INVESTMENT IN JOINT VENTURES (Summary of Financial Information) (Details) (USD $)				9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013 Shanghai Zapple [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Shanghai Zapple [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 ZAP Hangzhou [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 ZAP Hangzhou [Member]
Subsidiary or Equity Method Investee [Line Items]
Assets	$ 110,918,000	$ 115,964,000	$ 129,219,000		$ 1,472,000	$ 1,453,000	$ 1,682,000
Liabilities	93,570,000	87,017,000			867,000	347,000	118,000
Revenues						$ 82,000	$ 922