Ski_Banker
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In terms of efficiency, think of how much time we waste in gas stations. Just plugging in at the end of each day would be much efficient...
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How is Fisker doing it?
- Thread starter TURBO2GO
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- 16 April 2007
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- 1,779
Bump.
On my way to work this morning I fell in behind one, new with the paper plates still on. I did not know what it was; I had to speed up to triple digits (which was tough on my 20-yr-old DD Civic)to get a look at the nameplate.
The car was certainly an eye catcher, but with 4 doors and a long hood, it didn't inspire any gotta-have-it feelings like the NSX.
I didn't hate it, just like the looks of a Tesla more.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisker_Karma
On my way to work this morning I fell in behind one, new with the paper plates still on. I did not know what it was; I had to speed up to triple digits (which was tough on my 20-yr-old DD Civic)to get a look at the nameplate.
The car was certainly an eye catcher, but with 4 doors and a long hood, it didn't inspire any gotta-have-it feelings like the NSX.
I didn't hate it, just like the looks of a Tesla more.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisker_Karma
I don't think 10 minutes a week saved at a gas station is worth nearly
Six figures on a car. Oh, and $15,000 for batteries is .15c mile
So where is the cost savings? Hybrids are a lame joke on America.
3/4 of the electricity to charge your car comes from
coal or oil anyhow.
X
Six figures on a car. Oh, and $15,000 for batteries is .15c mile
So where is the cost savings? Hybrids are a lame joke on America.
3/4 of the electricity to charge your car comes from
coal or oil anyhow.
X
My friend just got his. It's insane how it draws crowds. I mean it just stuns people. That's before they see the space shuttle interior and the solar roof panel. It drives nice too. Handles well, feels tight. The 22" wheels somehow still manage a decent ride. It's not for everyone, but it's a very neat car. Did you vote for Aubrey?
So what? It's emerging technology... Charge it!
from how i understand it... this car is propelled 100% by battery and the gas engine is only a generator to make power for the batteries. so the numbers do not really make sense... 20mpg on gas alone does not happen. what did they do? drain the battery completely and drive it? its still not running on gas alone...
It's the mileage you can expect if all you do is put gas in the tank.
You can test MPG just as with any other car; just ensure that the battery is no more or less charged at the end of the test as it was at the beginning.
It's just variations on existing technology.
An engine driving a generator that powers electric motors at the wheels is nothing new; diesel locomotives have been doing that (instead of having mechanical transmissions) for years.
Correct, if electric cars become mainstream they will be powered by coal, natural gas, and nuclear power. ~50% of all electricity in the U.S. is derived from coal power plants. One could make the case a ULEV 40mph economy car is easier on the environment than a coal powered plug in hybrid. Is a 7 series easier on the environment than a coal powered Karma? That is less clear.
Oil does not assist in generating electricity in the U.S. but natural gas does and at an increasing rate due to low prices. While natural gas produces essentially zero particle waste, pollution directly affecting human health which is what makes coal bad, it is difficult to argue it is "better" for the environment in terms of carbon/global warming (if that is a concern for you).
Methane, a major output of natural gas combustion, is a 10-100 times stronger greenhouse gas versus carbon dioxide. It does degrade quicker in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. Coal plants, strangely enough, actually cool the planet due to the chemical composition of their emissions. Coal pollution reflects the sun's rays (if you read up on Krakatoa, its eruption cooled the entire earth's surface by 2-4 degrees C for years); geoengineers' emergency back up plan is to dump sulfer into the atmosphere to mimic a volcanic eruption cooling the earth's atmosphere very quickly (but at the cost of not seeing a blue sky for years, maybe a decade).
The real 'solution' to our 'problems' requires defining those problems a lot better than we are now. IMO nuclear is the only way to sustain a mass conversion to electric vehicles. Sure, wealthier individuals, maybe even a couple hundred million people in the west (tiny fraction of the world's cars and population) could afford solar panels and wind farms to power their cars. But unless economics dictate a shift to electric cars, it will not happen globally. On top of that, if we did so now all we'd accomplish is the highest consumption of coal the world has ever seen (even though we are still increasing our consumption, even in the U.S., yoy).
They did get half a billion dollars from our government to create more innovation in Europe.
http://content.usatoday.com/communi...elaware-gm-government-loan-missed-deadline-/1
http://content.usatoday.com/communi...elaware-gm-government-loan-missed-deadline-/1
FYI, Fisker has progressively increased the base and it is nowhere near 85k now, plus there is an expensive battery upgrade option as well. The base is now 106k but they are working out some bugs. There has been a recall for some battery fluid leaking potentially causing a fire. The only dealership in town stopped selling until it is rectified which may or may not have already happened.
Saw a couple of them at a car show last weekend. Huge is the word that comes to mind. Unbelievably large for an EV. I didn't find it attractive at all.
There are so many half-baked "facts" on this thread I don't even know where to start.
Thread is about the car guys. It's not about the government or global warming.
There's no battery upgrade option with fisker. That's tesla. The car is stunning is all I will say. I love driving it.
Thread is about the car guys. It's not about the government or global warming.
There's no battery upgrade option with fisker. That's tesla. The car is stunning is all I will say. I love driving it.
"How is Fisker doing it?"
They have a lot of cash
Quoting Reuters:
The company has received $193 million of the Department of Energy federal loan and is re-negotiating terms with the DOE.
In addition to the federal loan, Fisker has raised more than $850 million from private investors including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Advanced Equities, and the Qatar Investment Authority.
They have a lot of cash
Quoting Reuters:
The company has received $193 million of the Department of Energy federal loan and is re-negotiating terms with the DOE.
In addition to the federal loan, Fisker has raised more than $850 million from private investors including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Advanced Equities, and the Qatar Investment Authority.
So what. It weighs 5300 pounds and is slower 0-60 than a stock NSX.
If it's in the sun all the time the solar panel on the roof still doesn't gather enough energy in a day to drive one mile.
The interior is called eco-friendly because it's made with salvaged wood -- in a car that weighs more than a 1972 Cadillac Sedan de Ville despite having so little interior room that it's classified as a subcompact.
I think it comes down to some people liking the looks of it.
It's not for everybody. No one buys a $120K car to save gas money. Nor does someone pay that much for a plug-in hybrid to go faster than an NSX. If you don't get it, it's fine. No one is saying you have to buy it. But not everyone who buys one is ignorant of what they are doing. My friend who bought one wants to support the technology, likes its looks and how it drives, and is the CEO of a green company. He's one of the most intelligent people I've ever met. He loves the karma. As I said, it's maturing technology. If someone wants to talk about the car itself, how it's made, how it drives, what the terrific technologies are, i can engage and give feedback. If we want to talk about politics and global warming, or how it's not worth it because car xyz does abc better, i have nothing to add. I've spent a lot of time with this car now. I like it, a lot.
Sooo you don't wanna talk about how this really isn't a green car is not really that fast, is too heavy, and too expensive and is basically just a car that is designed to make rich people feel better about themselves because they are buying "green" however if the thing had a deseil engine in it it would get 50 miles to the gallon and weigh half as much but it's pretty so let's not talk about all that other stuff. Right?
No I don't want to talk about "value" based on traditional sense of 0-60 that's just not that relavent. Nor about politics. We can talk about the car. I don't know if you can say its not green. I Mean charge it and you don't need gas. It's a quick and luxurious car that doesn't need gas. That's kind of a first.
I don't mean to sound negative and my post wasn't directed at you. I'm just so tired of arguing against half baked opinions and facts with people regarding energy consumption, I just don't want to do it anymore. The cost of energy provided via power plant electric is less than 1/5 of gas delivered to a pump. It's just more efficient. Not perfect, but no new technology is until someone works on it.
It's about car that is been financed by my money that I will never own.
At 5300 lbs.
It is not about being efficient, it is about having a battery as part of the drive train so they can qualify to get massive "green" grands from the government to make high end hybrid car only the rich can afford.
Heck, they should just give us the cars since the taxpayers paid for it while keeping those European leaches employed.
SAFE THE PLANET!!!!
At 5300 lbs.
It is not about being efficient, it is about having a battery as part of the drive train so they can qualify to get massive "green" grands from the government to make high end hybrid car only the rich can afford.
Heck, they should just give us the cars since the taxpayers paid for it while keeping those European leaches employed.
SAFE THE PLANET!!!!
Insanely jealous that you have gotten to drive this. please post a vid so I can live vicariously.
I haven't seen one up close, but the pics are always amazing. Also, I heard Colin Powell drives one.
P
But see you just provided me with half baked opinions and facts. I think alot of people think that the car could have been built with a diesel or turboed gas engine that provided just as good if not better fuel mileage while allowing it to weigh much less. Throwing a shit load of batteries in a car just to get a gov grant to build it is bullshit. As is most of this "green" movement.
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