Friday, February 20, 2009

Making cars aerodynamic - why didn't regular car manufactures think of that?!

Hope for the future:

Making cars aerodynamic - why didn't regular car manufacturers think of that!?

If you're like me, you may be wondering who the manufacturer of the white egg-shaped pod-like car shown on BBC's Odd box today is. Well I did some hunting around and found it...

In the light of sharp falls in car production here in the UK and car plants facing the possibility of closure today , but also across the globe as it faces its current financial melt-down, innovative manufacturers are likely to be the ones who do best in the long run, and the car companies who have been kept in the pockets of the oil companies promoting petrol gasoline as the only viable automotive fuel will fall aside as well they deserve to, stifling innovation as they do and have done.

Meanwhile at they have been building fully electric cars (as well as some hybrids I think) and although they initially are only accepting down-payments from people living in California, they plan to make their products available across the USA and the entire globe as soon as they can manage to.

Amazingly the Aptera, which looks a bit like a small star trek shuttle craft, can be charged up by plugging it in to a regular mains socket!

Apparently about half of an average cars energy is used pushing air out of the way at a speed of 55mph. With a low drag coefficient of 0.15, the Aptera 2e realizes less drag than a cycling superstar such as Lance Armstrong on a ten speed bike! You can drive about 100 miles on a single charge without recharging for about $0.50 worth of electricity.

Link to Aptera manufacturer's web site... Make cars aerodynamic - why didn't regular car manufacturers think of that!?

See Aptera test drive on

Plane-car article

The organisation "Better Place" is mapping a global plan for car charging stations

"Better Place" is looking to build an electric car network using technology available today. Sustainable transportation, global energy independence and freedom from oil.

"Better Place" is just beginning to build its first prototype battery-changing stations in countries like Israel, Denmark and Japan. It hopes to be a critical link in the evolution of the electric-car market.

To go to Shai Agassi's Better Place, click here

New York times article on Shai Agassi and Better Place - you may need to create a free NY Times account to access this link.

Regretting our pass mistakes:

Who killed the electric car, and why did they do it?

Who killed the electric car, latest trailer