AFS Trinity Urges Congress and Candidates to Support Proposed Auto Stimulus Package

SEATTLE, Sept. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- AFS Trinity Power Corporation CEO
Edward W. Furia today urged Congressional leadership and the Presidential
candidates to set aside 25% of the proposed $25 billion U.S. Auto Industry
stimulus package for small innovative companies outside of Detroit.

Furia's comments were contained in a written statement sent today to
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D. Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
(D. Nev.), Senate Energy Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D. N.M.), House
Energy Committee Chairman John Dingell (D. Mich.) as well as to the
Presidential candidates, Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama.

Pointing to nationwide interest in new generation vehicles such as AFS
Trinity's prototype Extreme Hybrid SUVs that deliver 150 mpg in a plug-in
hybrid SUV, Furia asked the leaders, " . . . before you agree to provide
$25 billion to the Big 3 in Detroit to come up with super fuel-efficient
vehicles, consider setting aside 25% of those monies for smaller innovative
companies across America who have been developing such technologies."

By way of an example, Furia pointed to AFS Trinity's XH150, "A fully
operational Extreme Hybrid(TM) that can go at least 40 miles without
burning a drop of gasoline in the electric vehicle mode with a top EV speed
of 90 MPH. . . . and from zero to 60 in 6.9 seconds in full hybrid mode.
After 40 miles as an electric vehicle they convert to gas. Since over 75%
of Americans drive less than 40 miles a day, in this car, they would burn
zero gasoline on most days. On weekends, they might drive an additional 100
miles, sixty of which would use gasoline. Based on a total of 340 miles per
week, fuel economy will average over 150 miles per gallon. No additional
new technology is needed. This technology is ready to be integrated into
vehicles that could be mass produced. All that is needed is additional
funding."

Furia also observed that politics seemed to be playing a significant
role in the stimulus package: " . . . securing Michigan's and Ohio's
electoral votes is obviously at the heart of the current draft of the
legislation that is so strongly skewed toward providing funding for the big
automakers in Detroit." But he continued, "GM, Ford and Chrysler aren't the
only companies that want to develop innovative technologies for super
fuel-efficient vehicles. Many smaller innovative companies have been
developing electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle
technologies for years while Detroit continued inexplicably to ignore the
handwriting on the wall that the age of the gas guzzler was over."

Acknowledging that the auto industry needed help, Furia said, "Because
the auto industry in Michigan and Detroit is in serious trouble, and
because it's a major part of what remains of America's heavy industrial
base, it makes sense for the government to help them avoid bankruptcy. But
it would compound the previous myopic and flawed judgment of the automakers
if Congress, and whoever becomes our next President, fails to give the
opportunity to all companies developing super-efficient vehicle
technologies to apply for this funding."

Furia touched on the need to tie the stimulus package to tighter
automotive CAFE standards, saying, "No matter how much is appropriated for
such technology, it should be tied not to CAFE standards of 35 miles per
gallon by 2020, but to at least 40 miles per gallon by 2015."

The question of who would get what part of the package was also
addressed and who would decide was also addressed: "It is inadvisable for
Congress to assign the decision regarding which companies should get this
funding to the incumbent automakers who have resisted such change for so
many years. Such decisions should be made by an independent body that is
free of political or economic self-interest -- an institution that may not
be easy to find or create, but this important mission requires no less."

Furia did not suggest that AFS Trinity was the only smaller company
outside of Detroit that could help America overcome its addiction to oil,
giving numerous examples of other companies that could contribute to the
cause, saying: "In the interest of quickly overcoming our dependence on
oil: At least 25% of the funds to be provided for the auto industry should
go to small innovative companies with technology that is relevant to this
cause. This is a partial listing of them:

"VEHICLES: AC Propulsion, AFS Trinity Power Corporation, Aptera, Azure
Dynamics, Balqon, CommuterCars Corporation, Fisker Automotive, Global
Electric Motor Cars, Odyne Corporation, Miles Electric Vehicles, Moroea,
Phoenix Motorcars, Tesla, ZENN Motor Company; ELECTRONICS: AC Propulsion,
Aerovironment, Cafe Electric, E-Drive Systems, Energy CS, Hybrid Car
Conversions, Hymotion, Hybrids Plus, Manzanita Micro; DRIVE SYSTEMS: Enova
Systems, NuGen, Raser Technology, TM4, UQM Technologies; BATTERIES: A123
Systems, Altairnano, Compact Power, Inc., ECD Ovonics, Electrovaya, Electro
Energy, EnerDel, Valence Technology; INTEGRATORS: Azure Dynamics, ISE, Inc;
ULTRACAPACITORS: Maxwell Technologies"

ABOUT AFS TRINITY

AFS Trinity develops Fast Energy Storage(TM) for vehicular, spacecraft
and stationary power systems utilizing batteries, ultracapacitors, and
flywheels. The Company has conducted programs with private and government
organizations including DARPA, NASA, the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, U.S. DOT,
California Energy Commission, Oak Ridge National Laboratories, Lawrence
Livermore National Labs, Lockheed, Honeywell, Mercedes and Ricardo. AFS
Trinity's patent-pending Extreme Hybrid(TM) drive train utilizes
ultra-capacitors, batteries and proprietary power and control electronics
for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). Ricardo, the world's leading
independent automotive engineering firm, with over 1900 engineers in
facilities around the world, has assisted AFS Trinity in building the first
XH-150 prototypes and is a preferred supplier to AFS Trinity for drive
train integration support.