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Meet the Flash

News Type: Event — Tue Sep 8, 2009 12:31 PM EDT
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Mike Brunker

   Image: Unveiling the electric-hybrid truck

J. Tyler Klassen / Elkhart Truth

Visitors watch the unveiling of the new Electric Motors Corp. electric-hybrid truck in Wakarusa, Ind., on Saturday, Sept. 5.

With a theatrical flourish, the fledgling Electric Motors Corp. this weekend unveiled the prototype of the hybrid truck that it hopes to will put hundreds of workers in hard-hit northern Indiana to work.

Inspired by train design, the truck -- a Ford F150 chassis with a streamlined cab and an electric-gasoline hybrid engine -- has been christened the Flash. A second model, a utility vehicle that the company hopes to sell for commercial applications, will be known as the Thunderbolt, CEO Wil Cashen told the crowd at Saturday’s unveiling at what organizers dubbed the Green Jobs for America Entertainment and Education Expo.

Click here to read the Elkhart Truth’s coverage of the event and see more photos of the vehicle.

EMC, which is partnering with Gulf Stream Coach to build the hybrid trucks, is still waiting to hear whether it will receive grants from the U.S. Energy Department to jump start the project. That decision is expected in the next couple weeks, the Truth reported last week, quoting Democratic Rep. Joe Donnelly.

The companies have not set a firm date for starting production, but Lou Bonacorsi, EMC's director of education, told msnbc.com recently that the company hopes to begin "abbreviated production" by March 2010.

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{"commentId":9369705,"authorDomain":"desmith"}
Dale E. Smith

Great going!  This is terrific news.  This is something I've been waiting for.

Thank you Gulf Stream.

Dale

{"commentId":9369705,"threadId":"672553","contentId":"3238006","authorDomain":"desmith"}
    Reply#1 - Thu Sep 10, 2009 9:04 AM EDT
    {"commentId":9448150,"authorDomain":"an-american-thinker"}
    An American Thinker

    Electric? Oh yeah --who is going to fix this vehicle?

    This is the biggest con I have ever seen.. Why is it that BMW, Mercedes, and VW are all producing or working on Diesel. The VW gets 50 MPG and you can actually turn on the AC or Heat.

    You are listening to the political morons that have shipped most of the middle class jobs overseas....yea Ethanol...drops the average mpg, increases the fuel cost, and increases the cost of food---lawyers, politicians, judges and the other useless parasites need shipped overseas....yet for some reason they don't want those jobs....

    Use your brain for more than a hat rack....

    {"commentId":9448150,"threadId":"672553","contentId":"3238006","authorDomain":"an-american-thinker"}
      Reply#2 - Sun Sep 13, 2009 9:55 AM EDT
      {"commentId":9515963,"authorDomain":"harrie65"}
      Harrie-1347370

      As a 3rd tier automotive supplier, I am hardly jumping for joy. Should they manage to make this a viable design, component parts will likely be sourced in China to be able to produce the vehicles at a competive price. Because of the American Walmart (I want something for nothing) mentality and the lunacy of signing China MFN in 2001, the US manufacturing sector has been driven nearly to extinction taking much of the economy with it. The destruction of the US economy was only in part the result of Wall Street. The blame lies almost exclusively on Capitol Hill, Republicans and Democrats alike. I still cannot fathom signing permanent trade status with a Communist country who has broken trade rules every inch of the way, made no bones about its desire to become the dominant world power, and has expressed its desire to destroy the US dollar in favor of a global currency of its choosing. I wonder if someday Americans will appreciate they gave up national security and the right to self determination for a cheap toaster. It is my opinion that the US economy will continue to unwind and the job market will continue to suffer until overhead and wages of all sectors are on some simblance of an equal footing with China and India. It wasn't necessary to sell our souls to foster the goal of globalization. We had plenty of trading partners who were willing to play by the rules.

      {"commentId":9515963,"threadId":"672553","contentId":"3238006","authorDomain":"harrie65"}
        Reply#3 - Wed Sep 16, 2009 2:28 AM EDT
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