tagged w/ Fisker
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Green Giants: Conversations with Global Environmental Leaders
BS Top - Dakotah Electric Cars - Mercedes SLS Not long ago, the electric car was left for dead by greedy special interests. In a new documentary, Chris Paine chronicles its unlikely resurrection.Green Giants: Conversations with Global Environmental Leaders
BS Top - Dakotah... more
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The innovative Karma Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle from Irvine-based Fisker Automotive, an affiliate of Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, made its public driving debut this weekend – a little less than two years after its introduction as a concept car.
The prototype of the 403 horsepower full-size sedan hit speeds greater than 100 mph and used both its Sport (hybrid) and its Stealth (electric-only) modes during the Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. It was the first time a vehicle of its kind has appeared on track at the event, according to Fisker.
The car can reach 60 mph in six seconds and maintains a top speed of 125 mph, while also achieving more than 100 mpg. The Karma's carbon emissions are also lower than other hybrids on the market today. The vehicle's Q-Drive powertrain was designed and engineered by Quantum. It offers a number of groundbreaking features in its energy storage, electric drive architecture and control strategies.
"We are pleased at the progress of development and validation of the Q-Drive architecture, which delivers the ultimate combination of performance, range and efficiency," says Alan Niedzwiecki, president and CEO of Quantum.
The Fisker Karma sedan will retail for $88,000 and is scheduled to start customer deliveries next summer. Its O.C. retailer is the Shelly Automotive Group in Irvine.The innovative Karma Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle from Irvine-based Fisker... more
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These days, buying a hybrid and saving our ever deteriorating environment one cubic foot of emissions at a time seems like a good way to improve your karma. Well, Fisker Automotive has made it even easier to get your environmentalist fix on by designing a plug-in hybrid Sedan that is nothing short of artistic in its design.
The Fisker Karma was first introduced back in 2008 at the Detroit auto show as pure concept, but in twelve short months that concept has been reworked into a viable production version that is to be given its grand debut at the Monterey Historic Automobile Races on Aug 15th. Check out more details and high-res image gallery after the break.These days, buying a hybrid and saving our ever deteriorating environment one cubic... more
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Fisker Automotive's long awaited plug-in hybrid Karma sedan has only ever been seen in its complete production-ready form in photographs and at motor shows, but for the first time onlookers will get to see the luxury hybrid stretch its legs when it embarks on its public driving debut at this year's Monterey Historic Automobile Races, scheduled for next month’s Pebble Beach Concours D’ Elegance in California.
The mid-August date that has been set gives the Fisker Karma an amazingly quick design and construction period, with the company taking just 19 months to take the car from concept to reality. For the many auto enthusiasts looking forward to the car's debut, Fisker will also be sweetening the deal by showing off its new hardtop convertible concept, the Karma Sunset, which recently won a SEAMO award for Concept Car of the Year.
The public drive debut will see the Fisker Karma taking to the legendary 11-turn Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca course, where onlookers will see the capabilities of the two 201hp electric motors that power the car as it maneuvers around the track.
For those interested in paying the $87,500 fee for the attractive Fisker Karma, the waiting list is expected to be lengthy, with Fisker's Henrik Fisker CEO claiming that the entire production run has been sold out until mid-2010. For full details on the car's production, drivetrain and availability, check out our previous story by clicking here.
for more articles like this visit http://current.com/groups/green-transportation/Fisker Automotive's long awaited plug-in hybrid Karma sedan has only ever been... more
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Aside from a sexy prototype and a few photos, no one's seen much of the plug-in hybrid Fisker Automotive is working on, but with powertrain testing reportedly underway and an infusion of cash just around the corner, the company already is looking ahead to its next car.
Company founder Henrik Fisker says it will be a smaller, less expensive version of the $80,000 plug-in hybrid sedan he unveiled in January. That car is still a long way from the showroom, but today the company said it's built three prototypes and is track-testing battery software management system and the plug-in hybrid drivetrain developed by Quantum Technologies.
"We are very excited about the initial test results of the Fisker Karma prototype," company founder Henrik Fisker said in a statement. "The vehicle dynamics and fuel economy have performed better than expected and we remain on target for our fourth quarter 2009 initial delivery."
That's an incredibly tight - some say unrealistic, if not impossible - deadline to meet, but that isn't keeping Fisker from planning his next car.
Fisker says he believes advancements in battery technology will cut costs enough to allow him to offer a sedan at half the cost of the Karma within five years. According to CNET, which says the company expects to secure another $65 million in funding next month, Fisker sees the Karma competing with the BMW 7-series and the smaller sedan competing with the 3-Series.
Of course, he's got to build the Karma first. Fisker is using the Q-Drive hybrid drivetrain developed by Quantum Technologies and a lithium ion battery, which will be charged by a small internal combustion engine. The company says it is "fine tuning" the battery software, performing "initial vehicle testing" and starting crash test simulations.
Fisker hasn't offered any specifics about the drivetrain - where it's getting the battery, how big the motor is, what sort of internal combustion engine it'll use to drive the generator - and so far hasn't provided any photos of the hybrid drivetrain in the car. We also don't know just what's happening in those "spy shots" the company sent out last week, or what's under the hood of the car. The company wouldn't tell us, citing "competitive reasons." But a Fisker spokeswoman says we'll see a prototype with the plug-in hybrid drivetrain at the Los Angeles auto show in November.
Fisker says it's received more than 500 orders for the car since unveiling it at the Detroit auto show, and the company is holding fast to its claim that it will deliver the first car by the end of next year. What's more, it plans to turn out 1,250 cars a month by the end of 2010. Where those cars will be built remains an open question; a Fisker spokeswoman says there will be an announcement within a few weeks. There's been some speculation that Fisker will build the cars in Detroit.
Fisker's set some audacious goals given he and Quantum Technologies started working together just 18 months ago. As a rule of thumb, it takes three to five years to develop a car. It took Tesla Motors 3 1/2 years to get the Tesla Roadster out the door, and General Motors is scrambling to get the Chevrolet Volt done in three.
That's not to say Fisker can't do it. But the industry experts we've talked to give him pretty long odds of putting cars in driveways by 2010. Aside from a sexy prototype and a few photos, no one's seen much of the plug-in... more
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kushan
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added this
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3 years ago
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