Where are they now?

Aptera Motors, the Silicon Valley electric car startup, is delaying production of its energy-efficient vehicles to work on its image problem.

"There's a mindset in Detroit that all the California electric vehicle companies don't know how to build a car," says Paul Wilbur, the former Ford and Chrysler executive who took over as Aptera's CEO earlier this year. "For the most part, there's a lot of truth in that."

Aptera received lots of buzz last year when it announced it would ship 4,000 of its two-seat, three-wheel cars by the end of 2008. But like all car manufacturers, Aptera is battling an uncertain economy and wavering customer demand. To cope, the firm hired big-industry veteran Wilbur, who will help build Aptera's economies of scale and make the car's design more appealing - and useful - to the masses. "When I first saw the car, I noticed it had stationary windows," Wilbur says. "While the original design might have been more aerodynamic, we would have made the entire fast-food industry obsolete if we didn't put in roll-up, roll-down windows."

By next year, Wilbur expects to ship cars to the 3,600 customers who have already paid a $500 deposit (the cars will sell for less than $30,000). In 2010, Aptera will ramp up production to around 45,000 cars while its founder - Steve Fambro, now CTO - will try to launch the company's first hybrid electric model. - Maggie Overfelt

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