Car of the Future

Aptera, of Carlsbad, California, north of San Diego, has developed a car that promises up to 300 miles per gallon. As you can see the car has that Jetsons-style that those who grew up in the sixties was promised as the car of the future.


Pictured here is the prototype Typ-1 e. The vehicle, which seats two comfortably, is all-electric, has a 120-mile-range on a single charge and can reach speeds up to 90 mile per hour.

Charging the vehicle takes up to two hours on standard house current.

The engine is a hybrid diesel/electric.

It uses a hydraulic system to collect energy from the braking system to be reused for acceleration. This is a ‘must-have’ technology for any future car to compete on the open market.

It is built of a strong yet lightweight composite shell on an advanced suspension and drive train components.

It is designed to be stable enough for daily driving with plenty of cargo space behind the seats for groceries.

The sleek, lightweight body makes it aerodynamically feasible to pull off its claims of high mileage.

The lack of side view mirrors (the ability to see behind you is made possible by the use of rear-view cameras) cuts down on drag.

A couple points came up while researching this project car: one, are the drive train components reliable and are they going to be easily replaceable. It would be nice if our car of the future would be easy for any backyard mechanic to work on much as cars of yesteryear were.

Two, it could become an all-wheel drive vehicle for driving in snow. Sure it will require a little more power which would cut down on its range, but with solar panels to keep the batteries charged and the progress being made on developing sturdier better quality batteries this would not be much of a problem.

Tires need to be run-flat types due to lack of spare tire.

As a three-wheeler, a motorcycle. It is not designed to be the primary vehicle for any given family. It can be used as a second vehicle or daily commuter much as a motorcycle. It is a major improvement over crash survivability compared to a motorcycle.

Given Americans preference to ride only one person per vehicle and given the fact that carpool lanes are basically useless because of it, this vehicle makes a lot of sense. Look at the number of motorcycles on the road. They are viable because they are fuel efficient and they cost less than cars.

The more SUV’s we can get off of the road and replaced with vehicles like this the better off we will all be. The sooner we get away from the big three automakers the better off we will all be.

Aptera has two innovative models that are almost production-ready at $30,000 and below: for next year, the all-electric, 120-mile-range Typ-1 e, and, by 2009, the range-extended series gasoline Typ-1 h, which Aptera says will hit 300 mpg. A more conventional third model, called “Project X” or perhaps Typ-2, is now in the design phase, with plans for a four-wheeled chassis and seating up for to five passengers.

This vehicle represents another great example of American ingenuity and willingness to break away from the typical auto manufacturers offerings. As a prototype this vehicle is on the right track by using some ideas that will most likely be standard equipment on future vehicles.

My one greatest fear is that this company would be bought out, by one or all three big-three automakers working collectively, and the project would be shelved.

Wave-power gets a boost

Pacific Gas & Electric has agreed to buy electricity generated from wave-power farm, Finavera Renewables.

The project hasn’t been approved by the U.S. government yet but finding someone who is willing to buy from the farm is a major step toward making it a reality.

The wave-power farm, scheduled for completion by 2012, will generate electricity from eight specially equipped buoys located off the coast of Northern California and will collectively generate up to two megawatts of power. If all goes as planned and the project is granted the necessary approvals, it could be expanded to produce up to 100 megawatts.

A full-scale buoy from Finavera will be capable of generating 250 kilowatts, enough for 80 homes. The 2-megawatt field will consist of eight devices. The planned 100-megawatt array could be squeezed into a few square miles on the sea.

Another experimental wave generator plant in operation is Pelamis Wave Power operating out of Portugal and Scotland. Pelamis has developed a method of offshore wave energy collection, using a floating tube called "Pelamis". This long, hinged tube (about the size of 5 railway cars) bobs up and down in the waves on hinges that pumps hydraulic fluid which drives generators.

Sea water is more than 800 times denser than air at sea level, which means wave farms or tidal turbines can produce quite a bit of power with only a little equipment and real estate.

Ten years from now, the U.S. could produce 10 gigawatts of wave power and 3 gigawatts of tidal power, said Roger Bedard, ocean energy program leader for the Electric Power Research Institute and an admitted optimist on the subject. That's enough for 4.3 million homes (assuming 3 kilowatts a home).

Wave energy is transferred to electricity by generators placed on the surface of the ocean in the shape of buoys or tubes. Energy output is determined by wave height, wave speed, wavelength, and water density.

Advantages of wave energy is that there is no fuel needed and no waste produced therefore it is energy free. It is not expensive to operate, and can produce a great deal of energy.

Disadvantages are that it depends on waves, sometimes you get a lot of energy other times none. It needs a suitable site where waves are consistently strong and it must be able to withstand very rough weather.

It won’t answer all of the worlds energy needs but this technology is on the cutting edge of being an important part of the patchwork of energy sources the U.S. will need to power our homes and businesses while addressing the ever looming climate change.

Still waiting for fuel efficient cars

When President Bush signed the Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection, and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007, which will require automakers to make enormous changes in the way they make cars, he also signaled that car buyers will pay up to 15% more for new cars, according to industry analysts.

This should come as no surprise to anyone. We have been paying steadily more for new cars every year anyway. If we can get vehicles that will get better mileage without polluting our air, where’s the problem? It is a plus for the climate and therefore for us.

The automobile industry will have to embrace new technologies and invest billions in new manufacturing, but this is what we have been asking for. Pressure from the influx of foreign made vehicles and the tide of the American public buying those cars instead of American made ones should have forced them to do this years ago.

"It's a huge investment, absolutely," said Michael Stanton, president and CEO of the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers. "The automakers are going to pay for it, but they're going to have to pass some of that cost along to consumers." Again, when have they ever not passed the cost off onto car buyers.

Automakers have fought off efforts to increase the fuel efficiency standard for more than 20 years now, and its about time they face some real facts. Mounting concerns over global warming, rising fuel prices and oil dependence has finally forced them to make some changes. So the industry joined environmentalists and lawmakers to broker a compromise.

When safety devices were forced onto the auto industry they balked at that too. The addition of air bags, traction control and anti-lock brakes forced a change in automobile design and the cost was passed onto the car buying public. We got over it and now wouldn’t buy a car without these features. We’ll get over the inclusion of direct injection, hybrids and turbo diesels too.

The big three automakers, General Motors, Chrysler Group and Ford, said they would meet the standards, what choice do they have?

The industry will go through a major change in engine technology to meet the new standards. Two-thirds of the U.S. fleet will have to change to direct injection. One-third of the total market will be diesel, and half of those will be diesel-electric hybrids. Everyone is pursuing a strategy of smaller engines with direct injection and turbochargers.

They are going to have to start working on these changes right away to make the deadline and the buying public is still waiting.

Are America’s Muscle Cars a thing of the past?

General Motors is going to show its new supercharged version of the Corvette at the Detroit auto show next month. The performance car represents a design that will rival the fastest, most expensive exotic cars from Europe.


Sadly, this version of General Motors venerable Corvette, the ZR1, may be the last in a long tradition of Detroit performance cars.

America’s muscle cars have been endangered for many years higher gas prices, demand for stronger federal fuel economy regulations and limits on carbon dioxide emissions.

President Bush signed into law legislation that will bring more fuel-efficient vehicles into auto showrooms and require wider use of ethanol, calling it "a major step" toward energy independence and easing global warming. The legislation, which requires automakers to increase fuel efficiency by 40 percent to an industry average 35 miles per gallon by 2020, is still far behind foreign automakers even at today’s standards.

Interestingly enough, Tadge Juechter GM’s chief engineer, said to sell one of the Chevrolet supercars, GM would need to offset that with cars that get 45 mpg. This could perhaps be a way in which muscle cars could survive. The Corvette is fuel efficient when compared with its competitors. Although fuel economy figures weren't released for the ZR1, the current 505-horsepower Corvette ZO6 gets an estimated 15 mpg in the city and 24 on the highway, according to GM. The ZR1 gets around the same mileage as a Chevrolet pickup truck, and GM won't be getting out of the pickup business because of gas mileage standards.

And, you will always find buyers for such a car regardless of emissions standards as long as someone is willing to build them.

EU forces emissions cap on airlines

EU ministers have agreed to impose carbon emissions quotas on airlines in an attempt to fight climate change.

The Environment Commissioner, Stavros Dimas, said a strong signal had to be sent but the United States opposes the idea and has threatened legal action.

Of course they do, the current administration will place business interests above people’s health every time.

The airline industry fears the cost of the carbon trading scheme could force some carriers out of business.

Mr. Dimas, said aviation is responsible for 3% of carbon emissions. Now they need to work on other emitters too.

He said aviation emissions had doubled since 1990 and were predicted to double again by 2020.

The airlines would have to meet their quotas, either by cutting their emissions or by buying energy credits from other industries.

Environment ministers meeting in Brussels agreed that airlines would have to buy 10% of permits upfront at auction in 2012, substantially lower than the proportion suggested by the European Parliament.

They also set the cap on emissions at the average level from 2004-2006.