First SMART Car in U.S. Available to Buy on eBay from ZAP

First SMART Car in U.S. Available to Buy on eBay from ZAP

SANTA ROSA, Calif., Dec. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Advanced automotive technology pioneer ZAP (OTC Bulletin Board: ZAAP - News) is auctioning off the most fuel-efficient car in the U.S. on eBay, the new SMART Car.

This will be the first federally compliant SMARTCAR available to U.S. consumers. ZAP is organizing U.S. marketing and distribution for the new two-passenger car that has created worldwide interest since its European release in 1998. To bid on the SMART Car Americanized by ZAP, With over 500,000 SMART cars sold outside the U.S. and gas prices at record highs in 2004, the popularity of the economical, internal-combustion car is now generating consumer interest in the States. ZAP unveiled the SMART Car to U.S. consumers last week at the San Francisco International Auto Show, announcing that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued a Letter of Conformity for the car. The regulatory approval clears the way for ZAP to begin U.S. sales for the car.

News of the car coming to the U.S. has attracted many U.S. consumers who have been waiting to buy them, some of them for years. At the same time, dealers across the country are lining up for the chance to sell the cars. The SMART cars will be distributed in the U.S. through selected ZAP auto dealers, specializing in advanced technology vehicles, including more fuel-efficient automobiles powered by gasoline, electric, hydrogen fuel cell as well as other fuels.

ZAP is not affiliated with, or authorized by, smart gmbh, the manufacturer of SMART automobiles, or the smartUSA division of Mercedes-Benz LLC, the exclusive authorized U.S. importer and distributor of those vehicles. ZAP purchases its vehicles from direct importer Smart-Auto LLC under a 10-year exclusive contract.