The Aptera

Due to the current environmental crisis, sustainable design is more important than ever. And considering the finite supply of current fuel resources, solutions for alternative transportation is paramount to the functioning of our vehicular dependent society.

Meet the Aptera. An independent motor company based out of Carlsbad, Ca and founded by electrical engineer Steven Fambro. The Aptera has been in the works since 2005, and has been scheduled for release 3 months for the past year and a half. It's a futuristic-looking, two-seater, three-wheeled model which resembles the likes of an airplane and spaceship. It also comes in hybrid and electric configurations and gets a whopping 300 mpg. The other good news is its price tag; Aptera's will be priced between the $30,000- $40,000 range, with the base model somewhere around $25,000. Not only is it efficient, sustainable and cool, its manufacturers recognize the need to distribute to a wide market. This is not the vehicle of the elite. This is the vehicle for anyone. www.aptera.com

The Aptera is a great example of solution-oriented design. Clearly, our society is in desperate need of alternative solutions to the transportation dilemma. The Aptera not only provides a solution through efficiency, it also does it through an innovated model. The "shell" of the Aptera is completely original in design, defying the expectations of what a vehicle should appear to be. Since its manufacturer is independent, let's hope their motives are more altruistic than simply meeting the bottom line. Car manufacturers, politics and oil companies are so entangled with one another, the priorities of our environment and generating sustainable products have taken a backseat to profit margins. I commend Aptera for going against the motor-trend grain and developing a product that counters the petroleum-reliant model.

I have high hopes that the brilliant design of the Aptera will spring a new trend among automakers across the globe, reducing our carbon footprint and restructuring a facet of our culture so integral in our ability to thrive.