FuelMonger

While the large car manufacturers seem to be dragging their feet in bringing electric car technology to the masses, smaller companies, such as Aptera, are working hard to make this technology a feasible reality. The lucky residents of California can now begin reserving the new Aptera, a vehicle so fuel efficient that the first prototype built achieved 230 miles per gallon. After more work to streamline the design, the company is now taking reservations for this vehicle as it gets ready to begin putting them on the market.

The vehicle is an electric, two seat, three wheeled vehicle. It looks like a Jetson’s era car, however it is technically registered as a motorcycle. It is completely closed in, and despite falling into the motorcycle category, it meets or exceeds safety specifications for cars such as airbag-in seatbelt technology and an extremely strong frame. Additionally, to help alleviate the possibility of a rollover the Aptera has two wheels in the front and one in the back, which is different than most three wheeled vehicles.

The makers of the Aptera manufacture two types of engines for it, an electric and a gasoline hybrid. Both will be on the market by 2009. It is currently only offered in California due to the manufacturer’s ability to provide services to the car. As they expand they hope to offer it in more states.

The Aptera is just one example of a small company making huge strides in an effort to make truly fuel efficient vehicles a reality for the general population. At Fuelmonger.com we look forward to tracking the progress of this nifty little vehicle and hope Fuelmonger.com readers out in California will at least give this vehicle a look when thinking about their next car purchase.

For more information on the Aptera, we recommend the following websites:
http://www.aptera.com/
http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4237853.html

*A special thanks to Radman for bringing the fabulous Aptera to our attention. As he put it “That car is so awesome that it makes me feel ashamed about my Mini’s fuel efficiency.”

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