Green Options » zap http://greenoptions.com/tag/zap Posts tagged 'zap' Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:45:58 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 en Three-Wheelers Approved for DOE Funds http://gas2.org/2009/10/19/3-wheelers-approved-for-doe-funds/ http://gas2.org/2009/10/19/3-wheelers-approved-for-doe-funds/#comments Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:45:58 +0000 Jo Borras http://gas2.org/2009/10/19/3-wheelers-approved-for-doe-funds/ Aptera 2e

Many manufacturers of high-mpg and electric vehicles have adopted a 3-wheeled layout for cost and weight savings, and—in some cases—aerodynamic efficiency. In most states, however, these vehicles are classified as motorcycles. That motorcycle moniker has made them ineligible for DOE funds set aside to foster innovation among American automakers… until now!

More details, after the jump.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2009/10/19/3-wheelers-approved-for-doe-funds/feed/ Green Talk Radio: History Present and Future of Electric Cars with ZAP http://sustainablog.org/2009/09/29/green-talk-radio-history-present-and-future-of-electric-cars-with-zap/ http://sustainablog.org/2009/09/29/green-talk-radio-history-present-and-future-of-electric-cars-with-zap/#comments Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:00:56 +0000 Sean Daily http://sustainablog.org/2009/09/29/green-talk-radio-history-present-and-future-of-electric-cars-with-zap/ GreenTalk Radio

Zap
Sean Daily, Green Living Ideas’ Editor-In-Chief, discusses the history, present, and future of electric cars with Alex Campbell, Director of Communications for Zap.

[Courtesy of our friends at GreenLivingIdeas.com]

Click Play Below,Right-Click and Choose Save Link/Target As.. to Download Podcast in MP3 FormatorSubscribe to Podcast via iTunes

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]]> http://sustainablog.org/2009/09/29/green-talk-radio-history-present-and-future-of-electric-cars-with-zap/feed/ Top 10 Electric Cars Coming to the US in 2009/2010 http://gas2.org/2009/01/15/top-10-electric-cars-coming-to-the-us-in-20092010/ http://gas2.org/2009/01/15/top-10-electric-cars-coming-to-the-us-in-20092010/#comments Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:32:38 +0000 Nick Chambers http://gas2.org/2009/01/15/top-10-electric-cars-coming-to-the-us-in-20092010/ Editor’s Note: This list represents the ten “best” electric and plug-in hybrid cars (as I see them) coming out in the next two years, but, after that initial culling, this list has been organized by release date, not preference.

With the onslaught of electric concepts and announcements coming out of the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, you’d think that the entire world is about to junk their old jalopies and rush out and buy electric cars tomorrow.

But, alas, as much as millions of Americans would love to pay 3 cents a mile on their daily commutes, our choices for electric cars are, at the moment, severely lacking.

Although the promise of the 2009 Detroit Auto Show reeks of desperation, it’s not all smoke and mirrors. Believe it or not, there are a bunch of noteworthy electric cars, both all-battery and extended range plug-ins, reaching US production sometime in the next two years.

So, if you’ve got the time to wait and you find yourself longing for the cheapest, quietest, and most earth-friendly commute you could imagine, take a gander at this list… electric bliss is closer than you probably thought.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2009/01/15/top-10-electric-cars-coming-to-the-us-in-20092010/feed/ Affordable, Local, Now: ZAP’s Xebra http://gas2.org/2008/10/15/affordable-local-now-zaps-xebra/ http://gas2.org/2008/10/15/affordable-local-now-zaps-xebra/#comments Wed, 15 Oct 2008 17:55:50 +0000 John Ivanko http://gas2.org/2008/10/15/affordable-local-now-zaps-xebra/ Let the movie stars blow their royalties on fancy, high end electric cars.

I’m fine in with my Sebring-Vanguard CitiCar, and would be equally so in ZAP’s four-door, all-electric, three-wheeled Xebra Sedan, especially if I lived somewhere with only three relatively moderate seasons and not where there are too many hills. ZAP, or Zero Air Pollution, has been a leader in advanced transportation technologies since 1994, at least those vehicles that are both practical and affordable to us non-celebrity types.

While presenting on Ecopreneuring at the Solar Living Institute’s SolFest in Hopland, California, this past August, I had an opportunity to drive Zap’s Xebra. It’s amazing the difference a few decades can make in the driving experience: from CitiCar to Xebra. The Xebra, pronounced “zebra,” is a lot smoother and its breaking system more consistent than my CitiCar (admittedly, a 30-year-old collector vehicle). This Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) has a top speed of 40 mph, but I shouldn’t be driving over that anyway given the posted speed limits in town. Having driven a Geo Metro for years, driving a ZAP Xebra felt almost the same (at low speeds), but without the fumes, fuel and gas station stops.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/10/15/affordable-local-now-zaps-xebra/feed/ Uruguay Excited to Open Factory for ZAP! Electric Cars http://ecoworldly.com/2008/09/29/uruguay-excited-to-open-factory-for-zap-electric-cars/ http://ecoworldly.com/2008/09/29/uruguay-excited-to-open-factory-for-zap-electric-cars/#comments Mon, 29 Sep 2008 09:56:26 +0000 Levi Novey http://ecoworldly.com/2008/09/29/uruguay-excited-to-open-factory-for-zap-electric-cars/ The ZAP! Xebra Electric TruckUruguay has granted an acre of land to American-based electric car maker ZAP! for a factory. The country’s government hopes that ZAP! (Zero Air Pollution) cars will help improve Uruguay’s economy and also decrease air pollution. ZAP! had its best sales month yet in August and the push into Uruguay should only help the company broaden its market in South America.

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]]> http://ecoworldly.com/2008/09/29/uruguay-excited-to-open-factory-for-zap-electric-cars/feed/ ZAP Breaks Ground on Electric Car Factory in Kentucky http://gas2.org/2008/09/16/zap-breaks-ground-on-electric-car-factory-in-kentucky/ http://gas2.org/2008/09/16/zap-breaks-ground-on-electric-car-factory-in-kentucky/#comments Tue, 16 Sep 2008 01:02:49 +0000 Dana Nuccitelli http://gas2.org/2008/09/16/zap-breaks-ground-on-electric-car-factory-in-kentucky/ Work commenced at the site of a $175 million electric car factory in Franklin, Kentucky, according to officials for Integrity Automotive, a joint venture to expand electric vehicle manufacturing in the USA for ZAP.

ZAP Alias Prototype

The State of Kentucky has suddenly jumped into the world of electric cars.  First in early August Governor Steve Beshear signed an executive order that allowed low speed vehicles on Kentucky roads with speed limits of 45 mph or less.  Soon thereafter the state developed a $48 million incentive package to encourage ZAP to build an electric car manufacturing plant in Kentucky.

ZAP’s vehicles are currently manufactured in China, but according to the company’s CEO Steve Schneider, the costs of logistics for ZAP have risen in recent years, particularly to ship vehicles from California to the East Coast.  A Kentucky manufacturing plant would help reduce that cost, he said.

They sure didn’t waste any time.  Construction equipment arrived at the site of the Wilkey North Industrial Park on Thursday September 11th, and a site contractor with a work crew have been mobilized to prepare the 200-plus acre site for rough grading, according Randall S. Waldman of Integrity Manufacturing. The goal of the project is a one million square foot factory for electric vehicles, a project with an estimated value of $100 million. The factory is expected to begin producing electric vehicles within 12 months and employ up to 1,000 people initially with the possibility of more in the future.

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