 73 inches without mirrors, 76 inches with mirrors folded, and 82 inches with mirrors extended. At 88 inches, I'd only have ~2 inches clearance on either side when trying to get through my garage door opening.
When parking on the street, even if you were able to get the Aptera as close to a curb as a conventional car (which could be difficult since you wouldn't want to scrape the wheel cover on the curb), the street-side wheel will stick out awfully far. Granted, the portion sticking out will be down low, and the widest point on passing cars (their side mirrors) could pass over the top of it. But still, it might look weird with the wheel cover protruding out so far. (Although "weird looking" will be kind of a given with this car in a lot of ways.)
From the pictures, it seems you can actually see the front tires from inside, so parking it close to the curb won't be a problem.
empiredown
Member
This time next year. Over 3,000 pre-orders worth 100 million as of the other day, per their website...
SS
SS
In a July 2020 investor presentation they projected the first deliveries in Q2 2021.
I wish I believed it, but I don’t think it’s even remotely likely.
Same goes for seeing a 1000 mile range model or getting nearly as many miles/day from solar in real world usage as they’re advertising.
Lots of not-encouraging stuff in these articles:
CleanTechnica: We Learned A LOT About The Aptera Today
InsideEVs: Aptera Is Getting Sandy Munro's Help To Spread Efficiency's Gospel
To name a few deets...
...and they're saying they'll be delivering production vehicles in 6-9 months.
CleanTechnica: We Learned A LOT About The Aptera Today
InsideEVs: Aptera Is Getting Sandy Munro's Help To Spread Efficiency's Gospel
To name a few deets...
- They haven’t even decided what type of charging connector to use yet(!), nor have they selected any components or suppliers yet for their charging systems. (Sheesh.)
- They haven't finished designing the cabin heating system yet.
- The battery will be liquid-cooled, but it won’t have a radiator. Instead, they plan on using "small biologically-inspired channels" in the skin of the body to dissipate heat. But they didn't share any more details, so it sounds like this is still vaporware at this time.
...and they're saying they'll be delivering production vehicles in 6-9 months.
Spacep0d
Active Member
I really like this vehicle and am curious to see how it goes. I'm also interested in investing come Q1 2021, and I like that Sandy Munro is involved (along with his involvement in Arcimoto).
For my part, I love electric vehicles, I love small vehicles, and for years my only vehicle was a motorcycle. As someone who is 52 and child-free by choice, this would totally work for me. I also love how weird it looks...like a road-going airplane. The solar panels are an awesome bit of innovation. Curious to see which connector they go with!
For my part, I love electric vehicles, I love small vehicles, and for years my only vehicle was a motorcycle. As someone who is 52 and child-free by choice, this would totally work for me. I also love how weird it looks...like a road-going airplane. The solar panels are an awesome bit of innovation. Curious to see which connector they go with!
henderrj
Active Member
truthfully it sounds like a standard engineer driven company. They keep fiddling with things forever, and never get it done. I too am very skeptical of their getting a product out in the time frame they're talking. Too bad, it looks like it'd be a really good niche product. But, for that kind of money, it's hard to see justifying it.
Maybe, but IMO Aptera isn't really a start up, its a re-start, they had it all figured out 10 years ago, they were ready to start production but unfortunately Steve Fambro, Chris Anthony and others were pushed out, they had a decade to rethink the car but it looks to me that the new Aptera is very similar to their first car, the only changes I can see are improvements/upgrades, Covid slowed them down but once they announced they were back it didn't take long for them to produce the prototype
The Aptera looks to be easier to produce than a normal car, if they can get into production, sales in the first year or two might be small but once they get on the road I bet sales would grow, most people won't buy a car unless they can test it first, so $100 million of orders is pretty good
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They know the Watts per mile, so its pretty easy for them work out the range they might get from their biggest battery, as for the solar, well that all depends on where you live, for me its not really worth it
Watts_Up
Well-Known Member
On what ever angle I look at the Aptera, I cannot stop scratching my head !!!
I don't understand the rational of having this strange shape with separate wheels.
For me the VW XL1 with a drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.159 similar to the Aptera drag coefficient of 0.15
(the Model 3 has a drag coefficient (Cd) of just 0.23) has a nicer and practical design.
I don't understand the rational of having this strange shape with separate wheels.
For me the VW XL1 with a drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.159 similar to the Aptera drag coefficient of 0.15
(the Model 3 has a drag coefficient (Cd) of just 0.23) has a nicer and practical design.
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On what ever angle I look at the Aptera, I cannot stop scratching my head !!!
I don't understand the rational of having this strange shape with separate wheels.
For me the VW XL1 with a drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.159 similar to the Aptera drag coefficient of 0.15
(the Model 3 has a drag coefficient (Cd) of just 0.23) has a nicer and practical design.
You are missing the difference between Cd and CdA. The Aptera has a much smaller cross-sectional area (the A in CdA) and so much less actual drag.
These tricycles look like engineering college student projects. I don't think it is anywhere practical to spend upward $30k to save some $100 a year on electricity. On short-range trips there is no big advantage as the speeds are typically low, and on long-range trips there is not enough space an comfort. I wonder how this thing will drive in cross wind at a high speed on a wet highway. Sorry, I just don't get this thing other than a cool engineering demosnstration project.
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