Not to state the obvious, but an echo is about all that's left for the plug-in hybrid vehicle system maker of the same name. Echo Automotive, which was led by the engineering team of the defunct Bright Automotive, has run out of cash. Echo said in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing
Bright Automotive will shut down after the maker of the extended-range plug-in utility vehicles said the federal government took too long to make good on its planned loans to the Michigan-based company, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing a letter company executive sent to U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu yesterday.
Bright Automotive Chief Operating Officer Mike Donoughe invoked President Barack Obama's recent call for U.S. companies to create American jobs while developing alternative energy sources for transportation by requesting that Congress speed up the company's federal loan process.
The Rocky Mountain Institute has worked on transportation projects before – see the Hypercar and its evolved kin, the Bright IDEA van, or Project Get Ready – so two the new videos from RMI aren't a surprise. What they are, though, is a refinement of the Institute's longstanding solutions for more efficie
The production lines at the AM General Corp factory in Mishawaka, Indiana used to crank out the Hummer H2. Now they're set to produce a vehicle that may not quite have the same intimidation factor, but does have a high degree of practicality. In the process, about 300 workers could find new jobs.
Bright IDEA PHEV - Click above for high-res image gallery
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Ten months after leaving Tesla Motors as its executive VP of engineering, Mike Donoughe has resurfaced at Bright Automotive as its new chief operating officer. Donoughe has been in the auto industry for 28 years with stints at Chrysler and Mercedes-Benz before joining
Bright Idea PHEV van – Click above for high-res image gallery
Bright Idea PHEV – Click above for high-res image gallery
Bright IDEA PHEV - Click above for high-res image gallery
The one contract from the United States Postal Service (USPS) to start bringing electric trucks to the large national fleet of Long Life Vehicles (LLVs) that we knew about went to Zap. That contract was for a single truck, and it looks like Bright Automotive has been awarded a similar deal.
Bridgestone Ecopia Tires – Click above for high-res image gallery
A new Electrification Coalition was announced today with the backing of the CEOs from twelve companies. What's interesting about this group is that, among the leaders from electric vehicles companies and related start-ups – Coda Automotive, Coulomb Technolgies, A123 Systems, etc. – we find Nissan's Carlos Ghosn. Nissan is the only major OEM to participate in this coalition, which will promote "policies and actions that will facilitate the deployment of electric vehicles on a mass sca
Bright IDEA PHEV - Click above for high-res image gallery
Bright IDEA PHEV - Click above for high-res image gallery
The IDEA plug-in hybrid van from Bright Automotive was unveiled earlier this year in Washington, D.C. and it's already time for the first test drives to start. Plug in vehicle advocate Paul Scott was recently given the opportunity to visit Bright's Indiana headquarters and see what moving the duck-like van is all about. His first impression: the van gets a B+ for building a PHEV van
Bright IDEA EV van - click above for high-res image gallery
