Aptera

Website Update: Even More to Look At and Tweet About

Even though the Aptera 2e will soon be available for you to see first-hand, we're doing the next best thing in the meantime and updating our website's photo gallery. You will find new photos of our latest pre-production model, including interior, exterior and moving images.

One way you can stay informed about everything happening at Aptera is by following us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Aptera. That's right, we're becoming socialized, which means more access and even more everyday information for you.

Buzz: Aptera Makes Waves

When Fox National News, Road & Track, Yahoo and the New York Times all wanted to do features about Aptera, we thought, "Hey, maybe we're doing something right." When thousands of visitors made millions of hits on our website in a single week, we realized that the rest of America might just agree.

2.17.09 - If you're looking for an in-depth feature about the Aptera 2e, check out the recent Edmunds.com article, paying special attention to the embedded two-minute video. See the link here.

2.15.09 - We felt like the talk of the country when Fox National News came to Vista, California and featured our Aptera 2e, along with Chief Marketing Officer Marques McCammon, during three live news segments. They praised our safety, practicality and value while calling it "very cool" in this three-minute spot. See the link here.

2.13.09 - We made lots of good first impressions at the TED Conference Feb. 3-7 in Long Beach, including New York Times columnist David Pogue, who called the Aptera 2e "a fantastic concept for the millions who commute every day" in this post. See the link here.

2.9.09 - The Aptera 2e is designed to be so much more than efficient and Road & Track was one of the first to find out just how much fun was dialed in. Despite a pre-production vehicle using three-generation old suspension, they experienced sports car- like cornering and called our design "slipperier than a Teflon-coated salmon on glare ice." Read the whole story and watch the video here.

1.16.09 - EVCast.com brings consumers the latest on electric vehicles in a "non-technical, non-political, and entertaining way," which is right up our alley. So McCammon and co-founder Steve Fambro spent more than 20 minutes with EVCast discussing everything from the complexity of the contemporary transportation challenge to the tradeoff of adding a fourth wheel vs. the federal tax credit. See the link here.

The Founder's Mind: Thoughts from the Pen of Steve Fambro

1. the state or quality of being efficient; competency in performance.
2. accomplishment of or ability to accomplish a job with a minimum expenditure of time and effort: The assembly line increased industry's efficiency.
3. the ratio of the work done or energy developed by a machine, engine, etc., to the energy supplied to it, usually expressed as a percentage.
4. Freedom

When I'm out, it's not uncommon for people to stop me and ask, "Just what do you guys at Aptera mean when you talk about efficiency?" For some, they hear the word efficiency and think of being thrifty or miserly. But to me nothing could be further off-base. I see efficiency as a means to freedom in so many ways.

To be efficient, in the context that we use it at Aptera, is to look at our available resources and consider their potential value before they're ever consumed. This applies to everything from the way we do business and heat our building to the design of our vehicle.

Because of our focus on the 2e's efficiency, it uses an average of 10 times less fuel to move people. With the average consumer in Los Angeles spending about $160 a month on $2.50 per gallon gas, or about $1,900 per year, our vehicle frees people from a significant financial burden. When that price creeps back up to $4 per gallon, the same LA driver will be saving about $250 a month, which is an entire car payment.

If the same consumer drove an Aptera 2e, their electricity costs would be about $18 per month; a savings of $232 per month. Over 10 years, those savings would accrue to almost $30,000, which happens to be about 3.7 years of tuition at UCLA. So if a mom or dad starts commuting in an Aptera 2e when their child turned 12, six years later they will have saved nearly enough money for a degree at a terrific university. How's that for financial freedom?

Even with a traditional gasoline engine, the aerodynamically-efficient design of the Aptera reduces freeway energy use by more than 50 percent, making it gasoline-energy-efficient. And because we import most of the energy we use for transportation in the US, it becomes a national security issue when we're wasteful with the energy in a gallon of gas.

You see, efficiency is not an abstract idea at Aptera, but something that's very real and can have profound, positive impact in our everyday lives. As the old saying goes, waste not, want not: freedom to live.

Aptera Newsletter 2/27/2009

Product Update: Building a Vehicle That's Safe for Our Families

When Aptera began engineering the 2e, we had a form of "efficiency tunnel-vision." Then we broadened our perspective and made protecting our loved ones the number one agenda item for our engineers. While the government currently classifies any three-wheel vehicle as a motorcycle, we've taken it upon ourselves to make sure our vehicles meet passenger car safety standards, both for consumer needs and our own peace-of-mind.

It starts with our composite body, which, besides allowing us the ability to form organic, aerodynamic shapes, has an exceptional strength-to-weight ratio. This material actually is so strong that we offer $100 to guests at our warehouse if they can hit the Aptera shell with a sledgehammer and make a dent. Everybody who's tried has failed because, unlike the metal materials most automakers use, our composites don't permanently deform. Instead, it protects by absorbing and reflecting the energy from impacts.

Under the skin, the safety continues with some more familiar features, including three-point seatbelts, side impact door beams, a roll bar, a tire pressure monitoring system, front airbags, side-curtain airbags and crumple zones in both the front and rear. Additionally, a low center of gravity makes the vehicle incredibly stable and nimble, and lightweight construction means it's about one-half as hefty as a Toyota Prius, which helps in braking.

It's no accident that the Aptera incorporates a lot of the concepts Formula One race cars use to keep their drivers safe at 200 miles per hour. With that sort of obsessive engineering, we feel comfortable about the protection provided to your family and ours in an Aptera.

Specifications for an Evolving Vehicle
We're flattered that Apterans continue to monitor our progress so closely. However, we want you to understand that the 2e is still being finalized, which means engineering changes will affect many of the 2e's ultimate dimensions.

The latest pre-production vehicle, seen at the TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) Conference Feb. 3-7 in Long Beach, is a good example of our engineering team being far ahead of what the public is able to see right now. So, though the width of the 2e may have measured 91 inches at TED, be assured that it will be significantly narrower and more practical in subsequent iterations of the vehicle.

In the meantime, we've produced our latest brochure, including a complete list of vehicle specifications, available for download on the website here. Please keep in mind that some of these details may change, but, as always, we'll make sure you're among the first to know.

Business Update: Aptera is American, Californian and 'Obaman'

When talking about the future of the American economy on Jan. 26, President Obama said, "...We must ensure that the fuel-efficient cars of tomorrow are built right here in the United States of America."

Well, what's more American than a vehicle that's been conceived, designed, engineered and, come October, built in the U.S. innovation hotbed of California?

Besides adding an expected 1,500 jobs to the U.S. economy and about 100,000 vehicles to the U.S. roads over the next five years, Aptera will also provide a practical means to minimize dependence on foreign oil and allow Americans to drive right by the gas pump.

According to CEO Paul Wilbur, " We hope that Aptera can be a standard-bearer for a new green economy. Great mileage, remarkable efficiency, innovative technology and it's priced to fit within many family budgets."

So next time somebody asks you, "Why an Aptera?" You can tell them that you're just being a good American.

Aptera Deposits Safe and a Good Investment
When someone places a deposit with Aptera, they can be secure in knowing their money is doing exactly what it's supposed to do: guaranteeing receipt of one of the first production Apteras. In fact, we place each deposit into escrow, where it will later be applied to the vehicle purchase and NEVER to fund the company.

If you haven't secured your Aptera yet, you can join more than 4,000 Californians by making a fully-refundable $500 deposit at https://www.aptera.com/reserve.php. And if you choose to "lock in" your deposit, you'll see that initial $500 investment turn into $750, just like that.

Where else can depositors see a 50% return on investment just by locking a deposit? No, it's not another poor banking strategy, but a way of rewarding those who are joining our family and purchasing an Aptera.

Quick Six Q&A: Brian Gallagher, Electrical Engineering Project Manager

Though he's not the first Aptera employee, Brian Gallagher has been a part of the company longer than anybody else. He's now worked with co-founder Steve Fambro at two companies and is responsible for connecting Fambro with his other half, co-founder Chris Anthony.

Q: How did you become the matchmaker for two entrepreneurial spirits like Messers Fambro and Anthony?

A: While I was still working as an engineer at Illumina, my former employer where I met Steve (Fambro), I was working on my own suspension project in my free time. We used to get together and talk about our projects and, while I thought the scale of his efficient vehicle concept was crazy, the idea made a lot of sense to me.

Through another co-worker I met Chris Anthony, who was using composites to build his own wake boat in San Diego and working hard at something he believed in - just like Steve. After riding in the boat and seeing his composite technology, I was so impressed that I made the next step, set up a dinner and it just spun off from there.

Q: When did you start working with Aptera?

A: I've unofficially been with Aptera since it was still a concept, while I was still working with Steve at Illumina. When things started developing back in 2006, I did pro bono work on the dynamic controls and suspension, while also getting the integrated infotainment system off the ground. Then in January 2007 I started doing electrical engineering as an official employee.

Q: What was it that made you finally believe this Aptera concept was really feasible?

A: The concept of the vehicle, which I saw in the early stage because I knew and worked with Steve, and the ability to change the way people think about designing transportation clicked for me. But it was Steve's, 'I'm going to do my own thing, make it happen and blaze my own path,' mindset that made me really believe in the company. Lots of people can dream up new ideas, but it's only the ones who stay up at night to execute and work on them that will succeed.

One day I got a call from Steve saying that he was leaving Illumina to pursue his ultra-efficient vehicle concept. At that point he wasn't looking to do anything big, just raising money to prove the concept, but I knew his challenge would be convincing others to believe. Then I saw that some investors had joined and I was convinced that this was realistic and I knew I'd be part of it.

Q: How is your role as electrical engineering manager different at Aptera compared to most automakers?

A: We're fortunate because an electrical engineer at a typical automaker might only focus on the component side of the modules, not fully understanding the hardware that functions and tests it. But at Aptera it's so open and we each have knowledge in a variety of different arenas, from low-voltage body control components to the high-voltage area that works with the drivetrain and batteries.

Plus, rather than being assigned a specific project with a narrow scope, we've been really flexible to innovate and come up with new ideas that fit with Aptera, prototype them out and see what works. It's like being given the key to someone's house and being told to do whatever you want to the inside, and what engineer wouldn't want to work like that?

Q: It seems that so much about Aptera is innovative. What have you contributed to the vehicle in that respect?

A: My core thing was always the infotainment platform. Convincing Steve we could create a PC platform in the vehicle that could be customized with software, like an iPhone, was huge. We didn't just want the typical audio system because they're 100 light years away from what we're doing, so we opted for a unique telematic system.

Q: What's keeping you busy everyday as we near production?

A: Right now I manage the day-to-day operations of the electrical engineers, focusing on making all of the subsystems fit on the vehicle for production. All of the freedom to be creative means a lot of responsibility to make it work, but we get things done.