[as the] Radar Sweeps

Your Name, Your Work

When I was in training at the FAA Air Traffic Controller Academy in Oklahoma City in the spring of ‘77 I took a tour of the National Weather Service office next door. I’m sure I saw things that were both important and relevant to my work but somehow the only thing I remember is the plaque on the wall with the name of the then director of the NWS: Charles W. Sprinkle. Somehow that stuck.

Likewise, while reading 1 Gallon of Gas, 100 Miles - $10 Million: The Race to Build the Supergreen Car in the current issue of Wired I had the same feeling: the chief aerodynamicist at Aptera, a Carlsbad, CA startup trying to build a very fuel-efficient car is named in the article as Miles Wheeler. The guy responsible for extending the range of a low-power, high-mileage, 3-wheeled motorcycle is named Miles? And his last name is Wheeler? Really? “Miles, I’d like you to meet my friend Charles W. Sprinkle…”

Green + Green

Now I have been very happily driving my Honda Insight for the last 75,000 miles, and I have averaged just under 55 MPG. I fill up about once a month, and this means that I’m being green in two ways: environmentally and economically. When compared to a more common 22 MPG, in addition to all the CO2 I didn’t emit, I have saved about $6,000 during that time just in fuel. Not bad, but the Aptera Typ-1 will likely more than double that fuel economy.

Aptera Typ-1

It is planned to come in two flavors: all-electric and plug-in hybrid [PHEV]. The electric-only flavor is expected to have a range of about 120 miles. It is probably too early to tell what the expected “average” fuel economy will be for the PHEV version but homebrew, plug-in conversions of the Toyota Prius increase mileage significantly - folks are talking roughly 100 MPG. And yes, even when you take into account the upstream pollution from the power plants supplying the electricity for the overnight charge, CO2 emissions are reduced. Of course, if you generate the juice from PV panels on the roof there is zero upstream pollution, and zero recurring cost.

Automotive X Prize - AXP

Aptera is also competing for the AXP, a $10M prize designed to stimulate the production of “viable, clean and super-efficient cars that people want to buy.”

Gonna Get One

So this is just too good: the company and factory is just down the road, so when issues arise [they will] dealing with them shouldn’t be too painful. I still have room on the roof for additional PV panels, which will be able to power this car and probably a few others if some neighbors want to “tank up” with clean, free, abundant fuel. The PHEV is going to sell for just under $30,000 and is expected to go into production in about a year.

I just put down a deposit for an Aptera Typ-1, delivery position #824. Looks like I have some time to add the panels.