Is ZAP all PR, no car?

Wired magazine published an absolutely scathing denouncement of ZAP electric car company in the most recent issue. The feature article is a long and in-depth review of what the EV manufacturer has promised and what it has actually delivered.

Auto manufacturing has pretty much the highest barrier to entry of any industry (aside from maybe making nuclear submarines). And attempting to take the world by storm with all-new technology while struggling with limited resources is probably even more difficult.

Among ZAP's eight-car lineup of heavily promoted vehicles, only two have actually been created. Though that doesn't stop it from charging dealers to create.

It seems that ZAP's business model is mostly based on giving the founders stock, printing out press releases, waiting for the stock to rise to a couple of dollars, and then selling the stock. The company's board of directors is controlled by the owners, and they have made a practice of paying for all of their expenses (right down to janitors) with stock in the company.

ZAP has managed to create a couple of products, including a three-wheeled, low-power car,called the Zebra and a truck built on the same platform.

You don't have to run out and buy a copy of Wired -- the full article is now online.