Aptera

Much of the energy and growth in the U.S. economy comes not from large corporations but from small startup companies, as economic data shows. By now, the model of a young, energetic entrepreneur with a bright idea who turns it into a world-changing business is well established. Think Facebook or...

What do the Elio, Aptera, Toyota i-Road concept and the spectacularly awful Zap Xebra have in common? They--and many more small-volume economical vehicles and concepts besides--all use one fewer wheel than the norm. Yet giving fuel-saving cars just three wheels is not a new phenomenon, stretching...

A great many people were disappointed--though perhaps not surprised--when green automaker Aptera closed its doors in late 2011. Its project, the Aptera 2e, promised to be one of the most efficient vehicles on the road, but the company suffered the usual startup automaker pitfalls and disappeared...

If at first you don't succeed, try again. It's a positive, optimistic attitude that can go a long way when presented with challenges--such as your first electric car company disappearing after several years of optimism and hype. That's what happened to Aptera, builders of a tadpole-like, two-seat...

Last week, something miraculous happened: after more than a year of being prepped for burial, Saab rose from the dead. Of course, there had been previous attempts to revive the quirky car company -- notably, one led by Chinese investors Pang Da and Youngman (subsequently, a Chinese bank and...

Have you noticed today’s date? Unless you’re of Italian or Spanish descent (those nations consider Tuesday the 13th and Thursday the 17th bad luck), you might consider today to be an inherently unlucky. But before you cross yourself, reach for the four-leaf clover, or hide under the...

It's not the best photo, but it means a lot to the 19 people in it. Posed in front of a mirrored glass office building under a colorful logo, they are the final employees of the now-defunct Aptera Motors on the last day of its existence: Friday, December 2. Now we can bring you the inside...

Steve Fambro, the man behind the revolutionary and futuristic design that was the Aptera 2e electric car, 2h plug-in hybrid and 2g ultra-high mpg gasoline car, is breaking silence and giving his first public interview today on the online green transport show TransportEvolved. Hosted by our very own...

At the end of last week we broke the news that Aptera, the company responsible for the futuristic three-wheeled electric car known as the Aptera 2e was closing down. Now a series of YouTube videos have surfaced showing people we assume to be Aptera employees wilfully destroying Aptera body shells...

On Friday, Aptera CEO Paul Wilbur sent out an email with the news that the Aptera 2e -- the all-electric, two-seat, ultra-efficient car we’ve awaited for nearly five years -- wouldn’t be making it into production. As the long, drawn-out story that has been Aptera’s existence...

Aptera Motors - the Californian automaker which has been telling us for five years that it would revolutionize the world of electric vehicles - might be refunding each and every person who had put down a reservation for its 2e electric car, but it is not dead, Aptera CEO Paul Wilbur has said...

It was great while it lasted, but the dream of being able to buy a sleek, three-wheeled Aptera 2e electric car seems to be receding into the distance. A month ago, the company stopped taking deposits for new Apteras, blaming an issue with the escrow account in which they were held. Now, the company...

Last week we told you that Aptera Motors had temporarily halted its online reservation system for its three-wheeled, two seat, ultra-efficient 2e electric car. Unusually quiet since its failure to win the Progressive Insurance Automotive X-Prize, we contacted Aptera to check everything was okay and...

One of the most remarkable--and most delayed--of the promised new generation of electric cars is the three-wheeled Aptera 2e. The unusual, highly aerodynamic vehicle was designed by a startup automaker in Southern California. The resin-bodied car was a finalist at last year’s Auto X-Prize...

As electric cars make their way to market, one funky little vehicle has captured plenty of attention for its unusual looks. That would be the Aptera 2e. The car is more than just an exercise in styling: Aptera plans to bring the car to market in late 2011. To that end, the company has been bringing...

We've been watching it roll closer for years, and now it's all but here: A new era of electric cars. Just three or four months from now, the first highway-capable electric vehicles sold in volume by global automakers will appear in showrooms in California and other regions. By the end of 2011...

Optimism is a useful thing for a startup company, maybe even a requirement. But the April newsletter from Aptera Motors, which is struggling to launch its ultra-aerodynamic three-wheeled electric vehicle in the face of delays and funding constraints, smooths over some crucial handling issues with...

Earlier this week Californian start-up Aptera unveiled its official pre-production prototype for its upcoming 2e electric vehicle, along with many of the specs for the final full-production model to come in about 11 months--once the final financing hurdle is cleared that is. There will be several...

On Friday, Aptera held its first online Town Hall Meeting--a chat among eager followers and some of the Aptera marketing team. Their intent, according to the opening spiel,  was to "reduce some of the mystery around the company and open our supporters and depositors up to some of the great things...

We're now well and truly on the road to plug-in vehicle nirvana, with the 2011 Nissan Leaf, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, and various other plug-in and electric vehicles due to hit the market within the next couple of years. But there now seem to be hundreds of car companies, enthusiastic business...