Electrician Myron Burnett would like to put electric cars and trucks in driveways and garages across the state, but he doesn't want anyone to have overblown expectations of how such vehicles perform on the road.

Burnett, along with his father, Michael, owns the 6-month-old ZAP electric car dealership in Murray they operate as the Why'rd Automotive Group, a subsidiary of their electrical service business.

Although he is eager to talk about the benefits of driving an electric car or truck -- they produce no emissions and refueling is as easy as finding the closest electric plug -- Burnett doesn't hesitate in conceding such vehicles are not for everyone.

"The worst thing anyone can do is expect one of these electric vehicles to have the same performance as a gasoline automobile," Burnett said. "You're just not going to be able to get the same speed or distance running on electricity -- at least not for any reasonable price."

However, Burnett said he believes the cars produced by California-based ZAP, which stands for Zero Air Pollution, have plenty to offer if someone can be content with a vehicle that goes 15 miles to 20 miles between charges, can reach a maximum speed of about 40 mph and retails from $10,000 to $12,000.

Last year, as gasoline prices were rising, Burnett began researching alternative-fuel vehicles. "I really wanted something that could get me away from using fossil fuels as much as possible," he said.

That was when he heard about the electric automobiles produced by ZAP.

"At first I kind of wrote them off," Burnett said. "They were ugly little things, three-wheeled things made in China. They just seemed too slow."

Yet, after he went to California and drove one, Burnett quickly was won over. He realized he could use a ZAP electric car, which is licensed as a motorcycle in Utah, to drive from his home in Sandy to work every day in Murray. However, ZAP wasn't eager to sell him a car.

"They were hesitant because there wasn't any dealer support in Utah," Burnett said. So that was when he asked about acquiring a Utah dealership. "It was pretty reasonable. All [ZAP] wanted was a minimum investment of a couple of vehicles."

ZAP has concentrated its effort on designing and selling inexpensive electric vehicles, said Alex Campbell, spokesman for the Santa Rosa, Calif.-based company that first began developing electric scooters in 1994.

"As we see it, price is the key to widespread acceptance of electric vehicles," Campbell said. "And we believe there is a huge untapped demand for reasonably price cars and trucks. Just look at the number of people who have bought hybrid vehicles."

ZAP, whose shares trade on the OTC Bulletin Board system, was the subject of an article in the March 24, 2008, edition of Wired magazine titled "Hype Machine: Searching for ZAP's Fleet of No-Show Green Cars." The article raised questions about the company's management and its operations.

For Burnett, though, the bottom line is, Why'rd Automotive has been able to get the electric cars from ZAP that it needs. Why'rd has sold three electric vehicles.

He said the idea of acquiring a dealership seemed a natural extension for his Why'rd electrical business. "We understood how [ZAP's electric cars] worked and knew we could service them if a problem arose. They are pretty simply designed, operating on six 12-volt batteries."

Ron Freund, chairman of the Electric Automobile Association, said there are about 10,000 all-electric cars on the United States roads.

He noted newly designed electric automobiles, such as the $100,000 Tesla Roadster, are pushing the envelope in terms of performance. However, for those who want the electric vehicle equivalent of a compact, gasoline-powered car selling for $20,000, "it will be 2050 before they're satisfied."

steve@sltrib.com