Fisker Karma

[AnOutsider]

Looks like Fisker is also depending on a government loan for them to meet their projected dates:
High Volume Fisker for 2011? - AllCarsElectric.com

Wait, so does that mean Valleywag will also start to slam them too? not likely.

I thought they were at 80K...

maybe 80k after rebate?

 

[vfx]

maybe 80k after rebate?

Good point. But the timeline is wrong. It was 80K long before the rebate. Maybe they saw an opportunity...

 

[graham]

Yes, this is fairly old news, I think. They were $80K, then months ago (I think back in 2008 if I remember correctly) they raised to $87 after the gov't rebate.

 

[vfx]

So like Tesla, EV makers are all adding the $7,500 to their profits.

 

[ChargeIt!]

Yeah, thanks, Uncle Sam ... I mean, JoePublic !

 

[doug]

Marin Sonoma Concours d'Elegance: Concours d'Elegance 5/17/2009 - a set on Flickr

Karma:




Karma S:

 

[doug]

A more aggressive video of the Karma than we've seen before:

Don't see the point of the camo, though. The music is annoying since I'd like to listen for engine noise.

 

[Joseph]

How many other inert cars are at the show?

 

[doug]

How many other inert cars are at the show?

Inert? I actually asked the person who took the photos and he/she said the cars drove to their places under their own power. Though, I'm sure they were trailered to the event.

 

[stopcrazypp]

How many other inert cars are at the show?

By this time I would hope they have most of the details worked out for the drivetrain and every car they have should be drivable. They should be doing final testing and tweaks by this point (or very close).

 

[Takumi]

So, when do we see crash safety? Or does anyone know if they've done that already?

 

[doug]

Fisker in the Bay area:

Tesla has New Competition | NBC Bay Area

 

[dpeilow]

NBC Bay Area, isn't that Owen Thomas' new stamping ground?

 

[AnOutsider]

If you think about it, the niche car market is starting to get crowded. Smart Car, Tesla, Fisker, and assorted others all trying to carve out a chance for your automotive dollar. And, while each is interesting and arguably worthy of consideration, it's still a horrendous time to be trying to draw attention to a rather expensive (The Karma will run you about $80,000 - less than the Tesla Roadster, but more than Tesla's soon to be released 4-door sedan) new kind of car. With dealers closing left and right, is the potential car buyer really ready to step up and spend MORE money to try something new and untested?

I'd like to think that, eventually, many of us would be willing to spend a little more (OK, a lot more) to know that we can drive without harming the planet as much. But let's be honest, 80 thousand dollars is a big leap to take, even if we weren't in a recession. And if Toyota and Honda didn't each just release new hybrid cars for much, much less. Oh, and the convertible? Super sexy, but it's gonna cost even more.

Which has kinda always been my point. We're basically paying 80k for a sleek chevy volt. If the karma were pure electric, and still planned for the end of this year, I'd be all over it. Has it been discussed why the price is so high?

 

[doug]

The Next Detroit - Forbes.com

In the gloomy basement cafeteria of New York's Jacob Javits Center, Henrik Fisker is choking down a chicken sandwich and imagining a new kind of American car company. Almost everything is outsourced--engineering, components, the electric power train, manufacturing. No messy work rules to worry about, no postretirement health care. Only design and marketing remain in-house. ''It's a great time to launch a new car company like ours,'' he says, speaking at April's New York Auto Show, which was drowning in obituaries for the car business. ''We have a different business model.'' If you were a semiconductor executive, you'd call this a fabless car company. ...

 

[vfx]

From:
Tesla has New Competition | NBC Bay Area

"And, the Tesla doesn't have a completely solar-paneled sun roof. Eerily smooth and rounded, the roof of the 4-door Karma is covered in solar panels that will actually cool and power you car. Says Fisker CEO Henrik Fisker, "you can either press a button to cool the car, or, another button where the car actually charges."

That is as misleading as anything Elon has ever said.

 

[doug]

To be fair, if you listen to the video what he actually said was

...you can press a button to cool down the interior when you're gone for a couple hours. Doesn't use any electricity, just the solar. Or if you're gone for a longer period of time, you can actually push another button where the car now charges, though the solar.

Nothing there is factually incorrect. In other interviews I've heard him be pretty clear that you'd only get a small about of extra range from the solar panels and that feature is only really there because people requested it.

 

[vfx]

To be fair, if you listen to the video what he actually said was

...you can press a button to cool down the interior when you're gone for a couple hours. Doesn't use any electricity, just the solar. Or if you're gone for a longer period of time, you can actually push another button where the car now charges, though the solar.

Nothing there is factually incorrect. In other interviews I've heard him be pretty clear that you'd only get a small about of extra range from the solar panels and that feature is only really there because people requested it.

I heard him. In context he implied that you can get a *useful* charge from the solar panel.

 

[siry]

@AnOutsider - for starters, all aluminum chassis and body = expensive, battery tech = expensive. You also need to take into account global distribution costs. For a premium car, the price point is about right.

 

[stopcrazypp]

I heard him. In context he implied that you can get a *useful* charge from the solar panel.

To be fair, it might help to fight battery discharge in storage situations (though in most storage situations there might be little light).