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ZAP Rising Gas Prices This Summer, N. Carolina Opens Electric Vehicle Outlet

15 June 2000

ZAP Rising Gas Prices This Summer, North Carolina Opens Electric Vehicle Outlet

    SEBASTOPOL, Calif. - With gas prices at an all-time high and global warming 
going off the chart, what is a concerned individual to do? Why not ride your 
bicycle down to the local ZAPWORLD.COM Electric Vehicle Outlet and ride away 
with an electric power-assisted bicycle that can achieve the equivalent of 1000 
miles per gallon.

    Northern California electric vehicle manufacturer ZAPWORLD.COM (ZAP)
announced today the opening of another ZAP Electric Vehicle Outlet in
Southport, North Carolina. A recognized leader in the emerging electric
vehicle (EV) market, ZAP is hoping to expand its market by developing a
distribution network that specializes in electric transportation. ZAP, or Zero
Air Pollution(R), believes what limits the size of the market is a lack of
places to go, see and test ride these new forms of transportation.

    "The more people who know electric vehicles are available, the more
they'll start using them," said Jayne Howard of Alternative Neighborhood
Transportation in Southport. "I see it coming," said a customer, Ann Watson.
"More people are going to use vehicles that don't use gas."

    Alternate Neighborhood Transportation of Southport, North Carolina is the
newest ZAP EV Outlet, offering sales and service of electrically powered
vehicles exclusively.  Owners Jayne and Richard Howard, and even their son, were 
looking for a new business venture that would match their interest in helping 
the environment.  Southport is such a popular vacation resort area that they 
thought electric bicycles and scooters would catch on as a new form of outdoor 
recreation for tourists. The Howards also have a captive audience where they 
live on nearby Baldhead Island. The homeowners association there has a strict 
"electric-only" policy for its transportation.

    With gas prices soaring to around $2 per gallon in parts of the country,
ZAP is reminding consumers that electric bicycles offer a low-cost alternative
while providing more exercise and fun. With a 15 mile battery charge costing
just three cents, an electric bicycle can go over 1000 miles on the same $2.
They also create a small fraction of CO2 emissions compared to automobiles,
important when considering reports this week that global warming is
accelerating and may cause extreme weather in parts of the world.