This is a cell-phone quality video, but an interesting inside view of the the Aptera prototype.

Click here for link.

Sometimes it pays to be an early adapter.  In August the U.S. Department of Energy announced a grant of $99.8 million to implement the largest transportation electrification project in U.S. history.  San Diego was one of only five cities selected.  One thousand Nissan Leafs will be deployed in San Diego market.  The San Diego Nissan Leaf early adapters will receive the FREE use of a residential charging station.  SDG&E will track, monitor and evaluate.

Check out the Nissan Leaf for yourself at the Town & Country Convention Center in Hotel Circle this Saturday November 21st at 1:00 PM.  Click here for tour details.

Link:  San Diego Alternative Fuels Education Day 2009

Press Release:  November 19, 2009

LA Times article with photo:  Nissan is turning over a new zero-emission Leaf

The Huntington Post article with photos:  Nissan Leaf EV launched in USA

Quick.  How many automotive firms are there in the United States?  Way more than I ever dreamed.  The Progressive Automotive X PRIZE attracted entries from 111 teams of which 88 are from the United States.  Competing for the $10 million jackpot are names we recognize  like Tesla Motors and those we do not including my favorite,7K Hamsters, which unfortunately did not make the cut.  On Monday the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE announced that 43 teams with 53 vehicles from 18 US States and 11 countries had made it through the stringent Design Judging phase.  Making the short list were two San Diego innovators, Aptera and SSI-Racing.  These teams will now be entering the final competition events that will be taking place from May 2010 with the announcement of the winners that Fall.  A no-show in the competition was Fisker Automotive.  I guess the opportunity to score $10 million looks like chump change compared to the $529 million loan the Federal government is sending their way. 

The goal of the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE is to inspire a new generation of super-efficient vehicles that help break our addiction to oil and stem the effects of climate change.   Click here for contest details. 

The X Prize Foundation is the brilliant vision of Dr. Peter Diamandis.  In May we were fortunate to have Dr. Diamandis share an evening with us at the MIT Enterprise Forum.  Click here for Bruce Bigelow’s article in Xconomy.

My October 12^_th post, Surf City as Motor City, noted that Aptera’s “quest for funds was stymied because the Aptera 2e’s design is one wheel short of the standard four”.  A Senate vote on Thursday expanded the scope of qualifying vehicles to include Aptera-like designs.  If the bill is signed into law by the President, Aptera can apply for funds under the Department of Energy loan program for green cars just like their four-wheeled competitors.

The frequent references to San Diego as a global leader in clean tech are often illustrated by regional activities in solar, wind, water, smart grid and energy efficiency.  A perusal of the CleanTECH San Diego company database also reveals a mini-Mo Town of 25 ventures in the Transport Technology category.  Five of the companies have made the headlines recently.

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is the living legend in the venture capital universe.  Their successes include Amazon.com, Compaq, Electronic Arts, Genentech, Google, Intuit, Lotus Development, Netscape, Segway, Sun Microsystems and scores of other ventures over a 37 year history.  Their lead in the launch of San Diego-based V Vehicle Company is just one piece of their huge commitment to invest in clean tech and transportation.  Kleiner Perkins is joined in their investment by the VC arm of Google and part-time San Diegan T. Boone Pickens.  Manufacturing of the yet-to-be-unveiled automobile will take place in Louisiana.  If all the Federal and state loans fall in place, the total investment will exceed $500 million.  Former Oracle executive, Frank Varasano of San Diego, is the company’s CEO.  Wrapped in product secrecy, V Vehicle’s website has a video and information about their plans to hire 1400 workers.

Carlsbad-based Aptera has a waiting list of over 4,000 early adapters who have written deposit checks for the yet-to-be-offered three-wheeled, super aero-dynamic electric vehicle.  Looking like a cross between an albino lobster and George Jetson’s commuter car, the Aptera comes with a built-in fan club that is drawn to the car’s futuristic appearance, three-digit MPG comparisons and cocktail-party-conversation features such as solar assisted climate control.  Originally funded last year for $24 million from Google, Idealab and individual investors, Aptera seeks Federal loans to accelerate their production capability.  Their quest for funds was stymied because the Aptera 2e’s design is one wheel short of the standard four.  Local Congressman Brian Bilbray is grinding through the legislative process to include “fully enclosed vehicles that are capable of carrying two adults and get at least 75 mpg.”

The recent input of over $12 million will rev-up San Diego’s Achates Power in their efforts to build the internal combustion engine equivalent of Doctor Dolittle’s pushmi-pullyu.  Their 4.2L automotive engine design is a high-efficiency two-stroke power plant which features two opposing pistons in each cylinder.  The Achates Power value proposition is an “unparalleled combination of fuel efficiency (more…)