So, I was trying to remember a magazine article about the most efficient shape for a four wheeled vehicle. I didn't find it, but I did happen on this one in popular mechanics. The 100 mpg car.
I believe they hit the nail squarely on the head. Read it and tell me what you think.
Ya, I prefer my all-electric $10k (used) Fiat 500E.
The XL1 is crap. It looks pretty on the outside, that's about it. It has terrible performance with around 10 seconds 0-60 at a ridiculous price. It should be $13k, cause it's half as good as an Aptera. But yeah it's from 2013, it would need a massive upgrade for 2022.
Vid posted above 13 hours ago says "1800 pounds"!!! That's as light as Aptera!
Interesting the VW could only muster a drag coefficient of .189. You would think the largest auto manufacturer in the world could do better than that. And the list price in 2013, wait for it, $146,000.
Oh, and no outside mirrors (In Germany)
Hmm note the side window configuration, same as Aptera that everyone is complaining about.
What caught my eye, was the last page
"Building What People want"
it has proven, we can build highly efficient vehicles but they don't seem to be what most of the people want.
We are willing to pay a premium for high performance, but we are not willing to pay for efficiency.
Some governments have raised the price of fuel as a way to encourage people to buy more efficient cars. Some have made the manufacturers build to a standard.
Tesla seems to have found the sweet spot.
WE WANT IT ALL!
power, efficiency, luxury, range, technology, safety, style, and all at a price they can afford.
Just don't look weird while doing it
Ya. 2023:
VW XL1Â EV GM EV1 2.0
Hopefully, once they see the Aptera on the road, VW decides it might be a good time to bring back the EV-1, and this time in mass production.
A new all-electric version though.
240mpg 2014 VW XL1 Notice the A/C-reducing paint, the side windows & the sideview cameras:
Eventually we will get rid of this MPGe metric entirely. If there's no gas, there are no gallons. Actually electricity usage per mile would be a much more helpful number, which can help people best determine their yearly cost of charging without randomly basing on ICE to get a 33.7kwh figure
100 mpg cars. I was going to say that we are already there. My 6 year old Leaf gets about 130 mpg equivalent. The Aptera ought to be out closer to 330. Based on rough kWh/gal of gas anyway.
Regarding the article, I wonder what happened to the notion of plasma coating glass onto polycarbonate mentioned? That could be a dramatic weight reducer if it had proved commercially viable. Since it hasn’t come up, I am guessing not.
Nice find. We are really living in the future, and for far less cost than we ever thought possible.