CARazed

This is an incredible little electric unicycle with stabilization assist designed and built by Aleksander Polutnik’s  Read more at Enicycle and at Core77.

It’s exciting and a little spooky to see so many big automakers announce near production ready electric vehicles. The latest announcement of the Nissan LEAF and it’s sudden arrival on the playing field seems like real evidence that we will be seeing a lot more electric cars on the road in 2010/2011 than previously expected. That should also coincide with the strongest part of the economic recovery which will help to fuel their quick adoption.

But it seems ironic that at virtually the same moment the government is throwing billions at clunkers. I suspect many people that jump on this recovery money carrot will also sadly choose to lock themselves into another 60 months of car payments. Forget for a moment that we might be sitting on a Peak Oil Plateau; committing to five years of car payments when super efficient cars are now just a couple years away just seems like questionable financial planning.

If you do have a clunker and want to to take a bite of the carrot try to get the most efficiency for the least amount of money. Also consider downsizing your ride to an efficient inexpensive used car.  If you think we’re sitting on a Peak Oil Plateau avoid putting any more money into petroleum powered cars not matter how sweet the carrot looks.

Love this short clip featuring the Aptera. I’m very tempted to put down the $500 deposit myself on this car but it only has two seats and I need at least three. I emailed them the other day and this is what they said:

Once Aptera has finalized the initial production version of the typ-1, we will continue to revolutionize the transportation industry in other areas.

Please sign up for our newsletter through the website (if you haven’t already) to stay updated on our plans and progress as well as checking our website!

I can’t say I blame them for giving me such a round-about answer; they must have their hands very full enough with the X PRIZE and their first car. But it sounds like they must be thinking of future buyer needs. I’ll keep my eyes peeled for more from Aptera.

It’s amazing the progress these small independent auto makers are making in the areas of plug-in hybrids and all-electric cars, and now trucks. Phoenix Motorcars has developed an all-electric sport utility truck that can keep up with the gasoline and diesel alternatives.

It’s a five passenger truck with a top speed of 95 MPH, 130 mile range (200 mile range is in the works), a 10 minute recharge with a special stand-alone charger, or trickle-charge overnight when plugged into a 220V outlet. Cost of recharge is a small fraction of the cost of the fossil fuel alternatives.

The magic behind the range and speed is a new kind of battery, similar to the lithium-ion battery but without the thermal runaway problems. The NanoSafe^TM battery is a lithium titanate battery developed by Altairnano a leading battery developer. This new battery can take fast charging and is expected to last about 12 years.

Phoenix Motorcars will sell to fleet buyers and consumers. There is a waiting list so if this little truck sounds like an option for you contact them sooner than later. With all the press from the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this past week there is bound to be a lot of renewed interest in renewable fuel vehicles like this.

It will be very interesting to see how successful this all-electric truck is. My money is on plug-in hybrids for the best short-term solution simply because it leverages existing infrastructure and technology. New technology like they are putting into this truck seems a little risky but leading edge usually also means taking educated risks. I can also see many small (and large) companies looking into small fleet orders since the operational cost of these vehicles is so low. It may prove to be the perfect solution for many businesses.

Aptera Motors, a small California based company is now taking reservations for a radical new 2, +1 passenger plug-in hybrid vehicle, the Aptera Typ-1. The price to get in line is only $500, and the cost of the vehicle is under $30,000 and production is scheduled for late 2008 for the Typ-1e (all electric) and 2009 for the Typ-1h (plug-in hybrid).
In the early stages of development the Aptera was an all electric vehicle design concept. In fact an all electric version will be available but we can’t imagine why anyone would want one. The plug-in hybrid version is much more usable and costs only a few thousand dollars more.To make the car more usable for long trips a small water-cooled EFI gasoline engine certified for California emissions has been added.

Fuel efficiency is very high but varies depending on the length of the trip because the driver can stay in all electric mode for up to 60 miles. But to give you an idea of how efficient this vehicle is, a 120 mile trip would yield about 300 MPG (that’s not a typo, that is three hundred miles per gallon!). Top speed will be 85 MPH and 0 to 60 acceleration will be accomplished in under 10 seconds.

Safety is a major concern for Aptera Motors and the Typ-1 exceeds requirements for a typical passenger car. The composite safety cage is similar to a Formula-1 race car, and provides occupants with 360 degree protection. Air-bags will be standard and can be deactivated for a children passengers.

The three wheel design and layout save weight and provide more aerodynamic opportunities to the vehicle and means it will be registered as a motorcycle, even though the safety standards implemented far exceed motorcycle and car standards. In other words, the Aptera Typ-1 is legally a motorcycle registered with DOT and CA DMV. Initially it will be only available in California to facilitate service and a variety of other reasons. But the plan is to make this vehicle available in all 50 states, Europe and other countries.

This vehicle redefines car. We’ve avoided using that particular word in this post simply because the Aptera is not legally a car but a motorcycle, but in all practicality it is a car, but who cars if it’s safe and gets you to where you’re going for 300 MPG!

Kudos to the folks at Aptera and whoever is funding this project. Please tell your friends about this and if you’ve got $30K for a cool new car reserve yours today.

There are mixed messages coming from GM about the timing of when the Chevy Volt will hit the market. But 2010 looks likely. If you watched the movie Who Killed The Electric Car you’ve heard the theory that GM and the oil companies conspired to kill EV1. We’re not going to debate that either way but if GM delivers the Volt they might just make up for any bad blood those rumors and theories might have created.

From the press material the Volt sounds like the perfect transition vehicles, from the all fossil fuel world we live into today to the all electric zero emissions vehicles of the future. In a nutshell it’s a plug in hybrid with the ability to run full electric for about 40 miles and then rely on either a small generator or small engine to extend its range up to 640 miles. GM is also thinking of using E85 or biodiesel as fuels for the on-board combustion engines.

We can’t wait to see the car on the road. This would mark a significant step i the right direction for all auto manufacturers. Comments?