Mygreenwheels

ZAP announced yesterday that it is offering free electricity to charge your electric car for one year when you reserve one of its Xebra electric sedans or pickups online at www.zapworld.com. As long as you get your order in by 14 February 2008 you'll get a free Kill-A-Watt Smart Power Meter and free electricity for one year to power your electric ZAP vehicle.

Even though a ZAP can only manage a range of about 25 miles on a full charge, so we're not talking massive electrical giveaways, I can see their reasoning in this promotion. It's bound to get them plenty of headlines for not much outlay.

ZAP also makes the point that part of the excitement about its Xebra cars is that its customers represent a new wave of environmental advocacy - they don't just buy the cars to drive around in. It's more about making a statement and using them literally as a vehicle for change.

Most of ZAP's 100,000 worldwide customers have been consumers, but now more businesses, corporate and government fleets are starting to make approaches. And there's support from other quarters, like a new state law in South Carolina that provides a tax credit for electric cars and a non-profit outfit in Washington that's helping businesses install free charging stations for electric cars around town.

This is the sort of groundswell activity that actually gets noticed by people and gets a real message of change through to them while GM is now dithering about whether it can actually get the Volt to market by 2010.

Here's a quote from a happy ZAP customer that shows just what these little cars are truly about:

Salem, Oregon -- Les and his wife are teachers and bought a Xebra for their 16-year-old daughter.  "She's in love with her car and we are happy knowing that she can safely drive around our city, but won't be speeding up and down the freeway," says Les. "However, the Xebra's speed and range limitations really aren't limiting at all. She can get to the mall, movie theater, after-school activities, and music lessons easily."  Daughter: "My favorite thing about my car is that I never have to ask my parents for gas money."

Now doesn't that all sound just the perfect solution??? And, by the way, the ZAP Xebra might soon be able to trundle more than 150 miles on a charge if it gets its Danish lithium ion battery package sorted out.