Karma Comes to Detroit
TAKE PART IN THE “NAMING THE CAR OF TOMORROW” CONTEST
What goes around, comes around, and at a time where Detroit is facing its slowest season in recent history, an exciting possibility has lit the horizon. Fisker’s $80,000 luxury sports car plug-in hybrid, the Karma, will be built in Motor City, says Henrik Fisker.
The Q-Drive drivetrain, developed by Quantum Technologies, takes the Karma 620 mpg when working with the small gas engine, and 50 miles per charge when running solely on electric. The maker of the battery, however, is still up in the air … as is the date we’ll see a working prototype. Fisker is claiming they’ll have 15,000 models on the road next year, but given the lapsing schedules of Tesla and even GM’s Chevy Volt plug-in, they’ve garnered a fair share of critics.
Still, there is something to be said for being well-prepared. For one, they have the totally awesome name “Karma”. For two, they’ve got buku bucks invested in their vision:
Fisker’s got the financial backing of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, one of the biggest – if not the biggest – names in Silicon Valley venture capital. KP recently handed Fisker another check with a lot of zeros, saying it is “committed” to investing in Fisker because its “groundbreaking, forward-thinking design stands to pave the way for a greener and more efficient transportation future.”
and they have people directing the company who’ve done somewhat similar projects before:
Henrik Fisker has worked for BMW and Aston Martin, where he designed the Z8 and DB9, respectively. [Head of Retail Development] Vic Doolan, is a former president of BMW North America, executive director of the Premier Automotive Group (Ford’s luxury division) and president of Volvo Cars North America.
Okay, that is a summary of what other sites have been saying: Great idea, but just an idea. Does it matter that the company has financial backing out the nose? Or that company heads have tons of experience? That’s what people are either being optimistic or pessimistic about.
Personally, I’m not sure why they even bothered coming forward until the internal components of the car were figured out. Tesla’s leached confidence from the ultra-luxury environmentally-friendly market, and people are going to be particularly cautious before plunking down money before there’s a working product. Fisker may have done better by taking a page from the book of BYD’s Wang Chuanfu and driven into next year’s Detroit Auto Show with the Karma already rolling.
