Late Night Hosts Love EVs, Part II: Jay Leno And The Aptera 2e

By Richard Read

Jay Leno and the Aptera 2e

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Not to be outdone by David Letterman's EV love-fest, Jay Leno has posted his review of the Aptera 2e to JayLenosGarage.com. Clearly, now is the time for all late night hosts to come to the aid of electric cars. Next up: Jon Stewart invites Sarah Vowell to help him take on the RORMaxx Formula AE. (We hope.)

In the clip, Leno and Aptera's low-key front man, Greg Wilbur, discuss the finer points of the 2e--notably, its look. Leno seems pretty well smitten on that front, saying that it's "an exciting looking automobile". Also exciting (at least for the folks at Aptera): someone with the star status and car cred of Jay Leno endorsing such an outside-the-box vehicle.

Of course, as funky looking as the 2e is, no review would be complete without putting it through its paces, and Leno does just that. Hurtling down the freeway, he praises its "George Jetson feel" and insists that it's fun to drive. The three-wheeled Aptera's only shortcoming? Dodging road hazards: "If you see a pothole in the road, you're gonna hit it with something."

There are two other great moments in the clip--the first being Leno's market analysis. He bemoans the high cost of EVs like the Tesla Roadster and says that "if they can bring [the Aptera 2e] in for under forty [thousand], I think it'll be, uh,...very, very exciting." It's the "uh" that kills us--as in, "it'll be, uh...very exciting...for the people who buy one, but I will not be in that number."

The second moment: when Leno half-jokingly encourages Aptera owners to save all the money they would've spent on gas and buy a private jet. Which would be possible, perhaps, but isn't part of the point of the 2e to cut down on air pollution--you know, like the air pollution caused by jet planes? Fifteen minutes in the air, and hell, you might as well buy a Hummer. (Assuming Hummer's still around, of course.)

[source: JayLenosGarage via Edmunds]

Texas Teen Builds His Own Electric Car on $10,000 Budget

Written by Andrew Williams

17
votesBuzz up!

This fall, Texas teenager Lucas Laborde will be driving to school in an electric car he built himself. The 17 year old spent last summer converting a conventional gas-powered car to run on batteries. Total cost? Around $10,000.

Luke’s EV is based on a kit car, known as a Bradley GT II, which his father bought on eBay for just $5000 splashing out a further $5700 on electric conversion parts and batteries. The rest was left up to Luke’s ingenuity and technical know-how.

After 150 hours of work, Luke had hooked up eight 80-pound lead-acid batteries in the space left after removing the fuel tank, as well as several other ‘creative locations.’ He finished up with an EV capable of travelling 40 miles between charges, a top speed of 45mph, (more than enough for the local school run), and heaps of low-end torque. As Luke told reporters, “it has a lot of power.”

The car isn’t without a few ‘quirks’ though; the weight of the batteries has caused the fiberglas body to twist slightly, meaning that the gull-wing doors don’t completely close. However, by using his own initiative, and making use of widely available existing components, Luke Laborde has put many global car companies to shame by creating a working, highway-ready EV, in far less time and on a much lower budget.

Image Credit - Steve Striharsky at bradleygt2.com