Prospective Zap dealer chokes on electric vapor!
The world desperately needs vehicles with alternative powertrains, such as battery electrics. The potential to make a killing in the business is huge, as is the potential to lose everything. The auto industry - as anyone who has ever gotten involved in it knows - is hugely capital intensive so investors are needed. However, people tend to be unwilling to put large quantities of cash unless they see a potential return. In any new business arena there are startups who fail without drawing much attention to themselves. Unfortunately there are also those that draw inordinate amounts of attention to themselves before they ever produce anything. Those in the latter category tend to poison the investment waters for those who may actually have something real to offer.
Such is the case with Zap! and their heavily-hyped electric vehicles. The Santa Rosa, CA company has been around for quite a number of years and has actually managed to sell a number of electrical products mostly related to mobile power products. However when it comes to electric transportation, their products are limited to the Chinese built three wheel Xebra "sedan" and "truck". Wired has now pubished a detailed article on the often sordid 16 year history of Zap! and its two primary leaders Gary Starr and Steve Schneider. Schneider and Starr have apparently "built" a business on alternating press releases about world-beating new electric cars and issuing new stock to continue paying the bills, including their salaries. Meanwhile enthusiastic prospective retailers of Zap products like Ehab Youssef and Joseph Gottlieb with little experience in the realities of the car business, have plunked down large amounts of cash for the right to sell vehicles that either come nowhere near meeting their rated specifications or never materialize at all. It's a sad tale but well worth the read. For those Zap representatives that often post in the comments here, please feel free to try and refute anything you feel may be incorrect in the article - but only if you have facts to back it up.
[Source: Wired]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Dave 9:31AM (3/25/2008)
Rather than retyping everything, I'll just paste my comments from the Teslamotorsclub.com blog:
How long is it until the ZAP execs are prosecuted by the feds? I'm not knowledgeable about securities law, but something smacks of criminal intent there. It's a well written and thorough story.
Wired chronologized exactly what everyone suspected, but supported it. Anyone that reads that story will no doubt walk the other direction. So what will ZAP do? Declare bankruptcy [again]? Sell out [cheaply] to another competitor [Mr. Papp]? Create a shell company?
The Zap-X is a darn good looking car, and Lotus is tied to it. Arguably, Zap has an interest in that car. I'd think SOMEONE out there would be interested in buying the idea...
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Woodenbee 10:29AM (3/25/2008)
Yes its unfortunate that these kind of scammers seem to hog the spotlight for alternative vehicles thus setting us back, much like that corbin sparrow crock, all investment and no product, which brings up the articles point about car making "- is hugely capital intensive so investors are needed" I disagree look at Jory Squibbs new X prize, I see a garage and a lot of duct tape, not to denegrate his efforts, but honestly if I had a slightly bigger workshop and a few more tools ( welder, bandsaw etc) I could knock out a prototype in my spare time, what we need is cooperation, so if your in the Little Rock area and into making a few alternative/ lightweight 3 wheel vehicles let me know! I need your workshop/tools/ knowhow and lets build something! and if your an investor please dont give your money to crooks like Zap give to someone who actually wants to make something worthwhile and usable.
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David Wright 11:45AM (3/25/2008)
'Tis a sad tale if true. Fortunately there are now enough bigname carmakers actively involved in developing EVs (BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Nissan, Renault, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Ford, etc) to ensure that, this time around, electric transport will happen - even if a few of the lesser players fall away.
I've always presumed a degree of hype in everything that Zap have published - but nevertheless considered it useful in advancing public awareness and acceptance of the EV concept. So I don't wholly go with the hatchet job that Wired have presented. But nor have I invested money in Zap. Mine instead went into buying shares in Tanfield Group - the London-listed owner of SmithElectricVehicles.com
Smith are exhibiting at Europe's biggest commercial vehicles show next month - CV 2008 at the NEC, Birmingham, UK. A week later Tanfield Group will be releasing their Annual Results. And Smith do deliver; with several hundred of their latest models already in use by supermarkets and parcel delivery companies - bought by hardheaded fleet managers, interested in the valid economic case for EVs, not just the green image.
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icelanderx 12:08PM (3/25/2008)
Great article by Wired. Once a shady car dealer (CEO Steve Schneider) always a shady car dealer.
I now understand ZAP's culture and it's sad how they are giving the electric car industry a bad reputation. The CEO, the ZAP bimbos, The ZAP rep. talking on YouTube about how Zebras are extinct species.. I get it now.
We need the electric car asap and hopefully Th!nk, Tesla and others will deliver on the promise.
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tommy 6:11PM (7/10/2008)
i wish you knew steve so you could really know how nice of a person he is. this article wired published (by randall sullivan the same writer who wrote the LAbrynth which was proved fasle) created so many problems in his life when all the things said in this article is to change the publics opinion on zaps company. this triac that ehab youssef claims he has made and is available now try and find it on the market it is bullsh!t to take customers away from zap. this is a scam by youssef because he is a sorry little b!tch that cant handle the real world problems. randall sullivan is a sick person for taking money to ruin a persons reputation by false accusations
Dave 1:10PM (3/25/2008)
So ZAP, what do YOU and your employees have to say for yourselves? Proud of the "work" you do? Your products?
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learnot2hate 6:48PM (7/10/2008)
defiantly proud of the work i do i am employed by zaap and i can insure you nothing of this is true it makes me sick seeing what youssef and randall are doing to zaap. and even more sick how all the people are biting youssefs bait if you people are really blind to the fact that youssef had a bad experience and is trying to ruin the company's reputation so no one will invest it is obvious unless you cant see 10 feet in front of you.
joe 2:06PM (3/25/2008)
???I'm confused? The only company actually putting EV, not NEV on the road in the US right now is ZAP...Am I missing something? Tesla is just now negotiating the manufacturing of it's super car. Which has not been through federal testing. The big Auto makers keep sending press releases about how they are researching or testing EV's. GM destroyed their EV's before they went to market. I guess it's either the competition or the oil companies, the big three or just a bunch of whining negative nay sayers, that keep trodding on those that are doing something...
Don't tread on ME!!!
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Derek Jones 2:15PM (3/25/2008)
Yup I invested a few shillings and got ZAP-ped. Little Starr-y eyed EV investment I guess. OBVIO-usly should have done a liot more research into the player's pasts. All the clues were there. I'm still looking to support companies that are in the EV trade and must admit ZAP has really done a disservice to the industry with all their hyperbol. This article is just the icing on the cake.
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Sam Abuelsamid 4:05PM (3/25/2008)
Joe you are sadly mistaken when it comes to Zap and Tesla. The Xebra is barely more than an NEV with a theoretical top speed of 40mph and real world range of maybe 20miles. Since the Xebra vehicles are three wheelers, they are classed as motorcyles and are not subject to any crash safety requirements.
The Tesla Roadster on the other hand has gone through all the required crash testing. Series production of the Roadster began last. Admittedly the build rate is slow, but they are building cars.
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kevin 7:29PM (3/25/2008)
I would not drive in one of those either look at it . To me it just says death by flip over. Sorry but as i have said before , i don't drive ugly cars
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Ultimo Dragon 1:05AM (3/26/2008)
Just imagine how bad things might be for the development of electric vehicles had the Zap shysters actually pulled off their purchase of Global Electric Motorcars, who eventually became a subsidiary of Chrysler.
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JP Hedin aka DrSmart 1:04AM (3/27/2008)
SAteve was not bothered at all when I told him that their calculations for their 60 MPG smart car were based on the Imperial gallon not the US gallon. And don't even think that they would be able to convert liters/100KM to MPG. As we all know Zap had NOTHING to do with the "Americanization of the smart forTwo. That was all done by G & K in Santa Ana. I went up to Santa Rosa & one of the "sales" people didn't even know how to fold over the passenger seat. When they announced that they had "appointed" TWO Zap dealers in Reno NV-I knew something was fishy. How about the 75,000 "SOLD" dealer orders that they had. This is all a bad dream and anyone who has had any dealings with the company knows the reputation of the principals. The Obvio is a total joke-imagine trying to fit 3 people in this dog-and now we have a $ 40K + price.
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murray 4:07PM (3/27/2008)
I really feel bad for the investors who've been burned by ZAP. It seems there's something fundamentally wrong with the justice system in this country when crooks like these can continually get away with what seems to amount to blatant fraud.
I'm glad Wired weighed in on this. Hopefully the word will finally get around to avoid these shysters.
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Niralisherni 4:52AM (3/29/2008)
FACTS:
ZAP has been in the electric vehicles (EV) business for over 13 years.
ZAP has manufactured, sold and delivered 100,000 consumer EVs to over 75 countries. I dont think any other company in existence today can say this.
Today ZAP is the only company delivering city-speed electric vehicles that fill today's demand for electric cars and help expand the growing niche for consumer-based electric transportation. These electric cars and trucks are now being manufactured and shipped every day.
ALTHOUGH WE HEAR A LOT OF TALK ABOUT SOMEDAY WE MAY SEE A PLUG-IN ELECTRIC CAR OR PLUG-IN HYBRID FROM THE MAJOR AUTOMAKERS, ZAP HAS THE ONLY DEALER NETWORK DELIVERING PLUG-IN ELECTRICS AND PLUG-IN HYBRIDS TODAY.
ZAP is perhaps the only electric vehicle manufacturer in existence that has a catalog of different EVs to suit its customers needs, from electric bicycles to scooters, motorbikes, cars and trucks.
ZAP has a nationwide dealer network of 50 factory trained electric vehicle sales and service outlets, the only dealer network of its kind in the United States.
The New York Times reported that electric car dealer Ecomotion of Portland, Oregon sold 125 EVs since its inception last year, making it the top-selling electric car dealer in the USA. Ecomotion added that the Xebra was the "surprise success" of the dealership, which sold about 50 units making it the top-selling electric car at the dealership.
ZAP is the only company that has a dealer network for plug-in electric and hybrid vehicles.
ZAP has delivered vehicles to fleet customers such as UPS, Chilectra, Coca-Cola, Domino's, Guru Beverages, Google
ZAP has the only solar-assisted electric cars available for purchase.
ZAP is one of the only companies delivering Made in China vehicles to the United States at an affordable price.
ZAP is one of the only companies with a wheel-motor driven electric scooter with a peak power of 3000 watts.
IRREFUTABLE
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pam allcin 5:10PM (12/12/2008)
Why is it so many neh sayers are against trying an electric car. Your spending thousands of dollars on golf carts,and motorcycles, have they been thru crash tests. Get real people the zap is made to replace the family second car, the golf cart in closed communities, not yet are we pounding our chests and claiming to drive down I 75 with all the speed freaks, give the car and brake(no pun intended),i for one see this as the way 55 and overs will be driving in sunny cities across the world.
Niralisherni 5:03AM (3/29/2008)
I would have thought that there would be more support for an environmentally conscious company like ZAP on autobloggreen. ZAP has after all withstood a lot of odds fairly valiantly and emerged with some fine future business deals nevertheless.
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Teddy 1:07PM (3/31/2008)
Car companies know that the future is elctric, so to slow things down and prolong their gas guzzler profits, they set up fronts with environmental sounding name like AutoblogGreen. That way they can play a part in guiding and public opinion...wolf in sheeps clothing style. Thats the reason there's a lack of support for Zap on autoblogGreen.
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factoid 12:03AM (4/01/2008)
Oh no! The paid Zap bloggers who sit in a room with Nancy on 4th St. in Santa Rosa have found this site and have posted the last three comments. Bummer. I was hoping they would keep their BS to the Wired site and their favorite, their finance.yahoo site which is so full of their "PR Spamming" that it is a fiasco. Read the Wired story and comments to get the real story.
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ryan 3:22PM (7/10/2008)
you are an ignorant retard autobloggreen is owned by chrysler they are obviously trying to mislead the publics opinion