Carbon Motors Shifts into High Gear

CONNERSVILLE, Ind.--Today, on the heels of the City of Connersville taking legal possession of the site that is to become the Carbon Campus, Carbon Motors Corporation was officially advised by the U.S. Department of Energy that its application has been deemed Substantially Complete, clearing the first major hurdle in the process of obtaining a $310 million loan under the provisions of Section 136 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

“Given the challenges the nation faces there is no other answer than to move with immediate urgency to put Americans back to work on matters of national importance.”

“We commend the Administration for the ongoing efforts to move our country to a much more secure, prosperous, and green future,” said William Santana Li, chairman and chief executive officer, Carbon Motors Corporation. “Given the challenges the nation faces there is no other answer than to move with immediate urgency to put Americans back to work on matters of national importance.” Carbon Motors will continue to work through the loan approval process with federal authorities.

Carbon Motors has engaged its long-time partner, HOK Architects, in driving a vision forward for redeveloping the environmentally contaminated site into a sustainable campus to house the Carbon’s headquarters, research and development, production, service, sales, training, and vehicle recycling operations. Local, state, and federal authorities, as well as the local community, are providing input regarding the Campus redevelopment as the region prepares to build on its rich automotive history. Connersville was once home to automakers Auburn, Cord, Duesenberg, Ansted, Empire, Lexington and McFarlan and its storied automotive past is America’s homeland security future as the City of Connersville prepares to become the police car capital of the world.

Additionally, bucking the nation’s unemployment trends, Carbon Motors Corporation named Michael D Cowley as powertrain director. Cowley will report to Trevor J Rudderham, executive vice president and chief development officer of Carbon Motors and will have responsibility for the development and integration of engines and transmissions into Carbon’s E7, the world’s first purpose-built law enforcement patrol vehicle.

“Mike has over 32 years of automotive experience with expertise centered on delivering new vehicle concepts and technology into production,” said Rudderham. “His extensive global development knowledge marks him as the right person to deliver the aggressive fuel economy and emission reduction targets of the Carbon E7 program in-line with the Administration’s agenda, and to insure we provide a world-class, dependable and reliable powertrain to our law enforcement First Responders.”

“I am thrilled with the opportunity to be part of a driven team that has recognized the need to design a ground-up vehicle to meet the needs of homeland security,” commented Cowley. “Performance, fuel economy and reliability are critical to our law enforcement professionals and I am very excited to take on the responsibility for delivering these key attributes of the Carbon E7.”

Prior to joining Carbon Motors, Cowley was executive product development manager for Global Powertrain Fuel Systems in North America and Europe for all vehicle lines at Ford Motor Company. This position had responsibility for a multi-million dollar research and development budget and a $1 billion annual purchase of fuel system components. In this role, he led the design and release of all gas and diesel fuel system components meeting customer and regulatory standards.

In addition to extensive product development responsibility in powertrain and chassis, Cowley had responsibility for numerous fuel system manufacturing plants. Also, he utilized his experience in program management with the implementation of a new powertrain and chassis technology from the initial concept through production for the 1995MY Ford Explorer.

Cowley earned a Masters in Engineering degree from Wayne State University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University. He is a certified Six Sigma Green Belt, a Six Sigma Black Belt Champion and a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).

About Carbon Motors Corporation

Carbon Motors Corporation is a bold homeland security company on a critical mission to design, develop, manufacture, distribute, service, and recycle, the world’s first purpose-built law enforcement patrol vehicle. Learn more at www.carbonmotors.com.

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