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]