Google.org Invests $2.75M In Aptera Motors

Google's philanthropic arm, Google.org, has just invested the first funds from its RechargeIT program: $5.5 million for plug-in electric vehicles. Half of the money goes to Aptera, whose 230-mpg, 3-wheeled electric we have discussed before. The other half bolsters the efforts of ActaCell, a Texas company working on li-ion battery technology developed at UT Austin.

Comments

Remind me:

[FooAtWFU]

is that 230mpg in gasoline-only operation, or 230mpg when you're cheating by pre-charging it electrically?

Not that precharges are useless but it's not really effective to compare otherwise, and they seem all vague about the pure-gasoline figure.

Re:I said it once and I'll say it again

[pushing-robot]

Yes, it needs to look like a Hummer H1. And still have a 0.11 drag coefficient.

Seriously, what's wrong with form-follows-function? The Prius was considered ugly when it was first released; now it's the sexy, trendy car to own.

Re:I said it once and I'll say it again

[Anonymous Coward]

If they want to sell more of those Apteras to people besides the 'OMGTHEENVIROMENT' groups, they will seriously have to give that vehicle a better look.

When gas hits $6/gal, the Aptera will be the most beautiful looking car on the road.

Re:I said it once and I'll say it again

[k_187]

The Prius might be the trendy car to own, but its still ugly.

Re:I said it once and I'll say it again

[pushing-robot]

Though the electric assist and regenerative braking mitigates bad driving to some degree, I won't deny that most (American) Prius owners are trying more to be trendy than efficient.

The fact is...

[Futurepower(R)]

The fact is, the average person does not think of philanthropy as a for-profit venture capital enterprise. Anyone who uses the word that way confuses many people.

Re:Gas is around $9 per US gallon in the UK

[RingDev]

LOL, I'll admit it, I had to google 'Chelsea tractors' ;)

I've never been to the UK, but I did spend a bit of time in Germany and a year in Japan. All in all, driving in the US vs driving in Germany (Frankfurt) and Japan is looked at in entirely different lights.

For example, my round trip commute is 64 miles. Even in my VW Golf TDI I'm still looking at about 1.5 gallons a day and that's if I go straight to and from work. Going to a theater is a 40 mile round trip. Going to a large grocery is a 36 mile trip.

When I was in Germany, the family I lived with had 1 car, and it was only driven on rainy days and weekends. Every other day it was bicycles and foot. I walked to school, I walked to the train station, I walked to the beer gardens.... mmm beer gardens... where was I? Oh yeah, the whole time I was in Germany, I think I road in a car maybe 5 times, twice for the air port, once to head to Bavaria, again to head for France, and one other time that had little to do with driving ;) So even though gas was twice as expensive as I was use to (I think it was about 1.30DM/l) we drove so little that it didn't matter.

Same thing in Japan. I road in a car twice the whole time I was in Japan. Everything else was walking or mass/arranged transit.

So driving a 12MPG hog sucks, but driving it 10 miles round trip or only on weekends isn't nearly as bad as racking up 15,000 miles a year commuting here in the US. Sure, some people can afford $3000-5000 annual gas bills, but me? I'd much rather dive something that cuts that bill way back, even if it is function over form.

-Rick