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The Porsche Boxster Spyder borrows design elements from a bygone era.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)
Sport car companies enjoy the luxury of pushing design to the extreme, putting issues such as passenger comfort and cargo area aside. At the Los Angeles Auto Show we found a selection of new car designs that are as beautiful as they are impractical. Porsche showed up with a convertible that makes it more difficult to lower the top than in its other models. Lotus' newest car may be more accessible than its previous models, but you will still need the moves of a break-dancer to get inside. And the second generation of the Spyker C8 Aileron takes car design into the world of art.
Check out all these cars, and a special eco convertible, in our slideshow.
Fisker's first car, the Karma, is set to be released next year. Its Delaware plant is set to make its next luxury car, which will also be a plug-in hybrid.
(Credit: Fisker Automotive)Upstart carmaker Fisker Automotive on Tuesday said it will purchase a plant in Wilmington, Del., to make a plug-in hybrid sedan.
The facility, which used to be a General Motors factory, will begin manufacturing a plug-in hybrid in late 2012, which the company expects will cost almost $40,000 after federal tax credits. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and Delaware Gov. Jack Markell are scheduled to speak at an announcement ceremony on Tuesday morning.
Production of Fisker's "family-oriented" car, called Project Nina, will result in 2,000 factory jobs. The company anticipates making 75,000 to 100,000 cars per year by 2014. "Wilmington is perfect for high-quality, low-volume production," CEO Henrik Fisker said in a statement.
The Wilmington assembly plant, closed in July this year, produced a handful of relatively low-volume cars from GM's shed brands, including the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky.
Fisker's first car, called the Karma, is a high-end luxury car priced at about $88,000. The Karma, which is will be manufactured in Europe, will be available in the middle of next year.
Fisker Automotive received $528.7 million from a Department of Energy loan in September, which will fund the purchase of the factory from GM. The company expects to buy the plant for $18 million and spend another $175 million to retool the factory over the next three years.
The technology used by Fisker, called an extended-range electric vehicle or series hybrid, is similar to that used by General Motors' Chevy Volt. The Karma will go 50 miles on batteries, and then a gasoline engine will run a generator for longer rides, for a total range 300 miles.
Ford is backing a federal ban on texting while driving--well, of course they are! Do you need a nanny to hang up the phone for you? GM thinks its cars and technology are good enough for a money back guarantee. And we roll in the Mercedes that looks more expensive than it is.
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SHOW NOTES
• Ford backs ban on driving while texting
• Mercedes S500 Plug-in Hybrid
• Frankfurt hottie: Audi R8 Spyder
(Credit:
Fisker Automotive)
Here we go again. Automaker Fisker throws its hat into the claimed mpg battleground with its announcement of the official fuel economy and emissions ratings for its Karma plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.
According to Fisker, the Karma will have an economy rating of 3.5L/100km (which works out to 67.2 mpg) and emit just 83g CO2/km, according to Society of Automotive Engineers estimates. Wait, does that mean that the Karma--a sports car that outputs 403 horsepower and hits 62 mph in an estimated six-seconds--may be more fuel efficient than the 2010 Prius.
According to Fisker:
"Fueling the Karma could cost just 0.02 euro/km ($0.03/mile), consuming as little as 21 kilowatt hours per 100km in its electric-only Stealth mode, according to SAE methodology. However, a real-world annual average would be closer to 0.05 euro/km ($0.07/mile) based on a mix of Stealth and Sport (gasoline) mode use. Actual economy and emission results will vary depending on individual driving habits and usage requirements."
The key here lies in that last sentence about "individual driving habits." With 400-plus ponies on tap, how many drivers will be able to resist laying into the pedal on the right to get anywhere close to the claimed 67.2 mpg?
The Karma will be present at the Frankfurt auto show next week, as part of its German market debut.
The Fisker Karma comes around turn 2 at the Mazda Laguna Seca raceway.
(Credit: Mike Markovich/CNET)Before the Monterey Historics, the race for vintage cars that takes place every year in conjunction with the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the plug-in hybrid Fisker Karma took a lap around the Mazda Laguna Seca raceway. To be chronologically accurate, the Karma should have taken its lap last, but it did prove that the car really works. With its gas-electric Q-drive hybrid system, the Karma was able to complete its lap under electric power alone, reaching 100 mph on the straightaway in front of the grandstand. The Karma entered the track at turn 5, completed one lap, and came back in. As it has an electric range of 50 miles under normal driving conditions, it probably used a good portion of its charge on this demanding track. With its gas engine used as a generator, it has a total range of 300 miles.
LOS ANGELES--Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide has signed a $10.2 million contract to support development of plug-in hybrid powertrains for Fisker Automotive. Fisker, a California start-up, plans to launch its plug-in Karma sedan late this year.
Quantum, of Irvine, Calif., will provide the Karma and Karma S Sunset coupe/convertible with the cars' Q-Drive technologies. The Karma and its Q-Drive system will be assembled in Uusikaupunki, Finland.
Quantum also makes hydrogen and natural-gas storage products and fuel system components.
(Source: Automotive News)
The Karma is a plug-in hybrid with four doors and a GT-style body.
(Credit: CNET)Among the different alternative-fuel strategies playing out, Henrik Fisker is betting big on plug-in hybrids. At a recent dinner speech, he said plug-in hybrids, or PHEVs, will be the dominant type of car for the next 10 to 15 years. And he has reason to hope that will be the case as his start-up company, Fisker Automotive, launches the Karma sedan, with its PHEV power train, in June of next year.
Fisker gained fame as an automotive designer for BMW, where he came up with the stunning Z8, and with Aston Martin, designing the DB9 and Vantage. This background explains the very nonsedan looks of the the Karma, which is styled like a GT.
Henrik Fisker speaks about his favorite topic, cars.
(Credit: CNET)But starting up a car company is no easy task, and Fisker says it wouldn't have been possible 10 years ago. And not only are the troubles of current major automakers creating an opening, but the pressing need to reduce our reliance on oil is allowing a new era of automotive innovation.
The big automakers have an infrastructure that would be very hard to build up without huge amounts of capital, so Fisker Automotive went about designing the Karma by looking for preexisting parts. Early on, the company partnered with Southern California-based Quantum Technologies, which had already built a series hybrid-drive concept for the military.
This hybrid system, called Q-Drive, uses two rear-drive motors, a lithium ion battery pack that runs longitudinally down the center of the car, and a gasoline engine as a range extender under the hood. The Q-Drive produces 400 horsepower and has already undergone significant testing by Quantum Technologies.
Fisker Automotive isn't building the engine, either, instead purchasing it from GM. It's a turbocharged four-cylinder currently being used in the Pontiac Solstice GXP. The battery pack will come from Enerdel, and the Karma will be built on a contract basis by the Finnish company, Valmet. Having another company actually build the cars might seem questionable, but Valmet already proved itself as a contract builder with the Porsche Boxster and Cayman.
The Karma is supposed to go 50 miles on electric power only, after which the engine will kick in to power the electric motor. The driver will be able to choose between stealth and sport modes, as Fisker calls them, with the latter relying on more electricity generated by the gas engine to go from 0 to 60 mph in under 6 seconds. Fisker pointed out that the power train is currently being tested around the company's Irvine, California headquarters in pick-up truck mules.
A solar roof will come standard in the vehicle, which, in a sunny climate, adds 7 to 8 miles per week of drive time. Cabin technology in the Karma is controlled with a 10.5-inch touch screen with haptic feedback.
The Karma will be offered in three trims, dubbed Eco Standard, Eco Sport, and Eco Chic, ranging from $80,400 to $98,900, after a $7,500 PHEV tax credit. The Eco Chic model does away with leather seats standard in the other models in favor of vegetarian-friendly materials and salvaged wood.
Fisker also said the company is working on a new model, with the idea that it would be an affordable mass-market car, but still using the Q-Drive PHEV system.
Did hydrogen cars just blow up? GM's closer to unloading Saturn, but also to keeping part of it. One less GPS nav brand to contend with. And, we get a lot of stares in this week's test car.
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SHOW NOTES
• First look at the Nissan Cube
• Yet another EV comes out of the woodwork
EnerDel has signed an agreement to supply lithium-ion batteries for electric carmaker Fisker Automotive's planned Fisker Karma.
Indianapolis-based EnerDel announced the letter of intent on Friday, a few hours before state senator Evan Bayh is scheduled to dedicate a new production line for auto batteries. The supply deal is contingent on reliability and performance testing. A Fisker Karma will be at the inauguration.
The Fisker Karma
(Credit: Fisker Automotive)The Fisker Karma is a four-door luxury car, priced at about $88,000, that runs on batteries and gets about 100 miles per gallon. It will have an internal combustion gas engine to charge the batteries for rides longer than 50 miles.
The electric-powered Karma will be available at dealers in June next year in the U.S. Fisker plans to open a European dealer network as well.
For EnerDel, the supply deal could mean as many as 15,000 battery packs, which is the number of Karmas that Fisker plans to build per year.
The company had a contract to supply Think, a maker of an all-electric town car, but Think's production plans have been changed because of financial problems.
LOS ANGELES--Rival green carmakers Fisker Automotive and Tesla Motors have gone in opposite directions to sell their vehicles.
Tesla is trying factory-run dealerships it likens to Apple computer stores. Fisker announced a network of 32 franchised dealerships in 37 territories led by some of auto retailing's biggest names.
Among the high-profile dealers signing with Fisker: John Bergstrom in Wisconsin, Kjell Bergh in Minnesota, Tom Price and Mike Sullivan in California, Ron Tonkin in Oregon, and Joe Serra in Michigan and California.
Tesla executives want a common look and feel to their stores, with employees trained at the corporate level. They think that the inconsistency of independent franchised dealerships runs counter to the company's pitch that its Tesla Roadster plug-in hybrid is not an ordinary car.
But setting up dealerships is expensive, and Tesla's expansion has been slow. It has retail operations only in Los Angeles and suburban San Francisco. Stores in Chicago, New York, Miami, Seattle, and Washington are scheduled to open by year end.
By signing franchised dealers, Fisker will have an immediate nationwide retail presence for its $87,900 hybrid-electric Karma sedan. So far Fisker has assigned dealerships for 37 territories. The company wants to expand to about 40 territories signed by year end.
Tom Price's Price Family Dealerships will handle Northern California for Fisker, but he doesn't fault Tesla's process.
"It's fine for Tesla to sell a few roadsters a month with a factory store model," Price said. "But selling cars in any kind of volume, you need a retailer who understands the market; who can deal with used cars, service and customer follow-up."
Fisker's requirements for Price were relatively low: a distinct sales display area with a carport, as well as the purchase of parts inventory and availability of trained mechanics.
Dealers like that former BMW and Volvo executive Vic Doolan has helped Fisker line up the retail network. Doolan is a member of Fisker's board.
(Source: Automotive News)
