A standout at this year’s L.A. Auto Show is Fisker Automotives’ “Karma.” This plugin hybrid was conceived in Orange County and has a sleek, sleeping aids sexy body.
Fisker will be rolling the “Karma” into showrooms toward the end of next year.
[Source: myFOXla]
Denmark’s Crown Prince HRH Frederik is the first individual outside the Fisker development team driving the new eco-friendly Fisker Karma. The Crown Prince will tomorrow travel to the COP15 UN Climate Conference events in Copenhagen with the plug-in hybrid car. HRH Frederik will visit at 4 pm Hopenhagen event at Raadhuspladsen after which he will leave in the Fisker Karma at 5 pm to the Bella Center.
The prototype saloon, developed by American automaker adhd Fisker Automotive, can travel 80km (50mi) emission-free on a single charge of its Lithium-ion battery, and an additional 400km (250mi) on a range extending generator turned by an efficient fourcylinder gas engine. Economy is 2.4L/100km and emissions of just 83g/km CO2 – better than today’s best hybrids. Still, the Karma can reach 100km/h (62mph) in about 6 seconds and exceed 200km/h (125mph).
[Source: Fisker Automotive]
This first of it’s kind event gave 100 owners on the waiting list an opportunity to see the Fisker Karma inside and out. Mike “LACarGuy” Sullivan was a great host for the event. The evening started with an introduction from Marti Eulberg Vice President, Global Sales and Marketing for Fisker Automotive. In her talk she explained the meaning behind the logo design for Fisker Automotive. The two bars represent the two founders and the designer’s tools used in their craft. The orange color at the top represents a sunset and the blue is for the Pacific Ocean. All of this is combined to pay homage to the company’s heritage and it’s home in Irvine, CA.
From there she introduces all the representatives that were present from Fisker Automotive. There were interior designers, exterior designers, Human integration experts and several others as well. It was great to see the excitement in each of their eyes when given an opportunity to discuss their part in bringing this revolutionary new vehicle to market.
After the introductions were complete the Karma was unveiled to a round of applause and then a pause of awe that was finally broken with an invitation to get closer and take a look at the car. Attendees were given full access to the car. The lines started to form immediately to get a chance and sit inside each position of the car. Of course the best view was from the driver’s seat. The seat position feels more like the cockpit in a fight jet than the controls of a 4 door sedan. The dash is “all glass” meaning that all the gauges are digital readouts on an LCD screen. In the center of the dash is the digital control center, here all aspect of the human to vehicle interface are controlled. Everything is well within reach, it just takes a flick of a finger to move from stereo to the navigation and back again.
Overall the car is more beautiful in person than any of the pictures can do it justice. It will be interesting to see what areas get tweaks between this prototype and the pre-production models that are set to start slowly rolling off the assembly line sometime next month.
Here is the first image of a high voltage home charging unit prototype. We first noticed the unit mentioned in a press release about a month ago. However, until now never got a chance to see an actual picture.
Russell Datz from Fisker Automotive says:
“The unit will be available to Karma buyers as an option – price to be determined, but nothing outrageous. It will enable US owners to charge their Karmas in about 6 hours. A full 50 mile other charge costs about $2 based on a US average electric rate of $0.10/kWh.”
Most of the time the car will not require a full charge so to top off it off will take much less time.
The unit is manufactured by Lear Corporation based in Southfield, MI. They are also working on parts and charging units for the Chevrolet Volt, as well as hybrid models from BMW, Land Rover and Renault.
[Source: Fisker Automotive; Lear Corporation]
The Sound of Silence: The Fisker Karma, will warn pedestrians by emitting a noise “akin to a jet fighter.”
A great debate. To noise, or not to noise?
Is it really needed? After so many years of hearing about noise pollution, we now have a solution and are being asked to add sound to it. The Fisker Karma has been design to specifically address this issue. There are a set of speakers in the rear bumper where you would typically expect to see tail pipes. The HYBRID HZ label literally means: Hybrid Sound. Not many details have been given about this feature. Right now the sound is said to have been set to that of a jet fighter. Of course this could easily change in the future.
An interactive debate has started over at Newsrag. The comments start out with talking about “looking both ways before you cross the road.” That should be enough for anyone to know a car is coming. The response to that is a case where fog is an issue. Really, fog that’s the main issue? No one has address the issue of the blind. That one can get into a little more philosophical debate. Cars make sound so you can identify them with your sense of hearing. If cars had always been silent would sounds have been added already? Just because it can be done, that doesn’t mean it should. Of course, just because it has always been that way doesn’t mean it’s right either.
What would you like your Karma to sound like? Would you like to have the option for the sound to be customized? How about an option to turn the sound off?
[Source: Popular Science Image: Sport Cars]