Thinking about the Aptera sEV

What makes me think about solar charging my Van it has a large surface area for solar panels, most drives are under fifty miles. Would leave the gas engine and drive train in it for longer drives or when pulling a trailer. Cost is a major consideration, would it be worth it.
 
rjs987 said:
I think they make their own panels. I don't recall where they get the cells in the panels from. Those panels are far higher output than typical panels are. Your have have to cover the entire roof, hood and maybe also the dash of your van to get any solar of significance.
Click to expand...
They don't actually make them themselves but outsource to a company called Sunpower. I think they had a hand in the design, however.
 
St-Gerard said:
What makes me think about solar charging my Van it has a large surface area for solar panels, most drives are under fifty miles. Would leave the gas engine and drive train in it for longer drives or when pulling a trailer. Cost is a major consideration, would it be worth it.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure how much range you could actually generate using solar. They claim the Aptera will generate up to 40 miles/day, and that's on a typical California summer day. The Aptera is twice as energy-efficient as a Tesla Model 3, which is one of the most efficient production cars. Even with the extra real estate on the roof, I don't think you could generate significant range. Also, you have to factor in the extra weight of the batteries, panels, and motor(s) as well.
 
The Van weighs 4600 lbs , with me and a 1/4 tank of fuel, less than most electric trucks. Back in physics class (1977) Peter G and it figured out how much square footage of panels you would need to generate 20 electric horse power. Never did it because the solar cells would have cost $44,000 back then. So cost of panels a lot cheaper now, thinking need to make the wheels into motors by installing magnets in the rims and the stator on the brake backing plate, front wheels on steering knuckle. Making a controller is way beyond my electrical knowledge.

This train of thought all started in English class, when we had a to write a story about what we thought life would be like in the year 2000. I had visioned going to a New Year's Party in a Solar powered electric car. Okay so Aptera is only 25 years late.
Other thing to consider is it worth it as I have only driven 40,000 kilometers in 18 years.all depends on cost.
 
Half a VERY SMALL step there...
My wife is now talking of replacing one of our vehicles. The 2015 Rav4. She's concerned about prices going up due to tariffs. The other car is newer but has more miles and a lower likely sale price. At least she is open to a partially electric vehicle, but stuck on a newer (but not new) Hybrid Rav4. A 3 year old hybrid really won't be affected by tariffs yet. Even current inventory won't likely be affected... much.
 
The March video update dropped on YouTube today.
They finally gave a teaser of a number on the specs achieved during the first ever actual road trip in the wild. For one thing, the vehicle used for the road trip is slightly less tuned for aerodynamic efficiency and also the base metal chassis/frame is steel (not a heavy casting of aluminum as I was thinking) so the resulting numbers will improve. It was found that the energy used for this trip came in at 122 Wh/mi = 276 MPGe. Compared to a Tesla Model 3 long range (a more efficient model) at 259 Wh/mi = 130 MPGe at best. This number is very slightly higher than the goal spec but not outside expected for a heavier than final production vehicle. The next 2 PI test vehicles that are being assembled now from existing parts in house will include the improved aerodynamics and the lighter production aluminum chassis/frame. It was announced that these next test vehicles will be used to nail down some more performance numbers and more accurate numbers using an independent company for evaluating the validation testing.
 
Aptera is now a public company. They direct listed as SEV starting Thursday afternoon on Nasdaq. Direct listing is similar to an IPO but without the outside bank and financial services company fees and costs. Some consider a DL the same as IPO other than the financial company investigation/backing fees. It was a private company and is now a public company. It is actually doing better as a company than several other well known EV companies considering that those other companies are backed by billionaire contributors who keep them going in spite of actual financial performance. Aptera is continuing to develop without billionaire backers and is simply progressing as they are able... but always forward toward the goal.
 
I did invest in SEV the first day. Bought 2 smaller lots and one big lot on the first and second day. So far I'm well ahead. The stock will continue to fluctuate wildly as expected for a first issue... at least for a week or two. Maybe longer. My big lot of shares was at near the lowest price seen so far so I'll be holding that for a long time. The other 2 lots are small and I'll use that to play with it. Buy low sell high. The price moves are slow enough to catch with limit orders yet fast enough to require watching through the day. Good thing I'm retired and have a little time on hand. :sneaky: I already have enough gain to buy an Aptera without touching any money we already had before a week ago. Even enough "free" cash to pay for my last bike purchase and have plenty left over for recharging the battery for years to come... and buy gas for the bike for the new few years. Maybe now she'll say yes! :biggrin:
 
I really liked the idea of this car originally, but I still have doubts of bringing it to market in volume and having it be successful- 2 seaters don’t sell all that well (even as ICE vehicles) and the electrics are having a tough go at it in terms of sales (and depreciate quite a bit, way worse than ICE vehicles)- I would also have concerns about parts availability if the company fails despite making some of the cars. If they plan to be successful, they’re going to need to come in quite a bit less expensive than other cars (like the originally planned $26K base model with the 250 mile battery)- when it comes to market and it’s more like $30+ K, that’s going to scare off a lot of buyers who will just get a 4 door, used 4 cylinder car that has good reliability and just drive it into the ground. The time of the ‘early adopters’ for electrics has come and gone and although there are some positives of this particular vehicle (like home charging on a 110V line), I have doubts about the company’s future.
 
Still thinking that if I get one I'll drive it to at least one STOC event. Plenty of range for the trip. Places to plug in (110vac outlets at the campsites). And it IS a motorcycle class trike/autocycle. But I'd have to be real careful about not packing way too much stuff since the back end is HUGE in these.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom