John Cooper was at the gas pump when he was inspired to open Augusta's first electric vehicle dealership.

He put $30 in gas into his Dodge truck, a V-10 that gets 8 miles to the gallon. It wasn't enough to get the gauge past the low-fuel warning ding, he explained.

"I said 'That's it, something's got to be done.' "

What he has done opens Saturday at 3107 Washington Road, a company called GoGreen Zero Emission Vehicles that sells Chinese-made ZAP electric cars and trucks.

Given Augusta's status as the electric vehicle manufacturing capital of the world through E-Z-Go, Club Car and the Tomberlin Group, Mr. Cooper said it felt proper that Augusta should become the first ZAP dealer in Georgia.

The showroom is small, holding only six ZAP Xebra vehicles and two electric scooters. The seventh vehicle is his. The green machine with "The Future Is Here" on the back window already has 900 miles on it.

"I get some people yelling if that's the future I don't want any part of it. Most of the reaction to the vehicles has been positive," Mr. Cooper said.

ZAP's production area in Santa Rosa, Calif., is increasing, primarily because demand is up since they introduced the Xebra in the United States in 2006.

"Orders for ZAP's full-line of electric vehicles have been increasing as a result of the company's rapidly expanding dealer network," said ZAP chief executive officer Steve Schneider.

A year ago, ZAP had 20 dealers. It now has 50.

ZAP stands for Zero Air Pollution. The battery-powered car can travel up to 25 miles on a charge. The top speed is 40 mph. The truck versions have more battery capacity and can go 50 miles before becoming empty.

Models come with solar panels to charge the battery while it is sitting in the sun.

"You can stop buying gas. Stop getting oil changes. Stop polluting," Mr. Cooper said.

Under the hood is the front tire, horn, headlights and washer fluid.

There are some caveats to driving a Xebra: there's no air bag because it is not classified as a car, but as a motorcycle; a driver must have a motorcycle license; and the only air conditioning is the rolled-down-window kind.

"I live in National Hills, my mom in Jones Creek. If I go visit her and come back, that's $20 in gas. If I go in one of these, it is 50 cents in electricity," Mr. Cooper said. "They ride pretty good for what they are with little tires."

Mr. Cooper said his new business isn't set up like a traditional car dealership, he doesn't take trade-ins.

Though the doors have been open for a week, he hasn't sold any of the cars and trucks in order to have some in the showroom for today's grand opening.

"Rather than buy a new gas-powered car on a tight budget, many multicar families are opting for a new Xebra instead to handle all short trips around town," Mr. Schneider said.

Business fleets have also been field-testing ZAP vehicles, including Dominos Pizza, UPS and Coca-Cola. Mr. Schneider said cities have started adding ZAP vehicles to their fleet operation.

"The people of Georgia deserve to have clean and economic means of transportation and Augusta is just the beginning with immediate plans for expansion in Decatur and midtown Atlanta area near Georgia Tech," said Guy Mannino, the president of Verdek-EV, a ZAP distribution company.

Mr. Cooper said he has expansion plans of his own, starting small showrooms in other parts of the metro area within a year. And he won't stick strictly to ZAP once he finds some other electric vehicle manufacturers.

TIM RAUSCH/STAFF