Li-Ion Motors Plans

[evmavin]

I out this company in the Myers Motors bucket but worse. Another failed business model that will never be profitable or succeed. I don't expect any of the x-prize stuff to ever make it, inc Aptera. I really think this forum should become a general EV forum and not just Aptera. Zap has more revenue potential than the former two.

[SlowSRT4]

Originally Posted by Grendal

New developments brought up at ABG:

http://green.autoblog.com/2011/01/11...-detroit-2011/

5 people put money down on the Wave II! The X-prize certainly made a huge impact for this company...

In the video, they are performing multiple burnout maneuverers on public roads. That just seems sloppy.

[NeilBlanchard]

Whatever is in their past, they did build a "winning" car for the X-Prize. While I was there, I saw them act selflessly, including helping rescue the Tango when he had run out of power.

I too am wary about them, seeing as they have reneged on the agreement made at the X-Prize. We'll see how they are able to do with their successes so far -- actions speak louder than words.

[kerbe]

Pardon my naivete, but why is it so difficult for companies to get an electric car up and running? Baker did it before WW1... Is it lack of capital? Or is it just hubris?

[PatQ562]

Any home builder can make a vehicle like a 1914 Baker Electric - lead batteries, 20 mph, boxy cabin with plate glass windows, poor brakes, no heater, no safety bags etc. In fact you can buy snappy new ones any time you want for under $10,000 - they're called NEVs (Neighborhood Electric Vehicles).

The modern full-speed car market is incredibly demanding and competitive. 99.9% of the public just WON'T pay "twice as much for half the car" (ie, $40K for a car that goes maybe 100 miles). Even the short cuts, such as using the 3-wheel motorcycle loophole, requires a lot of custom engineering to make a reasonably safe vehicle that will take to the freeway without the wheels falling off. A good battery pack alone costs as much as an entire entry-level gas powered car.

Hence the high degree of anger at Aptera's failure. They had way more money than the other startups, and frittered it away trying to be perfect instead of getting something decent on the road.

Pat Q

[SEGsby]

I would *KILL* to have an original Baker Electric in working condition...

[PatQ562]

They're out there. I rode in a Denver-built competitor many years ago whose advertising bragged about winning a range contest (over 100 miles I think). The controls were appealingly simple. Approx 84V lead battery string. The speed controller was a hand lever hooked to a large segmented copper cylinder with multiple contact points. The motor had a series and shunt field. Speed 1 was full shunt field, with resistance in series. Speed 2 was full shunt field, with less resistance. Speed 3 was full shunt field, no resistance, giving a stable speed of about 12-15 mph. Speed 4 weakened the shunt field, causing the motor to speed up. Speed 5 turned off the shunt field, using only the series field, which causes the motor to speed up quite a bit on the level, to maybe 25 mph, although it slows noticeably on any grade. Of course, we're basically riding around in a wooden box with windows, with a muted trundling from the underpinnings.

Pat Q