Want to know exactly what's going on with Zap? There are a lot of questions floating around about this, shall we say, aspiring company and the folks over at Green Home Huddle have set up an interview with Zap's Gary Starr to get some of them answered. This isn't just any interview, though; it's a crowd-sourced event where anyone can submit questions. I'm sure there are lot of our readers know just what to ask, and Huddle is specifically asking for your input. There's no limit to the number of question you can ask, but according to Huddler's Cristina Foung, all submitted questions will be voted on by the Huddler community and the top ones will be posed to Starr in early November. We'll post the full interview on ABG once it's been conducted.

Questions can be submitted and voted on until Friday, so give it your best shot(s). Here's the question/voting thread.


[Source: Huddler]

It's been a little over a year since Zap teased us with the idea of their three-wheeled all-electric vehicle, the Alias, and the time has finally come to show us what the trike looks like. Representatives from Zap and Integrity Automotive broke ground on the $184 million Kentucky plant that might build the Alias last week, and the Alias was unveiled as part of the ground-breaking ceremony. We asked Zap if the Alias prototype was drivable, but the representative declined to answer that part.

Currently, most of Zap's products are made in China, but the Kentucky plant could one day produce Zap's "entire product line" in the Bluegrass State. Zap's predictions for the factory are that it'll "begin producing electric vehicles within 12 months and employ up to 1,000 people initially with the possibility of more in the future." It'll be interesting to watch how this plays out, considering.

Press release and videos after the jump.


[Source: Zap]

There has been a lot of noise in Kentucky recently as state elected officials work to bring a large electric car factory to the area. A month ago, Democrats and Republicans were fighting over just who could hold the earlier press conference with representatives from Zap. Then, two weeks ago, the governor issued an executive order to allow low-speed three wheelers like Zap's Xebra on the roads. On Friday, officials from the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority gave the green light to offer a $48m tax credit package to Integrity Manufacturing of Bullitt County for an $84m plant that could be used by Zap to build electric vehicles. A final deal is expected this week, says the Courier-Journal, and Zap could employ anywhere between 500 and 2,500 workers in Kentucky (or maybe Indiana, if the Kentucky deal falls through) some time after the plant is up and running in late 2009.

[Source: Courier-Journal]

ZAP has proven to be an excellent company when it comes to issuing press releases. They have also offered some nice products in the past, like the Zappy line of scooters. For some, the Xebra (see gallery below) fits their needs quite nicely, and for those people, ZAP is a fine company. For the rest of us, the chances that the ZAP X SUV, ZAP Alias or Detroit Electric brand ever get off the ground seems awfully slim.


Let's check out Number 19.

No, that's not a new photo of the upcoming Zap Alias. Instead, it's a photo to show what Zap and Youngman's partnership will bring back from the dead: Detroit Electric.

Zap and the Chinese company China Youngman Automotive Group announced today that Detroit Electric, the 100-year-old electric car brand, will be the name applied to the two company's joint venture, which they say will be "bringing new vehicle technologies to market by 2009." They mean the buses (announced recently) will be here in 2009, not necessarily the Zap Alias, although both will carry the Detroit Electric name. Where will Zap locate the revived Detroit Electric offices? In California, naturally.

[Source: Zap]

While one of our favorite automotive curmudgeons, the Great Farago seems to have no reluctance to call out the likes of General Motors for greenwashing and Tesla for supposedly being vaporware (BTW for vaporware, it's a blast to drive!), he has so far remained strangely silent on the subject of Zap! Perhaps it is an odd sense of decency. He seems to only be willing to pick targets that have a hope of actually fighting back and perhaps making a case for themselves. Perhaps he doesn't see Zap! as worthy of expending his words on. Maybe he is right. Even so I will proceed share a few words on Zap! in this space. Zap has issued a request for quotes from engineering and technology partners to help actually make the Alias electric trike a reality. After originally planning to launch the Alias this year, the company is just now looking for partners to make it happen by mid-2009. While the Alias was originally conceived by Zap with Lotus, it seems odd that they are now looking for new engineering partners. The Alias, and perhaps the Zap-X, are expected to someday be manufactured by a joint-venture company formed between Zap and China Youngman Automotive Group. One interesting note in Zap's press release is that the Alias, if it ever moves beyond the rendering stage, would be sold under a new brand for the JV company rather than as a Zap. Come on Robert, where are you when we really need you? Or are you just waiting until March 18th to pick a new target?

[Source: Zap]

So far we have only seen static computer-generated renderings of Zap's next announced electric vehicle, the Alias. The proposed three-wheeler is intended to use a lithium ion battery pack and hub motors like the Zap-X crossover. While the larger Zap-X will be far more expensive, as a three wheeler, the Alias will not be subject to crash test and other safety requirements since it is classed as a motorcycle. There are now three videos of the Alias on YouTube that appear to be rough drafts for a promotional video. They appear to be made from the same computer model that was the source of the original renderings. Perhaps someday we will even see real prototypes. For now you can check out the videos above and after the jump.

[Source: YouTube, thanks to Domenick for the tip]