Saw a 2012 Fisker Karma at the dealership today

[DietDrThunder]

Don't get me wrong, it looked nice, just not $100,000+ nice. It basically has the same range as the Chevy Volt and it even uses a GM supplied 4 banger. I'd say the thing that they did right with the Karma vs. the Volt is that they have the 4 cylinder power only the generator. Anyway, it was interesting and I thought I'd share.

 

[vshah]

it is way faster than a volt, no?

 

[Childs]

The quality on the Fisker seems suspect. I think one burned down someones house in Texas not too long ago. I would rather spend my money on a Tesla Model S.

 

[Ferzerp]

I'd say the thing that they did right with the Karma vs. the Volt is that they have the 4 cylinder power only the generator

This is exactly how the Volt works as well. The ICE is not coupled to the wheels other than via the generator (unlike, say, a prius or the like).

 

[vshah]

^ i thought it was discovered that the volt ICE can actually drive the wheels directly

edit: yup http://www.motortrend.com/features/editorial/1010_unbolting_the_chevy_volt_to_see_how_it_ticks/


edit 2: "mechanically" seems to be more accurate than "directly"

 

[Imported]

The quality on the Fisker seems suspect. I think one burned down someones house in Texas not too long ago. I would rather spend my money on a Tesla Model S.

The Model S does nothing for me either 🙁 I've seen a few on the road now (Tesla HQ is ~10miles from my workplace) and it's just.. meh.

 

[Ferzerp]

^ i thought it was discovered that the volt ICE can actually drive the wheels directly

edit: yup http://www.motortrend.com/features/editorial/1010_unbolting_the_chevy_volt_to_see_how_it_ticks/


edit 2: "mechanically" seems to be more accurate than "directly"

Oh, they lied!

 

[cyclistca]

Was it on fire

 

[thedarkwolf]

^ i thought it was discovered that the volt ICE can actually drive the wheels directly

edit: yup http://www.motortrend.com/features/editorial/1010_unbolting_the_chevy_volt_to_see_how_it_ticks/


edit 2: "mechanically" seems to be more accurate than "directly"

I never understood why people got so hung up on that.
"Once the Volt’s battery is depleted, the engine fires up and clutches to the generator to produce the power required to drive the car. Above 70 mph, when the generator couples to the ring gear, the engine gets a more efficient direct mechanical connection to the wheels." More efficient being the key part of that. Would people rather get worse gas mileage just so they could say the engine never directly powers the wheels? The planetary gear setup is one thing Chevy did extremely well on the volt.

 

[soccerballtux]

Oh, they lied!

what you said was the original plan and made the volt seem like a much, much cooler car.

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

what you said was the original plan and made the volt seem like a much, much cooler car.

To idiots like you maybe. What they ended up with is something more efficient at highway speeds.

 

[hans007]

it gets 20mpg when its batteries are dry.

and it weighs nearly as much as an escalade so its not very fast. its the biggest fail of a car ever.

my office is near one of the dealerships in santa monica, ca and i've seen it. its pretty nice looking but stilll $100k+ for that. just another way to borrow money from the govt give it to all your buddies in some hail mary effort to make a company.

if you succeed by some miracle, you get rich. if you don't succeed well you got to try and the govt picked up the tab.

 

[MDE]

I drive past one in Schaumburg, IL every day. Nice car, wouldn't pay that much though.