Fisker Delayed

[sjfotos]

Half a billion dollars would have bought a pretty good charging infrastructure....


http://gas2.org/2010/06/28/fisker-misses-deadline-wont-start-selling-karma-plug-in-hybrids-until-2011/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+gas2/org+(Gas+2.0)

 

[palmermd]

Their start-up schedule was a little aggressive. I expected this. I don't believe it means the end for this company. I wish them luck. Can't wait to get a look at their second and third generation cars. I love the Karma, but its more than double what I'm willing to pay (can afford to pay) for a vehicle.

I'm actually going to a viewing of the Karma tomorrow at Infinity of Elk Grove.

 

[evnow]

It always looked doubtful considering nobody had driven a Fisker until now ...

As to the half a billion $ loan (yes it is not a grant) ... yes, I'm not thrilled with the large loan, but the idea I guess is to start some manufacturing base.

 

[sjfotos]

Their start-up schedule was a little aggressive. I expected this. I don't believe it means the end for this company. I wish them luck. Can't wait to get a look at their second and third generation cars. I love the Karma, but its more than double what I'm willing to pay (can afford to pay) for a vehicle.

I'm actually going to a viewing of the Karma tomorrow at Infinity of Elk Grove.

Going to a "viewing" equally applies to a funeral

Not to be too critical, but outside of China and massive state subsidies, there is very little chance of any start-up vehicle company surviving. Over capacity in the Automobile business is a fact of life. It is a brutal business and companies with less than 1 million in annual sales are simply doomed. (For mass market types, this increases to about 5 million units) Maybe another car company, seeking an electric entry, will buy them out.

 

[palmermd]

Going to a "viewing" equally applies to a funeral

Not to be too critical, but outside of China and massive state subsidies, there is very little chance of any start-up vehicle company surviving. Over capacity in the Automobile business is a fact of life. It is a brutal business and companies with less than 1 million in annual sales are simply doomed. (For mass market types, this increases to about 5 million units) Maybe another car company, seeking an electric entry, will buy them out.

I'll post a video of the car if there is anything of interest.

http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100419/RETAIL03/100419907/1018

 

[evnow]

Not to be too critical, but outside of China and massive state subsidies, there is very little chance of any start-up vehicle company surviving. Over capacity in the Automobile business is a fact of life. It is a brutal business and companies with less than 1 million in annual sales are simply doomed. (For mass market types, this increases to about 5 million units) Maybe another car company, seeking an electric entry, will buy them out.

Exactly - the idea of startups is to get bought out producing a large profit for the investors. Google and eBay are the exceptions which prove this.

 

[DeaneG]

Saw a prototype at the Palo Alto concours last weekend. Looked spectacular. I came away with 2012 for volume sales.

 

[sjfotos]

Going to a "viewing" equally applies to a funeral

Not to be too critical, but outside of China and massive state subsidies, there is very little chance of any start-up vehicle company surviving. Over capacity in the Automobile business is a fact of life. It is a brutal business and companies with less than 1 million in annual sales are simply doomed. (For mass market types, this increases to about 5 million units) Maybe another car company, seeking an electric entry, will buy them out.

I'll post a video of the car if there is anything of interest.

http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100419/RETAIL03/100419907/1018

I surely would like to see that, thanks!

 

[palmermd]

I surely would like to see that, thanks!

There was really nothing of interest. The car was sitting in the showroom of an Infinity dealership. There were about 100 people milling about. They let us get in the front or back seats and open the trunk, but not the hood. There were two golf bags in the trunk. They fit, but it was tight. Back seat was very tight. Most people bumped their heads getting into the back seat. There was very little leg room in the back, but that may also be because both front seats were way back to allow people to get in. I could have moved it up about a foot if I were going to drive (5'10"). I would like to have seen it with the seats configured for normal people in the front, not for the largest person to get in. The car was not powered, so none of the dash displays were functioning. There seemed to only be one guy from Fisker who was there, and all he was doing was wiping the car down to keep in clean after all the people got in and out. The Infinity people were answering questions, but I could tell they really knew nothing about the car. No other information about the car was posted anywhere in the room. They was one small display announcing the dealership that will be opening in Sacramento.

The car is absolutely beautiful. There were far too many people in the room, and it was too small to get any good shots. I tried to take some but none show the beauty that this car is. Too bad it is the cost of 4 Leaf's, or I'd be ready to sign up for this as my second car to the Leaf.

Here is an awful video, that does nothing other than prove I was there. Sorry I could not get any better footage, but really this car is not likely to be in the interest of many here on this forum other than like me, a curiosity.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTTaf-a-bTw[/youtube]

 

[palmermd]

I came across this today....pretty funny.

http://www.evcast.com/members/evcast/blog/VIEW/00000001/00000441/EVcast-416-Fisker-in-the-Cradle.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[TRONZ]

Saw my first Karma in the wild about a week ago. It was a silver production model heading into Laguna Beach on Broadway across from the bus station. Looked REALLY good!!!

 

[GaslessInSeattle]

saw one of these at the Seattle Car Show, it's really a thing of beauty! Is it really about to hit the road?

 

[Boomer23]

I came across this today....pretty funny.

http://www.evcast.com/members/evcast/blog/VIEW/00000001/00000441/EVcast-416-Fisker-in-the-Cradle.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Very cool, and funny. The guy captures the feelings of a lot of people as they wait, and anguish, and wait some more...

This makes our wait for the LEAF from April 2010 to our delivery dates seem fairly bearable by comparison.

 

[mitch672]

....then after waiting for years, you hear the price range $95K to $109K, then the 50 mile of EV range is more like 30-35 miles, then running on the engine-generator is rated at a horrible 20MPG... Was it really worth the wait? It's a nice looking car, but the numbers just don't work out too well.