Eco-Wow! Fisker Karma Plug-In Hybrid Car

I'd love to see one of these Fisker Automotive vehicles in my driveway this holiday season

Fisker Automotive knows hot, and it knows cars.  We’re talking sleek rides like Aston Martins and head-turning BMWs.  All you need is a tuxedo and a martini – shaken, not stirred – to be right at home in one of its showrooms.

With the automobile industry changing, due to concerns about fuel prices and greenhouse gas emissions, is there room in the luxury vehicle classes for a plug-in hybrid car?  Fisker says yes!

Step aside, Chevy Volt, and make room for the Fisker Karma!

The company is taking a chance with a $500,000,000 loan from the U.S. government to build eco-friendly cars that don’t look like it.  Fisker is developing a plug-in electric hybrid vehicle that will travel 50 miles solely on electricity, before switching over to the gas tank (or, you can recharge while at work or school).  But, for its customers, the most important aspect is that the new models will be FAST!

Can you say: “sweet?”

Just why would Fisker build a car like this?  Henrik Fisker knows that it can be a challenge to get people to buy an eco-friendly car during the recession and with gas prices below $3 a gallon.  Still, he has this to say:

As a car lover, I ask myself: What am I going to be buying in the future?  Will it be a boring, underpowered dorky car because the government tells me I shouldn’t pollute?  Or do I come up with a cool-looking, sexy dream car that is also part of the future?

Rhetorical questions, to be sure!

Fisker plug-in electric vehicle

The Fisker Karma will be priced at $87,900, and is a PEHV with solar panels that run the climate control system (like the new Toyota Prius). Look for production to start in late 2010.  If you want one of these, you’d better get on a list.  They’re only going to manufacture 15,000 per year.  Combining electricity and gas, the cars will average about 100 miles per gallon.

For the family that wants both style and eco-friendly transport, look for Project Nina to come to fruition.  Fisker will develop a plug-in electric sedan at a more affordable price point of $47,400.  Its still a few years out – 2012, to be exact -  but the Nina will be built right here in the USA at a former GM plant.  Annually, 100,000 cars will be produced.

Lest the adjective “family” is off-putting to you, Fisker claims that the Nina,

“will definitely be the most radical, sexy family car on the planet.”

Santa won’t be delivering the Fisker eco-friendly cars this year.  But Al Gore has already placed a Karma on his list for next year….  Talk about a “naughty” car with some nice green features!