Fisker Automotive - the 1st luxury, plug-in hybrid

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revvinkevin

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 7, 2007
Messages
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Location
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I was invited to go to the premier unveiling of the Fisker Karma, the worlds first luxury plug in hybrid vehicle tonight, held at the new Fisker dealership in Santa Monica, Ca.

It was a nice event and kind of fun since I'd never been to an event like this. BTW, those things that look like giant lamps are actually out door heaters, pretty cool!

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The cover comes off to reveal a long, low and wide car. Quite attractive (IMHO).

It's not easy to see, but the entire roof is a large solar panel!

RevvinKevin++11-5-2009-00-59-39.jpg
 
Everyone swarmed to check out the car and waited the chance to get inside it.

This car is powered by two 150 KW electric motors (403 HP) driving the rear wheels. 0-60 in "performance mode is 6 seconds. It has a (gas) 2.0L turbocharged 4 cylinder, direct injection for charging the batteries and will not start for the first 50 miles of driving.

(You can see the solar panel roof better in this photo)

RevvinKevin++11-5-2009-01-06-34.jpg
 
The back of the car.

Yes it is a 4 door and only seats 4. It has a somewhat similar roof line to the Mercedes CLS 4 door, meaning not a lot of headroom in the back.

The badge on the right side says "Q Drive"... what they call their hybrid system.

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The interior.

Most everything is controlled through the large, touch screen display interface. A pretty well thought out set up.

This was a big deal as the VP if Fisker was there along with 7 designers and engineers that worked on this car,

OK, I hear you asking "What does it cost"? Considering it's a new vehicle from the ground up and has all this technology, it ain't cheap! 3 models, depending on interior choices, start at $95K OUCH!

There were so many people crowded around the car all the time I couldn't get any great shots of the car.

So here is the link to the website. It had more information and better photos.

I hope you enjoyed this!
Kevin

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One more shot of the touch screen.

BTW.. "they" are claiming the car has a 300 mile range and can, or will average 100 MPG "annually". Hmm, a rather bizzare claim I think.

Also, what looks like the transmission shifter is just a fixed handle. The little "knob" on the right side that shows "PRND", turns to "shift" from reverse to drive, etc.

RevvinKevin++11-5-2009-01-23-22.jpg
 
Very interesting. If the batteries cost $4,000 to replace (as is rumoured with other cars), that "K" in the name of the vehicle will quickly become known a "T".
 
It's very pretty and a neat idea, but I don't think there's a chance that Fisker can make the car for the projected price. They are a very, very small company with no production facilities who intend on hiring out all their manufacturing and production. These sorts of arrangements have been done since the dawn of car manufacturing and can work well, but each entity has to add their own profit. Last time I heard, Valmet in Finland was going to actually produce the body and chassis and assemble the car. They have a similar arrangement with Porsche for the Boxster. Take a look at the size and complexity of the Boxster and then compare that to the Fisker's size and complexity, and then figure what the Boxster costs vs. what Fisker is projecting. Porsche also has the huge advantage of being able to use lots and lots of little bits from VAG (VW-Audi), which Fisker does not. Making limited production cars is an expensive business on a per-car basis, and there is no way around that.

I predict that either the Fisker will appear at a much higher price than has been announced, or they'll eventually sell the whole project to a larger company. Either way, I wish them luck.
 
Don't worry. Algore is backing this company and WE just loaned them $567 million. All is groovy. {runs away ducking from the expected flogging}
 
Sweet pics of a great looking party, Kevin. Thanks for sharing with us!

The U.S. invested today's equivalent of billions of dollars in the railroads in the 1860's - during a war - and that seemed to pay off pretty well for the country. While this may not be the answer to all our transportation needs now or even in the future, we have to start somewhere and if you have a better idea, let's see it and we'll give you a loan too. Not flogging, just saying...
 
So how well are these gonna run up north? I can just see those fancy schmancy frost covered lcd's fading out and cracking in freezing temps and mpg diminishing account frozen batteries etc.
Humbug I say humbug LOL
 
The NEW 2006 DeLorean!

It's too sporty to be a 'Luxury' car.

Like all new cars, it needs more leg room, head room, trunk space, and a little more 'plush' interior.

I need to be able to sit in the rear seat, stretch out my legs, and just barely be able to touch the back of the front seat.

THAT'S the kind luxurious spaciousness I look for in a Fine car...or any car. :(

~Tim

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Greg, I know what you're saying, but these aren't even being built here. I realize some components may be made here. With the economy an all, is now the right time to spend this money?
 
...Is this the Karma you use to run over someone's dogma

OMG Sandy, I got a really good laugh from that, THANKS!

Tim, luxury cars can have sport/be sporty too. They don't ALL have to be as opulent or ostentatious as a Rolls Royce.

But yes I do agree this is much more of a "sports car" then a "luxury car". I'm told the ride is more "European" and it's supposed to be able to hold it's own it the twisties.

Yes it's very nice to have a car with "room to stretch out", however they have not built anything as large as that Lincoln since the early 60's. Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful car, but too large and waistful for todays world.
 
Why hybrid?

If you can afford a $92,000 car, you can afford the gas.

But I understand, if you're a (rich) "green" enthusiast, I guess this car is for you.
 
Pete-

I am sure if a Toyota Prius can run well in Ohio winters (and I know a buncha people with Prii,) I am pretty sure that this Fisker can, too. I want to say "Fiskar," like the lightweight orange handled scissors, though.

Lawrence/Maytagbear
 
It looks like a nice ride, but I'm not sure why the average greenie would want to shell out close to $100k for a Fisker when they can have a Prius or an Insight for well under $30k.

A while ago I did the math... it costs many residents just as much, if not more, to get energy from a wall socket (at least at our electric rates, which likely would be $.25 or more per kWH to recharge a car) as it does simply to fill a tank with gasoline and generate electricity that way. The only exception would be if one's home has solar panels as a way of recouping that cost - but then most such panels take 10 to 20 years to pay for themselves and they'd have to be oversized to compensate for the greater power usage by the automobile.

Personally I think the most green way to go is to build more high speed intercity rail systems, and more light rail or subway systems within urban-suburban metropolitan areas. Anyone who has traveled to Japan or Europe knows how wonderful these systems can be.
 
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