CARazed

The problem with cars like this is the cost. The reality is that cars like this lead the way and help companies and technologies get their roots down. The technology in this car could be put into lower cost cars one levels of production increase.

The Fisker Karma is one of the most promising luxury plug-in hybrids that will hit the market in 2010. Zero to 60 acceleration will be less than 6 seconds and top speed will be 125 MPH. It will be able to drive on batteries alone for about 50 miles at which point a small electric motor kicks in to power the electric motors, which turn the wheels. This will make the Fisker Karma extremely inexpensive to drive to around town everyday because the cost of electricity is far lower than gasoline.

If you want to take a longer trip no worries, just drive it like a normal car, fill it up with gas, and take off. When the batteries run out of juice the gas motor kicks in to charge the batteries and propel the car.

If the Fisker Karma is successful it will demonstrate that Plug-In Hybrids are the right technology choice for today. Hydrogen fuel cells and all electric cars are in our future but the technology is just not ready today. Battery technology is far enough for plug-in hybrids to be viable. Gasoline engines can be very clean. At 100 MPG we could easily eliminate our need for foreign oil while driving much cleaner cars. If the car is fun and fast on top of all that every car maker in the world need to stop fooling with batteries and hydrogen and start building these plug-in green machines. For more information visit Fisker Automotive.

Photo credit Fisker Automotive.

Valmet Automotive, the same company Porsche contracts to build the Boxster and Caymen sports cars, has been chosen to build the Fisker Karma 100 MPG plug-in hybrid luxury sedan. This is a very good sign that the Karma is on course for a 2010 release and that quality and production levels will be very high. Fisker expects production levels to be about 15,000 cars a year. Valmet has been building Boxsters for Porsche for over 10 years and I’m certain this experience will pay off for Fisker.

The Karma will have a 350 mile range. It will run on a full battery charge alone for 50 miles before it’s recharged while driving by a small gasoline motor. At night Karma owners can recharge by plugging into a normal household outlet. Top speed will be 125 MPH and it will be able to accelerate from 0 to 60 in under six seconds. In other words, the Fisker Karma will be very comparable to other luxury sedans. So far no journalist has gotten a ride in the real thing, to my knowledge. I hope the real thing is as impressive as it looks like on paper.

You may have heard that Tesla Motors filed a lawsuit against Fisker Automotive over allegedly stolen electric car designs. San Mateo Superior Court granted Fisker Automotive’s request for arbitration, according to court records. Fisker also posted a press release stating that they are still on track to deliver the hybrid luxury sedan.

Tesla’s lawsuit states that Fisker and Bernhard Koehler accepted the contract “to gain access to confidential design information and trade secrets, then announced a competing vehicle.” Luckily the contract also had a clause that required that disputes be handled through arbitration. As you can imagine Henrik Fisker and his company are “extremely pleased” with the judge’s decision.

I personally think everyone should be happy with the decision. I’m a bit disappointed that the whole thing happened in the first place. It would be nice to think that these two start-up car makers see each other as symbiotic rivals and not enemies. Why spend money on lawsuits when they could be working to bring more amazing green cars to the street?

I was so disappointed to see the coverage in AutoWeak on the recent auto show in Detroit. The show had a good representation of green cars and they liked the 550 hp Cadillac the best. Can I say WTF you F@#$ing boneheads!?!?

To add insult to injury they totally dumped on Fisker. I’ve noticed a lot of the main stream auto journalists suggesting that cars like the Fisker Karma are going to fail. For example the first sentence in this latest article starts out by saying, “The questionable claims made by Fisker are almost too many to count.”

Why can’t the major auto news people give them the positive press they need like point out how well funded they are and how successful Fisker will be if he can prove his car can do all the things they are saying? I just don’t get all the negativity on these new start-ups by the auto press. Can’t they see the good these companies are trying to do? Can’t they see how much stronger America would be if we could move off foreign oil now? Why do they keep praising gas guzzlers?

I’m hoping that Fisker, Aptera and the other X PRIZE competitors show these boneheads exactly where to stick their writing implements, like their computers! LOL.

The Detroit Press is reporting that Fisker Automotive may be considering Detroit Michigan for the construction of the Karma, a new plug-in hybrid luxury sedan. I think it’s a great idea and very happy to hear Fisker is considering building the car in America. Detroit is filled with expert auto manufacturing talent and I’m certain in these days of looming recession any American city would welcome some new opportunities and jobs. It’s also the perfect place for a start-up auto maker to build a presence and reputation, right under the watchful eye of the big three and automotive press.

If you’re still curious about owning one of these revolutionary cars you might want to get on the waiting list now. Looks like the wait is getting longer everyday… not because of delays but because of orders. Put your deposit down today at the Fisker website.

In a recent article, on January 24, 2008, long time auto industry reporter Mark Phelan says,

“Bad Karma. Fisker Automotive says the sporty Karma will go on sale in 2009, cover 50 miles solely under electric power, recharge its batteries overnight, use a small engine to recharge on long drives and have a top speed “beyond 125 m.p.h.,” all for $80,000 apiece.

If anybody could do that, GM, Toyota and every other automaker on the planet would pay billions for the technology. I hate to pick on a guy with a dream, and Henrik Fisker’s design credentials are impeccable, but making promises like this without detailed technical support just encourages the conspiracy theorists who insist the auto industry is in league with Big Oil, terrorists, Satan or all of the above.”

I personally hope that all skeptics are proven wrong by the cars the independent start-ups put on the road. The truth is that no one will know how viable cars like the Fisker Karma will be until it has been on the road a while.

Statements like, “ If anybody could do that, GM, Toyota and every other automaker on the planet would pay billions for the technology.”, are as irrational as conspiracy theories because no one but auto industry senior executives know their product development strategies. For all we know auto makers see themselves in a symbiotic relationship with the oil industry and that it’s in the best interest of their company and shareholders to support each other.

In other words, it’s probably not a conspiracy but it might be a business plan. No really, literally a business plan. It’s not unbelievable that one company might want to see the long term viability of one of it’s strongest partners; and no one can argue that today’s cars and fossil fuel aren’t joined at the hip.

Maybe we’re watching the Battle of the Billionaires?

Money is the other thing at work he no one is talking about yet. The money that backs the independent auto makers is mostly coming from Silicon Valley billionaires, venture capitalists, philanthropist investors, and private equity groups. For the most part these people are not involved in the energy or main stream auto industry.

They seem to be capitalizing on the opportunity plug-in hybrids big auto missed by choosing the fuel cell route instead. I’ll leave it to the skeptics and conspiracy theorists to drone on as to why. I’m content to simply think that they have their reasons and it probably has to do with protecting their own business interests.

Luckily for us it looks like the competition the independent auto makers seem to be generating has been enough of a catalyst to move some major auto makers in plug-in hybrid direction. GM and Toyota are now moving in the direction of plug-in hybrids.

On January 23, 2008, the Chicago Tribune reports that,

“GM and Toyota also are fighting for global leadership in technology. Toyota forged ahead with its hybrid technology, but now GM is trying to beat Toyota to market with plug-in hybrid vehicles that can be recharged from household outlets. GM hopes to produce plug-in vehicles by 2010, and Toyota says it expects to have a test fleet of plug-ins on the road by then.”

Personally I can’t wait for 100 mpg cars and making all electric local errands. The cleaner air and peace will be nice too. Far less costly in dollars and blood. Comments?

We love to see the best of both worlds, cars people will love to drive and cars that strive to be green. Fisker Automotive is proving you can have your cake and eat it too with this beautiful sedan. You may not recognize the names but you probably know the cars they helped bring to life for Ford, BMW and Aston Martin. Henrik Fisker was the automotive designer of the Aston Martin DB9, V8 Vantage and BMW Z8. Initial funding for this project came from Palo Alto Investors of Palo Alto, California. (Yeah Silicon Valley Backers! We Love You!)

In the next few weeks expect to see Fisker’s latest genius in the press and at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) where they’ll be unveiling the luxury Fisker Plug-In Hybrid Sedan. A car that will be able to drive on batteries alone for up to 50 miles. A gasoline or diesel engine works in conjunction with the electric drive to pick up the pace when needed.

Base price will be about $80,000 and should be available in the 4th quarter of 2009. Annual production is expected to be about 15,000. Final fuel economy is not yet known but it’s expected to be near 100 MPG.

The drive system in this new sedan will be supplied by Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc, an alternative energy company leading the development of advanced propulsion systems, energy storage, and alternative energy vehicles like the Fisker Plug-In Hybrid Sedan. Quantum is no stranger to the technology manufacturing areana having been a trusted supplier for Toyota, GM and NASA.

We are so excited to hear more about this project. When delivered this car will demonstrate that Plug-In Hybrids are today’s answer to our fossil fuel and environmental challenges. We also hope projects like this send a loud and clear message to everyone, buyers and auto industry alike, that we must move in this direction and stop waiting for future technologies like hydrogen fuel cells and better batteries to arrive. Those technologies will come in time and we will move toward them when they mature, but Plug-In Hybrid technology is here right now.

As consumers we control the future if we simply choose to make the best informed decision as buyers. If we simply stopped buying cars until they started delivering affordable cars that use the technology this high-end luxury sedan does, we could significantly reduce or eliminate our need for foreign oil, make huge environmental improvements, while having very nice and fun cars to buy in short order. We just need to demand it with our wallets. Is that so CARazed? Comments?