Motors The Aptera 300MPG car

They're pretty damn different, very different, you just can't really see it too well because you're used to the look of old and new cars. The only difference really is this hasn't been done in baby steps because it wouldn't be possible to without hindering economical values of it.

 

I personally think the design looks good. It looks modern, but not corny. It has a sort of sporty look to it.

 

TBH I would prefer this one.

 

Now thats interesting, if the price was reasonable we'd be on to a winner. The design could be applied to any type of car you care to mention the larger the car the bigger the wheels the more space you have for larger motors.

 

from here: http://www.aptera.com/ask.php

 

Noit bad at all

 

I would personaly love one probobly the hybrid though as sometimes I have to drive upto 400miles and the main cost in owning a car for me is insurance.

 

1. looks butt ugly
2. looks like a death trap
3. wouldnt buy one no matter how good its gas mileage is
4. electric vehicles use lithium batteries, in a crash oxygen + lithium= fire/ explosion. would not want to be in any vehicle that has a lithium battery in it. & that ummm vehicle is made so the battery and motor goes under the vehicle in a crash. dont think that smallish metal cage will protect the battery all that great. dont believe me, google lithium battery explosion and watch the video.

 

And petrol is well know for its inert nature!

 

id rather be setting on top a tank of gas than a couple hundred pounds of lithium.

 

Actually, alkanes are. That's why vaseline is petroleum jelly, they do no react with many things, and are harder to set on fire than you think. You need correct air/fuel mixture, correct ignition temp. and only the vapour will burn.

 

I would still take one, 40 miles one way to work 100 mile range is cutting it close but it is efficient and I could live without going 95 down the freeway. Hell, my VW drinks about 2 gallons every day driving back and forth to work if I could do better I would be all for it.

That electric mini interests me more though just because its a mini.

 

1: tastes are tastes
2:

3: i will keep yours then.
4: not all electric vehicles use lithium batteries, oxygen by it self burns, that smallish metal cage is also surrounded by a fiber exterior and if i remember correctly the batteries are in the back and certainly away from the outside structure of the car, that cage is for the engine.

of course gasoline does not explode with violence:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJDnMZ6KnX8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCT8ZpHEF5w

all batteries are made equal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiK2Ps8opj4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnzIBSIKcpQ

and oxygen is very safe in all occasions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hsaCh5HbHo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvNFlKZT_dY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L67S3dYQ3Js

edit: lithium does not react with air so "oxygen + lithium= fire/ explosion" wont work. you need something to ignite it IIRC.

 

Someone spends a little too munch time on youtube.

 

stuff my friends send, and the search function on it works nicely, just search "........ explosion" and you can see about anything explode...

 

In an engine you need the correct mixture, but in the free air you don't. You have an abundance of O2, so all petrol can ignite. With diesel, only the vapours are flamable, but with benzine the liquid ignites, but regardless of that, every fluid vaporizes, even at room temperature. So, you always have vapour present, which will cause the rest to vaporize and ignite once it has ignited itself.

I feel quite confident that the manufacturers are aware of the Li explosion phenomena, and did what was needed to avoid these explosions. Certainly when they want to turn this into a production car they need to do that.

 

Benzene is not an alkane, it is an aromatic. Anyway, I wasn't attempting to start a chemistry argument over a simple statement, I am just saying petros are not as unstable as most think.

 

they are stable alright... but they are still very flammable and dangerous...

 

according to the video by popular mechanics the guy from their company said the front end of the car houses the battery, motor, etc etc etc. If this is the case then personally it looks like a bad idea. In gas powered cars how often do you see explosion from the gas tank in real life. not simulated tests. very few b/c in almost every car i have seen has the gas tank in front of the rear axle and behind the front. so it has a barrier on the front and back that it is protected through. On this electric car they are putting it in the front most part of the car and really dont cage the drive terrain equipment good enough. just personal opinion.

"Chemical dangers: Heating may cause violent combustion or explosion. The substance may spontaneously ignite on contact with air when finely dispersed. Upon heating, toxic fumes are formed. Reacts violently with strong oxidants, acids and many compounds (hydrocarbons, halogens, halons, concrete, sand and asbestos) causing fire and explosion hazard. Reacts violently with water, forming highly flammable hydrogen gas and corrosive fumes of lithium hydroxide."

lithium is the most reactive of the alkalis. it will react with almost every thing that is why it is hardly ever found in nature in its pure form.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=4OsBc8RqSKU

as soon as the lithium is exposed to air it reacts very violently.

 

Usually only to open flame and when vaporized. There really aren't any opportunities to generate open flames in a car nor on the road, except when the injectors vaporize the gasoline. So petroleum is very safe compared to, say, hydrogen. But even hydrogen safe, too, and it will only burn at a constant rate, not explode.