Monday, March 16, 2009

Bright Automotive to Hawk the Anti-Chevy Volt, But Where’s the Money? « Earth2Tech

Bright Automotive to Hawk the Anti-Chevy Volt, But Where’s the Money? « Earth2Tech: "is skeptical that a hulking steel platform like GM’s Chevy Volt can be economical. Instead, he tells us, if you want to make a plug-in for the mass market at decent profit margins, you need to design around a smaller, lighter (read: less costly) battery pack.

That’s the tack Waters has taken with Bright Automotive’s first vehicle: a lightweight, aerodynamic plug-in hybrid. The Indiana-based startup was spun out of the not-for-profit think tank and consulting firm Rocky Mountain Institute a little over a year ago. Founded by Amory Lovins, RMI is famously committed to the idea of “lightweighting” vehicles to improve efficiency and reduce fuel consumption.

bright-auto-waters“We’re not limited by leveraging steel relationships,” Waters said, contrasting Bright’s “clean sheet” approach with GM’s longstanding ties to the steel industry. As a startup, he added, “agility allows us to tap into complete, solid business models and physics.”

At this stage, however, Bright remains long on vision and short on details."

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