Americans tend to have a perception that bigger=safer, but that's not necessarily true. An intuitive design goes a hell of a lot farther. Being surrounded by more metal just adds more to the F=ma equation, quite frankly.

One of my professors is actually working on something like this for the Auto X prize competition. Got to help brainstorm some design aspects with him a little this year, its pretty cool stuff. Hopefully some of the other students and I can get more involved with that project.

But yeah, I agree, great commuter!

 

300 MPG vs 25 mpg (93 miata or average commuter). 15k miles a year. I took out maintenance/car payment interest/ depreciation as factors. I am assuming an outright purchase @ 27k for the electric car. The normal buyer probably will have an interest rate associate with the purchase.
Total Costs

Ugly car: 50 gallons of gas ($200/year @ $4 gal)
Y1 = 27200 (car + gas)
Y2 = 27400 (etc.)

93 Miata: 600 gallons of gas a year ($2,400/year @ $4 gal)
Year 1 = 5400 (3k car+ 2400 gas)
Y2= 7800
....
y10= 27000
Y11= 29400

In summary, you would need to own/drive the electric car over 10 years to make it cost efficient. Once passed the 10 year threshold you will realize a savings of 2,200 a year.

 

How many "average" people keep a car 10 years anyway? Very few people bought a 93 Miata in 1992 and are still driving it. On the average, most are going to buy a vehicle every two-five years. Something that gets 230 mpg isn't a bad thing to consider, especially if the government is going to provide some form of subsidy for it. Besides... once one rolls out, many more will follow. Then good ol' capitalism will drive the cost down from an entry-level luxury to an average economy car.

Of course once that happens... gasoline demand goes down, price goes down, and we all buy Hummers again

 

Wait.... if it's electric, why would you need gas?

 

Their website claims 230 mpg:
http://aptera.com/about.php

Drivetrain info:
"Diesel or Gasoline? Our first prototype, the Mk-0, was a parallel hybrid Diesel and achieved an average of 230 MPG at a steady state of 55 MPH. This was pure Diesel/mechanical drive with no electric assist."

Now, really the gas wasn't a factor if you look at the numbers. Even with an electric car that uses NO gas.. at a 27k price tag it would still take 10 years to pay for itself.. you would just realize a 2,400/year savings rather then a 2,200. According to the site, the real cost will be 28-30k.. plus tax and tags. Tack on another year...

 

You would get a tax break also I believe. I guess you have to look at it this way:

Buy an old full gasoline car, or a new hybrid with a warranty that gets the same if not better gas mileage. I hate it when the comparison of a 1985 honda vs. a 2008 hybrid is compared. Apples and oranges in my opinion. Gas dependant, almost gas independant.

 

what you are not realizing is the national average of gas consumption would go down, prices would go down, production cost on things would go down, its more then just the centralized idea of saving at the pump, its a national savings of natural resources and inflation that'd go down if we all had cars gettong 100-300mpg, believe me you'd be saving every where not just at the pump.

Idea's like will break us into a new age, this only 1 persons free time gone into this project, get multitudes of people, with lots of money and there will be many many projects, this is the future because it HAS to be the future, its the only way for us to survive with out being dependant on foreign oil. Also he said they have made a completely eletric car, so when those become readily available and and cars with 200+mpg are available gas will be under a dollar because the demand will drop so much.

Imagine if they made eletric tractor trailers? the cose of food delivery would plument, yielding a ton of savings for products, lowering inflation.


On the bright side, where we are at now, with these new inavations it can only get better in the technological advances, how ever it will get worse for the average person before it gets better.

 

That's pretty badass for a commuter.

For sport, I'd love an Opel EcoSpeedster conversion.

http://archive.cardesignnews.com/aut...ter/index.html

I'm seriously digging the transition to small displacement power plants pushing a super light weight chassis.

 

Why does it always have to be about money? I would like one for the gas mileage and just to help out the environment some. Here is Phoenix you can see the smog.

 

You are comparing a NEW car to an already 15 year old car, why dont you compare it to a BRAND new car?