Just went for a ride in a Fisker Karma

[blue2000s]

Impressions:

The Good:
-Lots of Torque, I stepped back into my WRX and it felt limp for the first time
-No body roll - flat flat flat through corners
-Beautiful Exterior - The curves and stance are even better than in pictures. This is the way cars should be styled. Absolutely gorgeous.
-Beautiful Interior - The demo model is totally covered in blue and tan alcantara. Seats, dashboard, doors, headliner, everything.
-Did I mention how beautiful it is?

The not so good:
-Has a constant whine from an inverter
-Also makes a constant white noise to warn pedestrians
-It's steering is pretty numb
-It is HUGE
-It feels huge from the inside, looking over the very large hood. Kinda reminiscent of a corvette
-It doesn't mask it's weight from the driver very well, even though body motions are well controlled, the heft of the car is noticeable (5300 pounds!)
-Turbo whine when it's running
-Some engine noise when the turbo's not running
-Everyone, I mean everyone, comes over and looks at it
-Laughable trunk space. I mean ridiculous for 4 people. It's about the size of the Boxster's trunk (just the back one), not exaggerating.

So it's obviously not a normal car. It drives kinda like a huge golf cart. I hate to say it because it's so obvious, but an electric car drives a certain way, and this one is obviously electric. It's was cool, and different, but I wouldn't buy one.

[ekam]

From what I read... it fails in every possible way both in fuel economy and performance. They borrowed $500 mil from the government to build a car that fall flat on their own promise.

http://jalopnik.com/5851735/how-fisker-got-500-million-in-government-loans-for-a-fuel-economy-flop

http://jalopnik.com/5851044/fisker-finally-gets-epa-approval-sells-first-karma

[blue2000s]

If it catches on as the rich man's Prius, none of the missed targets for efficiency and performance will matter. From the names I've seen on the waiting list, it's going to get alot of celebrity attention.

The massive torque from electric motors just off 0 rpm makes these cars feel faster than the 0-60 numbers suggest.

[Johnny Danger]

I agree that the lines and overall design of the body is gorgeous !

[MileHighBoxster]

It's certainly a gorgeous car. Not what I would call a rich-mans vehicle around people who are already buying cars in the same price range. I hope they catch on immensely.

[Mrmaddbrad]

They look so much like Aston Martin's V8 Vantage. So i guess i'm just trying to say that they're freakin gorgeous lol

[thstone]

Very good looking!

But the high end electric car market is extremely limited. Tesla still hasn't sold all of the 2,400 chassis that it bought from Lotus and is moving all of its sales efforts to outside the US thinking that the mid-East and China will buy the remaining several hundred.

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by thstone

Very good looking!

But the high end electric car market is extremely limited. Tesla still hasn't sold all of the 2,400 chassis that it bought from Lotus and is moving all of its sales efforts to outside the US thinking that the mid-East and China will buy the remaining several hundred.

There may be other issues at work, the limited range and seating of the Tesla may be a factor. The fit and finish could also be turning off potential customers.

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by Mrmaddbrad

They look so much like Aston Martin's V8 Vantage. So i guess i'm just trying to say that they're freakin gorgeous lol

Fisker was AM's design director.

[Stroked & Blown]

These plug in hybrids are like Betamax - hydrogen is where it's at.
I'll be driving my 8 MPG jeep until then.

[thstone]

Originally Posted by blue2000s

There may be other issues at work, the limited range and seating of the Tesla may be a factor. The fit and finish could also be turning off potential customers.

I think that everything about a plug-in/extended range electric car is a factor and judging by the poor Volt sales, the conclusion seems to be that these cars are just not very compelling at current gas prices versus the ICE alternatives.

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by thstone

I think that everything about a plug-in/extended range electric car is a factor and judging by the poor Volt sales, the conclusion seems to be that these cars are just not very compelling at current gas prices versus the ICE alternatives.

Then there's the other side of the coin where the Prius has been a complete hit. So much so that they've expanded the model line with 2 more versions and Honda basically copied it with the new Insight. There are hybrid versions of the Accord, Camry, Sonata and Fusion. Someone must be buying these things.

[Johnny Danger]

Originally Posted by blue2000s

Fisker was AM's design director.

Wow, as in American Motors ? No wonder I can see the lines of the pacer, gremlin and matador in his design .

[Overdrive]

If GM had priced the Volt to more closely compete with the Prius pricetag they'd probably be doing a bit better, but at $40-$50k it's pretty ridiculous, and will take you a good long while to balance the cost of the vehicle with the savings from its as yet unproven efficiency. The people who would have short enough commutes to be able to do their daily amount of driving in the 40 or so miles of claimed electric range don't have the kind of money to buy one (I'm such an individual), and it's not versatile enough to be their singular vehicle. There is a very particular niche of folks who can afford such a car right now, and they're not biting too heavily on it.

This goes for a lot of the purpose-built hybrids and electrics, as well. Those that are based on existing conventional models, such as the Camry, Fusion, LS400h, etc., are an improvement over their ICE counterparts efficiency-wise, but not as efficient as what is claimed from the purpose-built alternative energy vehicles like the Prius, Insight (or lack thereof), etc. Their cost difference is also significant enough to turn people away and leave them with no alternative but to get an ICE-powered car.

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by Johnny Danger

Wow, as in American Motors ? No wonder I can see the lines of the pacer, gremlin and matador in his design .

If AMC had Fisker as a designer, they probably would have been around a little longer.

http://gremlin.comyr.com/images/3-amc-gremlin.jpg

http://www.ausmotive.com/images2/Aston-Martin-DB9-01.jpg

[Overdrive]

The resemblance is uncanny...they even carried the door handle design over the decades...
:dance:

[Johnny Danger]

Originally Posted by blue2000s

If AMC had Fisker as a designer, they probably would have been around a little longer.

http://gremlin.comyr.com/images/3-amc-gremlin.jpg

http://www.ausmotive.com/images2/Aston-Martin-DB9-01.jpg

I can really see it !!

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by thstone

I think that everything about a plug-in/extended range electric car is a factor and judging by the poor Volt sales, the conclusion seems to be that these cars are just not very compelling at current gas prices versus the ICE alternatives.

Then there's always this hybrid.

http://www.autosflow.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/porsche-918-spyder-hybrid-3.png

[Overdrive]

Well blue200s...compelling, yes. Affordable...not so much, but if we're talking folks who'd be buying a Fisker, well that's a different story.

[Perfectlap]

Big electric cars must catch on. Americans that tolerate a small car represent only a narrow segment of the US market. Either from rampant obesity or more family members staying living at home longer who knows but this market demands bigger cars. As far as not being compelling on price and efficiency that argument would have killed the laptop market before it ever got off the ground. My first Thinkpad was over $3000. Today you can buy a far more powerful computer for 1/10 the cost. With cars it's much more important because continuing to spend thousands of limited household income dollars on oil is money that can be spent/invested elsewhere in the family budget. Eventually the cars will be at competitive price points and given the short daily commute for the average Motorist rapidly developing battery tech will more than cover it. The bigger question is how to come up with new ways to create electric power at the lowest price without having to rely on antiquated fossil fuel methods.

P.s.
Gas at below $4 means it's a buyers market for ev/hybrids. That's not going to last. Emerging markets aren't going to be taking a ten year break just because the western nations can't increase their own aggregate demand. Thats the irony that's coming ...its nothing to do with green tech and everything to do with 2 million chinese cars hitting the road every month.