ZAP auto dealer plans Carson City traffic stopper

A glass-sided tower, standing seven stories tall, showcases 77 automobiles.

The high-style architecture looks like a collection of miniature model cars encased in Plexiglas.

That's the photo Bob Chauvin shows when telling his vision for a site he just acquired in Carson City at Highway 395 and Koontz Lane.

The design plans must first be approved by the city planning commission.

Bruce Robertson of Sperry Van Ness Gold Dust Commercial Associates handled the property transaction between Chauvin Properties LLC and Volcano Vision, based in California.

The 1.5 acres sold for $725,000.

Chauvin plans to break ground next year.

But he won't build the tower the design of which is the standard display lot throughout Italy just yet."When the automobiles come in steady, then I'll build the million-dollar building," he says.

The cars he awaits are Americanized versions of the tiny "Smart" cars sold by Mercedes Benz in Europe.Mercedes plans to sell them in the United States beginning in 2007.

In the meantime, ZAP a California company buys the cars from an independent importer,modifies them to meet U.S.

standards and sells them through a dealer network.

Getting the dealership rights was easy compared to getting the cars."We've had a few political problems getting our allotment," says Chauvin.

Currently on order: 1,000 convertibles and 1,000 coupes.He wants 15,000 for delivery, but so far only received two.

"It's the wave of the future," he says."With gas creeping toward $3 a gallon, the era of the micro car is here."

Chauvin bought the Carson City exclusive sales territory and also the Reno territory: bounded by the Neil Road exit off Highway 395 north to Bordertown,west to Boomtown and east to the Lyon County line.

To the south, the area from Neil Road to Mount Rose Highway was bought by a second ZAP dealer, Keith Spradling, who operates the Sprad's RV dealership on South Virginia.

Spradling sold the first ZAP ever sold in the country to a Las Vegas couple in May.

Landing the Carson City dealership site proved a circuitous route.

First, Chauvin planned a used car dealership for the Carson City lot, but city officials nixed anything except new car dealerships in the established auto row.

Chauvin's plans to buy a Suzuki dealership fell through when he discovered the territory was already taken.

"I was going to back out of the deal," he said,"but after some thought, decided it was a good property."

Leafing through an auto dealership magazine, his eye fell upon the ZAP.His inquiry hit home with the territories he wanted.

"I've always been fanatic with gas mileage and clean air burn," says Chauvin.

"The government doesn't want something that gets such good gas mileage while gas is still under $3 a gallon.

The government and the big players are concentrating on marketing the hybrid right now.

As gas begins to go up in price, you'll see more micro cars."

Chauvin also operates Pay Less Car Sales, which opened last year on South Virginia, and Ragun Cajun Used Cars on Wrondel Way, in business since 1994.