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Bright IDEA for Van
Lovers
An Indiana company, Bright Automotive, announced the
birth of its environmentally sound fleet vehicle—the
IDEA van—to U.S. lawmakers just last week. You
might be wondering what Bright could possibly bring
to the table in terms of vans; especially with the
popularity of so many other hybrid trucks and SUVs
on the market.
Put simply, the IDEA is special because it is a
plug-in hybrid electric van that boasts a mileage of
up to 100 miles per gallon. For the first 30 miles
of driving the new vehicle runs solely on battery.
After that, the IDEA runs like a typical
hybrid using a combo of gas and battery.
Non-hybrid vans and similar fleet vehicles (fleet
meaning a number of similar vehicles purchased by an
entity for use by its employees) typically have
anywhere between a 10-18 mile per gallon average.
The businesses and government entities buying fleet
vehicles normally have big purchasing power, but
with an ever-present need to cut costs in a
suffering economy and global demand to preserve our
resources, it’s safe to say that Bright’s
new vehicle brings quite a bit to the table.
At Wheelator.com
we think it’s great to have large variety of
vehicles on the market. Variety springs competition,
lower prices, and best of all, variety brings
innovation.
The van itself is sleek looking unlike a lot of the
common fleet vehicles you see on the road. Based on
images released by the company, there is a quarter
panel covering a small area of the rear wheels and
the body of the van includes sweeping contours. Both
features add to the van's aero dynamics, which
decrease resistance and therefore fuel
consumption. Inside there is 180 cubic feet
of space and the van has a 2,000 pound payload.
The company said that they hope to have the first
IDEA model on the streets by 2012 with vehicle
production reaching 50,000 by 2013. While individual
consumers may find a use for the IDEA, that’s not
who the company will be focusing their sales and
marketing efforts on.
At the current time, Bright is not saying what the
retail value or the wholesale value of the van will
be. Bright is still looking for a manufacturer to
build the engine and is also requesting loans from
the US Department of Energy.
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