ZAP to Offer Unlimited Mileage Warranty

The warranty will be available on selected new cars from ZAP, including its ZAP L.U.V.(TM) and the new ZAPCAR(TM) LSV.

Source: PR Newswire [Sep 18, 2003]

SANTA ROSA, Calif., Sept. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Advanced transportation pioneer ZAP announced today that its electric cars will now include an unlimited mileage warranty, a new industry standard.

Electric automobiles are known for their reliability, having fewer moving parts and lower maintenance costs. However, ZAP says it wants to assure its customers-many who will own an electric car for the first time-by offering the best warranty in the industry. The warranty will be available on selected new cars from ZAP, including its ZAP L.U.V.(TM) and the new ZAPCAR(TM) LSV that it unveiled yesterday at its headquarters in Santa Rosa, California.

ZAP announced today that it has signed an agreement with A.U.L. Corp., a Napa, California-based auto insurance agency that has agreed to underwrite ZAP's automobile manufacturer service contracts, including post-sale support and infrastructure to carry out customer needs. An 11-year-old company, A.U.L. operates a nationwide network that specializes in offering "peace of mind" service contracts for new and used cars.

"We are delighted to be partnering with ZAP," say Luis Nieves, President of A.U.L. "I was actually the first one to give their CEO, Steve Schneider, a ride in my electric car several years ago and we have shared the vision ever since. I'm looking forward to participating in the growth of the industry."

"ZAP wants to set a new standard in customer service for its automobiles and we are pleased to share this vision with A.U.L.," says ZAP Chief Executive Officer Steve Schneider. "Early adopters of electric automobiles are a sophisticated clientele and ZAP wants to reward them for their decision to invest in the future of transportation. At the same time, we want to assure our customers that they will not need to sacrifice any convenience when they make the decision to go electric. We want them to know they made the right decision and that ZAP will stand behind its products with the best warranty in the industry."

Under the new ZAP Consumer Confidence Guarantee, all new ZAP cars will receive a manufacturer's guarantee, regardless of the mileage accrued. ZAP car owners will have the benefits of parts and service protection at the service center of their choice in all 50 U.S. states. The service contract includes 24-hour roadside assistance, 7 days a week, and includes rental cars and trip-interruption protection.

ZAP is establishing a distribution network for its electric vehicles in the independent auto dealer market. In 2002, ZAP merged with Voltage Vehicles, a distribution company targeting the automotive market with advanced transportation technologies. Voltage Vehicles has licensed for the distribution of vehicles from a number of different vehicle manufacturers. ZAP is developing a L.U.V.-Line of freeway-capable electric automobiles and plans to offer the Consumer Confidence Guarantee on future cars. Limited dealership opportunities are available.

Source: UC Davis News

[Sep 18, 2003]

Gas-sipping SUVs and high-mileage sedans built by students at the University of California, Davis, will join teams from the world's leading automakers in Michelin's Challenge Bibendum, Sept. 23 to 25, 2003. The vehicles will be tested on fuel efficiency, emissions and performance and take part in a road rally from Sonoma to San Francisco.

"It's the only event in the automotive world that demonstrates green technologies and is open to all manufacturers and researchers," said Andy Frank, professor of mechanical and aeronautical engineering at UC Davis and director of the Hybrid Electric Vehicle Center.

UC Davis has four gas-electric vehicles entered in the event: "Yosemite," a modified 2002 Ford Explorer; "Sequoia," a 2000 Chevrolet Suburban; "Coulomb," a 1998 Mercury Sable; and "Joule," based on a 1996 Ford Taurus.

Sequoia, the Suburban, won the national FutureTruck competition, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. automakers and others, in 2001. Yosemite, the Explorer, placed second in that competition this year and third in 2002.

All four cars are "plug-in" gas-electric hybrids. An electric motor drives the wheels at lower speeds for city driving, with a range up to 60 miles. On the highway, a gasoline engine provides extra power and maintains the charge in the batteries. The batteries can also be charged by connecting the vehicle to a domestic power outlet overnight.

Also entered in the competition is a Toyota fuel-cell hybrid vehicle that is leased for research to UC Davis' Institute of Transportation Studies. The Highlander FCHV is a sport-utility vehicle powered by a hydrogen fuel cell and an electric battery. For this event, it will compete as part of the Toyota vehicle fleet.

UC Davis will also host a booth in the Challenge Bibendum Learning Center, where students and faculty members will be on hand to talk about transportation research and education. One of the world's few fuel-cell-powered transit buses, which recently joined the UC Davis research program, will be on display there.

"At UC Davis, we study a diverse range of transportation options for the future. Michelin's Challenge Bibendum is a wonderful showcase of those options, and we'll have 30 students and faculty there teaching and learning," said Dan Sperling, director of the transportation institute.

Events begin Sept. 23 with a public display at Sonoma Square, Sonoma. The next day, Sept. 24, in activities closed to the public, vehicles will be put through their paces at Sonoma's Infineon Raceway. On the final day, the teams will rally through the Sonoma Valley, cross the Golden Gate Bridge and finish at San Francisco City Hall, with a public display at Crissy Field.

Challenge Bibendum was established by the Michelin Group to bring together and test the best available technologies for environmentally positive vehicles. The annual event features vehicles from major manufacturers on three continents and brings together all partners in the automotive world: vehicle manufacturers, designers, energy suppliers, technical leaders, policy-makers, universities, government organizations and trade media.

More than 100 passenger and commercial vehicles are expected to participate in this year's event. Other competitors in the event include manufacturers Audi, BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Ford, Freightliner, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Isuzu Truck, Nissan, Volkswagen, Volvo Car and Volvo Truck. In addition to UC Davis, other university teams competing are the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Oklahoma, Georgetown University and Michigan Tech.

Challenge Bibendum is one of the few events to compare different advanced technologies head-to-head. The event is open to all energy sources from electric cars to gas-electric hybrids, fuel cells and hydrogen powered buses. Advanced technology vehicles are rated on emissions, acceleration, braking, handling, noise and energy efficiency during the annual competition.

The UC Davis team participated in the first Challenge Bibendum in southern California in 2001, and in last year's event in Europe.

Additional information:

UC Davis Hybrid Electric Vehicle Center

UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies

Michelin Challenge Bibendum

Media contact(s):

• Andy Fell, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-4533, ahfell@ucdavis.edu

Source:

A lot of people believe economic growth comes at the expense of the environment. Quite the contrary, the economic growth imperative drives investment in technology, which continuously improves our products and protects the environment. Critics of free markets, both those who oppose markets for ideological reasons and those who simply do not comprehend how markets work, frequently assert that without the "benevolent" guiding hand of government, firms will maximize their profits at the expense of the public welfare. The fact is, markets are the best discoverers of the public interest, and it is through the operation of free markets that self-interested individuals and profit-maximizing firms serve the public interest.

In the spirit of full disclosure and truth in advertising, I serve on Toyota's Diversity Advisory Board. From that vantage point, I can attest that from its very inception, Toyota has understood that automobile consumers are not atomized individuals adrift on the world's highways but rather people who live within a complex social and political matrix that helps define their preferences. Therefore, while Toyota has a passion for technological excellence and economy in the motor vehicles it manufactures, it also has a profound understanding that a firm's ability to adapt to the cultures and customs of local markets ultimately determines its commercial success.

Toyota recognizes that a continuously growing auto market creates new challenges and opportunities for the auto industry. As Toyota Chairman Hiroshi Okuda recently told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, "Protecting the environment, improving safety and applying information technology are the three avenues of innovation we must travel in order to keep up with change and seize the opportunities it presents." Far from having to be bludgeoned into meeting these challenges by government, market forces are compelling a "fiercely competitive" (Okuda's words) Toyota to step up to them on its own.

Two examples illustrate this fact. In 1997, Toyota launched the world's first mass-produced hybrid vehicle, its gas-electric Prius. This year, Toyota introduced its second-generation Prius, which extends the frontier on hybrid vehicles. When I visited Toyota City in Nagoya, Japan, in mid-April, I drove one, and believe me, the Prius is for real. The new Prius will achieve 55 miles per gallon and accelerate faster than its predecessor. By the beginning of 2005, Toyota will debut a new Hybrid Synergy Drive SUV, introducing a powerful sport-utility vehicle that achieves outstanding fuel efficiency while emitting fewer pollutants. In about two years, Toyota will introduce its hybrid-powered Lexus RX 330 sport utility vehicle that will offer the power and torque of a V8, the mileage of a compact car and fewer emissions than any standard SUV.

Right now, Toyota claims 90 percent of the hybrid vehicle market worldwide because this kind of technological innovation is part and parcel of Toyota's deeply ingrained culture of "continuous improvement." Okuda hit the nail on the head when he said, "Without technical innovations related to the environment, safety and the application of information technology, it will be impossible to sustain the growth of the market and of our industry." This is no starry-eyed, radical environmentalist talking; these are the words of a steely eyed, fiercely competitive capitalist.

Toyota also illustrates the way affirmative opportunity programs strengthen the corporation. When I was asked to serve on Toyota's board, along with six other prominent and experienced outsiders - what Toyota likes to call its "outside eyes" - including our very able chair, former Clinton Labor Secretary Alexis Herman, I was glad to accept the offer because the program was not a quota scheme but rather a sincere attempt to open opportunities within the Toyota family for African-Americans, Latinos, Hispanics and Asians. Not only was the program the right thing to do morally, it also made good business sense.

For example, when we reviewed the corporate advertising strategy, we discovered that a lack of African-Americans and Asians participating in Toyota's advertising campaigns was limiting the firm's penetration into these markets. Toyota has now begun to remedy this problem by hiring two new minority advertising firms to target African-American and Asian audiences. More diversity translates into more sales and more opportunity for minority individuals.

Part of my strategy as a member of the Diversity Board is to harness this culture of continuous improvement to create continuous growth of opportunity for minorities. That's why I believe that the goal of expanding diversity within the Toyota family must extend all the way down to all of Toyota's suppliers, distributors and other subcontractors, just as we require that our goal of manufacturing excellence filter all the way down the supply chain. When this approach is implemented, Toyota's suppliers, distributors and subcontractors all will discover, just as corporate headquarters discovered with advertising, that expanded opportunity for minorities means larger markets and more loyal customers.
http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82~1865~1662825,00.html

Cars of the future closer, cleaner, than expected

Creative ways found

By Douglas Fischer

Oakland Tribune STAFF WRITER

Sunday, September 28, 2003 - SONOMA -- The car of the future -- or at least parts of it -- could be parked in your driveway sooner than you think. And chances are you won't notice.

In fact, it probably won't even be sold that way.

Instead it will be a full-size pickup with three household electrical outlets -- handy for running a laptop or table saw -- powered by a motor and battery pack that happens to boost the truck's fuel efficiency 15 percent.

Or it will be a sporty little roadster with unbeatable acceleration off the line thanks to an electric motor that cuts emissions in half.

Or it could be an engine component that monitors exhaust,

sending an annual e-mail to the DMV saying you passed your smog test -- but also notifying you when something breaks so it can be fixed then instead of at the next checkup.

That's because Americans have no qualms spending money on accessories. But even Europeans paying $5 a gallon for gasoline balk at shelling out for a car pumping less pollution into the air. So automakers are finding ways to package the two together.

They have to -- the car of the future will have almost no pollution, say automakers, industry analysts and regulators. Somebody's got to pay for it.

"You get a technology that gives (customers) the performance they want at a price they can live with and, son-of-a-gun, they have to take a little bit of improved fuel economy with that," said David Haugen, manager of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's advance engine development lab in Michigan.

"There has to be a market. Market drives technology."

At the Infineon (Sears Point) Raceway in Sonoma last week, automakers and suppliers from around the world gathered to race, test and show off their visions of what a post-internal combustion engine world might look like.

Almost all agreed it would be powered by fuel cells, the anchor of the new "hydrogen economy" that President Bush articulated in his State of the Union address in January.

Indeed, under every major automaker's tent at the Michelin Challenge Bibendum, a 5-year-old international event that has become the industry's premier showcase for cutting-edge green technology, was some version of a $4 million hand-built car that started with a push of a button and emitted nothing but puffs of water vapor.

Those cars are years -- perhaps decades -- away from production, experts of varying stripes say. To get there, automakers are starting down various roads that appear headed in different directions.

"There's not going to be one path," said Firoz Rasul, chairman of Ballard Power Systems, one of the leading fuel cell manufacturers, and the incoming chairman of the California Fuel Cell Partnership. "I'm not sure you can judge today which way is going to be right or wrong."

Toyota's 2004 hybrid Prius starts with the push of a button, and both the production cars and the four custom-made fuel cell wagons on display at the Challenge Bibendum offered dashboard consoles showing drivers how power was flowing among the various engine parts.

General Motors' fleet, meanwhile, consisted of cars and SUVs that from the driver's seat looked and drove no differently from yesterday's production models. But hidden under the hoods and seats were motors and batteries and, in the case of the pickup, the electric outlet.

The truck is an example of how the public might buy into the new economy.

Called a "mild hybrid," it's a standard full-size pickup with a motor bolted around the transfer case that shuttles energy to batteries under the rear seat, allowing the engine to shut off at stops. GM pegs gasoline savings at 10 to 15 percent, bumping fuel economy from 18 miles per gallon to 20. The truck will be available for fleet buyers next year, according to the company.

But that won't bring people into the showroom. The power outlet will. "It'll be like heated mirrors -- just another option," said Matthew Kester, spokesman for the company's powertrain division.

"People hate change. They're not comfortable with it. We want to give them what they're used to and what they want."

At the other end of the spectrum sits an anonymous white wagon with none of the flash of a Ballard drive system or the styling of a Mercedes fuel cell car.

Built by Anuvu, a Sacramento fuel cell manufacturer, it offers just 6 kilovolts of power and has a top highway range of 40 miles. The $4 million Toyotas had closer to 100 kilowatts; GM's Hy Wire, a $5 million concept car, could cross California on Interstate 80.

But the Anuvu sells for $100,000 and can run all day on city streets. "Five years out, it may still be pricey," said Anuvu president Rex Hodge. "But at that point it will probably have features that no car will ever have had before... Even this car has enough power to power your house.

But $100,000 for a mid-sized vehicle with no highway range is asking a bit much, Hodge admits, even for a big fleet customer wanting to support zero emission vehicles.

The costs associated with a switch to hydrogen are so monumental and the technology so radical that many say it won't happen unless government helps or forces industry along.

Gee-whiz options alone won't do it, say industry analysts and regulators.

"We're going to need a much more powerful market signal than mobile electricity," said Christopher Grundler, deputy director of the EPA's National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Lab.

"The country is going to have to decide we can't be dependent on foreign oil. It's a huge undertaking."

That signal isn't coming from the White House, said Roland Hwang, an energy analyst with the National Resources Defense Council. Bush in January promised the industry $2.6 billion for research and development, but set no performance goals.

"Research and development alone did not get us seat belts, air bags or catalytic converters in our automobiles," Hwang said. "The government has to set a performance standard which the industry must meet... Research and development alone is not sufficient."

But it doesn't mean car makers won't have fun in the meantime. At the testing track last week, a German auto magazine writer slipped behind the wheel of a Prius and took off, plastering fellow passengers into the backs of their seats and sending the car shooting out of tight curves.

Unlike gasoline engines, electric motors have the most torque from a standing start, turning every stop sign into an irresistibly easy chance to leave a bit of rubber on the roadway.

That appeal isn't lost on manufacturers.

"First and foremost is to make a cool car," said David Schearer, a Toyota consultant showing off the Prius who was along for the ride. "And if it's green, all the better."

Contact Douglas Fischer at dfischer@angnewspapers.com

Albany Democrat Heralds Sept 23, 2003

LOS ANGELES (AP) - With a smog-choked state park as their backdrop, the West Coast's Democratic governors accused the Bush administration of not doing enough to fight global warming and vowed their states would develop a joint plan to reduce air pollution.

"Unfortunately the Bush administration is still in denial on global warming. They have their head in the Texas sand, they're foot-dragging. They refuse to believe it's a problem," California Gov. Gray Davis said. "My message today is if Washington, D.C., will not lead, then the West Coast of the United States will lead on global warming."

Davis and Washington Gov. Gary Locke, joined by environmental activists, unveiled the pact Monday. Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski, who was unable to attend, endorsed the plan in a statement.

The trio said they would work to check global warming through coordinated actions that include purchasing fuel-efficient vehicles, developing renewable sources of energy and creating standardized methods to account for emissions.

Davis said the agreement was necessary because President Bush refused to act more aggressively to cut emissions.

Locke, who said the three states account for nearly 2 percent of global emissions, warned that climate change could wreak havoc on natural habitat by melting snowpacks and sparking forest fires. "Other countries are paying attention and acting," Locke said. "The current administration is paying only lip service and doing little to address global warming."

Dana Perino, a spokeswoman for the White House Council on Environmental Quality, dismissed such criticism. She cited the administration's proposals to give tax incentives to consumers who use alternative energy and buy hybrid vehicles, along with a plan that calls for the amount of greenhouse gases released as a percentage of economic growth to be reduced by 18 percent by 2012.

"The facts surpass political rhetoric. We have an aggressive and comprehensive global climate change set of initiatives that go further and deeper than his proposals today," Perino said.

The three states hope to:

€ Use their purchasing power to obtain fuel-efficient vehicles.

€ Reduce diesel fuel emissions from ships and trucks, including by creating a network of emission-free truck stops along Interstate 5 from Mexico to Canada.

€ Promote more renewable energy.

€ Develop uniform efficiency standards.

€ Work on better measurement and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.

The action was welcomed by environmentalists, who have been critical of the Bush administration's rejection of the Kyoto Protocol to slash emissions and what they view as a willingness to allow companies to take only voluntary measures.