I’ve had a soft spot in my heart for ZAP, an electric car company that worked for years to get the smart car into the US (despite the best efforts of smart GMBH and parent company DaimlerChrysler) only to have the rug pulled out from under its conversion market by the announcement of an official smart car launch this year.
ZAP saw the potential of the smart car in the US more than five years ago, in the halcyon days when gas was still in the $2 range. I followed their news releases assiduously, and if I’d been able to afford the price of the converted 450 model smart while they were selling them (and if I’d been able to get one) I’d have been driving it for a lot longer.
I’ve been seeing a lot of these little three-wheel, four passenger (sort of), electric Xebra sedans around. This one’s from today’s grocery shopping trip at the Grocery Outlet in the Hollywood district. Just under $12K. 98% fewer pollutants than gas cars (counting power plant emissions, they say). More power to ZAP!
NOTE: The links I had here to ZAPworld are dead, but there’s some history about the years following this post here.