Bright IDEA comes to Washington, DC as a 100-mpg* plug-in hybrid van
Bright IDEA EV van - click above for a high-res gallery
A Bright IDEA arrived in Washington, D.C. today (man, there's a joke that just writes itself). But seriously, folks, the IDEA is a new design for a plug-in hybrid from the Rocky Mountain Institute's Bright Automotive, was unveiled in Washington, DC today and it looks like, well, what does it look like? From Bright Automotive's official images in the gallery below, this thing reminds us of some of the 2005 Mercedes-Benz's Bionic Concept that was inspired by the boxfish. In much the same way, the IDEA looks so slippery it might be more at home in the water than delivering vegetables in a downtown somewhere. For its part, Bright promises that the IDEA offers functionality and fuel savings in a 100 mile-per-gallon PHEV.
Incidentally, we are less-than-enthused by Bright's calculations to get that 100 mpg number – and Bright is basing the fuel savings ("$6,000 per year!") on gas at $3.50 a gallon, something that experts are predicting will not happen anytime soon. For a good discussion about the 100 mpg claim, read the comments in this earlier post. We're not against plug-in hybrids in the least, but they really are a case of "your mileage may vary." You can learn more about the van over at Bright Automotive.
Gallery: Bright IDEA
[Source: Bright Automotive]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
PeterG 3:35PM (4/21/2009)
Thanks for the asterisk. Really tired PHEVs with bogus 100MPG claims, coincidentally they all seem to get 100MPG. ;-)
From converted PHEV Prius to EREV Hummer, they all get 100MPG. That should tell you something about the meaningfulness of this measures.
I just hope the EPA shoots down this form of claim.
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n8new 3:52PM (4/21/2009)
From what I can tell, the front seems to be derivative of the Honda CRV, while the intrument panel/dash seems taken directly from the Jeep Liberty/Dodge Nitro. I can't distinguish the other parts.
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Sandra J. 12:40PM (4/22/2009)
It is great to see new ideas & it would be super if even us comman folks could afford it!
Don 12:43AM (4/22/2009)
In terms of mpg claims ... they do a good job clarifying that it very much depends on your daily mileage needs and calculate it out for a 50 mile or an 70 or a 100 mile/d route.
It is an interesting choice of market segment. For government fleets and corporations who want to comply with the push into vehicles that increasingly are grid powered (and take advantage of substantial incentives to do so) the competition is with the Ford Transit branded Smith EV. That will likely be a 100 mile range (all EV) and a 1764 lb payload capacity (if it is the same as Smith's Ampere a suggested it will be in this blog before). Big battery will mean sizable cost too, not offset by that much more of a tax incentive. The IDEA has an announced payload capacity of 2000 lb and some clever design features. Moreover it will likely be much cheaper.
The sedan segment OTOH may end up having more competition besides the Volt soon.
Also an increase in mpg in this segment will have a big impact. Current vehicles usually get only 15-22 mpg (or less if Bright's numbers are to be believed) and often run over 20 - 30K miles/yr. If in use mpg for the IDEA turns out to be 50 -70 mpg (70 -100 miles driven a day between charges) that is still cutting gas use by 2/3s. CO2 emission decrease a bit less depending on how the electricity is generated but still big impact .
And if you are looking for some government stimulus funding right now you really want to be in a segment that doesn't have too many others with their hats out.
Mind you I was hoping for something competitive for MY desires - but this was a smart choice.
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