As the crowd-sourced car company Local Motors pushes to build its first production auto entirely with 3D printing by the end of 2014, they’ve made a smart move and added leading 3D printing evangelist and CEO of MakerBot, Bre Pettis, to their Board of Directors. Local Motors is most famous for its Rally Fighter, a crowd-sourced and open-source car design that customers build themselves alongside the company’s own team at Local Motors’ Microfactories. They recently teamed up with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to further their effort to additively manufacture a complete car. As the founder and CEO of MakerBot, Bre Pettis will contribute, not only his business and 3D printing knowledge, but also the MakerBot name. And, with his company recently acquired by Stratasys, he brings the clout of one of the largest members of the 3D printing industry.
CEO of Local Motors, Jay Rogers explained, “I have long admired Bre as a great American entrepreneur. He is, at his core, an independent maker and innovator who successfully pursued these passions to become a defining figure in the Maker Movement and Third Industrial Revolution. His thoughtful advice will be of immeasurable value as we continue our march to democratize production methods using advanced manufacturing techniques.” 
Pettis reflected on his reasons for joining the board, “I’ve watched with amazement as Local Motors has pioneered a co-creation and micro-manufacturing model that has democratized the development and production of complex machines, effectively transforming consumer choice from supply-driven to demand-driven. Not to mention I’ve wanted a Rally Fighter, their first community co-created product, from the moment I saw it. I’m a car guy at heart. That vehicle really speaks to the power of the crowd. I’m finally building my own in April.”
With Pettis, the board now has four members, including the aforementioned Jay Rogers, as well as Thomas D. Lehrman, co-founder and former co-CEO of brokerage firm and network of experts the Gerson Lehrman Group, and Mark Smith, founder of the world’s largest manufacturer of car components, Factory Five Racing. Rogers said, “The architect of a global network of expert advice — plus the founder of the most successful alternative vehicle production company — working with a leader in the democratization of data-driven manufacturing – this Board is our dream team for guiding the future of Local Motors.”
The board’s newest addition will certainly add to the Local Motors brand, bringing a good deal more media attention to the concept of crowd-source/open-source cars. Hopefully, the dreams of a 3D-printed vehicle often invoked by this miraculous technology will actually come true this year!
