According to an article on [removed]KSAT.com[/removed], a new car dealership in San Antonio is unique for two reasons: it sells only electric cars, and it’s owned by an orthodontist.
ZAP Electric Cars offer the Zebra, a three-wheel, four-door compact car as well as a two-seat pickup. The owner, Robert "Tito" Norris, DDS, who lectured at this year’s PCSO Annual Session on the topic of technological advancements, learned about the vehicles in Austin and decided to open the dealership to combat high gas prices.
"I’m tired of paying $3 a gallon for gasoline," he said. "And this is something that costs 2 cents a mile to run it." The vehicles, which start at $11,000, can reach a maximum of 40 mph and are not designed for highway use. They run 40 miles on a full charge, which takes 6 to 8 hours to complete. No air conditioning is available.
Norris said that, while the vehicles need to be inspected annually, they require little maintenance. He added that for every car sold, the company will plant 200 trees, the amount needed to offset the pollution of a vehicle that runs on gasoline.
ZAP, which stands for Zero Air Pollution, has about 30 dealerships across the United States.
