Back in April, startup company Bright Automotive unveiled its design for a plug-in hybrid light delivery truck. Now, we've had a chance to drive the prototype, briefly, just as Bright raised its electric range to 40 miles. Our test vehicle was the only Bright IDEA van prototype built thus far by the Anderson, Indiana, firm. We were able to MORE

Kevin Czinger, President & CEO, Coda Automotive. Reuben Munger, Chairman, Bright Automotive, Inc. Business leaders representing the entire value chain of an electrified transportation system will hold a press conference on Monday, 16 November to announce the formation of the Electrification Coalition and the release of its Electrification Roadmap , a report outlining a vision for the deployment of electric vehicles and infrastructure on a mass scale. MORE

As federal government agencies add electric vehicles to their fleet, will consumers notice and follow along? If an agency such as the USPS, who is seen be everyone, employs electric vehicles in daily use will consumers believe that EVs are feasible, reliable means of transportation and follow suit? These questions will remain unanswered for some MORE

renamed NextCar), Aptera Motors, and Bright Automotive is Carbon Motors of Connersville, Indiana. Log one more startup car company the U.S. Department of Energy has declined to fund. The latest entry on the lengthening list that includes Virtual Vehicles Co. The five-year-old startup proposed to build a carbon-fiber police cruiser, solely offered MORE

When GM Ventures announced it would invest an unspecified amount of money into startup hybrid truck-maker Bright Automotive, several of us noted that the prototype Bright Idea delivery van used an 2.0-liter engine and transmission from a Dodge Caliber. MORE

Yesterday an enigmatic tweet from the Bright Automotive twitter account saying "Another Bright announcement coming tomorrow." clued us in to an interesting followup to last weeks announcement that GM is exploring investing in Bright MORE

The folks who blew me away were the ones from Bright Automotive. They’re building their new Bright IDEA from scratch and they’re building it with a very non-GM mindset. Here’s a video the Bright folks have produced that tells the beginning of their story. MORE

The drive system of the EDAG concept consists of two Protean Electric (the spun-off automotive drive/generator applications business of PML Flightlink) wheel hub motors mounted in a double wishbone rear axle. EDAG’s Light Car - Open Source at the Geneva Motor Show. Click to enlarge. MORE

Bright Automotive has applied for $35 million in government grants to accelerate the production of its plug-in hybrid the IDEA ( earlier post ), and to deliver battery solutions to the industry through its engineering services arm. In addition to these grants, Bright Automotive has applied for $450 million in government loans under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program. MORE

ESN member companies/institutions include, among others: Duke Energy, Cummins, Delphi, Allison Transmission, Remy, IBM, SAIC, Rolls Royce, Raytheon, Indianapolis Power & Light, Brevini, I-Power, EnerDel, AltairNano, Bright Automotive, Rocky Mountain Institute, Midwest ISO, NSWC Crane, Purdue University, Indiana University, The University of Notre Dame, and Ivy Tech Community College. John Waters, President & CEO, Bright Automotive. MORE

Aug 3, Detroit, MI and Anderson, IN - Bright Automotive and General Motors have announced plans to begin what they're calling a strategic partnership. The deal will help Bright start mass production of their plug-in hybrid fleet vehicle MORE

However, it’s not just the ‘big boys’ of motoring that are having an impact as we enter a new automotive era. Fisker Automotive. Bright Automotive: Has launched the Bright IDEA, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle and recently signed a contract with the US Army (see article ). MORE

Echo Automotive, Inc., Echo’s Chief Technology Officer is John Waters, the founder & CEO of Bright Automotive ( earlier post ). a developer of technologies enabling the conversion of existing fleet vehicles into plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, completed a $3-million financing with United Fleet Financing, LLC, through a private placement offering and mezzanine financing. MORE

Bright Automotive went under. It just might be up to us. Sales of plug-in cars are steady, but not overwhelming. The Volt has had to contend with the overblown battery fire incident and the production hiatus. Fisker is delivering the Karma, but not without glitches and its DOE loan is being questioned. Aptera went under. The press has not been kind. Gas prices are at historically high levels, and have become a political football, but haven’t led to a surge in EV purchases. MORE

I’m betting that Bright Automotive in Indiana will be on the next list of recipients. We’ve been waiting for several months to hear this good news. Three EV pioneers, Tesla, Nissan and Ford, are receiving loans from the Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program. Totaling $8 billion, the funds will be used to manufacture efficient vehicles and electric drive components. MORE

Bright Automotive has been threatening to break out as an upstart company in the plug-in hybrid car sector for several years – and now it has secured a partnership in North America which may help it achieve its ambitions. Green cars Hybrid cars Latest news AM General LLC Bright Automotive Bright IDEA plug-in hybrid car MORE

Bright Automotive will unveil its IDEA plug-in hybrid concept on Tuesday in Washington, DC. Bright will then take the IDEA will to Norway in May 2009 for the Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS24). Bright Automotive launched in January 2008 from Colorado-based Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) with the goal of building on the work of a consortium of organizations, including Alcoa, Google.org, Johnson Controls and the Turner Foundation. MORE

Startup Bright Automotive announced last week that, once the company completes its funding, its advanced plug-in hybrid Idea delivery van would be assembled under contract by AM General. How times change. That's the outfit that built the Humvee and Hummer H1, and spawned the now-defunct HUMMER brand, including the HUMMER H2--which AM General also MORE

In fact, he was in Anderson Thursday taking pictures of an electric delivery van being designed by Bright Automotive. Director Chris Paine was in Indianapolis this week to film for ‘Revenge.’ ’ More details in this TV report: Filmmaker in Ind. for electric car doc. Here is the full text of the article, in case the link goes bad: [link]. Filmmaker in Ind. for electric car doc. MORE

Bright Automotive. Coda Automotive. Fisker Automotive. Fisker Automotive. Bright Automotive. And Reuben Munger, former managing partner at investment firm Baupost Group LLC, is a founder and chairman of Bright, which developed a fully electric delivery van called Idea. Fisker Automotive. The Wall Street Journal assesses your EV readiness. Are You Plugged In? By Mara Lemos Stein. MORE

General Motors announced today that it will invest in startup Bright Automotive, which hopes to start final production engineering of its Idea plug-in hybrid delivery van design later this year. GM Ventures, the automaker's venture investing arm, already provided funds to Bright this week; formal agreements are to be signed later this year. MORE

Bright Automotive, the developer of the purpose-built, plug-in hybrid IDEA ( earlier post ), and General Motors Co. Funding through GM Ventures will allow Bright to begin ramping up the development of the production program for the IDEA in the third quarter of 2010. Bright continues to seek a low-interest loan through the Department of Energy’s ATVM program. With this deal, Bright gets financial support that puts us on the fast track toward mass production of the IDEA. MORE

Startup plug-in vehicle maker Bright Automotive announced today that it is closing down. While General Motors had invested $5 million in the company, Bright had relied on the hope that the U.S. Department of Energy would grant it low-interest loans under the advanced-technology vehicle manufacturing program. A letter from its CEO and COO to Energy MORE

General Motors has agreed to pursue a strategic relationship with Bright Automotive, the developer of the purpose-built, plug-in hybrid IDEA. Tags: Green cars Latest news general motors Bright Automotive Bright IDEA GM technologies GM Ventures From Renault and Nissan to Toyota and Tesla, some of the world’s leading car makers are joining forces for this new, green era – and now you can add another partnership to the list. MORE

In response to owners of the IDEA PHEV commercial vehicle, Bright Automotive has upgraded the vehicle to deliver 40 miles of electric only range and almost 40 mpg in hybrid mode. As Bright Automotive said CEO John E. Waters said, "After speaking to major fleet operators and measuring how they use their vehicles, we modified the MORE

This new company, Bright Automotive , is founded by ex-GM EV1 people, and the super efficient Rocky Mountain Institute to make plug-in hybrids in Indiana. Like Paul MacCready’s original design for the Impact that established the world’s lowest drag coefficient of.195, Bright will be building cars that “do more with less&# , a philosophy MacCready was famous for (and the title of a wonderful biography on him). Bright is based around a parallel hybrid. MORE

Bright Automotive may only be considered a start-up company, but it is about to have a significant impact on one of the most important car manufacturers in the world - Volkswagen. The company, which unveiled its IDEA concept series plug-in hybrid light commercial van in May, will now convert VW Transporter vans using the series hybrid Bright powertrain. The goal for Bright meanwhile, is to prove the platform works and get it into play. MORE

The Active Noise Control technologies are part of a steady stream of ground-breaking innovations that Lotus has brought to the automotive industry and we are committed to pursuing further developments in vehicle refinement and environmentally friendly transport solutions." "We MORE

A Bright IDEA BY SARAH A. WEBSTER • FREE PRESS AUTOMOTIVE EDITOR• April 21, 2009 Print this page E-mail this article Share this article Del.icio.us Facebook Digg Reddit Newsvine More evidence that we are approaching an exciting new frontier in the automotive industry will be on display today on Capitol Hill. A largely unknown automaker  Bright Automotive of Anderson, Ind. • BRIGHT AUTOMOTIVE: Unwrapping the 100 m.p.g. MORE

Starting a company is tough; starting a company in the green automotive field may be even tougher. So it seemed like the engineering team from defunct startup Bright Automotive, once granted investment by GM, might have a second chance to see their technology on the road. The assets and intellectual property of Bright were acquired by Echo MORE

Start-up Bright Automotive, which in May unveiled its IDEA concept series plug-in hybrid light commercial van ( earlier post ), will convert VW Transporter vans with the series hybrid Bright powertrain as a bridge between the concept and the production version of the IDEA. MORE

Bright Automotive Inc has launched eSolutions in an effort to accelerate worldwide electrification and overall platform efficiency and at the heart of the new programme is a newly announced contract from the US Army TACOM to conduct a demonstration project on a low-cost plug-in hybrid electric solution for non-tactical military vehicles. When most people think of US Army vehicles, they naturally picture gas guzzling tanks or far from fuel efficient patrol vehicles. MORE

Audi Volkswagen-owned company exploring PHEVs Metroproject Quattro Sub-compact PHEV Concept Car shown October 2007; PHEV of A1 Sportback under consideration Bright Automotive For-profit spin off from Rocky Mountain Institute designing lightweight PHEVs, successor to RMIs 1990s "Hypercar" concept. MORE

Bright Automotive, Inc. has entered into an agreement for AM General LLC to be Bright’s exclusive North American assembler for the Bright IDEA vehicle platform. AM General will build the Bright IDEA in its Commercial Assembly Plant in Mishawaka, Ind., The Bright IDEA is an all-new, plug-in hybrid electric light-duty work-truck due on the market in 2014. Production of the Bright IDEA is contingent on the completion of Bright Automotive’s funding. MORE

The event was organised by Bright Automotive to showcase its IDEA - a 100mpg plug-in hybrid electric vehicle that it hopes to market to both Government and commercial fleets. Bright wasn’t alone in bringing its wares for display. Tags: Green cars Latest news Bright Automotive Capitol Hill Senators MORE

Start-up electric vehicle maker, Bright Automotive is to close down after failing to secure loans from the US government. Green credentials Bright Automotive electric carThe Indiana-based firm, backed by General Motors’ venture capital arm, blamed the US Department of Energy (DOE) for a three-year wait for a final decision to be made on its application for a $450 million low-interest [.]. MORE

General Motors is leveraging two separate organizations—its internal R&D group and the recently formed GM Ventures—to accelerate innovation and to introduce new technology to keep the company on the forefront of the technology revolution now taking place in the automotive industry, according to John Lauckner, GM’s Chief Technology Officer; Vice President, Global Research & Development; and President, GM Ventures. MORE

In addition to examining the scope of the challenges, the report makes a number of recommendations to address them, including: Establish tax credits for installing automotive-grade batteries in stationary applications to help drive scale and contribute to reducing battery cost. Establish loan guarantees for retooling automotive assembly lines. Establish a guaranteed residual value for used large format automotive batteries. Kevin Czinger, President & CEO, Coda Automotive. MORE

Bright Automotive, Inc., the developer of the purpose-built, plug-in hybrid IDEA ( earlier post ) launched of Bright eSolutions to support automotive customers worldwide to accelerate vehicle electrification, lightweighting, and overall platform efficiency. Bright Automotive launched eSolutions with a just-announced contract from the US Army TACOM to conduct a demonstration project on a low-cost plug-in hybrid electric solution for non-tactical military vehicles. MORE

Bright Automotive, the developer of the purpose-built, plug-in hybrid IDEA ( earlier post ), has been awarded one of five contracts by the United States Postal Service (USPS) to develop and test an electric postal delivery vehicle. Under the contract, Bright Automotive’s eSolutions team ( earlier post ) will retrofit a standard USPS Long Life Vehicle (LLV) with an integrated electric drive train, and place the vehicle in real-world service for one year in the Washington DC area. MORE

We interviewed Senator Lugar in DC recently — as we caught the Capitol Hill debut of Bright Automotive’s Idea — a plug-in hybrid electric delivery vehicle. Senator Lugar was also cheering for his home team – Bright are from Anderson, Indiana. They claim the Idea will save a 250 vehicle fleet company more than $500,000 a year in reduced fuel costs. We filmed John as he briefed Congressmen and women on the Bright Idea. MORE