RE: Fisker Karma Gets 529m Dollar Loan
Tuesday 27th April 2010
California-based Fisker Automotive has bagged a $529 million (£342m) loan from the US Department of Energy to help get its plug-in hybrids sports coupes and saloons to market.
Fisker Karma Gets 529m Dollar Loan
Plug-in hybrid sports saloon gets US government boost
The deal - which includes the refurbishing of a former GM assembly plant in Delaware and the creation of around 2000 jobs - will help get the Karma sports saloon on sale in the US by the end of the year.
The Karma saloon has a 300-mile range, a 125mph top speed and is claimed to be able to hit 60mph in around 6.0secs.
When it does go on sale, the Karma saloon will cost $87,900 (around £57k). It is expected to be joined soon after going on sale by a convertible version (seen in concept form as the Sunset).
But Fisker is even more ambitious than that: it wants to be building 115,000 cars by 2015, and says its Project Nina salonn, due in 2012, will cost less than $40,000 (£26k).
Discussion
The Crack Fox said:
Respect ! Squeezing £342 million out of the Government to build "a projected" c.100'000 niche cars a year on an unproven platform from a brand with no mass-market recognition !
Being fair - It looks good both in pics and on paper, but this has a whiff of DeLorean about it to me !
At it may pBeing fair - It looks good both in pics and on paper, but this has a whiff of DeLorean about it to me !
s off Elon Musk.Sounds good all round.
Both Fisker and Tesla (though less so here), are interesting brands and show that the US government is actually quite keen on pushing their business forward. The US has a lot of resources such as coal, oil and nuclear power - though they need to resolve the grid / distribution issues long term (just like us). But, they have realised that they can be at the forefront of the manufacture of this new wave of cars. Especially if they have the ability to drastically reduce the dependence on external oil - these grants are small beer in comparison to the vast amounts of money that flow OUT of the US for oil and steming just a small part of this would save them fortunes.
Maybe its inward looking. I certainly think its more protecting their own and forward thinking though. The US is lucky though, they are big enough to do this. Unfortunately, I don't currently see the UK government taking a bold step to do anything like this. OK, not to this scale, but some bold steps forward to reduce our dependence on external energy / oil would be a step forward. I am not getting all eco on everyone, but it makes sense to promote what we have locally rather than shipping it from abroad....
Maybe its inward looking. I certainly think its more protecting their own and forward thinking though. The US is lucky though, they are big enough to do this. Unfortunately, I don't currently see the UK government taking a bold step to do anything like this. OK, not to this scale, but some bold steps forward to reduce our dependence on external energy / oil would be a step forward. I am not getting all eco on everyone, but it makes sense to promote what we have locally rather than shipping it from abroad....
"300-mile range.." So about 150 then, or less if you turn anything on like the hi-fi or air con. And probably 8 hours to charge on a 'normal' plug (aren't US voltages lower than here? 120v? Would that affect charging times?).
Battery-powered cars are NOT the way forward - not until they can go a GENUINE 300-400 miles on a charge and take 5 minutes to fully recharge. Why isn't hydrogen fuel-cell technology being looked at by anyone other than Honda? This seems a far more sensible approach.
Bear in mind that with our current electrical infrastructure, we're due rolling blackouts by 2016 - still want that electric car?
Battery-powered cars are NOT the way forward - not until they can go a GENUINE 300-400 miles on a charge and take 5 minutes to fully recharge. Why isn't hydrogen fuel-cell technology being looked at by anyone other than Honda? This seems a far more sensible approach.
Bear in mind that with our current electrical infrastructure, we're due rolling blackouts by 2016 - still want that electric car?
Funk said:
"300-mile range.." So about 150 then, or less if you turn anything on like the hi-fi or air con. And probably 8 hours to charge on a 'normal' plug (aren't US voltages lower than here? 120v? Would that affect charging times?).
Battery-powered cars are NOT the way forward - not until they can go a GENUINE 300-400 miles on a charge and take 5 minutes to fully recharge. Why isn't hydrogen fuel-cell technology being looked at by anyone other than Honda? This seems a far more sensible approach.
Bear in mind that with our current electrical infrastructure, we're due rolling blackouts by 2016 - still want that electric car?
Disagree, a small, electric city car doesn't need such a range. It's the ability to charge them that's holding things back.Battery-powered cars are NOT the way forward - not until they can go a GENUINE 300-400 miles on a charge and take 5 minutes to fully recharge. Why isn't hydrogen fuel-cell technology being looked at by anyone other than Honda? This seems a far more sensible approach.
Bear in mind that with our current electrical infrastructure, we're due rolling blackouts by 2016 - still want that electric car?
Plus i reckon if cities become full of small, electric cars that can't manage long journeys that'll free up the better roads for me in my V8!
The big problem with these cars is going to be the lack of a second hand market. Three years after you've bought it the technology is going to be old and the new models will be able to do double the miles with half the charge time. Yes new petrol cars get a better MPG than older ones but the difference will be nowhere near as much.
Would people not be MUCH better off buying petrol cars that are likely to last 10 years without falling apart?
Would people not be MUCH better off buying petrol cars that are likely to last 10 years without falling apart?
custardtart said:
Funk said:
"300-mile range.." So about 150 then, or less if you turn anything on like the hi-fi or air con. And probably 8 hours to charge on a 'normal' plug (aren't US voltages lower than here? 120v? Would that affect charging times?).
Battery-powered cars are NOT the way forward - not until they can go a GENUINE 300-400 miles on a charge and take 5 minutes to fully recharge. Why isn't hydrogen fuel-cell technology being looked at by anyone other than Honda? This seems a far more sensible approach.
Bear in mind that with our current electrical infrastructure, we're due rolling blackouts by 2016 - still want that electric car?
Disagree, a small, electric city car doesn't need such a range. It's the ability to charge them that's holding things back.Battery-powered cars are NOT the way forward - not until they can go a GENUINE 300-400 miles on a charge and take 5 minutes to fully recharge. Why isn't hydrogen fuel-cell technology being looked at by anyone other than Honda? This seems a far more sensible approach.
Bear in mind that with our current electrical infrastructure, we're due rolling blackouts by 2016 - still want that electric car?
Plus i reckon if cities become full of small, electric cars that can't manage long journeys that'll free up the better roads for me in my V8!
Who would really buy a car that in the real world could only be used 'in the city'? Those that want/can afford to run two cars will have another petrol/diesel one anyway which kind of defeats the purpose. Electric cars aren't the way forward.
Oh, and if they DO gain traction, watch our electricity bills rocket as they shift tax from fuel to electricity (and there's no way to distinguish between 'everyday' use and 'charging a car' use - so overall costs will rise). Electric cars = bad.
Andrew[MG] said:
The big problem with these cars is going to be the lack of a second hand market. Three years after you've bought it the technology is going to be old and the new models will be able to do double the miles with half the charge time. Yes new petrol cars get a better MPG than older ones but the difference will be nowhere near as much.
Would people not be MUCH better off buying petrol cars that are likely to last 10 years without falling apart?
SCRAPAGE SCHEME FTW (lol)Would people not be MUCH better off buying petrol cars that are likely to last 10 years without falling apart?
On a more serious note, love this. They deserve the loan and the business.
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