Become the center for mobility

Co-chairs: David Cole, chairman, Center for Automotive Research; Steve Polk, chairman and CEO, R.L. Polk & Co.

The plan envisions creation of a ``Mobility Innovation Center'' to promote economic development by existing automotive technology capabilities.

Cole said the goal of the center would be to take technology developed for the automotive industry and find other uses for it.

The price estimate for such a center is between $5 million and $15 million in one-time costs, and $2.5 million to $5 million annually.

The initiative also calls for the formation of a nonprofit R&D cooperative that would provide time-shared space for small and medium-sized companies, such as tool-and-die companies. Cole believes that could be done in three to five months.

``The objective from our standpoint for this mobility center is to do something that can move rather quickly,'' Cole said.