solar car tours (37)

Solar Car 37 : esthétisme, protection et confort !

Personnalisez votre véhicule à Vernou-sur-Brenne avec Solar Car 37

Pose de vitres et de feux teintés, covering, déchromage en indre-et-loire pose de ciels étoiles, rénovation d'optique de phares, nettoyage automobile.

Solar Car 37 à Vernou-sur-Brenne est spécialisée dans la personnalisation de véhicules .

Pour la pose de vitres ou de feux teintés , nous vous assurons des prestations sur mesure.

Nous réalisons aussi le covering et le déchromage de votre véhicule.

Nous vous proposons une large gamme de films solaires teintés homologués.

Vous pouvez modifier l’esthétique de votre voiture avec un covering total (recouvrement complet) ou partiel (toit, capot, rétroviseurs…).

Nous disposons d’une large gamme d’adhésifs et de couleurs pour répondre à toutes vos demandes.

Nous pouvons aussi recouvrer les parties chromées de votre véhicule avec du vinyle : contour de la calandre, contour des vitres, éléments à l’intérieur de votre véhicule, barres de toit, logos constructeurs…

Pour donner de la visibilité à votre entreprise, nous effectuons la création et la pose d' adhésifs publicitaires .

Confiez-nous votre voiture et changez son style !

Réduisez nettement le risque d’effraction de votre véhicule grâce à nos films solaires qui sont antieffraction !

Nous vous assurons aussi une pose conforme à la règlementation en place depuis le 1er janvier 2017 qui fixe la TLV (Transmission de Lumière Visible) à 30% sur vos vitres avant.

En faisant appel à nos services, vous limitez les risques de bris de glace, de car-jacking…

Nos films solaires aident à protéger vos équipements intérieurs en rejetant 99,9% des rayons UV.

Ils rejettent l’énergie solaire à l’extérieur de votre habitacle et réduisent la chaleur à l’intérieur de votre véhicule.

Apportez une jolie touche esthétique à votre voiture grâce à notre gamme de films teintés garantis 10 ans !

Pourquoi choisir Solar Car 37 ?

Disponibilité et réactivité

Service de qualité

Travail soigné

Nos partenaires dans le domaine de l’automobile

Zone d’intervention

Nous intervenons uniquement chez les particuliers pour la  rénovation de phares  et pour la pose de  films solaires & décoratifs sur les bâtiments.

Nous nous déplaçons dans un rayon de 60 km autour de Vernou-sur-Brenne 

Demander un devis

06 12 04 57 00

7 route de Launay 37210 Vernou-sur-Brenne

Nous rejoindre

Electric Cars With Solar Panels: Can They Work?

Will the sun power your car soon or is that science fiction.

There are several electric cars with solar panels available today — some recharge the smaller 12-volt battery that runs your air conditioning, while others can top you up with a few miles of electric range — but at this time, no commercially available solar panels are capable of fully powering an electric vehicle (EV). That said, this concept isn't as far away as it might've been 20 years ago. Here's why.

In theory, the dream of solar energy is an exciting one. You put a few square meters of solar panels somewhere that gets a reasonable amount of exposure to that big, bright ball in the sky and, hey, you've got free limitless electricity to power your car, house or business. But in practice, many hurdles must be overcome for an electric car to run fully on solar energy.

Which electric cars have solar panels?

Fisker Ocean : Fisker's Ocean promises a lot, and, according to Edmunds' testing, delivers very little but one thing that it does have is a solar roof on its most expensive Ocean Extreme trim. Fisker says this roof with its distinctive pattern can generate up to 1,500 miles of range per year or up to 2,000 miles in ideal conditions. That's just over 4 miles of range per day on the low end and nearly 5.5 miles per day on the high end.

Fisker Karma/Karma Revero: Much like his latest efforts with the Ocean SUV, Henrik Fisker's previous automotive experiment shot for the moon when it came to trying to change the automotive landscape. The Karma was a plug-in hybrid with an impossibly long, low and lean body with a small solar roof. As with other small solar roofs, it didn't do much — offering just 200 watts of charging, it would take upward of a month to charge the car's 20-kWh main battery under average conditions.

Toyota Prius Prime : The current generation Prius Prime has a neat trick up its sleeve if you tick the options boxes just right. For about $600 (or as part of other packages) you can get a solar panel roof, which replaces the glass roof of the standard car. This roof will not only help to charge the Prius' main battery, but it can also power accessories such as the air conditioning while you're driving provided there's enough sun to do so. While it may not add much range to your EV-only driving, it is priced low enough to consider adding.

Hyundai Ioniq 5 : Some trims of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 in international markets have solar panels built into their roof structures. Hyundai estimates that, under ideal conditions, this roof adds around 3 miles of range per a day. That might not seem like much on a car with an EPA-rated range of up to 303 miles, but it's more than the roof would otherwise be doing without it. If your commute is only a few miles, there's a chance you'll be spending even less time plugged in. The panels can also combat any minor drain or self-discharge issues if the car just sits parked.

Nissan Leaf (first generation): Nissan's Leaf was the first truly mass-market electric car for American buyers. Some of you might not remember that it had a small solar panel built into its roof to help ensure that its 12-volt accessory battery was always topped up. In practice, it may not have been that effective because many owners took to websites like Reddit to complain after finding their Leaf's 12-volt battery dead.

Hyundai Sonata Hybrid (seventh generation): Starting in 2019 with its radically styled seventh-generation Sonata, Hyundai decided that it was time to go all in on efficiency and added a neat little 204-watt solar panel to the roof of the Limited trim of the Sonata Hybrid. As with other modern solar roof setups, it can power both the main battery and the 12-volt battery.

Powering the whole car

The first big hurdle with powering a car with solar energy is efficiency. While the sun hits the atmosphere of the Earth with a whopping 1.31 kilowatts per square meter (a rate known as the solar constant ), a huge portion of that energy has been lost by the time it gets down to us on the surface. The solar energy ends up at about 340 kilowatts per square meter on the surface, averaged over the whole planet. For context, if you had a 1,000-watt microwave oven, you'd need just shy of three hours of solar energy from one square meter of surface area to run it. It seems simple enough, but it gets more complicated from here.

The most common way of capturing solar energy is to use solar panels. There are other ways , but they're not really designed for consumer-level use. Solar panels aren't perfectly efficient technology, as much of the energy collected is lost to heat. The most efficient panels today generate power from about 22.8% of the sunlight it collects.

According to EnergySage , you will need about seven to 12 solar panels to charge an electric vehicle at home. Given that each panel is roughly 5 by 3 feet, there simply isn't enough solar power being generated — or real estate on the vehicle for enough panels — to provide the energy needed to fully power a moving vehicle.

Where solar makes sense

While your average five-passenger electric car with plenty of range may not make sense as a solar-powered vehicle, there are some situations where solar is a great way to go. Take microcars, for example. They aren't especially popular in the U.S., but they make a lot of sense for young drivers in famously cramped European cities.

You also have the golf cart-like Squad solar-powered car by Squad Mobility . This little car features an aluminum exo-frame, tires that stick out in front of and behind the body to reduce parking dings, swappable batteries, and enough solar power on the roof to add up to 18.6 miles (29.9 km) of range in ideal conditions. It can do so thanks to its light weight and low top speed, which is why it can be driven by people as young as 16 in the Netherlands, where Squad is based.

Future vehicles promising solar driving

Just because today's technology doesn't support a vehicle powered exclusively by the sun doesn't mean that tomorrow's technology won't, or even that companies aren't trying to find ways to make it work now.

Two big names making big solar claims are Aptera and Lightyear. Aptera has been working on its odd insect-like three-wheeled EV for over a decade and has been inching toward a production-ready vehicle. Lightyear, meanwhile, has touted a cool-looking and expensive four-wheeled solar-powered EV called the Lightyear 0, but it canceled production in favor of a cheaper, less extravagant version called the Lightyear Two.

Even big companies like Mercedes-Benz are testing the waters of solar power with prototypes like the Vision EQXX , which debuted back in 2022. Not only does the EQXX look super futuristic and cool, but it has a target efficiency of better than 10 kilowatt-hours per mile, leading to a potential 1,000-mile (1,609-km) total range. A company with Mercedes' resources and engineering prowess seems a lot more likely to figure out the solar car situation and put it into production, so this is one to keep an eye on.

Am I Ready for an EV?

• EV ownership works best if you can charge (240V) at home or at work This typically means a 240V home installation, but you could also have a similar setup at your office or other places your car is already parked for several hours each day. Don't expect a regular household outlet (120V) to suffice unless you've got a plug-in hybrid, in which case overnight charging at home is feasible.
• If you can’t charge at home, charging at a charging station could take at least 10x longer than at a gas station With public charging infrastructure still in its infancy, the user experience can be maddeningly inconsistent. Tesla owners tend to rave about the reliability and speed of the company's proprietary Supercharger stations, but rival DC fast options have thus far been plagued by technical issues and overcrowding. It's an evolving landscape and our best advice is to do your research on the available options for the EV you want to buy.
• Adding a 240V home charging system could cost up to $1,600 or more If your existing electrical service can handle the additional demands of EV charging, you may be able to add Level 2 charging at home for less than a grand, including installation. But your costs will multiply if you need to upgrade your electrical panel or add a dedicated circuit.

Kyle Hyatt has been working as an automotive journalist since 2017. In that time he's written over 3,000 car-related articles as well as tested and reviewed hundreds of vehicles of both the two and four-wheeled varieties. Kyle is a contributor to Edmunds, and in addition to stints on staff at CNET's Roadshow and Jalopnik, his byline has been featured at Car & Driver, Robb Report, Autoblog, Motor Trend, The Drive and Ars Technica. When he's not busy writing, he's usually out enjoying his 2003 Porsche 911 or working to finish his custom 1969 Honda CB350 twin project sometime before the next ice age.

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Sono Motors Debuts Affordable Solar Electric Vehicle, ‘Sion’, for First Time in the U.S.; Kicks Off Multi-City Solar Mobility Tour

Sion, which sono motors believes will be the world’s first affordable solar electric vehicle (sev) showcased at times square in new york, kicking off a three-week cross-country tour including stops in boston, detroit, san francisco bay area, and los angeles , sono motors has received more than 42,000 reservations and pre-orders for sion to date; sion is expected to retail in europe for approximately €25,000 ($25,000) with start of production planned for the second half of 2023 , integrated solar panels can extend sion’s range and reduce charging frequency.

NEW YORK, 11 October 2022 – Sono Motors (NASDAQ: SEV), the Munich, Germany-based company pioneering solar mobility, today kicked off its “Celebrate the Change” U.S. tour in New York City with the debut of its solar electric vehicle (SEV), Sion, at Times Square. Sono Motors believes that the 5-seater passenger vehicle, which is expected to retail in Europe for approximately €25,000 ($25,000), has the potential to become the world’s first affordable SEV. Start of production for the Sion is planned for the second half of 2023.

“With the impacts of climate change already being felt around the world, the need to decarbonize has never been more urgent. A world without fossil fuels demands cleaner transportation and our mission to add solar to every vehicle is the next logical step,” said Laurin Hahn, co-founder and CEO of Sono Motors. “Solar electric vehicles represent a new frontier in zero-emission mobility, enabling convenience, more range on a single charge, and greater independence from charging infrastructure. We are tremendously excited to bring Sion to the United States for the first time and to showcase our vision of the future of solar transportation.”

Sion will embark on a multi-city coast-to-coast tour, including planned stops with public viewing in:

• New York City (October 11, NASDAQ MarketSite at Times Square; October 12, 1 Noble Street, Brooklyn)
• Boston (October 14, High Street Place Food Hall)
• Detroit (October 17, The Eastern)
• San Francisco (October 24-25, location TBA)
• San Jose (October 26, by invitation only)
• Los Angeles (October 27-28, Tuxedo LA)

“The U.S. continues to be an exciting market for us and in addition to our plans to begin delivering Sion to the European market next year, we are actively evaluating American partnership opportunities while expanding our portfolio of integrated solar solutions for fleet operators. Our solar solutions are intended to enable trucks, buses, trailers, and other commercial vehicles to harness the power of the sun to reduce fossil fuel usage and costs without compromising on range — or anything else. Companies across Europe and the United States are already using or piloting our licensable technology on their fleet vehicles and we’re eager to help even more American fleet operators,” Hahn added.

To learn more about Sono Motors’ tour in the United States, please visit sonomotors.com/en/celebrate-the-change

Sono Motors: Harnessing the power of the sun

Since its founding in Munich, Germany in 2016, Sono Motors has become a pioneer in solar-powered transportation. Its development of Sion, which has the potential to become the world’s first affordable SEV, coupled with Sono Motors’ portfolio of integrated solar technologies, empower everyday commuters as well as businesses to harness the power of the sun for mobility. 

The outer shell of the family-friendly Sion consists of 456 seamlessly integrated solar half-cells that extend the time between charges and enable self-sufficiency on short journeys. Its solar technology extends Sion’s estimated 190 mile battery range by an average of 70 miles per week in typical weather conditions and by as much as 150 miles per week in optimal conditions. Sion’s 54 kWh LFP battery will allow for a maximum charging capacity of up to 75 kW (DC) and 11 kW (AC). Bidirectional charging up to 11 kW will turn Sion into a solar “power plant” that can charge devices, other EVs, or put energy back into private or public energy grids.

To date, Sion has received more than 20,000 active private reservations (with an average down payment of about $2,000) as well as more than 22,000 pre-orders from fleet operators, including more than 12,000 from FINN , a subscription car service that operates in Germany and the U.S. With an expected retail price tag of approximately $25,000 — and a reduced need to plug-in to charge — the Sion is expected to have among the lowest total cost of ownership in the medium-size passenger vehicle category. In partnership with Valmet Automotive, Sono Motors plans to start production in Finland in the second half of 2023 and aims to produce approximately 257,000 Sion vehicles within seven years.

Sono Motors recently unveiled its Solar Bus Kit , an efficient solar retrofit solution optimized for 40-foot public buses commonly used in Europe. It is designed to allow electrical subsystems like HVAC, heating, ventilation, automatic doors, and video screens to be partially powered by solar energy, and can save up to 400 gallons of diesel and up to 4.4 short tons of CO2 per bus per year.

More than 20 companies worldwide are already piloting Sono Motors’ integrated solar technology – including a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Europe, MAN Truck & Bus, CHEREAU, Kögel, and the Munich municipal bus system – on a variety of fleet vehicles such as buses, trailers, trucks, and electric transporters. Several of these customer deployments debuted for the first time in September at IAA Transportation 2022, the world’s largest transportation event dedicated to commercial vehicles.

Sono Motors also underscored its partnership with Sibros , a San Jose, California-based pioneer of Deep Over-the-Air (OTA) Connected Vehicle Systems. Sibros works with global automakers to optimize fleet health, reduce software recalls, and create new connected services with full vehicle OTA software updates, data collection, and diagnostics in a single system. Sion’s software updates, data collection, and remote interactions will be handled by the Sibros Deep Connected Platform, giving Sono Motors direct insight into vehicle data and fleet analytics and the ability to reduce maintenance and service costs, while also diagnosing and fixing potential problems before they compromise vehicle capabilities, including malware hacks and other cybersecurity issues.

“We are proud to have been selected by Sono Motors, which we believe to be one of the most innovative global leaders in the solar-powered vehicle market, to provide our connected vehicle technology to the impressive Sion,” said Hemant Sikaria, CEO and co-founder of Sibros. “The popularity and pre-orders of the Sion has emphasized the need for safe, secure and reliable over-the-air software updates and data collection for the entire vehicle fleet. Innovative technologies such as solar-powered vehicles are the future and we’re excited to partner with Sono Motors for the ride.”

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This press release includes forward-looking statements. The words "expect", "anticipate", "intends", "plan", "estimate", "aim", "forecast", "project", "target", “will” and similar expressions (or their negative) identify certain of these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are statements regarding the Company's intentions, beliefs, or current expectations. Forward-looking statements involve inherent known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and contingencies because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future and may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions include, but are not limited to (i) the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy, our industry and markets as well as our business, (ii) risks related to our limited operating history, the rollout of our business and the timing of expected business milestones including our ability to complete the engineering of our vehicles and start of production on time and budget and risks related to future results of operation, (iii) risks related to our unproven ability to develop and produce vehicles and with expected or advertised specifications including range, and risks relating to required funding, (iv) risks related to our ability to monetize our solar technology, (v) risks relating to the uncertainty of the projected financial information with respect to our business including the conversion of reservations into binding orders, (vi) effects of competition and the pace and depth of electric vehicle adoption generally and our vehicles in particular on our future business and (vii) changes in regulatory requirements, governmental incentives and fuel and energy prices. For additional information concerning some of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could affect our forward-looking statements, please refer to the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), which are accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and on our website at ir.sonomotors.com. Many of these risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond the Company's ability to control or estimate precisely, such as the actions of regulators and other factors. Readers should therefore not place undue reliance on these statements, particularly not in connection with any contract or investment decision. Except as required by law, the company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements.

Sono Group N.V. (NASDAQ: SEV) is on a pioneering mission to accelerate the revolution of mobility by making every vehicle solar. Sono Motors’ disruptive solar technology has been engineered to be seamlessly integrated into a variety of vehicle architectures — including third-party OEM cars, buses, refrigerated vehicles, and recreational vehicles — to extend range and reduce fuel costs as well as the impact of CO2 emissions, paving the way for climate-friendly mobility.

Additional Material

It looks like the Batmobile, works on solar energy, and could be the future of cars

The first mass-produced solar-powered cars are slated to roll off the assembly line this year. Could this be a breakthrough in climate-friendly transportation?

The dream began in 1955, with a tiny, toylike creation called the “Sunmobile.” Built from balsa wood and hobby shop tires, it was just 15 inches long. The 12 selenium solar cells that decorated its exterior produced less horsepower than an actual horse. But it was proof of a concept: Sunlight alone can make a vehicle run.

The years went on, and the dream evolved into a converted vintage buggy with solar panels on its roof. Then a glorified bicycle, a retiree’s garage project, a racecar that crossed the Mojave Desert at 51 miles per hour .

It is a dream of perpetual motion. Of travel that doesn’t do damage to the planet. Of journeys that last as long as the sun shines.

There are problems with this dream, big ones. Clouds come. Night falls. The laws of physics limit how efficiently solar panels can turn light into energy.

But one start-up claims it has overcome those problems. Now, its founders say, the dream can be yours for as little as $25,900 .

Aptera Motors , a California company whose name comes from the ancient Greek for “wingless,” is rolling out the first mass-produced solar car this year. It’s a three-wheel, ultra-aerodynamic electric vehicle covered in 34 square feet of solar cells. The car is so efficient that, on a clear day, those cells alone could provide enough energy to drive about 40 miles — more than twice the distance of the average American’s commute.

The Aptera must undergo safety tests before the company can begin distribution, which it hopes to do by the end of this year. Even then, it’s not clear that consumers will want to buy something that looks like a cross between the Batmobile and a beetle. The shadow of an initial attempt, which ended in bankruptcy, hangs over the founders as they gear up to launch their new product.

But the Aptera’s creators, Chris Anthony and Steve Fambro, think the world needs a car like theirs. Transportation is the largest source of planet-warming pollution in the United States. The Biden administration has made it a priority to reduce vehicle emissions, and several major automakers have pledged to phase out cars and light trucks with internal combustion engines.

After years of dreaming, maybe the time for driving on sunshine is finally here.

Solar panel power

Anthony and Fambro didn’t set out to build a vehicle that could run on solar power. They just wanted to make a more efficient car.

Burning gasoline, it turns out, is not a very efficient way to travel; as much as four-fifths of the energy produced by an internal combustion engine is lost as heat, wasted overcoming wind resistance or used up by fuel pumps and other components, according to Energy Department data.

All-electric vehicles perform much better , but they’re still not perfect. About 10 percent of the energy that goes into them is lost converting alternating current from the electrical grid into direct current for the battery. Inefficiencies in the drive system eat up another 20 percent, and the car must still deal with wind resistance and friction, through regenerative braking systems can reduce some waste.

From top to wheels, the Aptera is designed to eliminate as much waste as possible. Its creators say the car is 13 times more efficient than a gas-powered pickup truck and four times more efficient than the average electric vehicle. At least 90 percent of the power produced by the Aptera’s solar panels goes toward making the vehicle move, the company says.

How to design for efficiency

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Aerodynamic shape The vehicle’s body — curved at the nose, wide along the sides and tapered toward the trunk — is built like a small, speedy aircraft. This reduces drag, or the force of air flowing against the motion of the vehicle.

Reduced drag The Aptera’s undercarriage swoops like a dolphin’s belly. This serves to reduce the drag that comes from the turbulent air between the vehicle and the ground.

Less friction The engineers tested at least 10 kinds of tire to find the one with the least "rolling resistance” — the friction that comes from the wheels against the ground. They also opted to design the car with three tires, instead of four, eliminating a touch point where energy can be lost.

Lighter frame Because lighter cars require less energy to move, the Aptera is built with ultra-light carbon composites and fiberglass. Its arched shape, which mimics the physics of an eggshell, keeps it strong as steel. Some of its parts can be produced on a 3D printer, lowering costs.

Energy-saving interior Inside the vehicle, heat is automatically removed from the car while parked, lowering air conditioner load. Electronics are built with wires that offer the least resistance, ultra-efficient LEDs and low-power displays and “sleep modes” for the main screen when not in use.

Accumulated efficiencies All of this adds up to a car that requires very little fuel. The Aptera uses just 100 watt hours of energy per mile — about as much as a desktop computer consumes in 30 minutes.

The Aptera can be recharged the same way a standard electric vehicle is fueled — by simply plugging it into an outlet. Its extreme efficiency means the car can go 150 miles after just 15 minutes at an ordinary charging station.

But an average electric car would need a solar panel “the size of a semi truck” to go farther than a few miles, Fambro said. Meanwhile, a relatively small number of solar cells can propel the Aptera.

“It only works if you have a super-efficient vehicle,” Fambro said. But once he and Anthony realized how far the sun alone could take them, “there was no other plan than to make it a solar vehicle.”

LEFT: A sun-powered car, one of the world’s first, in London in 1960. RIGHT: Aptera Motors CEOs Chris Anthony, left, and Steve Fambro with the three-wheel Aptera solar electric vehicle at the company’s production design facility in San Diego.

Impractical but inspirational

When the first solar vehicle, the tiny Sunmobile , debuted at a General Motors trade show 65 years ago, even its inventors were skeptical about its prospects. GM officials told the magazine Popular Mechanics their creation was of “no practical application to the automotive industry at present.”

But that challenge was exactly what appealed to Danish adventurer Hans Tholstrup. Feeling guilty for his fossil-fuel guzzling exploits — flying around the world, driving a speedboat around Australia — he wanted to do something to benefit the planet.

In 1982, Tholstrup and racecar driver Larry Perkins unveiled the “the Quiet Achiever” — a boat-shaped, single-driver construction topped by a 90-square-foot solar array. A tiller served as the steering system, and the wheels and brakes were borrowed from a bicycle. Eating orange slices to stay hydrated and camping by the side of the road, they took 20 days to drive 2,560 miles across the Australian continent. Their average speed was 15 miles per hour.

Tom Snooks, the project’s coordinator, recalled Tholstrup comparing the journey to the flight of the Kittyhawk: impractical but inspirational, and a sign of advances to come. “If it will motivate just one more idea and thought in the development of solar power,” Tholstrup said, “then the venture will have been well worthwhile.”

In 1987, Tholstrup launched the “ World Solar Challenge ” to encourage others to improve upon his record. Soon solar races were springing up around the globe, attracting competition from car manufacturers and high school students alike. The vehicles evolved from Tholstrup’s “bathtub on wheels” to bullet shapes to three-wheeled cars with curved, winglike solar arrays. By 2013 the World Solar Challenge introduced a “ cruiser class ” competition in an effort to spur development of more commercially viable vehicles.

“It makes for a really fun design challenge,” said University of Michigan mechanical engineer Neil Dasgupta, faculty adviser to the school’s highly decorated solar car team . “And we’ve made tremendous advances.”

The team’s 2017 vehicle, which placed second in the World Solar Challenge, weighed just 420 pounds and averaged almost 50 miles per hour.

Solar cars have to be small and sleek, Dasgupta explained, because of inefficiencies in solar panels. Photovoltaic cells are limited in what wavelengths they can turn into electricity. They don’t perform well when they get hot. Even the best solar panels only convert about 23 percent of the sunlight that hits them into energy. You can get much more power more quickly by simply plugging into a charging station.

Total reliance on solar power also poses practical problems. It means the car can’t be parked in a garage or under a tree. Once the battery is full, any additional energy that hits the solar panels is lost.

“This is a niche kind of thing,” said Timothy Lipman, co-director of the Transportation Sustainability Research Center at the University of California at Berkeley. The Aptera, which seats two, wouldn’t work for a large family, a commuter in cloudy Seattle, a plumber who has to lug around equipment.

Advances in solar cars could benefit the broader automotive industry, Lipman said. They might lead to the development of lighter materials and make the case for greater efficiency in electric vehicles. Manufacturers could add solar panels to augment car batteries. Maybe the technology will find use at national parks and remote military installations.

But Lipman thinks it will be difficult for sun-powered vehicles to find broad commercial success. A Chinese manufacturer was still seeking funding to produce its prototype when it ran into financial problems last year. The Dutch champions of the first “cruiser class” race in the World Solar Challenge launched their own start-up, Lightyear One , and aim to start deliveries of their large, four-wheel hatchback at the end of this year. Still, the Lightyear car’s price tag, about $180,000, puts it out of reach of most buyers.

Anthony and Fambro know how easy it is to fail. Four years after founding Aptera in 2006, they left the venture amid disagreement with other leadership — auto industry veterans who wanted to build a traditional four-wheeled vehicle to qualify for federal loans. But the money never materialized. The company was liquidated in 2011, and its intellectual property sold.

Business analysts treated the collapse as a case study in the perils of launching an automotive start-up. Cars are more expensive to make than software. Federal regulations are difficult to navigate. Consumers are wary of change.

But Aptera’s inventors took a different lesson from that experience: “The traditional design process doesn’t allow for breakthroughs,” Fambro said. “Because anything that’s a breakthrough is seen as something that’s polarizing, and they don’t allow polarizing things to exit the research clinic.”

If the Aptera was going to succeed, they decided, they couldn’t make compromises to satisfy a federal requirement or a market-research firm’s recommendation. They had to be willing to be different.

“That’s the march of technology,” Anthony said, before paraphrasing Apple founder Steve Jobs. “People don’t know what they need until you show it to them.”

LEFT: Aptera's creators say the car is four times more efficient than the average electric vehicle. RIGHT: The Aptera can be recharged the same way a standard electric vehicle is fueled — by simply plugging it into an outlet.

‘That’s how the future happens’

After a decade spent pursuing other ventures, Aptera’s creators bought back the company in 2019 and launched a crowdfunding campaign to restart development.

Their timing was good. Electric batteries had gotten much cheaper and lighter. Solar cells had become more efficient. Advances in computing enabled the inventors to simulate the vehicles on their desktops, speeding up the design process. Even the constraints imposed by the coronavirus pandemic spurred creativity, Anthony said.

When Aptera began taking preorders last December, it sold out of its planned first batch of 330 vehicles in 24 hours. Almost 7,500 people have now put down deposits for a car.

One of them was Tyler Perkins, the 27-year-old assistant manager of a small airport in Oklahoma City. A technology buff who had been following the company since he was a teenager, he said he was drawn to the Aptera’s “funky, radical design” and wanted to make a hopeful bet on tomorrow.

“They’re actually like, ‘let’s build a futuristic car, because if we don’t do it no one will,’ ” Perkins said. “And that’s how the future happens.”

Concern about climate change already motivated Perkins to become a vegan and drive a hybrid. He wanted to switch to an electric vehicle, but his apartment building offers no charging station. Then the Aptera came on the market. Even without federal tax credits (which only go to four-wheeled electric vehicles) it costs almost $10,000 less than other EVs. Sure it’s small, but all he needs is space for himself and his camping gear.

“I think it will work great for me,” Perkins said, “as someone who is trying to be as efficient as possible and have a minimal impact on the environment.”

Not every Aptera fan fits the stereotype of an avid environmentalist. Nick Field, a 36-year-old accountant in London, is drawn more to the car’s long range and high performance; it can go from 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds and hit top speeds of 110 mph. As far as he’s concerned, the Aptera’s low climate impact is just a fringe benefit.

“I’m in the category of, ‘I want to enjoy my life,’ ” Field said. “I just like fast cars. … I think it’s really cool.”

Anthony acknowledged that the Aptera is not for everyone. But it has more appeal than its skeptics give it credit for, he said. The car’s high efficiency means it puts less demand on the grid than ordinary electric vehicles. It could be ideal for delivery trucks and Postal Service vehicles, which don’t travel far and spend lots of time idling. Outdoor enthusiasts will probably like the option to venture far from charging infrastructure without worrying about fuel. And the notion of parking an Aptera in the sun and returning to a car that has more fuel than when you left it — free, clean fuel — is a powerful idea at a time when the world is looking for transformation.

“We see solar as the main driver of our business,” Anthony said. “It enables so many things.”

He considered the dreamers who first conceived of solar cars: Tholstrup subsisting on orange slices during his cross-continent journey, engineering students building racecars after school. He thought about the early developers of electric vehicles, who had faith in a future that didn’t run on gas. He remembered the investors who shied away from the Aptera’s first incarnation, saying “who is going to buy your weird egg-shaped creation?”

“It’s the same thing with anybody who does anything first,” Anthony said. “It’s always: Why would you do that?”

When Aptera hits the road, he’ll have his answer.

About this story

Editing by Lyndsey Layton, copy editing by Sue Doyle. Graphics editing by Monica Ulmanu. Photo editing by Olivier Laurent. Design and development by Andrew Braford.

Correction: In an earlier version of this story, the graphic depicting the drag coefficients of various moving objects gave an incorrect figure for a bottlenose dolphin. Its drag coefficient is 0.01, not 0.001.

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26TH ANNUAL SOLAR CAR CHALLENGE KICKS OFF AS 31 TEAMS FROM 12 STATES TOUCH DOWN IN TEXAS TO HARNESS THE LONE STAR SUN

FORT WORTH, Texas (July 12, 2019)

Day one of the 2019 Solar Car Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway wasn’t really the beginning. It was the beginning of the end for 31 high school teams representing 12 states.

“We’ve been working on our car since the fall of 2017,” Okemos (Mich.) Solar Racing Club Captain William Jones said.

More than 200 schools are involved in the Solar Car Challenge, putting hours, days, months, and even years into these full-size, street-legal projects, and the 31 at TMS are just those who made the first cut.

“It’s exhilarating. It’s insane,” said Maynard Reinhardt, captain of the first-year Bath County High School (Ky.) Solar Cats. “Just thinking about the teams that didn’t make it here, and this is our first year that we’re doing it, and it’s just insane to think that we’re actually here, and we’re actually doing it.”

Bath County High School in Owingsville, Ky., hasn’t been here before. In fact, no school in Kentucky has even tried before.

“We’re representing the entire state of Kentucky, and we’re here to do them proud,” Reinhardt said.

A walk through the NASCAR garage at TMS shows you other teams like The Winston School out of Dallas. They were part of the first Solar Car Challenge race back in 1995, and they’re still wrenching all these years later.

Somewhere in between Bath County and The Winston School lie most of the other entries. There are 15 from North Texas alone.

“It doesn’t feel real until you’re like, ‘Oh wait, other schools are doing this too,’ and ‘Oh wait, these schools are from way far away,’” said Wylie East Solar Car Team Captain Jaxson Hill. “I guess you could say it makes you feel validated because you know that you’re not the only ones who have struggled with motor problems, mechanical issues, and last minute motors blowing up and things like that. It’s just a great feeling knowing other teams are doing the same things you are.”

This weekend is all about passing the judging/qualifying process known as scrutineering.

“The judges will look at every single nut and bolt and drive the car on the track,” Jones said. “Everyone wants to make sure when these cars are out here racing that everyone’s going to stay safe, and there aren’t going to be any problems.”

Those that make the final cut hit the track at No Limits, Texas, for four days of grueling endurance competition in what is supposed to be temperatures near 100 degrees each day. The allure of actually competing at TMS means more than the heat to some.

“It’s exciting. Looking at it right now, it’s huge,” said All Saints’ (Fort Worth) Solar Car team member Mitchell Bothwell. “You drive by it on the highway all the time, and you never actually think you’ll be on the track racing unless you’re in NASCAR.”

The goal is to see which team’s car can harness the power of the sun the best and propel them to victory. Victory, though, isn’t the same for every squad.

“We’ve already won,” Reinhardt said of his rookie team from Kentucky. “The second we pass scrutineering and the second we get on that track we’ve already won.”

After all, as Okemos’ Jones reminds us, these teens are in rarified air.

“We’ve learned how to build a solar car, and there are very few high schoolers in the entire world who can claim to have done that.”

The Solar Car Challenge is an educational program designed to help motivate students in science, engineering and alternative energy, and teach students how to design, engineer, build, race and evaluate road-worthy solar cars. The Solar Car Challenge Foundation, based in Plano, Texas, is celebrating its 26th anniversary this year.

Solar Car Challenge Founder/Director Dr. Lehman Marks and the competitors have a Media Day Sunday, July 14 that will run from 10 a.m.- 12 p.m. in the garage area . Interested media planning to attend can contact the Texas Motor Speedway Media Relations Department at 817.215.8520 or  [email protected] .

The Solar Car Challenge routinely alternates its race format between the teams competing on Texas Motor Speedway's 1.5-mile oval to a cross-country excursion. This year, they will spend four days (Monday-Thursday) making rounds on the TMS track with most classes going from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. and continuing from 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. The Advanced Division will race solid from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. each day with a 30-minute break.

The Solar Car Challenge race officially begins at 9 a.m. CT Monday, July 15 with Opening Ceremonies at 8:50. The race start will be open to media.

The North Texas contingent competing in the Solar Car Challenge consists of 15 teams: Arlington Martin, Plano Green Team, Coppell, Covenant Christian (Colleyville - 2 teams), Prosper, Ben Barber Innovation Academy (Mansfield), The Winston School (Dallas), Wylie East, Greenville (2 teams), Libery Christian (Argyle), Harmony Science Academy (Euless), and All Saints’ Episcopal School (Fort Worth), and Byron Nelson High School (Trophy Club).

Also representing Texas are Harmony School of Innovation (Brownsville), Stony Point Solar (Round Rock), and Southwest Legacy High School (Von Ormy).

The other states being represented by teams are:

• Arkansas -  LISA Academy North (Little Rock)
• California –  Palmdale High School (Palmdale – 2 teams)
• Colorado -  Animas High School (Durango)
• Florida –  North Tampa Christian Academy (Wesley Chapel)
• Illinois -  Pana High School (Pana)
• Kentucky – Bath County High School (Owingsville)
• Oklahoma –  Dove Science Academy (Oklahoma City)
• Michigan -  Heroes' Alliance (Detroit); Okemos High School (Okemos)
• Missouri –  Frontier STEM High School (Kansas City)
• New York -  Staten Island Tech High School (Staten Island)
• Washington – Raisbeck Aviation High School (Tukwila)

High school teams began preparation for these yearlong solar car projects during education workshops in September of last year. Additional workshops, on-site visits, mentor opportunities and summer camps helped the projects come to fruition. The teams will compete in four divisions - Classic, Advanced Classic (used their classic car for more than three years), Advanced and Electric-Solar Powered - in the closed circuit race.

Science & Technology magazine named the Solar Car Challenge as one of the top Science & Engineering programs in the country.

The Solar Car Challenge has 211 high school solar car projects in various stages of development in anticipation of an upcoming solar racing event. Teams are located in 37 states, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas.

For more information and race updates on the Solar Car Challenge, please visit solarcarchallenge.org .

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The freedom to go anywhere you want.

Aptera is the first Solar Electric Vehicle that can require no charging for most daily use.

The road to solar mobility starts here

Find out how much Aptera will save you.

To give you a 1,000 mile range, we had to develop the world’s most efficient vehicle.

Now you can go five times farther than other electric vehicles.

Aerodynamic Design

Lightweight Composite Materials

Efficient Drivetrain

32.5 Cubic Feet of Storage

Solar Charging

The future is now.

Aerodynamics inspired by nature.

Aptera’s undercarriage swoops like a dolphin’s belly. This reduces drag, or the force of air flowing against the motion of the vehicle. Aptera is curved at the nose, wide along the sides and tapered toward the trunk — like a small, speedy aircraft.

To build the most efficient vehicle, we had to reimagine the shape of transportation.

Drag coefficients, a measure of the amount of resistance an object encounters as it moves, compared:

Lighter, stronger, safer.

Lighter cars require less energy to move. Aptera weighs 65% less than other electric vehicles today. The body is built with ultra-lightweight composites and its arched shape mimics the physics of an eggshell — that protects you and your loved ones with a safety cell that is much stronger than steel.

Less friction gives you an optimized ride

Again Aptera leads the pack by having the least “rolling resistance” — the amount of energy needed to keep your tires rolling at a straight and steady pace. Our three wheel design — instead of four, eliminates a touch point where energy can be lost.

Continuously charging technology.

Eliminate the worry of finding charging stations. Aptera’s unique diamond shaped solar panels maximize the energy you get from the sun. This gives fully equipped vehicles ~700 Watts of continuous charging power — whether you’re driving or parked.

Enough space to carry what you need.

Whether you’re hauling the gear for your favorite activities, sleeping under the stars, or securing your furry friend, Aptera is designed to fit you and all of your cargo. With 32.5 cubic feet of rear storage, Aptera has room to meet your needs.

Handle weather.

Aptera has been developed to handle well in harsh conditions with all-wheel-drive and an anti-lock braking system.

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A Total Solar Eclipse Is Coming This April. These Tour Operators Will Plan Your Trip for You.

If you’re not one of the more than 30 million americans living inside the path of totality, consider a solar eclipse getaway with these tour operators..

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The April 2024 solar eclipse will be visible throughout many parts of North America.

Courtesy of Pixabay

The solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, is going to be a big deal, expecting to draw anywhere from 1 to 4 million people to the path of totality for the event. The profound experience is not one to underestimate—AFAR contributor Jeff Greenwald describes the spectacle : “For some, it’s a scientific epiphany; for others, a spiritual catharsis. But nobody who’s seen one ever forgets the experience.”

With this year’s total solar eclipse being the last visible from the contiguous USA until August 2044, hotel rooms along the eclipse’s path in cities like San Antonio, Texas, and Niagara Falls are already filling up. But if you’re not one of the 31 million Americans living inside the path of totality, tour operators across the continent are offering customized experiences for those eager to see it.

Ready to go all out for the celestial event? Here are four tour operators that will plan your ultimate solar eclipse getaway.

(All listed prices are based on double occupancy.)

1. Intrepid’s 16-day tour of New Mexico and Texas

• Dates : March 26, 2024 – April 10, 2024
• Notable locations: Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico; Alpine, Fredericksburg, and San Antonio, Texas
• Length: 16 days
• Price : From $8,790 per person
• Book now: USA Total Solar Eclipse 2024

If you want to spend a couple of weeks immersed in the natural skies and landscapes of New Mexico and Texas, consider this 16-day trip by Intrepid Travel . The adventure starts in Albuquerque, where visitors tour through New Mexico’s Museum of Natural History and Science (the museum’s planetarium will of course be a stop) and visit an astronomical radio observatory. Stops in Santa Fe, Alamogordo, and Las Cruces whisk travelers away from the big city to darker skies, including those of White Sands National Park.

The trip concludes in San Antonio, where you’ll be able to see the eclipse. For any space questions that inevitably arise: U.K.-based astronomy lecturer Dr. John Mason, who has more than 30 years of experience leading overseas expeditions to observe phenomena like annular and total solar eclipses, will accompany the tour the whole time.

Hot Springs National Park covers more than 5,000 acres.

Photo by Bram Reusen/Shutterstock

2. Arkansas total solar eclipse tour by Sunrise Tours

• Dates: April 6–10, 2024
• Notable locations: Atlus, Hot Springs National Park, and Fort Smith, Arkansas
• Length: 5 days
• Price: From $1,389 per person
• Book now: Arkansas Total Solar Eclipse

The 2024 eclipse’s path of totality includes part of the Ozarks, and Missouri-based Sunrise Tours offers the opportunity to learn about the region through its Total Solar Eclipse tour in Arkansas. The five-day trip includes a stop at Ozark Folk Center State Park , which spotlights Ozark artists by featuring a craft village full of pottery, copper jewelry, and other handmade goods. Tour participants will also get to take a dip in Hot Springs National Park.

The main event takes place by the Ozark Mountains in Atlus, Arkansas—with totality lasting about 3 minutes—followed by two days exploring Fort Smith, a town bordering Oklahoma that was a major military post during the country’s frontier era.

The eclipse sailing will be aboard the Koningsdam, which can accommodate 2,650 guests.

Courtesy of Holland America Line

3. Holland America’s 22-Day Solar Eclipse Cruise

• Dates: April 5–27, 2024
• Notable locations: San Diego, California; Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; Honolulu, Hawai‘i; British Columbia, Canada
• Length: 22 days
• Price : From $1,499 per person
• Book now: 22-Day Solar Eclipse & Circle Hawai’i

Areas along the path of totality are expected to get crowded come April 8—that is, if you’re on land. Holland America’s 22-day cruise offers the rare opportunity to witness a solar eclipse at sea, all while sailing waters near the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Departing from Cabo San Lucas, the 2,650-person Koningsdam cruise ship takes passengers off the coast of Mexico to see the solar eclipse. But that’s just day four. The itinerary packs in stops in Mexico and Hawai‘i before ending in British Columbia, where passengers disembark in Vancouver . Plus, guests will have the opportunity to attend special lectures by University of California San Diego astronomy and astrophysics professor Adam Burgasser to better understand the eclipse and create their own eclipse viewers (special eyewear that lets you directly view the sun without damaging your eyes).

Holland America is offering another 2024 solar eclipse cruise, a 14-day itinerary aboard the 1,432-passenger Zaandam that will take passengers round-trip from San Diego with eight stops in Mexico. The particular cruise is currently sold out, but cabins may become available later if there are cancellations.

A full trip on the Chepe Express covers more than 200 miles.

Photo by dba duplessis/Shutterstock

4. Mexico’s Copper Canyon Total Solar Eclipse Tour from TravelQuest International

• Dates: March 29 – April 9, 2024
• Notable locations: Copper Canyon, Chihuahua, and Torreón, Coahuilan
• Length: 12 days
• Price: From $6,980 per person
• Book now: Mexico’s Copper Canyon Total Solar Eclipse

This tour by TravelQuest International emphasizes the natural beauty found in northwestern Mexico, packing in an excursion to Mexico’s coast as well as time exploring Indigenous culture through small community visits. Unique to this journey is a six-hour scenic train ride on the Chepe Express from El Fuerté to Divisadero, among the forested peaks of the Sierra Madre Occidental range.

When it comes to the April 8 eclipse, the trip has one of the best places to catch totality. Participants will watch the eclipse in the Torreón, an economic hub in the Mexican state of Coahuilan, where there will be an estimated 4 minutes and 4 seconds of totality during eclipse time—due to the glorious fact that the viewing point is less than 50 miles from the point of greatest eclipse near Nazas.

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MIT solar-aided car shines in Tour de Sol

A vehicle built by members of MIT's Solar Electric Vehicle Club took first place in its category last month in the 1994 American Tour de Sol, the national solar and electric vehicle championship.

The Aztec, a three-wheeled, two-passenger vehicle that runs on batteries assisted by a solar array, finished first in the division of the commuter-car category. It also won an efficiency award by virtue of its energy use of approximately 45 watt-hours per mile during the event, in which cars were raced and showcased over the course of a week between New York's Battery Park City and the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. The event is organized by the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association of Greenfield, MA.

Also taking honors were vehicles produced by Solectria Corp., an Arlington-based company headed by James Worden, who graduated from MIT in 1989 with an SB in mechanical engineering. The Solectria RS, a modified racing version of the Solectria Force (a Geo Metro altered to run on electricity rather than gas) also won in its commuter-car division (Aztec was entered in a division that set a limit on battery power). In the production vehicle category, the Solectria Long-Range E-10 electric pickup truck took fourth place and was named the event's best vehicle running on lead-acid batteries.

Aztec also runs on lead-acid batteries and has a range of about 140 miles, depending on terrain. Its 45 watt-hours per mile is the equivalent of approximately 735 miles per gallon for a gasoline-powered car. Running on experimental nickel metal hydride batteries, the Solectria Force RS broke the Tour de Sol distance record by going 214 miles on one charge. Although most of the participants were students and entrepreneurs, Ford also had an entry.

During the week-long race, vehicles recharged at night and drove about 60 miles a day toward Philadelphia, then had the opportunity to drive extra laps. Demonstrating additional daily range resulted in overall time reductions under rules of the event. However, organizers mandated minimum times for the on-road segments for reasons of safety. "It's not a speed race, but more of an energy management race," said Goro Tamai, a graduate student in mechanical engineering who has worked on Aztec as a hobby.

The Aztec was first built about three years ago but underwent several improvements in preparation for this year's Tour de Sol. A new motor, transmission and controller gave the vehicle more power, allowing it to accelerate and climb hills faster and run at greater speeds overall, Mr. Tamai said. The braking system has also been improved, with better regenerative braking (when braking, some of the car's kinetic energy is returned to the batteries). The brakes also have a better hydraulic assist capability, which improves safety, he added.

Safety and performance are important on the Tour de Sol, in which solar-electric vehicles drive on ordinary roads (and occasionally highways) alongside gas-burning cars, rather than on closed tracks. Those roads on the race route "are more demanding than typical everyday roads," because there were numerous hills and hairpin turns, Mr. Tamai noted.

To qualify as a commuter-class car, the 780-pound Aztec seats two people side by side, rather than the more aerodynamic arrangement of one behind the other. It also has headlights, seat belts, a horn and other equipment required by its vehicle registration as an experimental motorcycle.

But that's about where Aztec's resemblance to an ordinary car ends. There are no high-beams on the headlights and no windshield wipers. Instead of a gas gauge, radio and analog speedometer usually found on dashboards, the vehicle has digital readouts of volts and amps along with switches for getting readouts of other information such as motor temperature. Its body is plastered with decals from corporate sponsors who contributed components and services, such as Ciba (composite body materials), Van Dusen (composite oven-curing), True Temper (aircraft steel tubing), Alcan (aluminum), 3M (tape and plastics), Intel (computer technology), and Nissan (funding). A Cambridge business, Walnut Hill Auto Body, provided the paint job.

Aztec's appearance is a definite departure from Detroit standards as well. Its futuristic aerodynamic shape, including the large solar array attached to the sweeping back, attracted quite a few looks on the road during the Tour de Sol. In fact, the vehicle's approach was heralded more by its appearance than by its sound. "Sometimes people wouldn't even hear us coming. From the outside, it was whisper-silent, but inside it was one big echo chamber" because of the lack of an engine firewall, padding and other normal car amenities, Mr. Tamai said.

The car gets only about a tenth of its power from the solar cells, which harness about 12 percent of the solar energy hitting them. Solar cells are very expensive; to achieve 17 percent efficiency would cost more than 10 times as much, designers estimate. They are also fragile, being susceptible to damage from common hazards such as rocks tossed up by other cars.

The fragility of solar technology was demonstrated in another race last fall, the 1,860-mile Diado-Hoxan World Solar Challenge through the Australian outback. Team New England (a collaboration between the solar car clubs of MIT and the University of Lowell) entered with high hopes for its unorthodox strategy of driving without collecting solar power and periodically stopping to unfold a large solar array. However, Australia's "dust devils," or small but intense spinning winds, repeatedly damaged the solar array by twisting it, and the car had to withdraw.

"It was a fast and efficient car, but the technology needs refining," said Kathleen Allen, the MIT club's technical instructor and a part-time physics student. "For a car built in 18 weeks with prototype technology, it did very well."

The next project for the Solar Electric Vehicle Club is "Manta," a single-seat, three-wheeled car being built this summer in preparation for next summer's Sunrayce '95 from Indianapolis to Colorado. The vehicle will be much lighter than Aztec and will use proportionally five times as much solar power.

A version of this article appeared in the June 29, 1994 issue of MIT Tech Talk (Volume 38, Number 37).

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Moscow Metro

The Moscow Metro Tour is included in most guided tours’ itineraries. Opened in 1935, under Stalin’s regime, the metro was not only meant to solve transport problems, but also was hailed as “a people’s palace”. Every station you will see during your Moscow metro tour looks like a palace room. There are bright paintings, mosaics, stained glass, bronze statues… Our Moscow metro tour includes the most impressive stations best architects and designers worked at - Ploshchad Revolutsii, Mayakovskaya, Komsomolskaya, Kievskaya, Novoslobodskaya and some others.

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The guide will not only help you navigate the metro, but will also provide you with fascinating background tales for the images you see and a history of each station.

And there some stories to be told during the Moscow metro tour! The deepest station - Park Pobedy - is 84 metres under the ground with the world longest escalator of 140 meters. Parts of the so-called Metro-2, a secret strategic system of underground tunnels, was used for its construction.

During the Second World War the metro itself became a strategic asset: it was turned into the city's biggest bomb-shelter and one of the stations even became a library. 217 children were born here in 1941-1942! The metro is the most effective means of transport in the capital.

There are almost 200 stations 196 at the moment and trains run every 90 seconds! The guide of your Moscow metro tour can explain to you how to buy tickets and find your way if you plan to get around by yourself.

Mayor Duggan touts NFL draft, public safety boost, junk removal plan at State of the City

Mayor Mike Duggan did not shy away from touting the NFL draft yet again as he kicked off his 11th annual State of the City on Wednesday evening at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church on Detroit's northwest side.

Duggan anticipates similar crowds to past NFL drafts, which drew in roughly 300,000 visitors. The mayor encourages them to visit redeveloped sites shown across the nation during Detroit's bankruptcy 10 years ago, such as the Michigan Central Depot, from which he delivered his State of the City last year, and witness how much the city has changed.

"We have a chance to introduce ourselves to America," Duggan said. "The last time we were in the national spotlight on MSNBC, it was about bankruptcy and a lot of people ... when they get here, you're going to see a very different city."

The mayor dived into a long list of recreational and major developments, including: GM Factory Zero and Stellantis assembly plants; State Fairgrounds development into a transit and Amazon fulfillment center; the $3 billion Henry Ford "Future of Health" development; Hudson's site, which GM recently announced plans to move its headquarters into the city's newest skyscraper, and the Water Square residences and hotel at the former Joe Louis Arena site.

Duggan added that when he first ran for office in 2013 and met with hundreds of residents, "it hurt" to realize much of them felt the city and country forgot about Detroit.

They said "our neighborhood has been forgotten ... there's illegal dumping, nobody's picked it up. There's open abandoned houses, nobody cares. You dial 911, the police don’t show up. The ambulance doesn’t show up," Duggan said. "What they were really saying is our city has been forgotten."

Duggan praised a number of the city's accomplishments, including eliminating blight, plans to remove abandoned vehicles, demolishing and restoring abandoned homes and boosting several of the city's parks, recreation centers and public spaces in an effort to beautify Detroit.

Here are a some key takeaways:

No more 'ruin porn'

More than 10 years ago, visitors would take "ruin porn" tours in Detroit to capture some of the city's blight, including the iconic Michigan Central Depot, which was initially up for demolition in 2009.

But this year, Duggan declared those tours "canceled."

Several sites are developing, including Lear's seating plant replacing the 40-year abandoned Hudson's Motor plant; the updated and lavish Book Tower housing residences and restaurants; United Artists Theatre building converting into apartments; the Eddystone renovated into apartments; GM parts facility replacing the long abandoned AMC Headquarters; the Fisher Body Plant being restored into apartments, and one of the biggest eyesores, the Packard Plant, which is coming down this year.

Instead of blight tours, Duggan pointed to the city's upgraded amenities, including the RiverWalk, Riverside Park, Beacon Park and more.

Land Value Tax

Prior to diving into the mayor's proposed Land Value Tax plan , which would raise property taxes on vacant land, Duggan touted the city's credit rating upgrade to reaching investment grade. Higher ratings mean governments pay lower costs to borrow money for investments across the city.

As he pushes the property tax plan through the Michigan Legislature, Duggan, once again, reminded Detroiters that it would cut homeowners' property taxes by 17% and raise the tax on vacant land, including parking lots and scrapyards. However, not everybody is on board with the plan.

"I have this fight in Lansing for the Land Value Tax ... which every national economist said would be a great thing in Detroit."

Duggan was referencing a poll of economists who agreed that it would boost Detroit's economy.

Public safety improvement

Detroit, once known nationally as the "carjack city," Duggan said, saw 782 carjackings in 2013, leading Detroit officers to leave the city in "record numbers." In 2024, Detroit has been averaging two per week, he said. Duggan pointed out that former Detroit Police Chief James Craig in 2013 was a victim of carjacking. The city in the meantime provided pay increases as an incentive to stay. Detroit's homicide rate dropped from 386 in 2013 to 252 in 2023.

The city also started Project Green Light , which uses cameras installed at various businesses, aimed at deterring crime and providing video evidence when it happens near a Green Light site.

"Ten years later, Detroit is a national leader in reducing carjackings," Duggan said.

Detroit also launched a number of community violence intervention initiatives, including gunshot detection systems to prevent gun crime. Six activist groups received federal grants to research ways to prevent crime and curb gun violence. Duggan plans to request that City Council extends their contracts through 2025 after seeing gun violence dip by 44% in areas where four of the groups focused on personal interaction to deescalate situations.

Duggan also touted the city's 911 response time reaching an average of 7 minutes and 30 seconds, which is less than the national standard. The city is dispatching 42 ambulances a day, compared with 20-22 last year.

Solar energy

Duggan touted multiple solar efforts underway, including 127 municipal buildings converting from fossil-based to solar energy. The city also launched an initiative to convert 250 acres of land into solar farms . The intention would be to convert blight into a more productive use. The city would select eight neighborhoods, two of which will power streetlights.

Homeowners living within the area will receive $15,000 in energy-efficiency home upgrades. Duggan will send the first three winning neighborhoods to City Council next month for approval.

Eliminating junk vehicles

In an effort to remove abandoned vehicles, 20 of the city's municipal parking officers are ticketing inoperable or unlicensed vehicles on the street. The citation will give owners 48 hours to move the vehicle.

"2024 is the year we finally rid Detroit of the abandoned illegal vehicles," Duggan said, adding that a resident complained to him about junk vehicles in her neighborhood, suggesting it's not a common sight in the suburbs.

Owners of multiple vehicles on private property lawns will have two weeks to move them, including commercial vehicles. Owners cannot store them on lawns, even if they build a fence around it, Duggan added.

"You can't store your commercial vehicles in our neighborhoods," Duggan said.

The city ticketed 5,208 vehicles so far this year. It towed 769, he said, and 85% were moved by the owners. Residents can report abandoned vehicles on the "Improve Detroit' app.

Rising home values

Detroit home values grew by $3.9 billion since the city's bankruptcy. Black homeowners' housing wealth grew by $2.8 billion, according to a study conducted by the University of Michigan.

"That's for the people who stay. The whole city in nine years grew," Duggan said, adding in response to those who say downtown and Midtown are the only areas seeing growth, "you tell them the University of Michigan study has 4 billion reasons why that's not true."

The study indicated that since the bankruptcy, demolitions of blighted and abandoned properties, and sales by the Detroit Land Bank Authority led to a "transformation" of the city's housing stock, leading to the market recovery as home sales prices increased.

Dexter Elmhurst Recreation Center

The city is renovating the center on the west side with plans to create a recreation center. In a surprise to a longtime community activist Helen Moore , Duggan plans to name it after her.

"Tomorrow morning, Councilman Fred Durhal is putting forward the resolution, and next year, the brand new facility will be the Helen Moore Community Center," Duggan said. "There is one person who has been the champion. For the last 25 years of my life, my No. 1 critic has been Helen Moore. Every time, she brings me something, she's right."

Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact: [email protected]. Follow her:  @DanaAfana .