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300 Miles Per Gallon! Aptera Motors Unveils Ultra Efficient All-
Electric and Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles
Today, Aptera officially unveiled two vehicles that could change the
future of automotive design. Aptera's Typ-1 is a radically different
vehicle designed to marry advanced aerodynamics with light-weight
composite technology creating an incredibly powerful, yet extremely
safe vehicle that is a joy to drive -- even for the most performance-
minded individuals. The Aptera Typ-1 will be available in all-
electric and hybrid models for less than $30,000, the electric
version slated for delivery in 2008 with the hybrid model to follow.
The all-electric model has a range of 120 miles. The plug-in series
hybrid has achieved more than 300 miles per gallon with a range of
more than 600 miles. Both versions are loaded with safety features.
300 Miles Per Gallon! Aptera Motors Unveils Ultra Efficient All-
Electric and Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles
Today, Aptera officially unveiled two vehicles that could change the
future of automotive design. Aptera's Typ-1 is a radically different
vehicle designed to marry advanced aerodynamics with light-weight
composite technology creating an incredibly powerful, yet extremely
safe vehicle that is a joy to drive -- even for the most performance-
minded individuals. The Aptera Typ-1 will be available in all-
electric and hybrid models for less than $30,000, the electric
version slated for delivery in 2008 with the hybrid model to follow.
The all-electric model has a range of 120 miles. The plug-in series
hybrid has achieved more than 300 miles per gallon with a range of
more than 600 miles. Both versions are loaded with safety features.
"Unveiling the Aptera Typ-1 represents a pivotal point in automotive
history as we mark the transition from research and development to
manufacturing the most energy efficient vehicle with a price tag to
fit almost any budget," said Co-Founder & CEO, Steve Fambro.
Through extensive fluid dynamics modeling and materials engineering,
the Aptera team has created the most efficient, lowest-drag shape
that can surround two occupants side-by-side, and has made safety a
priority in the design. Additionally, the car features three wheels,
making it eligible for most carpool lanes, even with only one person
in the vehicle.
The car has "two plus one" seating offering ample room for driver and
passenger while an infant seat (for newborns to age three) can be
located in the middle behind them. Storage room is also generous with
enough space to fit 15 bags of groceries, two full-size golf club
bags or even a couple of seven foot surf boards with the infant seat
removed.
The Aptera Typ-1 is loaded with safety features. They include a front
crumple zone, a front end that re-directs crash energy in a frontal
impact, steel and composite side and rollover protection as well as
driver and passenger side airbags.
The Aptera Typ-1 is available in two models:
All Electric – This model is powered exclusively with batteries and
will get someone around town for approximately 120 miles depending on
driving conditions. At night, simply plug the Aptera into any
standard 110-volt outlet, and in just a few hours, the vehicle will
be fully charged and ready for another 120 miles.
Plug-In Hybrid – The Aptera hybrid is powered by an electric drive
train but is also assisted by a fuel-efficient gasoline-powered
generator, which stretches the range considerably. In typical
driving, the hybrid Aptera may achieve over 300 miles per gallon, a
range far beyond any other passenger vehicle available today.
The Aptera Typ-1 also offers features that typically are not found on
any vehicle, much less a hybrid or all-electric model. Solar cells
embedded under the roof operate an always-on climate control system,
ensuring the interior never gets too hot or too cold. The dashboard
display and infotainment system is controlled by an in-vehicle
computer, which also controls the "Eyes Forward" vision system. By
replacing the side mirrors with embedded cameras that display a 180-
degree rear view in the front of the instrument panel, Eyes Forward
gives the driver complete situational awareness without taking their
eyes off of the road.
Other standard features include:
Driver and passenger side airbags
Energy absorbing and impact deflecting passenger safety cell
Advanced drive computer with GPS navigation, CD/MP3/DVD player, XM
satellite radio
Large rear view camera and complete vehicle diagnostic system
LED interior and exterior lighting for maximum energy efficiency
An RFID (Radio Frequency ID) – an automatic identification method so
a driver never has to pull out their keys to enter or start their
Aptera
USB port for powering a laptop or charging an MP3 player and other
mobile devices
Fully refundable reservation deposits of $500 are now being accepted
from California residents on the Aptera website
(http://www.aptera.com). The company will initially deliver vehicles
in Southern California, then in northern California and to other
regions nationwide.
"Initial response has been tremendous; validating our belief that
future-minded consumers want a vehicle that is sleek, safe, eco-
conscious and affordable. Through word-of-mouth alone, we've already
received more than 400 pre-sale deposits," added Fambro.
Aptera is backed by Idealab and Esenjay Investments with initial
financing allocated to building the Typ-1 all-electric and plug-in
hybrid prototypes. Aptera is currently raising additional capital to
begin manufacturing.
About Aptera
Aptera, Greek for "Wingless Flight," delivers on its name with a
radically different vehicle designed to marry advanced aerodynamics
with light-weight composite technology to create an incredibly
powerful, yet extremely safe vehicle that is a joy to drive. The
Aptera Typ-1 will be available in all-electric and hybrid models for
less than $30,000. The all-electric model has a range of about 120
miles. The plug-in series hybrid has achieved more than 300 miles per
gallon with a range of more than 600 miles. Both versions are loaded
with safety features. Aptera is backed by Idealab and Esenjay
Petroleum and is headquartered in Carlsbad, California.
www.aptera.com
Used tags: fuel_efficient_vehicle, hybrid_vehicle, plug_in_car
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Sunday 28 December 2008 at 6:27 pm
Los Angeles - A California liposuction doctor has lost his license to practice after being busted for using human fat he sucked out of patients bodies to fuel his car. As it turns out, using human medical waste in California is illegal.
Doctor Craig Bittner, who operated a fat clinic in Beverly Hills, California up until November when he was shut down for his morbid use of human body fat, was creating what he called "lipodiesel" out of the human waste collected from his clinic's liposuction practice.
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Sunday 28 December 2008 at 6:08 pm
Washington - In 1941, Henry Ford unveiled a plastic-bodied car whose panels included soybean meal as component. The feat made headlines--and history--but the idea never took off commercially. However, researchers continue to toy with the idea, including (ARS) scientists Lei Jong and Jeffrey Byars, who are testing soy flour as a "green" filler for tires and other natural rubber products.
Today's fillers are typically petroleum-based particles called "carbon black." Tire manufacturers use them in rubber to improve tensile strength and wear resistance. But petroleum's many competing uses, rising costs and ties to pollution have rekindled interest in biobased alternatives, especially those derived from homegrown crops like soybeans.
Soy flour is primarily used in cooking and baking. But Jong and Byars' studies at the ARS Cereal Products and Food Science Research Unit in Peoria, Ill., indicate the flour also could serve as an inexpensive alternative to today's carbon-black tire fillers.
The researchers use defatted soy flour that's been dispersed in water to form aggregates 10 microns in diameter (about 1/1000th of an inch). Then they add the aggregates to rubber latex and freeze-dry the mixture. This causes the aggregates to form a tight interconnecting network through the rubber.
For lab tests, the researchers mold the soy-based rubber into samples and subject them to shearing and other forces. Of particular interest is the "storage modulus," which measures the elasticity of a material. On average, the storage modulus scores of composites containing 30 percent soy flour are 20 times higher than filler-free rubber, but somewhat lower than those reinforced with carbon black.
In addition to testing other biobased filler materials, the researchers are collaborating with rubber manufacturers to further explore the technology.
A report on the research was recently published online in the Journal of Applied Polymer Science.
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Sunday 28 December 2008 at 6:01 pm
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Friday 17 October 2008 at 2:55 pm
Toward a greener economy
By Moises Velasquez-Manoff
New York - Market bubbles occur when goods are traded at prices that greatly exceed real value. They burst when they grow so bloated that they become unstable. The current economic turmoil, widely viewed as the worst since 1929, is one example of what can happen when the difference between market value and actual value becomes too great.
Environmentally minded economists have long warned that equally burstable ecological bubbles can occur if humanity lives beyond earth's capacity to regenerate. The problem, they say, is that we're addicted to economic growth. Mainstream economics assumes that the economy, the engine of modern civilization, can grow perpetually.
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Sunday 12 October 2008 at 06:23 am
Renewable Electricity Surges by 32 percent-Provides 11 percent of U.S. Net Generation
Washington - According to the latest "Monthly Electricity Review" issued by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (October 3, 2008), net U.S. generation of electricity from renewable energy sources surged by 32 percent in June 2008 compared to June 2007.
Renewable energy (biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) totaled 41,160,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) in June 2008 up from 31,242,000 MWh in June 2007. Renewables accounted for 11.0 percent of net U.S. electricity generation in June 2008 compared to 8.6 percent in June 2007.
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Sunday 12 October 2008 at 06:15 am
City Trash Plus Farm Leftovers May Yield Clean Energy
Washington - Tomorrow's household garbage might be blended with after-harvest leftovers from fields, orchards, and vineyards to make ethanol and other kinds of bioenergy. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are investigating this straightforward, eco-friendly strategy in their laboratories at the agency's Western Regional Research Center in Albany, Calif.
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Monday 29 September 2008 at 02:52 am
Big Help in Biofuels Research
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Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists like John Vogel and Yong Gu at the agency's Western Regional Research Center in Albany, Calif., are probing the genetic makeup of purple false brome, or Brachypodium distachyon, as a faster way to learn more about the genes inside switchgrass.
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Monday 29 September 2008 at 02:43 am
By Mark Clayton
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Just what that price will be won't be known until after Thursday's computerized auction of about 12.5 million tons of "carbon allowances," essentially permission slips to pollute.
Utility companies will bid on the allowances. They may be used, saved, or traded so that any company with a need to send more CO2 up the stack can buy more - at the market price. The amount of CO2 to be cut over the next decade is modest - about 18 million tons annually (US power plants collectively emit about 2.8 billion tons of CO2 yearly). But the auction and process of setting a price for carbon are critical first steps, many say.
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Saturday 13 September 2008 at 5:18 pm
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Saturday 13 September 2008 at 5:08 pm
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Sixteen schools across the country, from Long Island to Hawaii, participated in the initial “Trees for Success” campaign, with more than 800 trees planted in schools and neighboring parks in a single day. The schools were selected by the Arbor Day Foundation out of more than 200 applications based on need, civic and local support, student involvement, a plan for upkeep, and location.
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