electric cars and trucks

From Brandy Warren in the C-J, an emphasis on the (green) jobs angle of alternative energy pursuits...

An electric-car factory that someday might employ up to 1,000 people could be built in Bullitt County.

That's if driving the three-wheeled vehicles becomes legal in the state. Republican Sens. Dan Seum of Louisville and Gary Tapp of Shelbyville prefiled a bill on Monday to amend the law and allow the low-speed vehicles to be licensed...

Larry Cottingham, general manager of ZAP Electric Autos, a dealer in Shepherdsville, said at a news conference yesterday that Santa Rosa, Calif.-based ZAP, which currently makes the Zero Air Pollution cars in China, wouldn't even consider having the cars built in Kentucky because they can't be licensed in the state.

Randy Waldman, Cottingham's partner and CEO of Integrity Manufacturing in Shepherdsville, said yesterday that if a deal can be worked out, he wants to build a $30 million manufacturing plant to build the cars.

The plant, which would be an addition to Integrity Manufacturing, would employ 300 people to start and possibly up to 1,000 in the future, Waldman said. He said he hopes to produce 100,000 cars annually at the plant....

The cars come in several models. The base car -- the Xebra -- has three wheels and can travel up to 25 miles per charge at speeds up to 40 mph. It charges in a regular 110-volt electrical outlet and sells for $11,700. There is also a base three-wheel truck. Two higher-speed cars -- one with four wheels -- are in development. ZAP also builds electric scooters.

Cottingham said some businesses, including UPS, Coca-Cola, and Domino's, are using the ZAP cars and trucks to deliver goods in urban areas....

Cottingham said Kentucky law prohibits the three-wheeled cars from being licensed because they are considered an encased motorcycle and do meet federal safety regulations.

Cottingham and Waldman yesterday urged state legislators to support a change in the law and possibly hold a special session to change it. Waldman said the company couldn't afford to wait until next year's legislative session because ZAP could find another U.S. manufacturer by then....

"It only costs like $15 to $16 a month to recharge the vehicle every night," Tapp said. "You can't get very far on $15 to $16 of gas these days."...

My buddy Brett is working on his second prototype of an electric truck. His first version had a range of 120 miles initially, but as the batteries have faded (15,000 miles into it), he can now go 40 miles. The top speed is about 80 MPH.