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Microcap & Penny Stocks : BAAT - world records for electric vehicles with zinc-air -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: MakeMoney who wrote (5466)	12/11/1998 1:52:00 PM
From: StockDung	Respond to of 6464

Hey, Kids, How About A Car That Runs on Water? Another Black Box EDITED BY ANDY ZIPSER The one thing you can say about Joe LaStella is that he tells one helluva story-whatever it is. His press release announcing this Tuesday's retest of BAT International's "super car" is studded with references to "nationally known certifiers," "pulse charge technology" and the expectation that his car will get more than 100 miles to the gallon. In response to a telephone call made expressly to inquire about this revolutionary breakthrough, he instead went on at length about batteries, cruise missiles and M-1 tanks, implied high-level business relationships with Daimler-Benz, Volkswagen and Lockheed Martin, alluded to a major distribution network in India and mentioned other media inquiries. Exciting stuff, every bit of it, but especially the business about 100-mile-to-the-gallon cars at a time when the world's leading auto makers are pouring big bucks into new, more efficient engines. Toyota is already marketing a diesel-electric hybrid in Japan that reportedly gets 66 miles to the gallon -- and Chrysler, General Motors, Nissan Motor and Honda Motor are all hot on its heels. But BAT's technology, LaStella has said, involves relatively simple changes in crankshaft, piston and manifold design, yet nearly doubles the mileage of all that high-tech gadgetry. Gadzooks! Well, maybe: Who are we to say a "diversified advanced transportation technology company," as BAT describes itself, hasn't stumbled on to the automotive version of the next-generation microprocessor. But cars aren't PCs, and BAT International is not BAT Industries, the well-known conglomerate. It is instead a penny stock that went public in 1992 through a reverse merger (yellow flag) in Salt Lake City (second yellow flag) and which after all this time has cumulative revenues of less than $200,000 (red flag). Profits? Don't ask, because LaStella's response is the observation that "we're an R&D company." Right. It's a good story, and he's sticking to it to the last drop.

To: MakeMoney who wrote (5466)	12/11/1998 1:54:00 PM
From: StockDung	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 6464

By Ben Sullivan, Daily News BURBANK -- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a sweeping subpoena to BAT International, requesting virtually all of the records and internal documents of a company whose share price has increased from 8 cents to as much as $3.25 in the last six weeks. Officials with the commission's Los Angeles office said Thursday they could neither confirm nor deny the subpoena, nor any pending investigation of BAT. But a copy of the 10-page order obtained by the Daily News identifies 46 categories of documents the SEC has requested, including all technical and financial information relating to BAT's "pulse-charge" engine technology, business deals between BAT and any Barbados-based firms or individuals, and a complete copy of the company's bookkeeping records. BAT has until Wednesday to supply the documents, the SEC said. Typically if a company does not respond to an SEC subpoena, the commission will either file in federal court for a judicial subpoena or modify its request for information. The SEC subpoena comes in the wake of heavy trading in the tiny automotive engineering company prompted by its claim to have developed a car engine that can achieve 100 miles per gallon of fuel. Since Jan. 1, more than 130 million BAT shares have traded hands; BAT closed Thursday at 83 cents, off 18 cents. Because BAT had fewer than 500 investors and $10 million in assets at the end of 1997, it is not required to file financial statements with the SEC despite being publicly traded. BAT founder and CEO Joseph LaStella has said his company will file financial statements with the SEC within three weeks. LaStella said Thursday that based on the recent run-up in his firm's stock price, he was not surprised by the SEC's interest. But he said the scope of the SEC's request is unacceptable. In particular, LaStella said, he was unwilling to provide technical information on the pulse-charge engine because he has yet to gain patent protection for the device. "I wouldn't give that kind of information to anybody, so right off the bat we're at odds," he said. "If it means I've got to go to jail on this one, I will." LaStella said BAT's attorneys are examining the subpoena and determining which documents to provide. BAT conducted a public test of its engine Tuesday at the California Speedway in Fontana. Three observers hired by the company said a Geo Metro modified to incorporate the pulse-charge engine achieved roughly 93 miles per gallon of diesel fuel. The test spawned extensive debate on the Internet over the validity of BAT's claims. Since the start of the year, the Internet, and particularly a BAT chat room hosted by Yahoo! Inc., have been the battleground for skeptics and supporters of the company. An official in the Utah Commerce Department's securities division said he contacted the SEC Wednesday with concerns that LaStella himself had been involved in chat room discussions. Before moving to Burbank in 1994, BAT was headquartered in Salt Lake City. Kelly Bowers, assistant regional director for enforcement at the SEC's Los Angeles office, said that on its own, a company official participating in an online chat does not violate SEC rules. Indeed, he said, it is potentially no worse than a CEO speaking at a public breakfast. "But the commission would be concerned about any public statements on which potential investors may rely in making their investment decisions," Bowers said. Whether electronic or in person, such statements must be "accurate and complete." LaStella said that on five occasions in recent weeks he has participated in chat rooms to discuss his company, but has never misrepresented BAT or its technology.