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As the team continues to advance the build of our first design intent vehicle, we are planning a number of programs intended to open Aptera up to you, our family, and our community. Read below to get info on our upcoming town hall that we’ve planned especially for you. Also, feel free to stop in for our March 27th community event as we bring North San Diego County up to speed with what Aptera is, and why we are here. Read More...
Local electric vehicle maker Aptera is again in the real estate market, shopping for larger digs while it awaits another dose of funding from private lenders and the government. Read More...
Just a few months have passed since three-wheeled vehicle developer Aptera Motors announced one of its co-founders, Chris Anthony, would be “stepping aside from day-to-day activities,” and the other co-founder, Steve Fambro, would be taking an extended vacation amid rumors the pair were ousted in a boardroom showdown. Now Aptera says Fambro won’t be returning to work, after all. According to a newsletter Aptera sent out this week, he “will leave the day to day operations as CTO and head of Advanced Concepts to rededicate his time and attention toward pushing new and breakthrough technology.” Read More...
Aptera Motors co-founder Steve Fambro has left the company. Read More...
Aptera founder to lead from the boardroom while pursuing new ventures Read More...
The Automotive X Prize, a $10 million competition for super fuel-efficient vehicles, announced at the North American Auto Show in Detroit this week that its much anticipated on-track competition will finally kick off April 26 and continue through August 2010. It will be hosted by the state of Michigan, which “put the world on wheels,” as Governor Jennifer Granholm put it. Partnered with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, this should give the beleaguered Motor City region a shot in the arm. But will it drive the former Big Three US car manufacturers to consider these auto designs? Read More...
Many of you have written us to inquire why we elected to restart the counter on the Newsletter asking the question, “Just what is the “New Constant Contact Newsletter?” The answer is that we have moved to a hosted newsletter service (Constant Contact). This is a change from our prior format that was designed and generated within our team. As you may have noticed, the new format has a much different graphical composition from the prior format. As such we elected to reset the count to show a clean break from the prior format to the new. We hope this clears the air.
Aptera IS composite Read More...
HOUSTON – (Business Wire) Highlighting that electric vehicles can come in many shapes and sizes, Reliant Energy, an NRG Energy company (NYSE: NRG), teamed up with the Houston Texans and electric vehicle manufacturer Aptera to bring Aptera’s prototype electric vehicle to Houston for Monday Night Football.
Texans fans had the opportunity to experience the Aptera 2e before the game at Reliant Stadium and learn more about what NRG and Reliant are doing to expand the adoption of electric vehicles in Houston and across Texas.
Source: earthtimes.org Read More...
Thanks to a gracious invitation from Reliant Energy, the Aptera 2e will be on display at the Reliant Football Stadium in Houston, Texas for the Texan/Titans game tonight. We are not sure exactly what the event will entail at this point, but we are hoping for a lot. Reliant Energy and its parent company, New Jersey based NRG, are looking to lead the charge for electric vehicles in the future. And call us biased, but we can’t think of anyone better for them to take the ride with than Aptera.
Source: campaign.constantcontact.com Read More...
Recent reports claiming that Aptera founders were “ousted in a boardroom showdown” appear to be false.
Aptera, a company we’ve been covering since its inception two years ago, has let some employees go in order to save money recently as it waits for the final round of funding and to reapply for a DOE loan.
“We needed to reduce our burn rate on anything not associated with getting a production vehicle out the door,” said Marques McCammon, chief marketing officer. Read More...
VISTA, Calif. (date) — In September 2008, when fledgling vehicle manufacturer Aptera named Paul Wilbur president and CEO, the 27-year Detroit auto executive set forth a series of financial goals and deadlines. “Aptera’s funding will be tied directly to production and delivery,” said Wilbur. Read More...
Aptera Motors has ousted founders Steve Fambro and Chris Anthony, sources told Wired, painting a picture of a boardroom confrontation between the original founders and the auto industry veterans the company brought in last fall. Read More...
Producing The Aptera. The Aptera Vista plant in southern California expects its production lines to be running at full speed by next summer, hire 300 employees and at first assemble a few thousand Apteras. Following that, 2012 will see an increase in production thanks in part to a $25 billion loan program from the U.S. Department of Energy called the Advanced Technology Vehicle Program. Aptera will receive a $75 million in loans from that program that will help its staff grow to 3,000 and produce 100,000 Apteras a year, instead of only a few.
Source: electricnnick.com Read More...
When congress established the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) program in the 2007 energy bill, it explicitly said that it applied to making cars that come under the federal motor vehicle safety standards. Those safety standards apply only to vehicles with four or more wheels, meaning that three wheelers like the Aptera 2e were not eligible for the money. Read More...
It’s a new world for Aptera in its quest for federal funds today. The startup, which is developing a futuristic-looking, ultra aerodynamic three-wheeled vehicle called the 2e, can now be considered for funding under a highly competitive Department of Energy loan program for green cars.
That’s thanks to an 80-17 vote in the Senate yesterday in favor of an amendment to expand the scope of qualifying vehicles. It now includes not only four-wheeled “automobiles,” but also an “ultra efficient vehicle,” defined as “a fully closed compartment vehicle designed to carry at least 2 adult passengers” and get at least 75 MPG (or equivalent, for plug-in models). In other words, while Aptera is hardly a shoe-in for funding, three-wheelers like the 2e will be fair game for consideration, at least, once President Obama signs the bill into law.
Source: earth2tech.com Read More...
SAN DIEGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–LHV Power (formerly known as HiTek Power Corporation) spins off Flux Power, to be led by Aptera Cofounder Chris Anthony. This new company will provide life extending Lithium Battery technology including battery management and monitoring, advanced display and diagnostics, and smart charging systems.
“I’ve heard the same message repeatedly from numerous clients: ‘We need a complete drop in solution that will manage, charge, and provide usable diagnostic feedback for our cells,’” says James Gevarges, President and CEO of LHV Power Corporation. “Flux Power products will provide for all of these needs and more in an easily adaptable format allowing customers to quickly create prototypes, ramping to small production with an easy, cost reduction path for high volume OEM’s,” he adds.
Flux Power has developed innovative high power battery cell management systems that have proven to greatly extend cycle life. The company couples this with a robust communication system that can operate in harsh conditions to provide accurate and timely data on numerous cell metrics. These cell metrics are continually recorded for system diagnostics and warranty analysis. To display all of this data Flux Power has a suite of display systems and diagnostic utilities to help clients get the most value out of the information available.
Source: businesswire.com Read More...
Aptera Motors’ funky three-wheeled electric car is one step closer to receiving the same U.S. Department of Energy funding that Tesla and Fisker enjoy. The 2e electric car currently does not qualify for DOE funding because of its three-wheel design, but U.S. Reps. Brian Bilbray (R-Calif.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) tacked a measure onto a bill to change this.
Their amendment to the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act would expand DOE funding to any “fully enclosed vehicles capable of carrying two adults and get at least 75 mpg.” The bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 308-114 and now moves to the U.S. Senate.
Source: cars.com Read More...
I have very strong reason to believe this to be the final design… rendered with all final parts in their production form. (with one small exception: I’m told that the side-marker lights shown here are being changed… but my source doesn’t know exactly how or to what. But I’m told that’s the only change after this design had been signed off as final.) Read More...
A look at Best Buy’s foray into selling electric bikes and scooters. They’re currently available in Portland, San Francisco and L.A. Read More...
By this time next year, they could be millionaires — or so say the makers of the Aptera 2e, the space-age American successor to the three-wheeled Reliant Regal driven by Derek “Del Boy” Trotter in Only Fools and Horses. Read More...
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