Partying while the house burns down? The 2009 Detroit Auto Show, round 2

Ever heard of Fisker before?



I really don't blame you if you hadn't. They're brand new, a collaboration between Fisker's design studio and Quantum Technologies, which designs alternative energy systems. Their main product is the Fisker Karma hybrid sedan, and the Fisker Karma S "Sunset" convertible.

It looks good, in my opinion. And it's unique in how it operates - it uses a gas motor (the delicious GM Ecotec 2.0L supercharged engine) ONLY to charge the batteries. The engine is not directly connected to the wheels. It relies on a powerful electric motor to actually move the car. This is called a series hybrid. Diesel-electric locomotives have used this for a long time. It lets you maximize the gas or diesel motor for efficiency rather than forcing it to operate over a wide range of conditions (i.e., changing the engine RPMs a bunch as in normal driving).

So it has style, practicality (it seats 4), a pretty efficient powertrain, and it's not vaporware. Henrik Fisker seems to run a tight ship, winning the lawsuit with Tesla that I mentioned in an earlier post, and avoiding a lot of the negative publicity that Tesla got.

Will it succeed? It's going to be a lot more expensive than the Volt, but maybe it'll be Hollywood's new fashion accessory. It's a lot more stylish than the Prius!