New Environmentally Friendly Brazilian Cars to Hit U.S. Market

SAN FRANCISCO & RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil--The new Brazilian car maker, Obvio ! Automotoveiculos S.A., is introducing its “green dream,” one of the world’s most environmentally friendly automobiles, built for high performance, safety, and carbon-neutralized tailpipe emissions. CantorCO2e, a leading financial services provider to the world’s environmental and renewable energy markets, is playing a key role in making Obvio ! environmentally friendly, from the Brazilian manufacturing plant to roadways around the world.

The revolutionary Obvio ! vehicles participate in the global warming solution three ways. The cars are built using advanced environmental manufacturing processes. They run on gasoline, natural gas, or ethanol, or any combination of the three (a separate version will run on electricity only). And, under an innovative program, the company will contribute a portion of each car’s purchase price to a fund to offset its carbon footprint.

A social carbon fund will be established with the assistance of CantorCO2e. Ricardo Machado, Chief Executive Officer of Obvio !, said, “Obvio ! has committed that the fund will contribute to environmentally sustainable projects designed to offset carbon emissions associated with the company, whether in communities near the factory, along distribution and supply routes, or after the car is on the road.” With CantorCO2e’s counsel, Obvio ! will tailor its manufacturing operation to reduce carbon and other pollutants through waste recycling, water conservation, and renewable energy to power the company’s manufacturing plant.

Josh Margolis, Managing Director of CantorCO2e, said, “The onslaught of environmental legislation, especially in California and the Northeast, creates a perfect storm of public opinion, policy, and market forces working in favor of environmentally friendly enterprises such as Obvio ! CantorCO2e is extremely pleased to assist Obvio ! to bring this green machine to the marketplace.”

“I have been interested in creating a socially and environmentally conscious car my entire life. With Obvio ! this dream now is a reality,” said Mr. Machado, “As the cars roll out in the United States in 2008, people in the U.S. will realize not only that Brazilians make first-class cars, but we create new products that are friendly to the environment and fun to drive. We’re very excited to work with CantorCO2e on this endeavor.”

Obvio ! builds cars only for pre-paid long-term contracts through exclusive country distributors. Fifty thousand vehicles have been ordered for shipment to the US starting in 2008, and the company is completing arrangements for 70,000 for Europe and 30,000 for Japan. Obvio ! converted the powerful 1.6-liter gasoline Tritec engine (used in the BMW Mini and PT Cruiser) for trybrid fuel (ethanol, natural gas, and gasoline) and tweaked it for a higher ethanol performance. A 200 HP electric plug-in version goes from zero to 60 miles per hour in five seconds, with a range of 250 miles before recharging.

Obvio ! microsport cars seat three people. Designed for safety and high performance, they are powered by trybrid eco-flex fuel, which uses any proportion of ethanol, compressed natural gas (CNG), or gasoline. The cars also are available in an electric plug-in version. The ‘mid-engine’ motor that powers the car is mounted in the middle of the vehicle, the best location for sport driving because of weight distribution. The cars have rear driven CVT transmissions that allow the engine to operate at maximum efficiency, providing 10% improvement in fuel efficiency and 10% faster response than a conventional automatic transmission. The ZF/Punch CVT gives Obvio ! the feel of a six-speed manual transmission – with push buttons in the steering wheel for faster gear changes – or automatic, with improved acceleration as the power is transferred to the rear wheels, providing a sporty, responsive drive.

Obvio ! cars have several unique design features, including scissor doors and a tilt and swivel ‘carputer’ (internet, IM, and Web mail), providing GPS navigation, multimedia sound, movie and restaurant listings, shopping information, and directions.

About Obvio !

Conceived, designed and developed by independent Rio de Janeiro-based Obvio ! Automotoveículos S.A., the Brazilian microsport cars come bundled with cutting edge technology by world famous Lotus Engineering, making them the market’s first trybrid or electric plug-in built both for high safety and high performance.

The first of a total of 50,000 Obvio ! cars are expected to hit the U.S. market in late 2008 and will be distributed exclusively by ZAP (Zero Air Pollution), a Santa Rosa, California environmentally friendly auto developer and distributor. Negotiations are currently underway for 100,000 units/year of Obvio ! cars for Europe and Japan.

Obvio ! vehicles incorporate many state-of-the-art composite and aluminum chassis technologies, materials and features for urban cars that are fun to drive and efficient.

Color photos of the unique Obvio ! cars are attached. For more information please visit www.obviousa.com.

About CantorCO2e

CantorCO2e is a leading global provider of financial services to the world’s environmental and energy markets, offering finance, consultancy, technology, and transaction services to clients engaged in using energy and managing emissions across the world.

CantorCO2e helps clients manage the financial aspects of their energy and environmental choices. In North America and Europe, this means providing brokerage services to the energy and environmental commodity markets. Elsewhere, this means bringing expertise, finance and technology to projects that reduce emissions.

CantorCO2e serves all of the world’s principal emissions markets, including the Kyoto markets (CDM, JI and European emissions trading), the US compliance markets, and the voluntary carbon market. In addition to emissions, CantorCO2e brokers renewable energy products. The firm also advises market participants on carbon finance, introduces investors to projects, and structures forward sales to enable project developers to fund their investments. CantorCO2e helps ‘clean-tech’ technology developers manage their intellectual property, develop their licensing strategies, and roll out their technologies through our global network.

CantorCO2e is headquartered in London and San Francisco with fourteen offices across five continents. This global yet local presence, together with an expert team of professionals, enables us to provide world-class service to our clients.

For more information please visit www.cantorco2e.com.