Electric cars are supposed to be quiet, but things just got even quieter in Kentucky. Integrity Manufacturing, which was trying to get a factory going in Kentucky to build Zap electric vehicles, has closed the doors and turned off the lights. Apparently, the $125 million in financing the company was looking for never materialized and the accounts simply ran dry.

Integrity had hoped to employ up to 4,000 people building EVs, although employment peaked at 200 in the middle of 2008. Zap spokesman Alex Campbell told the Louisville Courier-Journal, "There is so much that has happened, I am not sure what is going on. We have our existing business to run." He declined any additional comment on future Zap manufacturing in Kentucky.

This is another example of how difficult it is to start up a car company, especially in a recession. Anyone hoping to get into the business needs to think long and hard. This doesn't bode well for other start-ups. Thanks to Michael for the tip!


[Source: Courier-Journal.com]

Say what you want about Zap (and we have), at the very least the company has brought a rolling prototype of the Alias three-wheeled electric vehicle to New Orleans. Zap will be unveiling this vehicle and a new low-speed Shuttle van at the NADA expo there this weekend. How do we know the vehicle can move on its own power? By watching the 30-second video after the jump. One of the official pictures from Zap (above, and there are more in the gallery below) gives the impression that this car is moving at high speeds, but in the video the car is just crawling slowly in a loading dock area. Still, this is more progress we've seen on this vehicle than anything else since it was first talked about about 20 months ago. For more details on the Zap Alias, see this post.

Thanks to anonymous for the tip!


[Source: Zap, YouTube]

We mentioned earlier today that Zap will be showing off a new low-speed Shuttle van at the NADA expo this weekend in New Orleans. That post included a note that the Alias, which was a part of the ill-fated Kentucky plant groundbreaking, would also be on display. It was in mid-2007 that Zap first talked about the Alias, their new three-wheeled vehicle - Zap's Alex Campbell just sent us two new renderings of the red Alias that will be down in the Big Easy

The Zapworld website claims that deliveries of the Alias will take place in late 2009 with an "approximate MSRP" of under $35,000. That kind of money will apparently get you li-ion batteries, a range over 100 miles and a 0-60 mph time of 7.8 seconds. Since the three-wheeled Alias will be considered a motorcycle for crash test purposes, Zap will add "enhanced safety features" like seatbelts and a roll hoop. There are more Alias renderings and pictures from Zap after the jump.


[Source: Zap]

Zap is coming to New Orleans for the annual National Automobile Dealers Association expo this weekend and is bringing a surprise vehicle with it. The company has announced it will debut a new five-passenger, low-speed electric van at the show. Unlike the Zap Xebra, the new Zap Shuttle has four wheels (like the Zap Truck XL) and 108 cubic feet of carrying space. The NEV can carry up to 900 pounds and costs $14,700. For a few extra bucks, you can add air conditioning, solar panels or a rapid charger to the package. The standard van can recharge in six hours from a 110 volt outlet and that'll be good enough to drive for 30 miles. Zap says it will also debut the Alias electric car at the NADA show. More details on that that when we get them.

The old standby, the Zap Xebra, hasn't been totally forgotten. It recently made an appearance on the TV show Monk; watch a video of that after the break.


[Source: Zap]

A little addendum to lasts week's post about Zap's setback with its Kentucky plant. It had been reported that one problem with getting that plant started was that GE Capital withdrew its offer to buy $125 million in bonds for the factory. Instead, it seems that GE Capital never made such a promise, as both Manufacturing.net and the Louisville Courier-Journal are now reporting. This goes against the statements by Integrity Manufacturing CEO Randall Waldman that there had been a "verbal commitment" from GE. Integrity was to build the plant and produce Zap Xebras - and more, including the Alias - there. When the plant had its groundbreaking in September, Zap was bullish that the factory would "begin producing electric vehicles within 12 months and employ up to 1,000 people initially with the possibility of more in the future." There are still 10 months to go to figure this out and prove Zap right.


[Source: Manufacturing.net, Courier-Journal]

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 looks as though the passing of Xebra-friendly laws and promises of millions of dollars in tax incentives will result in the building of an $84 million ZAP! factory in Kentucky. The governor of the bluegrass state, Steve Beshear, is expected to announce a deal between ZAP! and Integrity Manufacturing Inc. later today that could eventually result in up to 4,000 jobs (according to Integrity) with salaries averaging $20/hr. The new plant would give the California-based electric vehicle company a domestic manufacturing facility at which to produce its three-wheeled Xebra as well as the long-touted reverse tricycle Alias and future models. The new factory is to be sited at the Wilkey Industrial Park in Franklin County and possibly be as large as a million sq.ft. According to a local news blog, the deal has its critics who question the viability of the project as well as ZAP's commitment. Time, we suppose, will be the final arbiter but in the interim we'll keep you up to speed on all the details as they emerge.

[Source: WHAS11 Political Blog]

We recently told you about the Kentucky Senate side-show in which Democrats and Republicans both tried to get legislation started that would make it legal for low-speed vehicles (LSVs) to drive on some roads in the bluegrass state. Now, Governor Steve Beshear has stepped in and signed an executive order that allows LSVs on roads with speed limits of 45 mph or less. Why would he do this? To encourage ZAP! to locate a factory there, of course. While a few weeks ago ZAP! had said there were no "formal conversations" about locating a manufacturing facility there, it certainly appears differently now. First clue: ZAP CEO Steve Schneider was on hand for the signing ceremony and took the governor for a spin in a Xebra afterward. Second clue: At that same event, Beshear also announced that state officials will work "hourly and daily" with ZAP!, a local businessmen Larry Cottingham and Randall Waldman, CEO of Integrity Manufacturing of Bullitt County to develop an incentive package to secure the building of the plant in Kentucky. Hit the jump for lots more news plus bonus video.

*Update: Added video of Governor Beshear's announcement and ensuing press conference.


[Source: McClatchy / Business First / Courier-Journal / SMASHgods]

We recently got word that a ZAP Alias prototype had been built but at the time, we couldn't find any pictures. With a link supplied by commenter "Jay," that situation has been somewhat rectified. Although we don't have photos beyond the screen grabs you see above, there is a news video from NBC24 showing off the car from different angles. They even chat with the Craig Winn of Applied Technologies, the man responsible for this first iteration.

From what we can tell, the prototype stays quite true to the drawings and video renditions previously released. It looks real and not made of styrofoam. He hope to get more and better pictures soon as well as an updated production schedule. If Electric Cars Europe want to import it, seems like the pace ought to be picked up a bit, no? H/t to jay.

[Source: NBC24]

A consortium of Dutch companies under the banner of Electric Cars Europe have decided a little collaboration is in order to help speed up the implementation of electric cars in the Netherlands. With a vision of seeing 26 per cent of Dutch cars powered by electrons by 2025, the consortium's plan has several parts, the first of which involves some conversion of several Lotus Elise vehicles to an electric drivetrain by partner company, Innosys Engineering. Isn't it a little strange how Lotus has become the "go to" company when you want to build, or even just convert, an electric sports car these days? But I digress.

The next order of business is to take €100 million already invested and metamorphose a couple hundred Volkswagen Golfs from liquid fuel to solid state. All of these vehicles, as well as some future models, are to be monitored by energy company, Essent, as part of large-scale testing of their "Mobile Smart Grid." This is a "smart" distribution system that will make the move to electric personal transportation more feasible by tracking how much power you need and when you need it. It can also bill you for what you use regardless of where you plug in.

To read about a somewhat surprising twist to their next phase as well as test your working knowledge of Dutch and watch some electric Lotus Elise action, hit the jump. As an extra bonus we've also tagged on an extra video from Innosys Engineering that shows off what they've accomplished to the syncopated rhythms of a funky soundtrack.

* Added another video showing more of the orange Elise on the track