What's big, gets 100 MPG, and may someday deliver your favorite potato chips to your local 7-11?
The BRIGHT IDEA, an electric vehicle concept that lawmakers and industry leaders got to peek at yesterday on Capitol Hill.
BRIGHT, based in Andersonville, Indiana, plans to unveil the IDEA at the EVS-24 symposium in Norway next month, but, given the pressure on domestic automakers to get green or go home, BRIGHT wanted to make an appearance to demonstrate their own solution for the commercial market.
According to the company's website, the IDEA will go on sale to fleet sales customers, such as Frito Lay, Johnson Controls, and Duke Energy, among others, in 2013. BRIGHT points out that while government and commercial entities purchase thousands of light and medium duty vehicles for their fleets each year, they tend to be gas-guzzling, uncomfortable behemoths, and if real change in our energy consumption and carbon emissions is to take place, replacing those beasts with the IDEA, or something like it, is a necessity.
The IDEA boasts several features that improve cargo handling, such as a wide side access door and a 70/30 rear door. The IDEA also offers 180 cubic feet of cargo space, a 2000 pound payload,and can be customized with a roof rack and storage shelves. Apparently, functionality won't be an issue.
What about fuel economy? This is where IDEA will shine: compared to the pathetic 15 MPG offered by most RWD or FWD light-duty delivery vans, the AWD IDEA will get up to a whopping 100 MPG. For the first 30 miles, IDEA will travel on its electric battery alone, then it operates just like other electric hybrids. By leveraging such technologies as regenerative braking and by using aerodynamics to greatly reduce drag, the IDEA is sure to be attractive to just about any fleet owner. BRIGHT estimates that a fleet with 250 vehicles would save up to $500,000 each year by switching to the IDEA, and would reduce their carbon footprint by more than half.
2013 may not be soon enough for their prospective clients, who are, no doubt, clamoring for the BRIGHT IDEA as we speak.
Source and photo: BRIGHT
