While one of our favorite automotive curmudgeons, the Great Farago seems to have no reluctance to call out the likes of General Motors for greenwashing and Tesla for supposedly being vaporware (BTW for vaporware, it's a blast to drive!), he has so far remained strangely silent on the subject of Zap! Perhaps it is an odd sense of decency. He seems to only be willing to pick targets that have a hope of actually fighting back and perhaps making a case for themselves. Perhaps he doesn't see Zap! as worthy of expending his words on. Maybe he is right. Even so I will proceed share a few words on Zap! in this space. Zap has issued a request for quotes from engineering and technology partners to help actually make the Alias electric trike a reality. After originally planning to launch the Alias this year, the company is just now looking for partners to make it happen by mid-2009. While the Alias was originally conceived by Zap with Lotus, it seems odd that they are now looking for new engineering partners. The Alias, and perhaps the Zap-X, are expected to someday be manufactured by a joint-venture company formed between Zap and China Youngman Automotive Group. One interesting note in Zap's press release is that the Alias, if it ever moves beyond the rendering stage, would be sold under a new brand for the JV company rather than as a Zap. Come on Robert, where are you when we really need you? Or are you just waiting until March 18th to pick a new target?
[Source: Zap]
[Source: Zap]
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