Aptera closes

I think this tweet from Jamie Kitman (Automobile Magazine contributor) said it best:

RIP, Aptera. We hardly knew ye. But based on my drive in one of your ultra-wide three-wheeled blind spot accumulators, maybe just as well.

Sometimes, conventional thinking is for good reason.

I think Kitman’s right. But I don’t think it’s just blind-spot accumulators.

You can find some guy converting VW Rabbits, Ford Escorts and such into electric drive vehicles all over the country now. The technology to do so is readily available. The market is ready, but not for a $60K machine (I think they were standing too close to the battery vents if they actually thought they could offer the Aptera for $30K).

But the law makes it virtually impossible to go into any kind of production; thereby allowing for economies of scale to come into play. It isn’t too hard to envision a cooperative of small businesses contributing components (fiberglass, weldments, wheels and tires, electrics, etc.) to produce vehicles on a local basis.

The Federal government shouldn’t have anything to do with it. Local bankers should, if petitioned for a private loan, but they’re too afraid to invest “their” money on anything.

I think this was unfortunately a long time coming…

Fiskar got the formular down however. Develop a conventially beautiful yet stunning vehicle, gear it toward the super rich, get them to invest, draw on your decads of industry connections and experience, and will it into existance. As mentioned this is a super tough industry to get into with a high cost of entry.

The expense and it isn’t like a century ago when you could build a vehicle and start a business. But maybe that is what we need? Also didn’t Zaha Hadid design that?

I think the biggest loss is that the Aptera could have been the car to break the mold. While the Prius and Volt have significant aerodynamic improvements over most production cars, they still have very conventional designs for the sake of public acceptance. Seeing an Aptera on the road once in a while might have made it easier for manufacturers to try there hand at less conventional designs. I guess we’ll have to wait for the Edison2 to be the first ugly duckling on the road…

The big guys in the business are already looking in the same direction and will stomp
the small businesses ants into the weeds if they get on track, finally.

The BMW I-cars will go to market next year. GM, VW and Mercedes are working on
their own versions and the supplier network is heavily gearing up for mass production
of the components needed. Stay tuned for exiting news during 2012-13.
*

mo-i

P.S.: I happened to run into the first business contact, who has a Tesla Model S on pre-order,
on friday and I am pretty exitedly looking forward to the first ride !

it isn’t like a century ago when you could build a vehicle and start a business. > But maybe that is what we need?

My point.

I’ve posted Robert Riley’s projects before. Never met him, but he’s been quietly designing way for years and offering his plan sets to the public for home construction. When I see the BMW it reminds me of Riley’s XR3

The article I read about it described the Aptera as “sperm shaped”, which is probably as good a reason as any as to why they closed. A sperm-shaped car is just never going to be a big hit. Although I have to admit, it looked pretty cool in person.

The BMW-i and Robert Rileys stuff- are they leaning three-wheelers?

The three wheeler shown by mo-i is an Opel/Vauxhall design and, as far as i know, neither is leaning. The BMW-i range has no planned threewheelers.

Thanks, Holtag, for stepping in and claryfying somithing that I posted in a
confusing way, obviously.

BMW I3

BMW I8




Opel/ Vauxhall RakE

Two of them have beautiful brunettes going with them, but none of them is a 3-wheeler…

looking for a bright future of non blondes
mo-i

Some videos posted of what I’m assuming are ex-employees destroying some of the old body shells. Guess they weren’t thrilled about being out of work.

The BMW-i and Robert Rileys stuff- are they leaning three-wheelers?

Riley’s XR3 is not a leaner. A much earlier experimental vehicle dubbed “Project 32 Slalom” was.

Construction plans are not available.

Some videos posted of what I’m assuming are ex-employees destroying some of the old body shells. Guess they weren’t thrilled about being out of work.

I think you assumed wrongly… nothing in those videos looks anything like aggravated or wanton destruction. Everyone is far too calm and reserved to be engaged in what would essentially be vandalism. If you go through them a couple of times what you see is people talking quietly and taking photos of the body joinery; perhaps not too scientific, but nevertheless, a cheap, initial, destructive test of the body shell. Their comments tell it all.

I am really surprised, and more than a little disappointed, that autoblog didn’t recognize this for what it is. They sure didn’t do the former Aptera employees any favors by alluding to willful wrong-doing.

The accompanying caption with Vid#2 uploaded from YouTube on 6 Dec. 2011.

“8000 pound forklift and concrete wall vs an early-model (top/bottom split instead of left/right) empty shell.”

Sound like vandalism to anyone?

They are destroying them for legal reasons. Leaving these things around is the industrial equivalent of leaving the fridge door on when you put the fridge on the curb as trash.

I’m assuming their preliminary crash testing probably wasn’t done with a forklift and a bunch of guys standing around with cell phone cameras, saying “wonder how much this video is worth on Youtube”, nor is dropping it on a dumpster doesn’t seem like business as usual. My assumption is this is the office space equivalent of beating up a printer.

Doesn’t mean they’re felons, just thought it was interesting that it popped up online days after the company shut it’s doors.

They are destroying them for legal reasons. Leaving these things around is the industrial equivalent of leaving the fridge door on when you put the fridge on the curb as trash.

That’s more believable. These were posted 12/6/11, but the vids themselves aren’t dated. It’s still curious, to me, that everyone is taking pics of it. If I were pissed about having my job yanked out from under me I think I would have been a little more … vigorous … in my assault, and I certainly would not have been taking video of it. And why would you go to the trouble of making notations )
8000 pound forklift and concrete wall vs an early-model (top/bottom split instead of left/right) empty shell.” ) when you post videos of your disgruntled co-workers “vandalizing” company property?

And assuming that autoblog doesn’t know anymore about what’s going on than we do, it’s still a diss to Aptera’s former employees to assume that this is an act of vandalism.

If my boss asked me to destroy prototypes, I would be very curious how they break.

The shooting range is always a fun way of destroying prototypes…I’ve heard.

The shooting range is always a fun way of destroying prototypes…I’ve heard.

… I know. :wink: