BY NOEL K. GALLAGHER

MaineToday Media, Inc.

Tom Joyal couldn't be happier with his new ride: an electric, three-wheel vehicle that saves him plenty at the pump and draws an uncommon amount of attention from passers-by.

But the state has told the Kennebunk man to park it.

Joyal got a letter from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles informing him that the vehicle isn't a motorcycle, as it is registered, because it has a steering wheel instead of handlebars.

The news took Joyal, who had registered the ZAP Xebra Truck in May, by surprise.

"We knew going into it that this was uncharted territory, but we knew ZAP had been doing this a long time," Joyal said.

California-based ZAP has sold more than 700 of the three-wheeled Xebras since they debuted in 2006. The Xebras seat two people, travel up to 40 mph and have a range of about 30 miles. Its rechargeable batteries can be plugged into a standard outlet.

For state transportation officials, though, the Xebra is just the latest in a growing number of alternate vehicles to challenge traditional definitions of what exactly is a car or a motorcycle, according to Garry Hinkley, director of the Division of Vehicle Services at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

"The ZAP is neither fish nor fowl," he said.

Although the state law defining a motorcycle does not mention handlebars, the State Police Inspection Manual does, and the vehicle won't pass a state inspection under current regulations, Hinkley said.

"We're not going to register these vehicles until we know that the state police will approve them as vehicles," Hinkley said.

In the past six months, as fuel prices have soared, the department has received many unusual registration requests, such as modified snowmobiles or converted ATVs that people want to drive on the road.

"We're not doing this just to be mean or bureaucratic," Hinkley said. "There are very legitimate issues of highway safety when introducing slower-speed vehicles into the traffic mix. In the interest of highway safety, we're moving slowly."

The Xebra has hit snags in other states, ZAP co-founder Gary Starr said.

"Sometimes when you have a new vehicle, you run into roadblocks when you are pioneering the way," Starr said. "In this case, it just seems like there was an incorrect interpretation, so hopefully the government will step in and correct it."

Joyal hopes it will be that simple. He's talked to state officials, and "they told my I had to get the law changed." He also e-mailed and called his elected representatives.

For now, he's waiting to see what happens.

"I totally would rather not go through this, because I don't want to miss a day of driving this thing," said Joyal, who lives a mile from his store, The Old House Parts Company in Kennebunk, and travels short distances to clients' homes. "My truck has sat for weeks at a time."

ZAP manufactured the Xebra to comply with federal regulations for motorcycles, spokesman Alex Campbell said.

But state laws differ, and although they have sold more than 700 Xebra Trucks in the United States, there have been registration problems in a handful of states.

In Kentucky, the concern was that the "motorcycle" cab was enclosed.

In Massachusetts, it's that the vehicle is too slow. In Ohio, it was that it had three wheels, Campbell said.

So far, registration issues have been resolved, usually via legislation, in Montana, Georgia, Ohio, Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland and Pennsylvania, he said.

The company is still addressing issues in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey and Idaho - and now Maine.

"It's strange," Campbell said. "In some states, they roll out the red carpet for electrical vehicles. In some states, they are using any technicality they can to block it.

"Maybe it's just that our society is trying to catch up with these ideas."

Hinkley said he thinks the issue will be resolved soon.

"I expect you are going to see something in the next session about these vehicles, to accommodate these newer vehicle types," Hinkley said. In the meantime, he's getting calls about "every other day" about alternative vehicles and whether they are legal.

"Over the past six months, it has become much more prevalent. People are wanting to run ATVs and golf carts and UTVs (utility type vehicles) on the road," he said. "But the big problem is that many of these vehicles were not manufactured to pass federal highway safety requirements.

"We appreciate that people are trying to find ways to conserve fuels, and people are being creative and taking this issue seriously. But it's going to take awhile for the laws to catch up."

Kal Rogers, who sold Joyal his Xebra, said the registration problems surprise him.

"It just seems kind of absurd that we're playing this bureaucratic game when it is clearly a vehicle and it should be embraced and welcomed," said Rogers, the marketing director at Maine Electric Vehicles of Falmouth. "I think it's a little bit of the Maine Yankee personality. Change comes a little slower here."

Rogers said the Xebra meets state standards and is very stable and safe.

"The bottom line is, which is safer at 40 mph: a three-wheeled vehicle with seat belts and a windshield and bumpers, or an unhelmeted motorcycle rider?" Rogers said. "Things are changing and people are going to get used to things being a little different."

And although actual sales are slow -- Rogers said they have sold a dozen cars since opening about a year ago -- he gets a lot of calls from interested people.

"People really want a solution. They're desperate for it," he said.