Vulnerable front wheels?

I'm pretty sure Aptera said they are flexible plastic, but that may not help against curbs when parallel parking, or even when touching that curb if a truck driver doesn't see it:

wheel covers should be flexible plastic so they tend to bend rather than break when hit by cars but are only stiff enough to resist bending to wind resistance so it fulfills it aerodynamic purpose

The Aptera is 88 inches wide. The Ford F150 is 79 inches wide.

For the vast majority of us who don't need anywhere near Aptera's minimum 250 miles of range, these slightly-higher-drag* "hot-rod" fenders would be cheaper to replace if damaged, but also less damage-prone in the first place:

* "Much" higher when compared to just the fully-faired wheels, but not so much higher overall vehicle drag.

I think getting the car painted a neon blue or neon green will help. Just get the wheels wrapped with you favorite visible alert color. You can even just wrap to outside surface and not have to get distracted by it from inside the cab. But really I think you are over thinking the issue. They aren't invisible or made of glass.

I fear we may be worrying unnecessarily: The front wheel pants don't extend beyond the body like airplane wings - they are well within the footprint of many 4-wheeled vehicles. When measurements include side mirrors, Aptera is more narrow than most pick-up trucks and many SUVs - the two most popular vehicle types on US roads!

Not sure if placing cones around your car every time you park is something people are going to want to do. Cones might get stollen etc. I do think there is a chance of a front wheel getting clipped by passing buses and trucks. I really hope this doesn't become an actual major problem. We have to see what comes from real world testing.

Maybe simply backing into parking-lot spots would help.

My tall cylindrical idea could be made to telescope down to the size of a tall soda can & fit in a cup holder or other small space (under seat?).

The "clip on warning bar" could be built in, retracting in/out of the tail, maybe a thin rod with a flag, like a bike flag but horizontal.

Possible combination of those ideas: Bike-style flag, telescoping up from the wheel covers like a retractable antenna. Twist to wrap/unwrap the flag to fit into it's storage tube.

It must be an issue with other trikes, so there might already be a better solution out there.

I suggested “ to Aptera” a bright colored clip on warning bar (

I personally would not have bulky stuff rattle aroundin my cargo area. So is not collapsible/small I would be reluctant to use. Hopefully not too much of a big deal looking at the overall shape???

I think the main problem is the wheels protrude well past the body that all drivers are used to coming close to, and those wheels being so low as to be out of sight to an SUV/truck pulling in to park by you, maybe worst on your left. Lighting up anything that low probably won't help much since it's still out of sight. You also need something that shows well in daylight.

There is a paint that when a small voltage is applied to it it glows in dark comes in multiple colors . might this solve problem?

I think I'd want a removable visual alert that extends up to SUV/truck eye height, that's also large enough to be detectable by its proximity sensors. Maybe something like the pic below, with the base cut off & replaced by some sort of pin to go in a socket on the top of the wheel covers.

Thanks for bringing this up, Len.

I would like to see a feature where the drl's could be used as parking lights. So the wheel pants will be visible in the dark. Or I would put glow in the dark wrap on the pants so they will be visible without a lightsource.

I think for quite awhile it will be safe because the Aptera will be surrounded by people checking it out. 😁

That is why “traffic cones”are bright colored and used “ to alert“ in road side construction, accidents situations etc..

Reflective surface area/s not visible in daylight.