Car Insurance

Televisions are plugged in. So are computers, washing machines and many other electrical appliances that keep our lives humming along.

On Saturday, a much bigger modern necessity will be flexing its electric power.

The Electric Auto Association of the East Bay is hosting a display of several vehicles that can be plugged in and run exclusively with electricity.

The all-day event at Chabot College will feature ride-alongs, a technically oriented question-and-answer period, and a presentation by auto industry experts. Plug-In America will talk about the socio- economic benefits of electric vehicles, and the documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car?” will be shown three times.

The entire event is free and geared to those who have only heard of electric vehicles, as well as those who may be thinking of purchasing an electric vehicle or converting their gasoline vehicle to use electricity.

“There is something for everyone,” said organizer David Dias. “A lot of people think of an electric car as golf carts. It is really good to see full-size vehicles and see what you can do when you take them out on the freeway.”

Visitors to the event will be able to ride in an electric Ford Ranger pickup truck and an electric Toyota RAV4 on a two-mile ride- along loop that goes from the college to Southland mall. There also will be scooters.

Dias said most electric vehicles can run for 75 to 80 miles fully charged before needing to be recharged.

“They are the perfect commuter cars for getting to and from work,” Dias said.

Most electric cars plug into a 220-volt outlet, the same type used for a washer and dryer.

, although some use a slot that requires a vehicle charger site. Hayward has two electric vehicle power sites — at Chabot College and at California State University, East Bay.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. also will be bringing a plug-in Toyota Prius to Saturday’s event, a conversion on a hybrid car that generally costs around $20,000.

Dias, transportation and energy project coordinator with the City College of San Francisco, added that he recently attended a national conference where several companies announced plans to start selling electric vehicles in 2008 for as low as $30,000.

As Boston Mayor Thomas Menino prepares to host this weekend’s “AltWheels Festival” highlighting cutting edge vehicle choices of tomorrow, Zero Air Pollution pioneer, ZAP , has delivered the nation’s first commercially viable electric car.

Investment manager, Doug Hart, has purchased Boston’s first XEBRA sedan, which is the only production electric car available to the public for under ten thousand dollars. The XEBRA electric city car can travel up to 40 miles an hour and produces 98 percent fewer pollutants than gas cars. The XEBRA became available for delivery after the registration deadline for this year’s AltWheels event but mayor Menino’s environmental department spokesperson, Laura Bickel, praised ZAP’s XEBRA as “the kind of innovative car the mayor had in mind when he proclaimed the city’s new policy to start buying only electric, hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles for its city fleet.”

Hart says the XEBRA has already sparked interest in the short time its wheels have been on the ground in Boston. “When I drove by the post office there was a group of ladies protesting the war. When they saw my wife and me in our XEBRA, they gave us a standing ovation.”

“Many people are complaining about global warming and the price of oil and gas, but I decided to do something about it. In my research I learned one of the best things you can do for the environment is to either drive an electric car or invest in an electric car company. After completing my research, I found that the only affordable electric car was the XEBRA and one of the only public companies was ZAP.”

ZAP has been a leader in advanced transportation technologies since 1994, delivering over 90,000 vehicles to consumers in more than 75 countries. ZAP is at the forefront of fuel-efficient transportation with new technologies including energy efficient gas systems, hydrogen, electric, fuel cell, alcohol, hybrid and other innovative power systems.

Statements in this press release that relate to future plans or projected results of ZAP are ‘forward-looking statements’ within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “PSLRA”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the PSLRA, and all such statements fall under the ’safe harbor’ provisions of the PSLRA. ZAP’s actual results may vary materially from those described in any ‘forward-looking statement’ due to, among other possible reasons, the continued acceptance of ZAP’s products, increased levels of competition, new products and technological changes, ZAP’s dependence on third-party suppliers, intellectual property rights, and the realization of any of the other risks described in ZAP’s Annual Report on Form 10-KSB, or in any of ZAP’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers of this press release are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

The “Electric Green Showroom” at Hilts Auto opened in San Carlos today. The San Mateo County-based auto dealership specializes in practical, affordable electric transportation, including trucks, all-terrain vehicles, motor scooters, people movers and a new electric car now on sale from Bay Area electric car manufacturer ZAP (OTCBB: ZAAP).

San Mateo Mayor Tom Davis came out for the opening. Davis said he already owns a ZAP, an original 90’s era ZAPPY electric scooter he and his grandchildren still use today. He expressed interest in the Zapino electric scooter and ZAP truck.

“The City of San Carlos is looking into getting hybrids, but something like this to go around town between parks and for use on city property has merit,” said Davis.

The dealership will be selling the full line of ZAP electric products, which include the XEBRA electric car and ZAPINO electric scooter. ZAP calls the XEBRA a city-car design with speeds up to 40mph for congested Bay Area surface streets, ideal for shorter commutes, trips to the store as well as utility, commercial and industrial applications.

“There’s a lot of interest in electric vehicles, but also a lot of unanswered questions,” says Taylor Smith, General Manager of Hilts Auto’s Electric Green Showroom. “Practical electric vehicles are here. And while they’re not for everybody, most organizations, companies, public agencies and even individuals are in circumstances where they can save significant amounts of money by converting to electric vehicles.”

The ZAP XEBRA truck is a small two-seater with a pick up bed for light hauling. The truck can use optional extra heavy-duty batteries to extend daily driving between charges. The electric truck and sedan can be fitted with a solar panel for charging during the day. Electric Green says per unit price for both the XEBRA sedan and truck is around $11,000, depending on options, dealer fees and taxes.

“Having more electric car dealerships will be important for ZAP and for the entire industry,” said ZAP CEO Steve Schneider. “We have several customers in the Silicon Valley already as well as the potential for corporate and government fleet contracts that will benefit with the support of a local sales, parts and service center.”

Electric Green Showroom visitors can test ride two types of electric scooters. The ZAPINO is classified as a moped and retails for $2995. While the ZAPPY3 PRO is a three-wheeled stand up people mover that may remind people of the Segway transporter. It retails for $900.

About ZAP

ZAP has been a leader in advanced transportation technologies since 1994, delivering over 100,000 vehicles to consumers in more than 75 countries. At the forefront of fuel-efficient transportation with new technologies including energy efficient gas systems, hydrogen, electric, fuel cell, ethanol, hybrid and other innovative power systems, ZAP is developing a high-performance crossover SUV electric car concept called ZAP-X engineered by Lotus Engineering. ZAP is co-developing advanced nanotech batteries with Advanced Battery Technologies in China. The Company recently launched a new portable energy technology that manages power for mobile electronics from cell phones to laptops. For product, dealer and investor information, visit http://www.zapworld.com .

Forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, continued acceptance of the Company’s products, increased levels of competition for the Company, new products and technological changes, the Company’s dependence upon third-party suppliers, intellectual property rights, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Electric cars are poised to become the dominant clean- energy vehicles as new technology makes it faster to recharge batteries that are getting cheaper to make.

Electric cars, available mostly in Southern California and Arizona, could account for 20 percent of the automobile market by 2003, said Robert Wilson, vice president of technological development at Arthur D. Little.

Fuel-cell cars, which convert natural gas, methanol or hydrogen into electric energy, are further behind in development than battery- powered cars. Fuel-cell cars won’t be widely available until at least 2015, Wilson said last week at the Platt’s Automotive Metals conference in Chicago. “The early winner is the electric vehicle,” he said. “Fuel-cell technology has three to five years of additional work needed before we can put those cars on the road.” The implications for the metals industry include increased use of copper for wiring, lead for lead-acid batteries, and specialty metals such as titanium and magnesium because of their light weight. Toyota will introduce its first fuel-cell car later this year. Germany’s Daimler-Benz AG is vying to become the first European fuel- cell automaker, with production set to begin before 2005. General Motors introduced the first electric car, the EV-1, in December. With a sticker price of about $33,995 and a travel limit of 70 miles before the battery needs several hours to recharge, sales got off to a slow start. California legislators are pushing for 10 percent of all cars by 2003 to run without emissions, and automakers are rushing to make their electric cars more attractive. By 1998, batteries will take 30 minutes to fully recharge and cost about 4 cents a mile to run, compared with eight-hour recharging now and an operating cost of $1.09 a mile in 1992, said Patrick Moseley, an electrochemistry specialist at the International Lead & Zinc Research Organization. Technological advances also are giving the batteries a longer life. By next year, drivers will be able to recharge lead-acid batteries up to 800 times, compared with about 75 times in 1992, Moseley said. Electric cars, which emit less than 1 percent of the pollution emitted by diesel-engine vehicles, will become more attractive as rising oil consumption depletes reserves, he said. While oil remains plentiful and cheap, the United States is the world’s largest consumer of the fuel and its appetite is growing. The nation consumes about 18 million barrels of oil a day, almost half of which is imported, up from less than 15 million in 1983. With demand expected to rise for battery-powered cars, lead production will have to rise 5 percent to 10 percent to meet demand for lead-acid batteries, Moseley said. “Today’s lead production in the world could not cope” with the level of demand expected for wide-scale use of batteries in cars, he said. One hurdle to electric-car sales growth is weather. The batteries don’t start as easily in cold climates, Moseley said. Fuel cells were first invented in 1839. The auto industry embraced them only recently, as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency tightened emission standards, Arthur D. Little’s Wilson said. Fuel-cell cars will weigh 40 percent less than today’s diesel- engine automobiles. Reductions in the amount of cast iron and low- alloy steel parts will bring the weight of fuel-cell cars below 2,000 pounds, compared with today’s average auto weight of about 3,200 pounds, Wilson said. The cars will use more plastics, aluminum, high-strength steel and specialty metals such as titanium and magnesium. The most significant increase will be for copper, which is needed in fuel-cells and electric cars to conduct electricity. Each fuel-cell car will use about 200 pounds of copper, compared with 50 pounds in today’s cars, Wilson said. Unlike lead supply concerns among proponents of electric cars, copper production has kept pace with a recent surge in demand for electrical equipment, components and wires.

More drivers in Southern California will have the opportunity to drive a gas-free electric car on May 22 with the Grand Opening of EnVironmental Motors, a new dealer for the XEBRA electric car and truck from automotive pioneer ZAP (OTCBB: ZAAP).

California leads the country with the highest average gasoline price, according to AAA. A gallon of self-serve unleaded costs an average of $3.47 in the state and experts are predicting $4 per gallon gasoline this summer.

ZAP’s XEBRA (pronounced ‘zebra’) 100% electric cars, trucks, personal transports, and ATVs are now in stock and available; some of the only consumer electric vehicles in the US that can meet the need for gas-free, city-speed driving. ZAP calls the XEBRA a ‘city-car,’ an all-electric design for city-speed driving up to 40 mph. Priced about $10,000, they plug into any 110-volt outlet — the same outlet that is found in and outside every home, garage and office. ZAP says that for every test drive at EnVironmental Motors through Memorial Day, it will pledge a tree towards its “Million Tree Challenge.” Learn more at http://www.zaptrees.org .

EnVironmental Motors of Glendale, California organized a full schedule of activities as part of their Grand Opening, including several Earth Day and educational events with local groups, schools and celebrities. In an effort to “spread the EnVironmental word,” EnVironmental Motors was present at the Los Angeles Earth Day celebrated at the Santa Monica Promenade on the 14th of April as well as the Pasadena Green Earth Day Event on the 21st. Other events included private student presentations, which were held at area schools.

EnVironmental Motors also made a splash with the ZAP XEBRA during Oscar Week in February at RC Green’s Ultimate Green Room party, hosted by Landers Public Relations. Among the many green VIPs attending the event, a major celebrity had the opportunity to take a spin in a ZAP. EnVironmental Motors also attended the National Alternative Fuels and Vehicles Fleet Conference in Anaheim.

Kent Sokolow, whose family has been in the automotive dealer business for over 54 years, founded EnVironmental Motors over 6 years ago. Daughter Taryn Sokolow, the Director of EVM, is a third generation auto dealer joining her sister Robyn, her father Kent and her grandfather, Lewis Sokolow (1914-1997), in servicing the local community as her family has for so many years.

“We’ve been driving and advocating electric cars for over eight years now, long before it was considered to be the ‘cool’ thing to do,” says Kent Sokolow. “We are excited bringing electric vehicles to Southern California, which will play an important role in protecting the environment. With our experience in the car business, we know we can help people feel good about purchasing an EnVironmentally friendly vehicle.”

ZAP has been a leader in advanced transportation technologies since 1994, delivering over 90,000 vehicles to consumers in more than 75 countries. At the forefront of fuel-efficient transportation with new technologies including energy efficient gas systems, hydrogen, electric, fuel cell, ethanol, hybrid and other innovative power systems, ZAP is developing a high-performance crossover SUV electric car concept called ZAP-X with Lotus Engineering. The Company recently launched a new portable energy technology that manages power for mobile electronics, from cell phones to laptops.

Forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, continued acceptance of the Company’s products, increased levels of competition for the Company, new products and technological changes, the Company’s dependence upon third-party suppliers, intellectual property rights, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.