Steve Fambro on Transport Evolved

[TruthSeeker]

Originally Posted by Phoenix MD

Yes SEGsby, that is a very concerning possiblity... and seems completely in keeping with what has historically happened in other similar circumstances (I'm thinking here of Petrocorp locking away new battery technology from use in EVs by buying the companies that owned the patents).

If I were Detroit, what would scare me most at this point about Aptera is not that it is an EV innovator (there are too many other EVs coming from Japan and China for that to be it at this point in time). What would scare me is the thought of consumers having a choice that wouldn't rust and that was built with the idea of lasting for 100 years with simplicity and very few moving parts. The elimination of planned obsolesence. The elimination of a business model based on supplying repair parts as much or more than that of supplying cars.

I don't know PW, I don't know Steve personally (though I'd enjoy that), and I don't know anyone on Aptera's board or staff. I guess that its more likely that PW and the board acted as they did thinking that it was in their own best interests to keep the company from making any vehicles, to alienate their base, and to pin their hopes on a government hail-mary financing deal (as crazy as all of that sounds). But, somewhere deep down, I have to suppress this little "conspiracy voice" that wonders if someone called someone who called PW and said something along the lines of, " Paul, here's what we'd like you to do. We'll get you in. Once we get you in, you put your people into the power positions. Then discredit the company and destroy their product as best you can. Make it complicated and heavy and ineffficient and preferably ugly. Along the way, you get to drain the company for whatever you can. Then, when you've made the company a joke, you go ahead and bankrupt it. I know that all of this won't look very good on your resume, but don't worry, we're going to more than make it worth your while. In addition to what you can drain out of the company before you bankrupt it, we're going to make sure that afterwards you'll be very, very comfortable. We take care of our friends."

Perhaps, if Steve (or one of the other originators) happens across this posting they might reply with a brief reply about something I've wondered...
If the original team that came up with the most finished Aptera prototype (the one before PW started "tweaking" it into nonexistence), if that original team were reassembled, and given all that they have learned so far; wouldn't it be much faster and more cost efficient to redesign a new vehicle that was just different enough to skirt around whatever patents the now defunct Aptera corp is about to sell off into possible "enemy hands"? Something along the lines of how Chinese car companies obviously copy other country's cars. But, in this case you'd be basically copying your past efforts.
Or, perhaps the patents are specific enough that that'd not be possible?

The Joke is on Paul Wilbur. He never Patient the Aptera Typ-1. . Steve and Chris could redesign the Aptera Typ-1 to be a Four Door, Three Wheel and Five Seater Hybrid Vehicle. They sell it and the public buys it up. This keeps going on for a while. Then Aptera becomes a major player in the auto industry in a few years.

[SEGsby]

BTW, just a General Reminder:

It's considered good forum etiquette to not post a single sentence of reply along with a complete 5 paragraph quotation.

Everyone is encouraged to edit down what they're quoting, to just the relevant parts / ideas the reply is focusing on. It takes a little bit more time, but it will make the forum much easier for everyone to read new material.

Thanks in advance to everyone for their cooperation.

[TruthSeeker]

Originally Posted by SEGsby

BTW, just a General Reminder:

It's considered good forum etiquette to not post a single sentence of reply along with a complete 5 paragraph quotation.

Everyone is encouraged to edit down what they're quoting, to just the relevant parts / ideas the reply is focusing on. It takes a little bit more time, but it will make the forum much easier for everyone to read new material.

Thanks in advance to everyone for their cooperation.

Alright. Thanks for the info. It will help make my job a little easier next time.

[oldmotorhead]

And then I'll get on my knees and pray...we don't get fooled again!!!!